21 20 545 https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/492/1904-04-01-The-Author-14-7.pdf 8db4e4ff70aedbcca3bc0380f54b7653 PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-04-01 Volume 14 Issue 7 Pages Page range in volume 169–196 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19040401 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XITV.—No. 7 TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —————_+——¢ NOTICES. Boe OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. es List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. os The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present : os XIV. Aprit ist, 1904. [PRicE SIXPENCE. standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Wonsolg2t £1000 0 0 Weocal oaus ©... 500 0 0 Victorian Government 8 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 War loan <0... 201 9 8 London and North Western 3 °% Deben- MUTE SOCK 250 0 O Oba eS 2243 9 2 Subscriptions from October, 1903. £s.d. Nov. 13, Longe, Miss Julia. ; - 0.900 Dec. 16, Trevor, Capt. Philip 0. 5 0 1904. Jan. 6, Hills, Mrs. C. H 075 0 Jan. 6, Crommelin, Miss 010 0 Jan. 8, Stevenson, Mrs. M. E. 0 5 0 Jan. 16, Kilmarnock, The Lord . 010 0 Feb. 5, Portman, Lionel . : ~ 1 0.0 Feb. 11, Shipley, Miss Mary ‘ ~ 0 5 0 Diiring, Mrs. . ; - 0 5 0 Francis Claude de la Roche . 0.50.0 Donations from October, 1903. Oct. 27, Sturgis, Julian : .50 0 0 Noy. 2, Stanton, V. H. : : - dO 0 Nov. 18, Benecke, Miss Ida. : . 1:0 0 Noy. 23, Harraden, Miss Beatrice 5 0 0 Dec. Miniken, Miss Bertha M. M.. 0 5 0O 1904. Jan. 4, Moncrieff, A. R. Hope . . oo 0 0 Jan. 4, Middlemas, Miss Jean . ~ 0 10 20 Jan. 4, Witherby, The Rev. C. . 0 5 0 Jan. 6, Key, The Rev. S. Whittell 0. 5.0 Jan. 14, Bennett, Rev. W. K.,D.D. . 015 0 Jan. 2, Roe, Mrs. Harcourt : , 010 6 Feb. 11, Delaire, Miss Jeanne . . 0 10 0 THE AUTHOR. FROM THE COMMITTEE. —— HE March meeting of the Committee was held at the offices of the Society on Monday, March 7th. Twenty-six members and associates were elected, making the total number of elections for the current year 78. ‘There is no sign that the steady increase in the Society’s numbers is falling off. The number of fresh members who have joined during the past three months of the current year is in excess of the number for the same period during the past three years. ; ‘A letter from the Secretary of the United States Copyright Association was submitted to the Com- mittee, The Secretary of the Association desires a report from our Society on the disadvantages of the present United States Copyright law, but in his letter excludes the question of printing in the United States which under the present law is essential. His Association consider that no alteration could be made in that direction unless there was a change in the Tariff Policy of the country. The Managing Committee of the Society have decided to call together the Sub-Committee on Copyright, and, taking up the Secretary’s sug- gestion, will send a full report on the present aspects of the law, in answer to the courteous request of the Association. The Sub-Committee which was appointed to con- sider some points in the editorship of Zhe Author laid their report before the Managing Committee, who gave their general approval to the proposed alterations. Members will, in the fulness of time, see the slight alterations and modifications that have been suggested by the Sub-Committee. The Chairman and Secretary gave a full report of the action that had been taken to deal with the infringement of Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s ‘“‘ Barrack Room Ballads.” The Committee assented to the course. On the receipt of a letter from the Clerk of the London County Council, the question of a site for the replica of the Besant Memorial was further considered. The Committee decided to adhere to their former proposal that the bronze should be placed, if possible, on the Embankment. One or two other matters of no great importance were discussed, but no cases for legal action came forward for the consideration of the Committee, although, during the past month, the Chairman has sanctioned three County Court actions. es Cases. During the past month thirteen cases have been in the hands of the Secretary. Five of these were for the payment of money for published contributions, one for money and accounts, three for accounts, and three for the cancellation of agreements. From the first class three have been settled and the money paid. The case for money and accounts has been placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors, as it was impossible for the Secretary to obtain any satis- factory reply to his communications. In the next class one publisher has promised to forward the statement in a few days; one has complied with the Secretary’s request, and in the remaining case the letter of demand has only just been written. There are three cases for cancellation of agree- ments. These not unfrequently arise under the following circumstances. ‘The publishers under an agreement to publish bring out books, and when there is no longer a demand for the work sell off the stock as “remainders.” The book may then be off the market for some years ; but the agree- ment for publication still exists between author and publisher, though there is no probability of its being of any monetary value to the publisher in future. The author, for sentimental reasons, very often desires the agreement cancelled so that he may regain all the rights in his property. It is extraordinary the difference that a publisher will place on the value of an agreement of this kind when he is buying, from when he is trying to sell. Sometimes it happens that the publisher offers the remainder of the book and the cancellation of the agreement to the author as a matter of courtesy at a reasonably low price, but if before the publisher has made the offer, it appears that the author is — desirous of purchasing, then the price is generally twice as large. Again, if the right to publish a — book which has been off the market under these conditions, is offered to a publisher, he will usually state that it is not worth his while to give anything for the licence, but if the author desires to purchase the rights from the publisher under the agreement, the price asked is exceedingly high. The publisher prefers to sit like the dog in the manger. This, however, is not always the case, as it occasionally happens that the publisher will make every effort to assist an author, and will give him every facility for recovering his rights. One of the County Court cases sanctioned by — the Chairman has been satisfactorily concluded. oe March Elections. Barrett-Hamilton, Capt. Kilmanock House, a G. E. ’ Arthurstown, Water- _ ford, Ireland. Rangoon, Burma. The Hollies, Egham, — Surrey. : Basevi, Capt. W. H. F. . Budgen, Miss . .  127, Beverley Road, Hull. 110, Musters Road, West Bridgford, Notts. Crum, W. E., Secretary of 33, Manchester Street, the Text and Transla- W. tion Society, Elliott-Drake, Lady Cohen, E. E. (Ellic Owen, Saville Street) Cooke, W. Bourne . Nutwell Court, Lymp- stone, Devon. Evans, T. Howell . . 31, Bridge Avenue Mansions, Hammer- smith, W. c/o Capt. Ivey, 45, Fergusen, Dugalf . Cassland Road, 8. Hackney Francis Claude de la _ 6, Glebe Place, Chelsea, Roche S.W. Gerrard, P. N. : Greenage, Sidney Parade, Dublin. 9, Trafalgar Buildings, Charing Cross, W.C. 18, Essendine Road, Elgin Avenue, W. 41, South Grove, High- gate. 16, Carlisle Mansions, Carlisle Place, 8.W. 13, Marlswick Terrace, St. Leonards-on-Sea. Inner Temple, E.C. 11, Neville Court, Abbey Road, N.W. 134, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury. Woodbridge, Suffolk. Wood Dalling, Nor- wich. Manor House, Totnes. Glen-Walker, Miss T. B. Macdonald, William ; Marriott, Mrs. Ransome, Stafford . Redpath, Miss Lucy Ryan, Hugh S. K. . . Shaw, Frederick G. : Stanway, Miss Kate Thonger, Charles . : Vicars, G. Rayleigh : Young, Miss F. E. . Four members do not desire the publication of their names or addresses. ————_1 <> _—— BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. —-——+ —_ (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) ART anp ARCHITECTURE. Pewter Puate. A Historical and Descriptive Hand- 114 X 7}, xxi. + 299 pp. book. By H.J. L.J. MAss&. Bell, 21s, n. THE AUTHOR. 171 GREAT MAsTERS SERIES. Parts VIII. and IX. With Descriptive Text by Str MARTIN ConwAy. Heinemann. 5s. net each part. FREDERIC LEIGHTON. illustrations (Little Books on Art). Methuen. 2s. 6d. n. BIOGRAPHY. Brownina. By HE. DoWDEN. 8 x 54, xvii. + 404 pp. By ALICE CORKRAN. With 38 6 X 44, 221 pp. ROBERT Biographies.) (The Temple Dent. 4s. 6d. n. DRAMA. A QueeEN’s Romance. A Version of Victor Hugo’s “ Ruy Blas.’? Written for Lewis Waller by J. DAVIDSON. 73 x 54, 111 pp. Grant Richards. 3s. 6d. n. BY ORDER OF THE Czar. A Drama in Five Acts. By JoseEepH Harron. 7% X54, 172 pp. Hutchinson. 2s. 6d. GouF PLAYS AND RECITATIONS. By R. ANDRE. 7 X 43, 127 pp. Everett. 1s. 6d. n. EDUCATIONAL. “THe Times’? COMPETITION. Answers of the first prize winner. 83 x 53. Published by L. ASHE, 17, Newburgh Road, Acton, W. FICTION. THE MAN FROM DOWNING Strent. By W. Le QUEUX. 73 X 5, 322 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s. OLD SHROPSHIRE Lire. By LADY CATHERINE MILNES GASKELL. 73 X 54, 308 pp. Lane. 6s. Room Five. By HamintoN DrumMonp. Illustrations by Cyrus Cones. 73 X 54,312 pp. Ward, Lock. 6s. A Krne’s Desrre. By Mrs. AYLMER GOWING. 7} X 5, 320 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE TRIUMPH OF Mrs. Sv. GeorGE. By Percy WHITE. 74 X 5,327 pp. Nash. 6s. THE Frence WIFE. By KATHARINE TYNAN. 309 pp. White. 6s. Strong Mac. By 8. R. CROCKETT. Ward, Lock. 6s. FACING THE Fururs, or The Parting of the Ways. By RoBert THYNNE. 72 x 51, 254 pp. TI. Fisher Unwin. 6s. THE BINDWEED.—By NELuiE K. BLISSETT. 73x 5, 330pp. Constable. 6s. Tue Evtwoops.—By C. 8. WELLES, M.D. Simpkin Marshall. 6s. Tue ONE Brrore.—By Barry PAIN. 7&x5, 231 pp. Grant Richards. 1s. n. wa (= X 9, 8 xX 51, 406 pp. 8 x 54, 346 pp. (New Edition.) HISTORY. FouNDATIONS OF MopERN EvRoPE.—Twelve Lectures Delivered in the University of London by EMI REICH. 81x51, 262 pp. Bell. 5s. n. LAW. THE CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT AS EXPRESSED IN GHARTERPARTIES AND BILLS oF LADING.—By T. E. Scrutron, K.C.,and F. D, MackINNon. Fifth edition, by T. E. Serutton. 846,430 pp. Clowes. 18s. LITERARY. THe ENGLISH DIALECT Dicrionary.—Kdited by JosEPH Wricut, Professor of Comparative Philology in the University of Oxford. Parts XIX. and XX., K—Sharp. Parts XXI.-XXIII., Sharpen—Syzzie (completing Volume V.). 129%, 896 pp. Frowde. 15s. n. and 30s. n. each part.  172 THE AUTHOR. NATURAL HISTORY. THs TWENTIETH CENTURY Doa.—(Non-Sporting.) By H.Compron. Vol. I. 84x 5$, 350 pp. Grant Richards, 7s. 6d. D. REPRINTS. ‘ we WoRKS OF CHARLES AND MARY LAMB.—Ed. by E.V. Lucas. Vol. IV. Dramatic Specimens and the Garrick Plays. 9x6, xviii. +643 pp. Methuen, 7s. 6d, CoRIDON’S SONG, and Other Verses from Various Sources. —(Ilustrated Pocket Classics.) With Introduction by Austin Dopson. 7X44, xxxi,+163 pp. Macmillan. 28. 1. SOCIOLOGY. THE COMMON SENSE OF MUNICIPAL TRADING.—By BERNARD SHAW. 74X5,120pp. Constable. 2s. 6d. TOPOGRAPHY. Juniper Hatui.—A Rendezvous of certain Illustrious Personages during the French Revolution, including Alexandre D’Arblay and Fanny Burney. By CONSTANCE Hrip. Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, 8]x6, 275 pp. Lane. 21s. n. THEOLOGY. Tue COVENANT COMMONLY CALLED THE OLD TESTA- MENT: Translated from THE SEPTUAGINT.—By C. THOMPSON. A New Edition by S.F.PELLs. ‘Two Vols. [Not paged.] 12s.n. HADES, the * Grave ’ in “ Hades,’’ or the “ Catacombs ’’ of the Bible and of Egypt. 190 pp. 82x53. Skeflington. 5s. n. : LoyALTY TO THE PRAYER-Book (Pamphlet).—By PERcY DEARMER, M.A., Vicar of St. Mary’s, Primrose-hill. Mowbray. 2d. TRAVEL. ADVENTURES ON THE Roor of THE WoRLD.—By Mrs: AUBREY LE BLOND (Mrs. Main). 9X6, xvi. +333 pp- Unwin. 10s. 6d. n. THE Japs AT HomE.—By DOUGLAS SLADEN. Edition.) 84X54, 220 pp. Newnes. 6d. (Cheap ——_—__+—_+____—- LITERARY AND DRAMATIC NOTES. — NEW novel by Mrs. Gertrude Atherton will be published shortly, by Messrs. Macmillan. Its title is “ The Rulers of Kings.” It isan historical romance in which real and imaginary personages figure. Among these real people are the Emperors of Germany and Austria. ‘The action centres round the Hungarian crisis. The heroine isan imaginary daughter of the Austrian Emperor. The hero is a brainy, ambitious American, who has inherited many millions. The same firm is to publish “ Fishing Holidays,” by Mr. Stephen Gwynn. In this volume the author relates his experiences when angling for trout and salmon from Donegal to Kerry. He also describes the scenery and people about the various lakes and rivers. ‘There are, too, a couple of papers on sea- fishing, and there is an essay on Izaak Walton’s recently discovered fishing bag. “Helen Mathers” has written a long novel entitled “The Ferryman.” It is to be published this autumn by Messrs. Methuen. She is now engaged on a serial story to be called “The Spitfire.” She is also producing “ Comin’ Thro’ the Rye,” in paper cover, 1s., and in cloth at 2s. ; and shortly afterwards a volume of essays, entitled “Side Shows,” is to be issued at 1s. and 2s., respectively. ‘‘ Bam Wildfire” and “ Dimples” are also to be put into cloth covers at 2s. Mr. R. F. Gould’s “ Concise History of Free- masonry” is just out. The publishers are Messrs. Gale and Polden, London and Aldershot, and the Macoy Publishing Company, New York. Mr. Blundell Burton’s new story, “A Dead Reckoning,” will be published at once by F. V. White & Co., Ltd. It will belong to the class of ‘* Novels of To-day,” which the author has of late alternated with his romances, and will deal with the misery of a woman of good position, who is suffer- ing for amistake made in her girlhood. Messrs. Chatto & Windus announce a new novel by Mrs. F'. E. Penny, the authoress of “ A Mixed Marriage” and other Indian stories. It is called “The Sanyasi.” It deals with phases of Anglo- Indian and native life in the south of India, not hitherto dealt with in fiction. “‘Rita’s’? new book is entitled ‘“‘ The Masquer- aders.” It will be published early in the spring by Messrs. Hutchinson. ‘“ Rita’s” book on “ The Sin and Scandal of the Smart Set” has gone into a fourth edition. This authoress has a_ serial running in Chic. Itis called “ The Silent Woman.” Mr. M. H. Spielmann’s ‘The Magazine of Art ” for March contains, anong other articles, some recollections of Jean Léon Géréme by the Editor. “How to Draw in Pen and Ink”—a few hints to special artists written and illustrated by Harry Furniss, and Part I. of a “Symposium on L’Art Nouveau: What it is and what is thought of it.” The Magazine of Art volume for 1903 is now ready. Its priceis £1 ls. Among the novels most in demand during the past few weeks we note Mr. Max Pemberton’s “Red Morn”; Mr. Eden Phillpott’s “American Prisoner”; Mr. Halliwell Sutcliffe’s ‘‘ Through Sorrow’s Gates”; Mr. Frankfort Moore’s ‘ Ship- mates in Sunshine”; Mr. F. M. Crawford’s “ Heart of Rome”; and Mr. H. Rider Haggard’s “ Stella Fregelius.” Mr. Arthur Sykes has just published “Mr. Punch’s Museum ; and other Matters.” Bradbury, Agnew& Co. are the publishers. Its price is 3. 6d. Mr, Sykes is the author of “A Book of Words” (verses and sketches from Punch, etc.),and “ Without Permission ” (from Punch, etc). : ae  ed Daa AB THER AUTHOR. Shelley's “ Adonais,” edited with introduction and notes by Mr. William Michael Rossetti, hasrecently been issued by the Clarendon Press. It is a new edition, revised with the assistance of A. O. Prickard, M.A., Fellow of New College, Oxford. ‘The Padre” is the title of a novel by Rose Harrison, authoress of “ Esther Alington.” It is an illustrated story, published by Richard R. James. “On the Wings of the Wind” is the title of Allan Raine’s new novel. Messrs. Hutchinson and Oo. are the publishers. Professor Flinders Petrie’s new book, ‘‘ Methods and Aims in Archeology,” is intended primarily for working archeologists, and the whole field of archeological labour is covered by the Professor in this volume of some two hundred pages. He deals with such points as the management of labourers and arrangement of work, recording in the field, and the copying, photographing, pre- servation, and packing of objects. There are illustrations reproduced from photographs. The monument and window that is to be placed in Exeter Cathedral as a memorial to R. D. Blackmore, will be unveiled on April 26th. Mr. Eden Philpotts is to speak the eulogy of the famous Devonshire author, and in the May issue of 7'he Fortnightly Review will appear a lengthy article on “R. D. Blackmore and his work,” by Mr: James Baker, who has acted as Chairman of the Blackmore Memorial Committee. The pamphlet “ National Education to National Advancement,” that will shortly be published by Simpkin, Marshall and Co., is the development of an article written for The Times by Mr. James Baker, F.R.G.S., and embodies several suggestions not only for developing technical and agricultural work in the counties, but also for utilising the love of drill innate in all boys. The writer touches also upon the work in girls schools. Mr. Ricwarp Bacor’s new novel entitled “* Love’s Proxy” will be published on the 27th of this month, by Mr. Edward Arnold in England and Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., in the United States of America. Tue next (the twenty-sixth) Congress of the International Literary and Artistic Association will take place at Marseilles towards the end of September, 1904. Temple Bar for March contains a complete story by Miss M. L. Pendered. Miss Montgomery Campbell’s article on the “Armour of Schloss Ambras’” began in the February number of Zhe Connoisseur, and was concluded in the March number. A cheap edition of Mr. Barry Pain’s “ The One Before,” has been issued by Mr. Grant Richards. The same publisher has added Mr. Theodore 178 Watts - Dunton’s “Aylwin,” to the “ World’s Classics ” series. Mr. Richard Whiteings “ Yelloy Van” is now in a sixth edition. ee PARIS NOTES. —1—~<— + N the volume entitled “ Notes et Souvenirs de M. Thiers (1870—1873),” his sister-in-law, Mlle. Dosne, gives to the worldsome extremely interesting details which will be invaluable to future historians. It appears that M. Thiers did not write any Memoirs, but he was in the habit of jotting down notes about his more important undertakings. Mlle. Dosne had not intended to publish this volume at present, but on account of certain misrepresentations with regard to her brother-in-law’s actions she deemed it better to refute the statements by giving to the public the exact facts as written down by M. Thiers. The first part of the volume is taken up with an account of his diplomatic voyage in September, 1870. M. Thiers went first to England on the 12th September, but he has left no notes about his visit there. M. Jules Favre published an account of this mission to London in his Gowvernement de la Défense Nationale. M. Thiers begins with an account of his journey to Russia, leaving London on the 18th of Septem- ber. From St. Petersburg he goes to Vienna, and then to Florence, before returning to Paris. The second chapter of the book is taken up with the account of the interviews between M. Thiers and Bismarck to discuss the terms for an armistice, in October, 1870. The third chapter treats of the preliminaries for peace in 1871. The notes are very brief, but one can read between the lines all that it cost a man like Thiers to hold his own and to fight for his beloved country with the Iron Chancellor. The remaining part of the volume is composed of notes written by M. Thiers from the time he was elected President of the French Republic in February, 1871, until May, 1873, when he resigned office. In these pages we read of the great difficulties in the way of re-establishing order after so terrible a war, of reorganizing the army, and of paying off the enormous ransom for the territory. M. Thiers also explains his plans for the government of his country, and tells how he had hoped with the support of members of all parties to organize a Government strong enough to pre- serve France from the excesses of democracy. Much that has seemed complicated and incompre- hensible in the history of France during the three 174 years which followed the war of 1870 becomes clear when one has read the details noted down by the man who was in a position to know more about the workings of the political machinery than anyone else. There is also an appendix to the volume, giving the exact text of various documents quoted or bearing on the subjects treated. Among the new novels is “Le Chemin de la Gloire,” by Georges Ohnet. It is the story of a young musical composer, who, after his first great success, is lionized to such a degree that he drifts into society and neglects his art. The inevitable wealthy American girl swoops down on him and decides to marry him. He escapes to Venice, but with a yacht and plenty of money at command the American woman is not baffled. She and her family call upon him, invite him for a cruise with them, and before he realizes all that is happening, he has proved himself faithless to the actress whom he really loves, and for whom he has written his opera, and has married the brilliant heiress from the New World. As time goes on the musician discovers that he has made a huge mistake. The atmosphere of his new home stifles him, and the ractical ideas of his charming wife make him shudder. Considering the circumstances the dénouement is the only one possible. There is more psychology in this novel than in most of those by the same author. The characters are delicately drawn and are very true to life, without a touch of exaggeration. “Le Secrétaire de Madame la Duchesse,” by Léon de Tinseau, is a charming story, and one which would certainly be appreciated in England, as it has the indispensable “happy énding.” Philippe Hurault obtains a post as secretary to the Duchess of Clerval and leaves his mother and Jiancée in order to make his fortune at the Clerval Chateau. He is soon a great favourite in his new home and is treated almost like one of the family. The plot is a very slight one, and the chief interest of the story is the psychological study of Philippe. He finds himself in an entirely new world, and when the chateau is filled with a large house-party he soon falls a victim to the fascinations of a certain society woman, who imagines that she has lost her heart to the handsome secretary. All the characters are well drawn, but unfortunately the story is told by means of letters from the various persons, and these letters scarcely vary enough in style to be convincing. In spite of this the novel is very readable and thoroughly interesting. “L’Empire de la Méditerranée,” by M. René Pinon, treats of “ l'état politique et social du Maroc, la question marocaine, l’affaire de Figuig, la con- quéte du Touat, la Tripolitaine, Bizerte, Malte, Gibraltar.” There is also an important article on THE AUTHOR. ‘“‘1’Entente Franco-Italienne.” It isan invaluable book for politicians and historians. Among the new books are ‘‘ Un petit coin du monde,” by Jules Perrin; “La Commune,” by Paul and Victor Margueritte; “Le Droit des Vierges,” by M. Paul Hyacinthe Loyson; “La Politique protectioniste en Angleterre,’ by G. Blondel ; ‘‘ Le Pére Didon,” by Stanislas Reynaud ; “La Politique Franco-Anglaise et L’Arbitrage International,” by M. Gabriel Louis Jarais, with preface by M. G. Hanotaux ; “La Guerre Com- merciale,” by M. Maurice Schwob ; “ L’Apprentie,”’ by M. Gustave Geffroy ; “ Le Docteur Haramburg,” by J. H. Rosny; and “ Au Japon,” by M. de Guerville. In the Nouvelle Revue there is a curious article by Jules Bois on “Les Professeurs de Volonté.” It is in reality a chapter taken from “ Le Miracle Moderne,” a book which is to be published shortly. In this article M. Jules Bois speaks of Dr. Lié- beault, who died recently at Nancy. He had made a special study of hypnotism and was the first doctor to apply it professionally. It appears that when Dr. Liébeault had made a sufficient income to enable him to retire, he gave his time to the study of this subject and treated his patients gratuitously. M. Jules Bois maintains that his name should be honoured as the pioneer of medical hypnotism, and that it should be remembered that Dr. Liébeault preceded Dr. Charcot. In the second March number of La Grande Revue, M. Gaston Deschamps gives his experiences in America under the title of “Au Seuil du Nou- veau Monde.” ‘There is also an interesting article by M. E. Sémenoff ; “Le Role mondial du Japon prédit par un Grand Ecrivain Russe.” M. Frantz Funck Brentano writes “ L’Aigle et l’Aiglon.” M. Calmettes gives some details about hand-made laces, “ Dentelles et Dentelliéres,” and M. Romme an article on “Les Idées de M. Behring.” In the second March number of the Revue de Paris there is an instructive article by Colonel de Grandprey on ‘Les Armées de la Chine,” and another one by M. Contenson on “ L’Evolution de la Propriété rurale.” In the Revue des Deua Mondes there is a rather sensational article entitled “ Les Derniers Jours de Léon XIII. et le Conclave de 1903 par un Témoin.” M. Gaston Cadoux writes on “L’EKclairage Paris, Londres et Berlin” and M. Pierre Leroy- Beaulieu “Le Japon et ses Ressources dans la Guerre Actuelle.” There is also an article on “T/Exposition des Primitifs Francais,” by M. Bouchot. The bold venture of M. Blés to establish in Paris a critical review in English and French  THE AUTHOR. 175 appears to have supplied a need. One of the most important French papers announces that “la nou- yelle revue Franco-Anglaise, Zhe Weekly Critical Review, a pris définitivement rang parmi les publi- cations artistiques les plus estimées.” Members of the Bacon Society might be inte- rested in an article which appeared in the Revwe des Iilées No.1. It is by M. Remy de Gourmont, and is entitled “Francois Bacon et Joseph de Maistre.” In speaking of the “ Examen de la Philosophie de Bacon” by de Maistre, M. de Gourmont tells us that “le cerveau de Joseph de Maistre est une forge qui, au lieu de dévorer les statues de bronze qu’on y jette, les rend intactes et plus belles, purifies de toutes souillures, de toutes tares, de toutes rugosités.” In the same number there is an article on Herbert Spencer. Several of the plays this season are having long runs. Madame Sarah Bernhardt has scored an immense success with “ La Sorciére.” She plays her réle to perfection, and in one or two instances there are touches of pathos which are unsurpassed in any pieces she has ever put on the stage. “Le Retour de Jérusalem” is another of the plays which has been given more than a hundred times. “La Dette,’ by MM. Gavault and Georges Berr, has been bought for Italy and Germany. Miss Marbury has also bought it for America. M. Porel has lost his case against Madame Réjane. He had applied to the Court for an injunction forbidding her to play “La Mon- tansier” at the theatre to which she has emigrated, on the plea that this piece was accepted for the Vaudeville theatre. M. Porel maintained that his wife could not appear in this play without his consent. The Court has decided against him, and Madame Reéjane is triumphant. Miss Lindsay, who made her début some little time ago at the Paris Opéra with such success, has now been entrusted with the ré/e of Juliette. M. Bour has discovered another play, ‘“ Les Pantins,” in which he appears to be having as much success as in the famous “ Alleluia,” which made his name. This new piece treats of an unsuccessful comedian and his poverty and domestic troubles. In the last act, while his child is dying in one room, the wretched man is endeavouring to learn his new réle. His troubles are, however, too much for him, and he loses his reason. It is in this scene that M. Bour is at his best. A scheme is now being discussed by a group of authors who prefer editing and publishing their books themselves. It is proposed to found a Librairie Associée des Gens de Lettres as a depdt for volumes on sale. There are to he only twenty- five members, and each member is to pay a sum of 400 francs for the first year to the company. Every member will then have the right to place two works in the depot, the number of copies not to be limited. The profits of other books sold by the company are to be shared by the members. The other books would be those placed with the com- pany by non-members. A committee meeting is to be held shortly in order to discuss the subject. ALys HALLARD. a a a rs UNITED STATES NOTES. ————— + | AM inclined to consider as the most important event that has taken place duving the present year in the American literary world the publication of Professor N. 8. Shaler’s dramatic romance “Elizabeth of England.” Even if it amounts to no more than a considerable tour de force it shows, at least, that poetry is alive on this ‘side the Atlantic. The professor is a geologist ; and he set out to show the world that whatever may have happened to Darwin, there is no reason in the nature of things why devotion to science should kill the literary sense. I believe that it is agreed by those who have read this rather amazing work that it is a successful demonstration of this contention. The “dramatic romance,” which is issued by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., is then to be regarded rather in the light of an experiment than considered on too severely critical grounds. It is divided into five parts, named respectively “The Coronation,” “The Rival Queens,” “Armada Days,” “ The Death of Essex,” and “The Passing of the Queen.” The greatly daring romancist not only deals forcefully with these themes in some fifteen thousand lines of blank verse, but makes the Virgin Queen discourse with Shakespeare and bandy philosophy with Bacon. A spring book which is sure of a wide circulation is Francis E. Leupp’s “'The Man Roosevelt.” The author has known the president for more than twenty years, both as private individual and public man, and has been in a position to record things yet unknown to history. Meanwhile the New York Critic has been exploiting Mr. Roosevelt for its own purposes. It has induced him to contribute to its columns an article upon the Republican party ; and it offers sets of his works at a considerable reduc- tion as a bait to catch subscribers. This is great honour for a literary President. On the other hand, the “ Review” has to bewail the loss of a prospective contributor in the person of 176 Mr. Jack London, who has gone to the Far East as a war correspondent. The author of “The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come,” has also gone out to write articles for Seribner’s Magazine. Before commenting further on books and literary happenings of the present year, I ought to repair an omission from my last notes. I should have included in my references to biographical publica- tions the very readable “ Reminiscences of an Astronomer”? which Professor Newcomb gave to the world last autumn. The book has a double yalue—it is both scientific and human; and it should by no means be overlooked. The fine reprint of Father Hennepin’s “ New Discovery of a Vast Country in America,” which has been so ably edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites, makes a strong appeal to everyone interested in early American history. The editor holds the vivacious Franciscan himself responsible for the borrowings from other sources with which his work was enriched, and does not allow the plea that a publisher hath done this. A much discussed recent publication is Senator Beyeridge’s book upon Asiatic Russia. In spite of the Slavophile proclivities of its author and its very decided deficiencies as a piece of writing, “The Russian Advance” deserves serious consider- ation on account of the large quantity of informa- tion, collected at first-hand, which it contains, and the real grasp of the subject which it shows. There is a chapter upon Japan. Sculpture has been the department of art in which Americans have chiefly excelled. It is, therefore, highly satisfactory that American sculpture should have found so competent a historian as Mr. Lorado Taft, and so critical an admirer as Mr. Charles H. Caffin. The treatises of the two authors supplement each other, and together cover the whole field. “ The History of American Art” by Sadakichi (?) Hartmann, on the contrary, excels neither in critical discernment nor chasteness of diction. Rather off the lines of conventional biography is Mrs. Talbot’s life of her father, General Samuel Chapman Armstrong. Armstrong did brilliant work for the North at Gettysburg, but his title to fame is the great educational work which he carried on after the war at Hampton, where he trained Indians side by side with his negroes. The “Life and Letters of Margaret Preston,” edited by her step-daughter, is also rather a remarkable work. It gives a picture of the women of the South during the Civil War, from the pen of one who, though the wife of one of Jackson’s staff, was the daughter of an abolitionist and had come from the North. A writer of stirring war songs, Mrs. Preston numbered among THE AUTHOR. her correspondents Longfellow, Whittier, and Jean Ingelow. Perhaps the most notable novel that I should mention here is Philip Payne’s political study, «The Mills of Man,” which shows considerable skill in characterisation and no slight constructive power. Chicago is the scene of action and a millionaire uncle plays a dominant part in it. Another story to be read is Mary Findlater’s «The Rose of Joy,” a nicely balanced study of incompatible temperaments and many happily hit- off minor characters. Bridge is supplanting fictions in some circles, and its players have to be catered for. One publishing house alone advertises three books upon the game, one of which, “Sixty Bridge Hands,” purports to be exhaustive! However, there is still for the elect Messrs. Scribner’s manual, ‘ Elwell on Advanced Bridge.” By the way, the last-named firm has been incor- porated. Among spring announcements of theirs are new novels by Thomas Nelson Page and Mrs. Wharton, and a tale with the strange title of “Peace and the Vices.” The Lothrop Company found it advisable to make an assignment in February, but their affairs are well in hand and they have plenty of prospective business. The Madison Book Company have become Reilly and Britton, incorporated. From April 1st juvenile books are to be classed with fiction and sold at net prices. Some dis- cussion has been going on as to the working of the net system, it being maintained in some quarters that the publishers are not working it fairly. The excessive output of fiction has also been debated. That there is a superfluity is actually admitted by a few houses, who confess that the staple of their business is really literature of a solider type ; but even these are sanguine that there is a real advance in the standard demanded by readers of every class of publication. A copyright treaty between the United States and China was signed in the autumn of last year, ratifications were exchanged on January 13, 1904. Mark Twain and Mr. Marion Crawford are each writing new novels, and Mr. Lorimer is losing no time in following up the success of the Letters of his Self-made Merchant. The chief names in my obituary list are those of George Francis Train, a prolific author who had tried numerous other trades before he took tohis pen ; Professor Von Holst, of Chicago, a Russian refugee, who wrote monographs on the constitutional history and law of his adopted country, besides lives of Calhoun and John Brown; and Parke Godwin, the son-in-law and biographer of Bryant. His last work was a study of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. ,,\"* woe  LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL PROPERTY. ee Sweden and the Berne Convention. From tHe “Svenska Daq@BLaD.” Tur Swedish Parliament has again lying before it the question of certain alterations in the national laws concerning copyrights, since those now in force prevent Sweden’s adhesion to the inter- national agreements which are to a certain extent already in force in the country, or, more plainly, her adhesion to the union known as the Berne Conven- tion. The subject has been so frequently discussed in these columns that we may on this occasion limit ourselves to a few remarks, which we are urged to make by the fact that the business stands to-day on the list for discussion. It is His Majesty the King who now suggests, in terms of a proposal which has been already described, an alteration of sections 3 and 14 of the law regarding literary copyright. The altera- tion of the former of the above-mentioned sections would have the result that the present protection of works from translation, which is of two years’ duration, would be extended to ten years ; whilst it is proposed to give the latter section such a form that the author’s or translator’s rights in transla- tions, adaptations, etc., should have a duration of the author’s life and thirty years afterwards, instead of extending only to the authov’s life and five years afterwards, as now. The former modification would remove the difficulty of Sweden’s joining the Berne Conven- tion on the terms of the original text, and is, therefore, the one concerning which opinions are most likely to be divided. The legal committee has moved the Royal pro- posal, and further, on the ground of motions made by Messrs. Hammarlund and Luidhagen, has invited the Parliament to request that His Majesty, going far beyond a mere declaration of Sweden’s adhesion to the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, founded by the Berne Convention, and also entering into other agreements with foreign powers involving reciprocal protection for literary and artistic property, should at the same time make such limitations that the aforesaid adhesion or agree- ments should not restrict Swedish citizens from acquiring legal rights, nor place any legal restric- tion upon the continuance of their right to obtain for their purposes the use of stereotypes, clichés, lithographic stones, and plates of all other kinds, as well as other means of reproduction which may be lawfully used. In the meanwhile Messrs. Walderstrém and (). Olsson, of the legal committee, have expressed THE AUTHOR. 177 reservations opposed to this, and have submitted a protest against the Royal proposal. As everyone who takes any interest in these questions may easily observe the objections to joining the Convention, objections grounded on purely interested motives (which are still the fashion with some few people in Sweden), have to a great extent given way before a continually clearer and clearer perception, that we have really in the first place to deal with a question of the probity or improbity of the nature of the labour which the author’s production represents. Were both the publishing firms and the publishers’ societies fully assured of legal difficulties about to arise for the publishers and journals of Sweden in consequence of adhesion to the Berne Convention, still adhesion to it would be suggested by a certain sense of national shame, that after both Norway and Denmark had shown themselves ready to regu- late a legal protection of literary rights in their dominions, still Sweden should remain without any corresponding enactments, and tolerate instead what is as good as an unlimited piracy. But we look in vain for a trace of any such shame in the reservationists. The only reason, in the view of the reservationists, prompting adhesion to the Berne Convention is ‘‘ an extremely dubious, and at the best comparatively insignificant economic advantage to be gained by a trivial number of authors”; after which it is no wonder to find that “the right of free translation” is preferable. In the meantime it is to be hoped that the Parliament will show itself to be more amenable to points of honour, which amongst those principally interested has shown itself to possess sufficient authority to overcome no inconsiderable hesitation based upon their own interests. As regards authors, both motions conduce to the same results. The reservationists have certainly aimed at causing the majority of authors to find it to their interest that the present state of things should continue ; but the result is that anyone who has been expecting anything from Parliament will have reason to rely rather upon the assistance of the Swedish Society of Authors than upon the reservationists. See Literary Competitions. DRAWING Room Puay. £10 PRIZE. Ar a concert or an evening party at home a short Play forms an agreeable variation from the usual programme, The great difficulty, however, is to get a piece within the capabilities of ordinary amateur performers, not too long, that does not require anything in the way of scenery and stage effects. By way of supplying this “felt want” we offer a Prize of £10 for the best Original Short Play suited to the following requirements, The length, including dialogue, 178 stage directions, etc., should not exceed 5,000 words. The characters must not exceed six in number. The scenery and stage effects must be such as can easily be provided in a drawing room or small hall. The dialogue must be simple and natural, and both it and the scenes and incidents must be in accordance with the strictest good taste. ; Simple stage directions should be given, and the dresses to be worn by the various characters should be described in cases where something different from ordinary costume is required. What is wanted is something after the style of a “curtain raiser” —a piece embodying an incident rather than an elaborate story. The terms of the competition set forth above have been taken from a North Country paper. It has from time to time been the duty of 7’he Author to point out the difficulties that may arise to those who enter these competitions owing to the want of finality in the terms propounded. We have no reason to raise objection to this method of obtaining copy to a certain extent—no doubt, it acts as a stimulus to young writers— but it is especially needful to bear in mind that on many occasions the contracts are indefinite in terms, and this lack of clear legal draftsmanship may possibly lead to disputes and confusion when the prize is awarded. The paper from which the cutting is taken offers a prize of £10 for the best original play written according to the published requirements. What does the proprietor desire to purchase ? Does he desire to purchase anything? Does he simply wish to crown the author who wins the prize with a £10 note, or does he desire to obtain the copyright, or the performing right, or both, or does he merely desire to have the right to print the play in his own paper? It is impossible to determine from the wording of the notice what is in the proprietor’s mind. It is equally impossible to determine what is in the mind of the competitors when they forward their deathless works. If a prize is given at a cattle show for the finest animal of a certain breed, the authorities who have promoted the show do not claim the animal as their own. They do not even claim the use of it. It may be, however, as we have suggested, that the proprietor merely desires to give the winner of the competition the sum of £10, but from our knowledge of these competitions, as a general rule, more than this is required. Some- times it is simply desired to print the prize competition in the paper. Sometimes, as sug- gested, for the proprietor to obtain the whole copyright. These matters should be clearly set out. If they are not clearly set out, competitors should be warned not to send in their MSS. until they have obtained a definite form of contract. We understand that one competitor who wrote to the proprietor was assured that he did not THE AUTHOR. claim the copyright. This is so far satisfactory, but still, what did he want to claim ? This special offer may be, and no doubt is, bond fide in purpose. It has been quoted in order that the attention of members of the Society might be called to the difficulties and snares that are constantly recurring. 0 LEGAL NOTES. Sees _Authors’ Royalties and the Sale of Remainders. : HE action of Farmer v. Grant Richards, tried by Judge Woodfall at the Westminster County Court on February 26th, involved questions of law and fact of considerable interest to authors, and the history of the case showed that other questions of a similar character might have been dealt with in connection with it, as to which His Honour was not called upon to give a decision. The plaintiff, an author, sued the defen- dant, a publisher, for royalties under an agreement for the publishing of a book. The publisher had agreed to pay a royalty upon copies of the book sold, and the retail price was stated. There was no provision for any sale at any other price by the publisher than such trade price as this might imply. The publisher had, however, sold off a large number of copies asa “‘ remainder.” The author claimed his full royalty upon each copy so sold. The publisher offered a percentage, but denied, apparently, that even this was due. Evidence was given by the defendant and another publisher with a view to establishing that the latter was justified by custom in acting as he did in all particulars, that the agreement as to a royalty did not apply to copies sold as a “remainder,” and that either little or nothing was due to the author upon such a sale. The judge did not decide the questions of fact as to the custom, which obviously should not be decided by any tribunal without ample evidence establish- ing a custom known and recognised by authors and publishers alike. As to this he said in his judgment :— “JI should be very sorry if it were necessary for me to determine this alleged custom in the publishing trade on the evidence which is before me, because to me it is a custom fraught with such extremely important conse- quences both to the publishing trade and to authors, that if I had to determine this case upon the alleged custom of remainders, I should feel it was determining it upon wholly insufficient evidence, but I do not think it is necessary to determine it.” His Honour continued :— “The plaintiff's claim is for royalties in respect of 786 copies. Therefore what I have to do is to look at the agreement whereby the defendant agreed to pay him  royalties, and then to see whether the sale of these 786 copies comes within the four corners of that agreement. _. . It is impossible to come to any other conclusion than this, that the royalty was to be paid upon copies which were sold at 10s. 6d. and to say that the parties have agreed that royalty should be paid in respect of the copies sold under the circumstances under which these 786 copies were sold seems to me a perfectly untenable contention. It may very well be that the plaintiff has an action against the defendant for damages. but I am quite confident that he has no ground whatever to claim royalties in respect of these 786 copies . . . on the construction of the agree- ment made between them as to royalties, Isay the plaintiff is not entitled to royalties.” In a discussion which followed judgment, His Honour said, “JT tell you candidly your action should be one for damages for selling these books in breach of an agreement.” Judgment was given for the defendant with costs, and in the subsequent discussion referred to, doubt was expressed as to how far an appeal would lie against the decision. It was one apparently of mixed fact and law, but as it mainly turned upon the correct construction to be put upon the agree- ment between the parties, there can be little doubt that the Divisional Court would have had jurisdic- tion to hear an appeal had one been brought. I am informed that none is to be attempted, which is a matter for regret, as although the defendant may not have contemplated paying royalties on the “ yemainder,” it would have been interesting to see whether a Divisional Court would have held that he nevertheless bound himself by the terms of his agreement to do so. The sale of the “remainder” of the copies of a book after its general sale is believed to be over is not an un- common incident of publishing, and in consequence of this it is not unusual to find a clause regulating the conditions of such sale in an agreement. When this has been omitted the publisher, if he desires to sell, usually negotiates with the author before doing so. At all events, it is open for him to do so, and if he does this the author has the oppor- tunity of discussing whether the necessity for such sale has arisen. If the publisher does not so nego- tiate, but sells instead, presumably for his own benefit, is he not bound by any form of words in which he has promised to pay a royalty to the author upon copies of the author's work sold by him ? This is the question which His Honour Judge Woodfall appears to have decided against the author and in favour of the publisher, and whether it is assumed that his decision is correct, or not, it is one which other Judges may give in similar circumstances, and against the possibility of which authors in their own interests can protect them- selves. In other words, the questions whether the author is to receive his royalty upon remainders as upon other copies of the book, or whether he is to be paid at some other rate in respect of them, and THE AUTHOR. 179 if so at what rate, or whether he is not to be paid for remainders at all, are matters for which every publishing agreement should specifically provide. There can be no reason why it should not do so, and the introduction of a clause dealing definitely with the matter, or even the attempt to introduce one, will call the attention of both parties to it. Should such a clause be discussed, the author would be very likely to protest against a stipula- tion that upon copies sold as a “remainder” he was to receive nothing. As to this there was evidence at the hearing of Marmer v. Grant Richards, given by Mr.Grant Richards himself, that he allowed. 5 per cent. upon such sales, so that he presumably would not object to inserting a condition to that effect in his agreements. Mr. Heinemann, however, gave evidence that his own custom was to allow the author nothing upon such occasions. He is therefore an instance of a publisher, who, if asked to insert such a condition, would decline to do so, and if sued for even 5 per cent. upon the product of a remainder would dispute the claim, and it is hardly necessary to point out that an action in such a case, with conflicting evidence as to trade custom would be, whatever its issue, unproductive of any substantial benefit to either party. On the other hand, if the author endeavoured to get inserted into his agreement a covenant to pay the full rovalty on all surplus copies sold, he would in my opinion, be extremely likely to meet with refusal. In any case, however, the matter would be arranged beforehand, and an opportunity for future litigation would be avoided. Anagreement with regard to the sale of remainders should define the circumstances in which they are to be sold, whether at the end of a given time or other- wise, and it must be pointed out that with some books not expected to have an ephemeral sale only, it may be important to guard against any such sale taking place at all. It also seems fair that an author should stipulate for notice of such a sale being given to him, because he may like to buy in his own books so as to deal with them afterwards himself. The publisher can hardly refuse such a condition, as it is to his own interest that the price should be enhanced as it might be in such circumstances. The proviso that the author should have the option of buying at a fixed price is also possible. All these con- ditions pre-suppose to some extent that the pub- lisher is an honest man who will push the sale while it is possible to do so, but the price of a remainder is not likely to tempt the dishonest to neglect to sell at the full rate as long as it is possible to do so, even at some cost in advertising, and a publisher not carrying out his contract lays himself open to an action like any other man. Tt will be observed that the Judge at the Westminster 180 County Court repeatedly pointed out the other form in which Mr. Farmer’s case might have been presented. He meant that had the action been brought for damages sustained by the plaintiff through a breach of his agreement, and had it been proved that the agreement was so broken, the plaintiff would have been entitled to compensation in the form of damages, although he was not entitled to it in the form of royalties. In such an action it would have been necessary to prove that the agreement was not carried out by the publisher, and that the sale of the remainder was in violation of it. Any action fought out upon facts calculated to test the relative rights of publishers and author, to determine, what is reasonable fulfilment of the duty of a publisher bound by an agreement not specific upon every point, is no doubt of interest to writers and pub- lishers alike. It is, however, better to provide as far as possible for the usual risks and contingencies of book publishing beforehand. In order to do this some knowledge of those risks is necessary, and it is, I believe, in order to provide that knowledge that the Society of Authors offers its advice and the fruits of its experience to its members. i. A. ARMSTRONG. + Il. What Constitutes Acceptance? Art the City of London Court on March Ist, the writer of an article, sent unsolicited to the Sportsman, sued for payment, on the ground that it had been accepted for publication. His evidence with regard to this appears to have been that he was told by the editor, or by some one representing him, that the article was “‘ reserved for use.” This does not seem to have been dis- puted, but whether it was or not, Judge Lumley Smith held that the words “reserved for use” did not necessarily mean that the article was accepted, and he gave judgment for the defendants. This decision, that the defendant did not accept, or in other words, did not agree to print and publish the article, is one of fact, and therefore, presumably, there will be no appeal in the case. As a decision of fact, upon the story as it was reported in the Daily Chronicle of March 2nd, it is open to criticism. “‘ Reserved for consideration” is a phrase which might have been used, which would have been perfectly understood, and which would have given the author an opportunity for saying that he desired a more definite decision at once, had he been inclined to take such a course. “Reserved for use’? would to most persons have a different meaning. An Editor “uses” an article when he publishes it, and “reserved for publica- THB AUTHOR. tion” could hardly mean less than that the editor intended to publish the article and promised to do so, although the word “reserved” might imply that the publication would not be immediate, but would take place within a reasonable time at the editor’s convenience. Ifthe judge was really satisfied that the words “reserved for use” were either spoken or written by the editor or by some one having a right to make a contract on behalf of the paper, it seems a little difficult to account for the interpretation which he put upon a tolerably clear and not uncommon English phrase. He seems, however, to some extent to have been influenced by recollection of a past decision of his own which he appears to have regretted, and which he hinted he would not now repeat in similar circumstances. In giving judgment he alluded to a similar case in which he gave a verdict for the plaintiff, but in which the article appeared in print, and he added, according to the report in the Daily Chronicle, that he had since been “ told by literary men that many contributions were so illegible that they- had to be set up in print to see if they were worth using.” The past decision to which Judge Lumley Smith referred was evidently that in Jlacdonald v. The National Review, tried by him when judge of the Westminster County Court in 1893, of which a full account is to be found in The Author for June of that year. Many will remember it, because it excited a good deal of criticism at the time, and the Society of Authors was commended by some and blamed by the Saturday Review and others for the part which it took in obtaining the decision given. The ques- tion at issue, put in its shortest form, was whether the sending of a proof of an unsolicited article to the author constituted acceptance by the editor and bound him to pay for the article. In dac- donald v. The National Review delay on the part of the editor in publishing the article had caused remonstrance by the author, and the editor had claimed the right to return the article in conse- quence. The decision of the judge that the sending of the proof constituted acceptance of the article, commended itself to most authors, and was not dissented from by all editors, and if Judge Lumley Smith has altered his opinion for the reason quoted above he has done so upon grounds which scarcely seem to be adequate. It was pointed out in Zhe Author of June, 1893, p- 15, that “if the proof does not mean acceptance it would cost the editor nothing more than a printed slip to say so.” A printed slip equally would inform the author that the editor finding his article illegible in manuscript had had it set up in order to see whether it was readable in print. It is not necessary to discuss whether any such practice on the part of editors, accompanied by  the sending of proofs to the authors, exists to an appreciable extent. The point upon which emphasis is laid, is that if such a thing is done, the author can and should be informed of the editor’s intention, and all cause for future misunderstanding thereby removed. The object in sending a proof upon such an oceasion would be to make sure that the printer had been able to decipher the article, before the editor had the trouble of reading it, not the correction of the article as a preliminary to publi- cation. It is hardly unreasonable, however, to suggest that a proof is usually sent to an author that he may correct it for publication. The corrections which he makes, whether they may alter the article (perhaps so as to bring it up to date), or may simply set right printers’ errors, are scarcely needed in order to aid the editor in forming an opinion upon its merits. They are, beyond dispute, desirable if it is going to be published, and it is because it is going to be published, and at the time when it is going to be published, that the editor in most cases sends the proof to the author. It may be very convenient for an editor to read an article in print, to reserve it without binding himself to use it, to have it as corrected by the author ready to hand in case it may be needed in an emergency, but the author has a right to understand and to assent to or dissent from such a course of business. Equally the editor who should intimate to the author that he was retaining an article without definitely accepting it, would be entitled to a prompt acceptance or refusal of his conditions. —_—_____—_e—<—e-—_—— AUTHORS’ AGENTS. 1 rWVHE methods of the Author’s Agent are of [ growing importance to all those who live by the production of literary property. There are many who consider that they have only to put their work into the hands of an agent in order to obtain a literary success, or at any rate, a large increase in their incomes. These, after the lapse of a year, often give up the employment of an agent as they find no increased benefit from his assistance. There are many, again—especially those whose incomes from their literary works run to four figures—who derive no small benefit from an agent’s help. For these the agent works with untiring zeal, as the work is not difficult to place, and the returns are large. ‘There are those, again, who are hopelessly unbusinesslike. For these an agent is essential whether the author’s returns are large or not. To the beginner, as a rule, the agent is of very THE AUTHOR. 181 little use. The author’s marketable output is so small that it does not pay the agent to make any considerable effort. ‘To the author who is aiso a man of business, unless he can make an arrange- ment at a considerably lower figure than the usual 10 per cent., the agent is again of very little use. The only people, therefore, to whom an agent is really essential are those writers with a medium or large output, who lack business capacity, and, in some cases, those writers with a large output who hold a reasonable contract ; but a reasonable contract is certainly not 10 per cent. on all income continuing while the copyright lasts. The figure of remuneration should be determined by arranging either for a lower percentage or 10 per cent. up to a fixed sum. The business of a literary agent is not run on philanthropic lines any more than that of a pub- lisher, and it is necessary therefore, and natural, for him to give more detailed attention and greater care to those who bring him in a large income, than to those whose output is small. But there are one or two important questions which call for remark, and one or two dangers to be avoided which, arising out of the employment of the middleman, fall outside the agent’s legitimate work. In many cases an editor, in order to avoid trouble, goes to an agent and says that he wants a story by a certain author for which he will pay a certain price. The agent, who has not the name of the author on his books, finds out his address and writes to him. ‘The author consents to the contract and the agent takes 10 per cent. from him, Surely, on this occasion, the agent is acting, not for the author, but for the editor, from whom his commission should come? The author is, no doubt, to blame, and could dispute the charge if he was fully cognisant of his legal posi- tion, but unfortunately he yields himself an easy prey to the persistent agent. Again, agents have been known to go round to editors and offer to obtain stories for them from authors whose names are not on their books— again with a beneficial result to the agent out of the author’s pocket. But it is the wrong person who pays. Some literary agents indeed clearly state that they are acting for publishers and editors. If this is the case they have no right to charge the author commission on work placed with one of the editors or publishers for whom they are acting. The point is becoming one of great, and grave importance, as there are signs that agents do not always keep the welfare of the author before them, but are inclined to play the publisher’s hand rather than the author's. The facts must be plainly stated, and some clear understanding must be arrived at. An agent 182 cannot act for both parties in a financial bargain. If he attempts to hold such an anomalous position, it is clear that one party must suffer. As a rule the sufferer is the author, who is much less capable of solving these financial difficulties than the editor or publisher. But in whatever way the bargain goes, the agent must be tarnished. This is no imaginary case, and matters are getting more serious as the competition amongst agents Increases. The second point arises where an agent purchases and sells literary work acting as principal. The commencement of this dangerous practice is in this wise. An agent is employed by an author whose works have more literary merit than public approval, and enters into a contract with a pub- lisher or editor on his behalf, under which payment is to be made at certain future dates. The author feels the grip of poverty. The agent, with com- mendable charity, provides the money at con- siderably more than the bank rate of interest. This method is then carried a step further, and the agent actually purchases copy outright, merely, of course, to oblige the author, and, waiting his opportunity, sells again to the publisher or editor at a figure which amply covers all risks, and is much more profitable than dealing at 10 per cent. Eventually he finds it better policy to interest himself in the rising author on this basis, and neglects the business of those who still desire to employ him as a bond fide agent on commission terms. Although the author acquiesces in the arrangement, he does so to the danger of his fellow craftsmen ; for this mixture of principal and agent is no less dangerous than the other practices referred to, and brings discredit on the middleman. There is a further point to be considered. An agent obtains an introduction for an author to an editor. Is the author bound to pay commission on any future work placed with the same editor ? Some agents claim that this is the case so long as the author is still employing them, even though the employment may be in other matters. Some go so far as to claim it even when the agency contract is at an end. There is, of course, the agent’s point of view—that it would be possible to find markets for an author, and it would be possible for the author to determine his arrangement with the agent as soon as he found that his markets were sufficiently numerous. But what is tobe said of the agent who, while continuing to carry on his business, abuses his employers in no measured terms, and is particular to remark that they must be kept out of the toils of the Authors’ Society. Tf he thinks so badly of his employers, he is no doubt anxious to avoid the toils of the Society for his contracts as well as his authors. By such a proclamation he, at any rate, throws his cards on THE AUTHOR. the table. If he is overcome with this feeling would it not have been wiser—to carry the simile further—that he held up his hand to the bitter end. This is positive aggression, but the negative pole is more difficult to deal with. In this case an agent, when an author comes to him, does not tell him to avoid the Society, but takes good care not to refer to it at all. When the author gets into legal difficulties, whether rising from the fault of his guide or from other reasons, instead of giving encouragement to his becoming one of the body of his fellow workers where he would get his legal difficulties set right free of cost, he takes him off to his own solicitor and avoids in this way “the toils of the Society.” But the unfortunate author has to meet the lawyer’s bill. In any case, there appears to be only one reason why an agent should not work in harmony with the Society, and also be an ardent supporter of it, and that is, that he does not care for a too careful inspection of his contracts and of his methods of dealing with the literary property of those who employ him. From the cases quoted above, it is quite clear that, on many occasions, there is very good reason, from the agent’s point of view, why the Authors’ Society should not be brought into consultation ; but other reasons arise why it is necessary that the author should keep a watchful eye over the negotiations, even when the agent is engaged in his legitimate business. To begin with, literary agents are not as a rule lawyers, and, therefore, are hardly competent to draw up a legal document or to advise the author on signing the same. This point has become apparent on reviewing a series of contracts which have been brought to the Society’s offices, unfortunately after signature and after accepting the agent’s advice. An agent has allowed an author to enter into half-profit agreements, and royalty agreements with exceedingly low royalties, and to bind him- self to the publisher for the next two books on the same terms. That the agent should pass an agreement for half profits and for low royalties might perhaps be excusable under exceptional circumstances, but that an agent should pass the two-book clause is absolutely and entirely inexcusable. Such action shows either a complete disregard of the author’s interest or an absolute ignorance of the _ agent’s own business, unless, absit omen, there are other and deeper reasons for the step. This rule must be laid down as absolute : Wo author should, in any circumstances, bind himself to a publisher for more than one book. Do not sign agreements containing the above condition, not even though the agent may stand  over you pen in hand and demand your signature, stating that he can do no more for you if you refuse to sign. Again, agreements made through an agent are frequently brought forward, which assign transla- tion rights, Continental rights, American rights, and even dramatic rights, to the publisher, and the author has to allow the publisher 50 per cent. if he succeeds in selling or getting rid of them. Now, it is not the publisher’s business but the agent’s to sell these rights. This has repeatedly been explained. In any case, the publisher is not entitled to 50 per cent. of the returns. Again, it is possible that such a case as the following might occur : An agent is exceedingly busy with the works of many authors. It is important that he should get some of them settled and off his hands at the earliest opportunity. Therefore, in a moment of carelessness he advises an author to accept such terms as will not be satisfactory in their result. This case, like the former, points to the fact that the author cannot be too careful about what agreement he enters into, whether such agree- ment is put before him directly by the publisher or by the publisher through his (the author’s) own agent. The mere question of the financial terms of an agreement is by no means the only one which should be looked into. Jn some cases the control of the property is even of more importance to the author than the financial question. In conclusion, therefore, it is evident that agents are not only in many cases incompetent to act as legal advisers, but that often they are wanting in a knowledge of their business as the confidential assistants of authors. Tf authors have any doubt about the document laid before them they should certainly consult the Society, even though the agent may see objec- tions, as he surely will, to their adopting this course. In this paper has been set forth the many difficulties and dangers that surround an author in his dealings with the literary agent, and the subject has been treated in full detail. It must not be thought, however, that there is no brighter side to the relations. Although the number of authors’ agents is increasing, they are still a small body. There are those who do not take up the work of a great many authors, but limit them- selves strictly to work which they can do thoroughly and satisfactorily. Accordingly those for whom they deal have to report nothing but pleasant intercourse and satisfactory negotiations. There are those again, whose work on behalf of a great many authors is painstaking and reliable, and THE AUTHOR. 183 the authors reap the benefit by an increased income and a larger market. The real per- fection of literary agency, however, is still to be desired. Perhaps the ideal literary agent would be one who for a fixed sum per annum, worked for a fair number of authors. Considerable work on this basis would be of the greatest benefit to those who employed him, and the least expense to the agent, as it would hardly be necessary for him under these circumstances to rent an office or employ a large staff of clerks. Again it must be stated that the matter is of serious import, and that authors should give careful consideration to the difficulties of their position. GH YF. + —o+—____——- THE MARCH MAGAZINE CONTENTS. ——+-—<— LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL. BLACKWOOD’s MAGAZINE. The Future of Public Taste in Literature : “ Musing Without Method.”’ CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Recollections of Renan. By Emily Crawford. Studies in Literary Psychology :—111. Carlyle and the Present Tense. By Vernon Lee. CORNHILL MAGAZINE. Herbert Spencer. By Hector Macpherson. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. “ A Defence of Play Reading.’’ By W. E. Hicks. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, Matthew Arnold as a Popular Poet. By W. A. Sibbald. TEMPLE BAR. Heine and Sir Walter Scott. By James H. Henderson. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Growing Distaste for the Higher Kinds of Poetry. By Alfred Austin. Collected Poems of Christina Rossetti. Hueffer. By Ford Madox THE MONTHLY REVIEW. Ainger Canon : A personal impression. Two Unpublished Poems by Crabbe. Hudson. By Edith Sichel. Edited by R. THE NATIONAL REVIEW. Is Fiction Deteriorating? By Miss Jane H. Findlater. Barly Recollections of Mr. Lecky. By A College Friend. Tue NINETEENTH CENTURY REVIEW, The Reorganization of the British Drama by the State. By Henry Arthur Jones. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. Mr. Creevy and his Contemporaries. The Homeric Question ? The Abbé Loisy. 184 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —1_—>— ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. ‘There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I, Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement), In this case the following rules should be attended to: C1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation, (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements, (3.) Not to allow a special charge for ‘‘ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong tothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. gg WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. age N “Seer sign an agreement without submitting it to the a Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. [t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills, (4.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gruss receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. <A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed, (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘lhey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative : that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ae 6 WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. eee, ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —_—___—_—_1+—>—_+_—_ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —— > i VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinarysolicitors. Therefore, do not seruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) ‘To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9, Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society ; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. THE READING BRANCH. = ——+ - EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this 3b branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, o> e NOTICES. 7 HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for Zhe Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, 8.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. ope Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. 1 The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. <> THE LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. 1 N offer has been made of a special scheme of Endowment and Whole Life Assurance, admitting of a material reduction off the ordinary premiums to members of the Society. Full information can be obtained from J. P. Blake, Legal and General Insurance Society (City Branch), 158, Leadenhall Street, H.C. THE AUTHOR: AUTHORITIES. — INCE the article translated from the Swedish paper came to the office special information has been received that the law has been passed under which Sweden will become a member of the Berne Convention. The Bill was passed in the First Chamber without the least opposition and in the Second Chamber by an overwhelming majority. This is satisfactory news, as the steady influx of members to the Convention makes the isolated case of those outside itstill more conspicuous. It is hoped that at no distant date Austria and Hungary will come in, and that when Russia has settledits war with Japan and its Domestic Copyright, it will also join the ranks of civilised European society ; then the United States will be the only country of any importance outside the pale. It is interesting to note that Sweden, like all other nations that have legislated recently in copy- right matters, has increased and confirmed the right of property to the originator, and thus follows the tendency of modern ideals. The reference to the Swedish Authors’ Society has a goodring about it. BorH the Authors’ Society and the National Union of Teachers ought to be interested in a controversy which is just now disturbing educational circles in New York. The City Comptroller, Mr. Grout, is about to introduce a Bill providing that no school officer shall receive for his own use any income or royalties arising out of his authorship of, or interest in, books used in the city’s schools, but shall pay any such profits into the City Treasury. The person at whom this proposed legislation is particularly aimed is Dr. Maxwell, Superintendent of Schools, who is alleged to be drawing 20,000 dols. annually in royalties from text-books of which he is the author. This cutting, taken from the Westminster Gazette, will, doubtless, interest all those members of the Society who publish educational works. The subject is one which could be argued on both sides with some effect, but if we take it for granted that the educators of the younger genera- tion are men of probity, there seem to be no persons more capable of knowing what should be taught, how it should be taught, and the form in which it should be represented to the pupils. Under these circumstances, it is scarcely fair that the teachers should be debarred from the profit arising from the result of their labours, and a policy of this kind might tend to bring upon the market an inferior article. It is unlikely that the greatest educators would devote themselves to the writing of books by which their educational methods might become known, if they were not likely to receive some reward. It will be interesting to see whether the Billever becomes law. Tur Saturday Review has published a series of letters on the question of “ tags.” The corre- spondents have put forward many which they consider should be removed from the English language, and one correspondent has gone so far as to say that when a person is given to the use of these “tags” in his writings, he, at any rate, shows he has ceased to think. Surely, this deduction is quite wrong. Many “tags ” are the crystallisation of a thought or of an idea in its most shapely form, and are therefore, in some cases, artistic works of a very high order. Because a work of high art is constantly reproduced, and is seen everywhere, it does not therefore lose its artistic merit. Besides, the user may have given the matter his most earnest consideration, and, after having tried every turn of phrase that a genius could invent, may have come to the conclusion that the method of expressing his idea most clearly and lucidly is through the means of a “tag,” which may have been crystallised previously by some other genius. It does not necessarily follow that all “tags” are works of high art, but let us not remove them from the English language merely because they are in common use. Olearness of expression is more desirable than literary pyrotechnics. «“ TAGS.’’—SATURDAY REVIEW. Advancing by leaps and bounds. Conspicuous by his absence. More honoured in the breach than the observance. What the soldier said is not evidence. “ Which,’’ as Euclid would say, “ is absurd.”’ Like Mrs. Harris, “I don’t believe there’s no sich a person.” It is always the unexpected that happens. A mad world, my Masters. "Tis true, ‘tis pity ; and pity ‘tis, ’tis true. There is much virtue in an “if.” Se non e vero e ben trovato. Like Topsy, “I spect I grow’d.”’ Like the late Lord Beaconsfield on a famous occasion “On the side of the Angels.”’ Like Brer Rabbit, ‘To lie low and say nuffin.” Like Oliver Twist, “To ask for more.”’ Like Sam Weller’s knowledge of London, “ Extensive and peculiar.”’ Like Napoleon, “ A believer in big battalions.”’ Pyrrhic Victory. Parthian dart. Homeric laughter. Sturm und Drang. Intelligent anticipation of events. Masterly inactivity. : Splendid isolation. Unctuous rectitude. Mute inglorious Milton. The sword of Damocles. The thin end of the wedge. The long arm cf coincidence. The soul of goodness in things evil. Hobson's choice. Frankenstein's monster. Macaulay's schoolboy. Lord Burleigh’s nod.  RRA Sir Boyle Roche’s bird. Mahommed’s coffin. Davy Jones’ locker. “ Waiting,’ as Mr. Micawber says, “for something to turn up.”’ Mr. Punch’s advice to those about to marry—‘ Don’t.”’ The pen is mightier than the sword. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. This gives us pause. Take him for all in all, we ne’er shall look upon his like again. Cesar’s wife. Facilis descensus Averni, etc. Tempora mutantur, etc. Coelum non animum, etc. Sunt lachryme rerum, etc. Dum Fluvii currunt, etc. Exegi monumentum, etc. Sic vos non vobis, etc. Non tali auxilio, nec, etc. Suaviter in modo, etc. Penny wise and pound foolish. Qui s’excuse s’accuse. Not wisely but too well. THE members of the Society will, we are sure, join with us in thanking our President for the note he contributes in memory of his late friend, Sir Leslie Stephen, and in congratulating him on the improvement in his health, which has made it possible for him to resume his pen. The article by the Chairman of the Committee, which follows, was printed before Mr. Meredith’s note was received, and we publish it as it stands, although the last paragraph might have been omitted had Mr. Meredith’s tribute to “The Tramps” been before Mr. Freshfield. —_—____—_e——_e—__ SIR LESLIE STEPHEN, K.C.B. Se I HEN that noble body of scholarly and cheer- ful pedestrians, the Sunday Tramps, were on the march, with Leslie Stephen to lead them, there was conversation which would have made the presence of a shorthand writer a bene- faction to the country. A pause to it came at the examination of the leader’s watch and Ordnance map under the western sun, and word was given for the strike across country to catch the tail of a train offering dinner in London, at the cost of a run through hedges, over ditches and fallows, past pro- clamations against trespassers, under suspicion of being taken for more serious depredators in flight. The chief of the Tramps had a wonderfully calcu- THE AUTHOR. 187 lating eye in the observation of distances and the nature of the land, as he proved by his discovery of untried passes in the higher Alps, and he had no mercy for pursy followers. I have often said of this life-long student and philosophical head, that he had in him the making of a great military captain. He would not have been opposed to the profession of arms if he had been captured early for the Service, notwithstanding his abomination of bloodshed. He had a high, calm courage, was unperturbed in a dubious position, and would con- fidently take the way out of it which he conceived to be the better. We have not to deplore that he was diverted from the ways of a soldier, though England, as the country has been learning of late, cannot boast of many in uniform who have capacity for leadership. His work in literature will be reviewed by his lieutenant of Tramps, one of the ablest of our writers. The memory of it remains with us, as being the profoundest and the most sober criticism we have had in our time. The only sting in it was an inoffensive humorous irony that now and then stole out for a roll over, like a furry cub, or the occasional ripple on a lake in grey weather. We have nothing left that is like it. One might easily fall into the pit of panegyric by an enumeration of his qualities, personal and literary. It would be out of harmony with the temper and characteristics of a mind so equable. He, the equable, whether in condemnation or eulogy. Our loss of such a man is great, for work was in his brain, and the hand was active till close upon the time when his breathing ceased. The loss to his friends can be replaced only by an imagination that conjures him up beside them. That will be no task to those who have known him well enough to see his view of things as they are and revive his expression of it. With them he will live despite the word farewell. GEORGE MEREDITH. —-—<>—-+—— IT. In Sir Leslie Stephen, who died on the 22nd of February in his seventy-second year, the world of letters has lost one of its most prominent figures, and English criticism its acknowledged head. Poets, according to an obiter dictum of Tennyson, must be estimated by the quantity as well as the quality of their work. If the same standard may be applied to critics Stephen is likely to hold a very high place in the judgment of posterity. At the beginning of his literary career he was content to do hack-work; he even translated a mediocre German work on the Alps. But he never gave the public anything but his best. A 188 more conscientious literary craftsman never lived. Though he had little sympathy with Dryasdusts, he was indefatigable in research. When his own shelves failed him for a reference he—as he once told me—went first to the Atheneeum, then to the London Library, and finally, not without a groan, made a pilgrimage to the British Museum. It would be difficult to point out a single piece of indifferent or hasty workmanship in the list of his published volumes. That list, from the “ Play- ground of Europe” (1871) to his last volume, “ English Literature and Society in the Highteenth Century,” is an astonishingly long and varied one ; yet it represents only a portion of his labours. We have also to take into account his long connection with journalism—particularly with the Saturday Review in its golden days, and the Yall Mali Gazette, and in later years his many articles in the National Review and the Dictionary of National Biography, and further to remember that, while its editor, he was engaged in a task that most men would have found altogether engrossing. If the original idea of this gigantic undertaking came from its publisher, Mr. George Murray Smith, it owed to Stephen its scope, its proportions and its success. He collected and ruled a staff of capable contributors, he set them models in the admirable articles he wrote himself, he trained a successor to follow him in the task when his own health broke down. His wide knowledge and sympathy, and his discriminating fairness to all who came under his ken made him an ideal editor for sucha work. Stephen’s literary talent was late in development. His first book, and that a book of travel (though it opens with a brilliant review of Alpine literature) was published when he was thirty-nine. For at least fourteen years he led the life of an athletic Don at Cambridge, running countless miles beside his College boat, and performing strange feats of pedestrianism—which culminated in his walking to London, fifty miles in twelve hours, to attend an Alpine Club dinner. Of this period in his career a record exists in the little volume of “Sketches from Cambridge by a Don,” first published in the Pall Mall Gazette. Stephen was by nature a critic both in literature and philosophy. But he approached criticism from its human side, through biography. He investigated systems through their teachers. It is characteristic that when he wishes to defend the eighteenth cen- tury, and put its case against the nineteenth, he evokes the ghost of Gibbon as his spokesman. The passage is brilliant, and might give cause for profitable reflection to popular politicians of the twentieth century. As an historian and essayist the philosophy and thought of the century of utilitarianism and common sense were congenial to him, and supplied THE AUTHOR. the subject of his chief works. But his many volumes of collected essays furnish proof of the width and variety of his literary sympathies. In “An Agnostic’s Apology” Stephen defined his attitude towards religious beliefs. He held that ‘there lives more faith in honest doubt than (not in half but) in all the Oreeds.” He considered them blind guesses in a region beyond human knowledge, and consequently unsound bases for any rule of life. He had a distrust of senti- mentalism, which he defines somewhere as “emotion for its own sake,” and a rooted dislike for all kinds of makebelief, above all for makebeliefs about the place of man in the Universe. He held that we ought to be able to do our duty to our fellows without the support of theological speculations. The main tendency of Stephen’s philosophical writings was, therefore, negative or destructive. But in the two volumes of his Addresses to the Ethical Society, he sets himself to work as a con- structive agent. He labours to show how humanity may grow in wisdom and happiness without seeking for a sanction for conduct in regions beyond its scope. He could not enter into the feelings of those, the majority of mankind, who find an irresistible attraction in any speculation that pre- tends to fill up the void beyond our view—and are therefore, as he put it, apt to conceal ignorance by dogma. In his literary criticisms, as in his ethical writing, Stephen’s first aim was to see things as they are. He distrusted enthusiasm, even his own. He thought it a quality out of place in a judge on the literary Bench. If he deviated in this direction he generally qualified the lapse by a quick touch of humour. At times he seems almost too just: the reader would welcome a few more expressions of personal feeling, or even pre- judice. The atmosphere, like that of a mountain top, is too clear and devoid of colour for the xsthetic mind. Stephen had not, it must be added, a creative intellect. He does not warm and kindle his readers with those illuminating flashes which one genius may throw on another when genius takes to criticism. He was himself very acutely alive to this fact, which he has alluded to in print with exaggerated self-depreciation. Stephen appeared to the public as a man of somewhat austere mind and presence. But beneath this cold exterior, constantly coming to the surface in his life and not infrequently in his writing, was a highly sensitive and emotional nature. He was through life a lover of poetry. He tells us in one of his recently published autobiographical chapters how as an undergraduate he rejoiced to catch some Freshman and recite to him Tennyson’s early poems ; and in the preface to his first book he alludes to his dislike to the retouches made in  ‘ lL i them by their author. Through life he appreciated his contemporaries, and his old friends have often heard him recite poems of Browning and Fitz- gerald, Swinburne and Meredith. In an after- dinner speech on the day the news of the death of Stevenson, whom he had introduced to The Cornhill, reached England, he declaimed with singular effect half of “A Grammarian’s Funeral.” In his essay on Matthew Arnold he describes his test for poetry : “ I believe in poetry which learns itself by heart. There are poems which dominate and haunt one; which once admitted sting and cling to one; the tune of which comes up and runs in one’s head at odd moments ; and which suddenly revive after years of forgetfulness as vigorous and lively as ever.” And yet a critic in the Atheneum has had the courage to assert that “Stephen did not really care for poetry any more than Jeffrey, and consequently was not fully quali- fied to criticise it.” ‘Chis writer might have done well to peruse the account of Jeffrey’s “ amazingly systematic and comprehensive blundering ” in poetical criticism given in the chapter on The First Edinburgh Reviewers in “ Hours in a Library : (third series). Stephen was happy not only in his profession, but also in a hobby which satisfied all his require- ments, physical and intellectual, mountaineering. His love of mountains was, as he has himself explained, complex. Climbing was to him primarily a sport, undertaken for the sake of adventure and enjoyment, a recreation in which he could give lay to the muscular energy of the primitive man and the holiday humours of the genial Don, who in Stephen underlay the critic and the philosopher. But he found the scenery of the High Alps sympathetic to his intellect, and that in more ways than one. “ Its charm,” he writes, “ lies in its vigorous originality.” And again: “The mountains represent the indomitable force of nature to which we are forced to adapt ourselves ; they speak to man of his littleness and his ephemeral nature, and therefore they should suggest that sense of awestruck humility which best befits such petty creatures as ourselves.” The Alps were for Stephen a playground, bnt they were also a cathedral. “If I were to invent a new idolatry,” he says, “I should prostrate myself not before beast, or ocean, or sun, but before one of these gigantic masses to which, in spite of all reason, it is impossible not to attribute some shadowy per- sonality. Their voice is mystic, and has found discordant interpreters; but to me at least it speaks in tones at once more tender and more awe- inspiring than that of any mortal teacher. The loftiest and sweetest strains of Milton or Words- worth may be more articulate, but do not lay so forcible a grasp on my imagination.” THE AUTHOR. 189 Yet to give the scale and point the moral he drew from the High Places of the Earth, Stephen required—if not an inn at least some trace of pastoral life, ‘‘a weather-stained chalet” in the fore- ground. “Scenery,” he says, “even the wildest that is really enjoyable, derives half its charm from the occult sense of the human life and social forms moulded upon it. ‘he Alps would be unbearably stern but for the picturesque society preserved among their folds.” Yet surely in the recesses of remoter ranges where no trace of man’s presence is visible there is a sublimity like that of the starry heavens which would have appealed to his mind. Stephen, I suspect, since such scenery never came within his reach, invented a reason why he might not have cared for it. With such tastes Stephen naturally became one of the most ardent of the early members of the Alpine Club, its third President, and for two years the Editor of its Journal. In this capacity, and still more in “The Playground of Europe,” pub- lished in 1871, which he revised and added to in 1894, he set the note which has been followed ever since in Alpine literature. He showed that “a sense of humour is not incompatible with imagina- tive sensibility.” He pictured the splendours of the snows, or the unearthly grandeur of a sunset seen from the summit of Mont Blanc in pages which combine accuracy of observation with enthusiastic appreciation and sentiment. At a later date he became one of the discoverers of that enchanting Dreamland, the Alps in Winter. The chapter which bears that title is the most emotional and eloquent he ever wrote. Some of its descrip- tive passages have hardly been surpassed by any lover of mountains, even by Ruskin. Stephen did more than describe scenery. He communicated to the world the keen spirit of enjoyment of his comrades, amongst whom he gained many lifelong friends. He made light of his own feats in order to give the credit to his guides, who returned the compliment by regarding him as a hero. The fame of “Herr Stephen” will long be associated in the Vale of Meiringen with that of Melchior Anderegg. He maintained with much vivacity that no excuse was needed for climbing ; he declined, he said, to carry scientific instruments in order to ascertain how far amateur measurements might differ from those of profes- sional surveyors. The frequent speeches he made during thirty years at the annual dinners of the Club became celebrated. Their heartiness, their sudden and unexpected transitions from sentiment to humour never failed to delight the listeners. Given a sympathetic audience Stephen was one of the best after-dinner speakers of his time. Stephen’s love of pedestrianism was not limited to its higher branch—mountaineering. He founded 190 TAB AUTHOR. and for many years led on alternate Sundays a band of philosophers, authors and lawyers “ over hill over dale,” and I fear occasionally “over park over pale,” within the 30-mile radius from Charing Cross. We had now and then a judge in the company, and rumour ran that Stephen had once personally conducted a future bishop. Stephen’s frame was adapted for speed, and when a train had to be caught he strode ahead, as a more portly editor described him, “like a pair of compasses.” These walks and talks would on high days end in a lunch or a dinner at Mr. Darwin’s or Mr. Meredith’s, for the “Company of Tramps” had distinguished honorary members. With little taste for general society, Stephen, until deafness cut him off from most social pleasures, was fond of congenial company, and played a stimulating part in it. He had a singular power of attracting the affection of his numerous friends, whose frequent” visits he was happily able to enjoy to the last. - “ Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit.” D. W. F. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING FOR 1904. + HE annual General Meeting of the Society a was held in the rooms of the Medical and Chirurgical Society, in Hanover Square, on March 16th, Mr. Douglas Freshfield, Chairman of the Committee of Management, in the chair. The Secretary, Mr. G. H. Thring, having read the agenda, the Chairman proceeded to put forward the report for consideration and discus- sion. This had been duly forwarded to all sub- scribing members, and in conformity with the usage of the Society was not read at the meeting. In commenting upon the more salient features of the Society’s history during 1903, Mr. Freshfield first dwelt upon the long list of distinguished members lost to the Society or literatare through death, making special reference to the names of Sir Joshua Fitch, Colonel Henderson, Mr. W. E. H. Lecky, Mr. Herbert Spencer, Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, as well as to the more recent death during the present year of Sir Leslie Stephen. In calling attention to passages in the report relating to the proper functions of the Society, he ohserved that it was not an Academy of Letters, and that a suggestion made that the Society should urge the burial of Mr. Herbert Spencer in Westminster Abbey seemed to seek to impose upon it duties hardly within its province. In the same category were other suggestions that the Society shouid undertake at its own cost any litigation any mem. ber might desire to enter‘upon, or that it should act asa literary agent for its members. With regard to this latter proposal it was pointed out that any such commercial enterprise would be inconsistent with the conditions under which the Society was registered, and would provoke the interference of the Board of Trade. Having proceeded to comment upon the legal proceedings instituted and carried on by the Society during the past year, Mr. Freshfield explained the circumstances in which the Society had incurred a liability for heavy costs in the ease of Aflalo v. Lawrence and Bullen. It had asserted an important principle on behalf of a member with success in the Court of First Instance. Against the decision there obtained appeal had been lodged, and as respondent it had won a second time in the Court of Appeal. The defendant, unsnecessfal in two courts, had appealed further, as he had a perfect right to do, and the Society had had no choice but to defend its position, and the two judgments already obtained, in the House of Lords. ‘That it had done so without success was unfortunate ; they might not as members of the Society agree with the decision, but they must submit to it. The moral was that an author in selling his work for use in a magazine or encyclopedia, if he did not wish at the same time to part with his copy- right, must say so in plain terms. Mr. Freshfield also referred to the street piracy of literary works, upon methods similar to those adopted in’ the case of music, to which he said the Society was giving attention, and making efforts to check the proceed- ings of the pirates. He concluded his speech by an allusion to the unveiling of the memorial to Sir Walter Besant in the Crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and to the proposal that a replica of the memorial should be placed upon the Thames Embankment, the arrangements for which would, he hoped, be shortly concluded with the County Council, which had met the Society in the matter in a very sympathetic spirit. When the Chairman had concluded his speech, Mr. Basil Field rose and expressed a desire to make it clear to the Society that the item of £908 8s. 6d. included in the balance sheet as a liability to Messrs. Field, Roscoe and Co., the Society’s solicitors, included a large sum paid to Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen after their successful appeal to the House of Lords, in respect of costs in the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal, and the Chancery Division. Sir William Charley, K.C., congratulated the Society on its successful conduct of its litigation generally, and the Secretary for the part played by him therein, and paid a tribute to the memory of Sir Walter Besant.  THE AUTHOR. Mr. Hume Nisbet then rose and put a series of questions to the Chairman, of which he had given notice to the Secretary in writing on the day preceding the meeting. The questions with the answers made to them were as follows :— Question I.—Is the Authors’ Society a Company as well as a Society ? Answer.—Yes. Question II.—Who are the shareholders? ‘.e., Is there a printed list to be had? Answer.—The Shareholders are the Council. The lists of the Council in the Report and elsewhere are printed lists of the shareholders. Question II.—Do they, the shareholders, receive any profits on their shares? Answer.—They do not, and are prohibited from doing so by the memorandum of association of the Company.* Question IV.—What salary does the Secretary for Society and Club draw? Also, what salaries or emoluments does he get for his numerous other duties, such as acting Manager and “'reasurer for Society and Club, Solicitor, etc.? His salary as Editor is alone printed in the present Report of the Committee of Management for 1903. Answer. —The Society has nothing to do with any club. The salary of the Secretary of the Society is £360 a year, which covers his services as solicitor. He receives £50 for editing Zhe Author. He has no other emoluments from the Society. There is no Acting Manager, and the Secretary is not the Treasurer. Question V.—Are these numerous duties not too heavy for one ordinary man to fulfil properly ? Answer.—The Committee have no reason to con- sider that Mr. Thring is not performing his duties to the satisfaction of the members of the Society as well as to their own. Question VI.—Have the same Committee of Management not sat long enough? ie. for the good of the Society, ought they not, along with the Council, to resign without submitting their names for re-election, if the Society is for the benefit of authors, and not a company for the benefit of shareholders ? Answer.—The election of members to fill vacancies on the Committee is placed in the hands of the Committee by the articles of association. In order to avoid the difficulties attending the alteration of the articles of association of a company and at the same time to enable members of the Society to have a voice in the matter, should any desire to do so, a circular was upon a recent occasion addressed to the members by the Committee, asking them to submit the names of candidates. No suggestion was received in reply to this. The Chairman on behalf of the Council further repudiated and condemned the suggestion put forward in the 191 question that the Society was being carried on as a company for the benefit of shareholders.* In a discussion which followed Mr. Hume Nisbet did not press any specific charge against either the Committee of Management or the Secretary, although he expressed dissatisfaction with their conduct of the affairs of the Society. Nor did he meet with any support from those members present who addressed the meeting upon the subject of the questions asked. These included Mr. Edward Rose, Major Arthur Haggard, Mr. Charles Garvice, Mr. Francis Gribble and others. Mr. E. Rose called attention to the actual composition of the Com- mittee of Management and to the changes which in fact had taken place in it, and pointed out that the changes were frequent for such a body. Other speakers expressed themselves as thoroughly satis- fied with the efficiency of the Secretary and with the assistance which he afforded to members in the matters upon which they consulted him. Mr. Francis Gribble protested against the Society having such questions as those raised by Mr. Hume Nisbet sprung upon it at a general meeting without previous notice of them being included in the agenda, and concluded by moving a vote of confi- dence in the Committee of Management and the Secretary, which was carried by an overwhelming majority. A large majority also assented to a resolution moved in a second speech by Major Arthur Haggard to the effect that the Committee should be requested to consider the expediency of raising the salary of the Secretary whenever the funds of the Society permitted such a step to be taken. With regard to the two matters which composed the agenda for the meeting, the accounts and report of the Committee of Management were approved, and Mr. M. H. Spielmann, who had in due order resigned his position as a member of the Pension Fund Committee, was re-elected, no other candidate being proposed. A vote of thanks to the Chairman for his conduct of the meeting and of the affairs of the Society as Chairman of the Committee of Management was duly proposed and seconded, and was carried by acclamation. Those present included, besides those already * Norre.—the Society of Authors is registered as a com- pany with limited liability under the Companies Acts, but is one of those associations which are permitted by the Board of Trade to dispense with the word “ Limited” after their names under the 23rd section of the Act of 1867, and to enjoy other privileges. These are classed together as “ Agsociations not for Profit,” and it has to be shown that they are formed for the purpose of promoting commerce, art, science, religion, charity, or some other useful object, that it is their intention to apply their profits, if any, to promoting their object, and to prohibit the payment of any dividend to their shareholders. The licence of the Board of Trade is granted subject to conditions and regulations which have to be inserted in the memorandum and articles of association. 192 mentioned: E. A. Armstrong, A. W. a Beckett, The Rev. F. W. Bamford, Mackenzie Bell, Lewis Benjamin, Herbert Bentwich, Sir William Charley, K.C., Miss E. E. Charlton, Miss Ellen Collett, Miss E. J. Curtis, Miss Violet Defries, Austin Dobson, Miss C. O’Conor-Eccles, A. Hope Hawkins, Mrs. Heron Maxwell, Miss E. M. Hine, Eyre Hussey, The Rev. 8. Whittell Key, Mrs. Knight, Mrs. Lechmere, J. M. Lely, Robert Machray, Miss Jean Middlemass, Mrs. Neila Parker, Miss Olive Katherine Parr, M. O. Portman, Hesketh Prichard, Mrs. Romanes, J. M. Sloan, Francis Storr, Albert A. Strong, Miss L. E. Tiddeman, Perey White, Miss Aphra Wilson, and others. +— > THE ANNUAL DINNER. aes HE Annual Dinner of the Society of Authors will take place at the Hotel Cecil, on Wednesday, April 20th, at 7.30. Mr. Douglas Freshfield will take the chair. Notices have already been sent out to the mem- bers and associates of the Society. The following ladies and gentlemen have kindly allowed their names to stand as stewards — President, Mr. George Meredith, THE AUTHOR. Humphreys, Mrs. Des- mond (“ Rita’), Hunt, The Rey. G. Bon- avia. Hunt, Miss Violet, Hyne, C. J. Cutcliffe. Jones, Henry Arthur, Keltie, J. Scott, LL.D. Kennard, Mrs, Edward. Lee, Sidney. Leighton, Mrs. Connor, Lely, J. M. Lennox, Lady William. ‘‘ Maarten Maartens.” Marsh, Richard. McCarthy, Justin. Middlemass, Miss Jean. Norman, Henry, M.P. Norris, W. E. Oppenheim, E. P. Pain, Barry. , Parker, Louis N. Pinero, A. W. Plunkett, The Hon. Horace. Pollock, Sir Frederick, Bart, LL.D. Right Prothero, G. W, Pryce, Richard. Reich, Emil. Serutton, Prof. T. E. Seaman, Owen. Senior, William. Shaw, G. Bernard. Sidgwick, Prof. Alfred, Spielmann, M. H. Spiers, Victor. Sprigge, 8. Squire. Stanford, Sir Charles Villiers, Mus. Doe. Street, G. S. Thompson, Sir Henry, F.R.S. Todhunter, John. Underdown, E. M., K.C. Underdown, Miss E. Upward, Allen. Wain, Louis. Watts-Dunton, dore. Wells, H. G. White, Percy. Whiteing, Richard. Zangwill, Israel. Theo- —>—+—_____ 2’ Beckett, A. W. Aflalo, F. G, Archer, William. Atherton, Mrs. Ger- trude. Ball, Sir Robert, F.R.S. Bateman, Robert. Beddard, F.E., F.R.S. Bell, Mackenzie. Belloc-Lowndes, Mrs. Benson, A. C. Bergne, Sir K.C.B. Besant, W. H., LL.D. Browning, Oscar. Bryce, The Right. Hon. James, M.P., D.C.L. Bullen, F. T. Burnand, Sir Frank, Campbell, Lady Colin. Capes, Bernard. Carey, Miss Rosa N, Cholmondeley, Miss & Mary. Church, Prof. A. H, Clemens, S. L. Clodd, Edward, Collier, The Hon. John. Colquhoun, A. R. Henry, Conway, Sir W. Martin. Cookson, Col. Fife. Corelli, Miss Marie, Davidson, John. Doudney, Mrs. Sarah. Douglas, Sir George, art. Dowden, Prof. Edward, Esmond, H. Y. Foster, Sir Michael, K.C.B. Garnett, Richard, 0.B. Gilbert, W. 8. Gollancz, Israel. Grand, Madame Sarah. Graves, Alfred P. Gribble, Francis. Grundy, Sydney, Haggard, Major Arthur. Harraden, Miss Beatrice. Hart, Major-General Sir Reginald, Hassal, John, R. I, Hatton, Joseph, Hawkins, Anthony Hope. Hinkson, Mrs.Katherine Tynan, Hocking, Rey, Silas K. WHAT’S IN A NAME? —— > HERE is a great deal in a name, especially if it is the title of a book. I fancy someone once said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But a book by any other name might not sell as well. “The title is an important and radical part of a book,” as Miss Frances Peard has lately remarked in the Spectator. I remember reading her interest- ing novel, “An Interloper,’ when it came out some years ago. We hear from Miss Peard that two novels called “ An Interloper” now exist, and most of us have read Mrs. Jacob’s most recent and clever novel, “ Zhe Interloper.”” That makes three novels of (virtually) the same name. Miss Peard’s was, I understand, the first of the three ; but which happened to be published first is not to the point—I mean the point I want to make. The point is: First, is there a possibility of safe- guarding a title? Secondly, how can one make sure that one is not inadvertently guilty of using a title already taken ? i. It must be as annoying to Mrs. Jacob as it is to Miss Peard that they are now both pledged to the same title. a It has always been a matter of great difficulty  THE AUTHOR. to me to discover whether a title has already been used. “ Red Pottage”’ was my fourth book, but it was the first (if I omit a small story) which was published with its original name. «Diana Tempest” had, as it seemed to me, an admirable title, but when the book was actually in proof it was discovered that a serial of that name was running in a small local newspaper. I was obliged to give up my title, and Mr. Bentley (who had spared no pains to discover whether the title had been used, and had come to the conclusion it had not) was at the expense of the correction of many sheets. The feeble name, “ Diana Tempest,” was only taken for lack of a better one, because the Press was waiting. Yet no book having the title I so reluctantly gave up has since been published, as far as I can make out, and I have watched carefully. On another occasion I had to relinquish a title. This time there was no doubt about it. It had been used. Nevertheless, several years later, the same title, word for word, was taken by one of our most distinguished novelists, and used with éclat. Surely a title should be copyright, or an author should be able to pay a fee to make it so. Would it be possible to institute a register of the titles of books, to which all new titles coald be added without delay, if the author wished to safeguard them. The author would thus, at least, know whether he has a right to the title he wishes to use by consulting this register. A moderate fee for the registration of a title, and a smaller fee to consult the list, would be gladly paid, I imagine, by anyone whose thorny lot it is to write books. Is such a recognised register quite impossible ? Also, would it be possible to register (as it were to bespeak) a title in advance ? It is an awful thing for an expansive and con- fiding nature to go about for three years with a title bottled up inside it. The first use (or rather mis-use) I should personally make of this register would be to feverishly inscribe thereon—as my own property—about twelve “taking” titles for my next book. I would not mind paying a guinea each, just to keep the wolves (I mean my brother novelists) from the door. Of course I should be sat upon at once by the gods who created the Register, who would no doubt make some tiresome rule in order to coerce me. Perhaps on the whole it would be fairer if we were only allowed to bespeak one title, and that only for a certain number of years. Can anything be done ? : Mary CHOLMONDELEY. 193 A PLEA FOR ENGLISH. oo HAVE read the remarks in “A Plea for Pedantry” in the March number of The Author with much interest. But there are two statements made there on which I should like to comment. One of these recommends the study of the Latin grammar because “it inculcates the difference between nominatives, datives, and accusatives.” This is no doubt useful advice, but it is not the most excellent way. If any one really wishes to learn such points of grammar with a view to writing English, and not Latin, it would be far safer to study Dr. Sweet’s Anglo-Saxon Primer, and to learn the use of such cases by reading some of _ the works of our greatest master of Old English prose, whose name was Ailfric. Another method is to study the metre of Chaucer. Any one who will be at the trouble of ascertaining how the final e, which is of such value for the scansion of his lines, invariably depends upon con- siderations of etymology and grammar, will learn more about English grammar in two or three weeks than he will by studying Latin grammar for two or three years. Why writers usually neglect such obvious precautions is indeed a mystery. Perhaps it is due to the old prejudice which was certainly in vogue when I was myself at school. It was then generally believed that English grammar is the same thing as Latin grammar—which it is not— and that the study of Old English is one that is only fit for antiquaries and other harmless drudges. I fear that the same idea is still common, and that the serious study of English is still too much despised. The other statement is one to which I demur altogether, viz., that “grammar is really a branch of logic.” Strictly speaking, this can be defended ; but it is apt to be misleading. Grammar is only founded upon logic in the main ; but in details every language varies from logic according to its own idiosyncrasies ; else there would be no idioms. In Greek, the use of a neuter plural with a verb in the singular is strictly grammatical, though it utterly contradicts logic ; and the same may be said of the use of the double negative. Latin grammar and English grammar differ widely ; where Latin says “ Balbus eedificat murum,” English says “Balbus is building (rather than builds) a wall.” ‘Turn the dog out” is perfectly good English ; but ‘verte canem ex ” has rightly been considered as canine Latin. I hold that nothing is more illogical than to judge of the usages of one language by the standard of another. By all means learn Latin and Greek and French and German ; but do not imagine that these alone will teach you native English idioms. Water W. SKEAT. 194 UNITED STATES PUBLISHERS’ ASSOCIATION. —1-—~ + Points for Consideration. HE Publishers’ Association in the United States is a very active body. The efforts which it put forward in order to bring about the passing of the Copyright Act are known to all members of the Society. Mr. George Haven Putnam has taken upon himself the mantle of his father, in dealing with these matters. It was mainly through his instrumentality that Germany was persuaded to continue its Copyright Treaty and await the result of the efforts of the United States publishers to amend the law which dealt with the output of books in foreign languages. All these things are matters of record. We await further developments of the United States Publishers’ Union towards free and fuir trading in other quarters. But it is not alone in questions of copyright that the activity of the Association is in evidence. It has made a great effort to benefit the lot of the bookseller by producing net books, and has carried on expensive litigation—not always, it is feared, with success—in order to confirm those rules of the Association which the majority of booksellers and publishers consider best for the trade. It seems clear, if it is possible to arrive at a just decision from the support that is given it, that the net system in the main works satisfactorily. “ Fiction,” however, and “ Juveniles” have not as yet been included in this system either in England or the United States,” The Publishers’ Weekly (United States) writes as follows on the subject :— “The recent action of the American Publishers’ Associa- tion shows that the majority of the trade is not yet ready for the inclusion of fiction in the net system, though we believe that a step forward in this direction is only a matter of time after the net system shall have been thoroughly established. We cannot repeat too often that it is a matter for congratulation that, despite the attacks on the net system, so much progress has been made with so few drawbacks in the short Space of two years, whereas in other countries twice and thrice this time has been required to affect as much betterment in trade methods. It is, on the whole, wise in such matters to go slowly ; and although there will doubtless be dissatisfaction here and there that the Publishers’ Association is not ready for another forward step, yet it must be admitted by the advocates of that step that there are many reasons for holding back. One of these is the geographical extent of this country, which makes carriage from the publishing centres to the extreme parts of the country a costly expense which must be paid for out of the margin of profit—the result of which is that prices on fiction are fairly held in part of the country, and that a reduction of price conse- quent on the application of the net system would work hardships. This, of course, is an objection to the whole THE AUTHOR. net system, and the present situation is really a compromise between the new net system and the old “ go-as-you-please ” and demoralising method. A decided advance, however, was made in limiting the discount on fiction, so that fiction cannot be sold at absolutely cut-throat prices as bait or advertisement for other lines of goods. “The movement to include ‘juveniles’ as fiction is perhaps so strong that it cannot be stayed. We regret this fact for the two reasons that it will be extremely difficult to define the limits of ‘juveniles, and that the change is a step backward instead of a change forward. There is considerable pressure, however, from housés which deal largely in ‘juveniles,’ and only protests from the retail trade to such houses, between the present time and the next meeting of the Association, can avert a change. It is important that the real feeling of the retail trade, pro and con, should thus be communicated either directly to the interested houses or to the columns of The Publishers? Weekly, which invites communications on this subject.”’ * Again the Association is interesting itself in postal reform. A favourable vote was passed on the following resolution :— “That the American Publishers’ Association instruct its Postal Committee to inquire into the efforts of the Postal Congress League to secure postal advancement, and into its endeavours to secure a parcel post and to secure postal rates not inimical to the interests of publishers and book- sellers, and if said Committee shall approve of such work, such Committee to report to the Board of Directors for any further action.” Now all these points are directly and indirectly important to British authors. They are methods of dealing with authors’ property. Accordingly, they should be carefully considered and not thoughtlessly set aside. With regard to the United States copyright, there is nothing to be said that has not been said hundreds of times and in a hundred places already. “Everything comes to him who waits.” If the Authors’ Society endures to the end it will no doubt see the perfect copyright law not only the other side of the water, but in the British Empire also. The question of net prices and the booksellers’ trade was dealt with, as far as British Trade was concerned from the author’s standpoint, in two articles in the issues of The Author for J anuary and March, 1903. To these members are referred. So far it has been impossible to obtain definite information from the United States concerning the sales of books. When they come to hand they will be recorded. * Since the above was written, the Association have decided that on and after April Ist juvenile books may be published at a net price or on the same basis as fiction, at the option of the individual publishers. + $e»  THE AUTHOR. 195 FRIENDS IN NEED. ——— HAVE four boards and four pegs. The boards are about a foot and a-half each in length and, together, an inch or more in thickness. So, it will be seen, they will pack into a very small compass in a portmanteau. They are really the two sides and the two shelves, with the fastenings, of a small bookcase ; the four pegs bind shelves and sides in a firm grip, making them ready to receive books. Now for the books! Within the space the case allows I have fifty-four volumes. ‘These comprise the best of the works of Shakespeare, Bacon, Milton, Dryden, Sir Thomas More, Addison, Pope, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Carlyle, Sir Humphrey Davy, Boccaccio, Cowper, Burns, Wordsworth, and sixteen other famous authors. Now for the cost of the whole. The bookcase T bought for one shilling and_threepence; the books (with the exception of Milton’s poems, which once belonged to my father ; a pocket edition, bearing date 1818) were purchased for ten shillings and sixpence ! For this small sum I can enjoy the labours of many writers ; never be without companionship, and that the wisest and best. But, you may ask, why not have higher priced editions, placed on permanent shelves in the study ? T answer, because this portable library of mine can be taken, when the glorious spring-time comes, into the country districts where, perhaps, only the inhabitants will be found tedious : “Why, Nature, waste thy wonders on such men.”’ There in the quietude of the evening, when the sitting-room of the village inn might seem a trifle uninteresting, my dainty volumes can “ teach me what is good,” can, as is 80 beautifully expressed in the well-known lines, “ Save me from folly, vanity, and vice, From every low pursuit ; and feed my soul With knowledge, conscious peace and virtue pure, Sacred, substantial, never failing bliss.”’ J. Harris BRIGHOUSE. —— oO « JOURNALESE.” (THE NEW BAD LANGUAGE.) og We an ancient language dies Some new one will arise, Hence no one feels surprise At “ Journalese.” With the time we must keep pace (?) So the Anglo-Saxon race - Has decided to embrace « Journalese.” The “split infinitive ” Is a voice you must forgive When the folk with whom you live Talk “ Journalese.” If they say you're “different to Other writers ””—that can do Very little harm to you— It’s “‘ Journalese.” If “ Parliament” you think Needs a plural verb, they'll wink At an error, writ in ink— (It’s “ Journalese.”’) You never need to mind That your style should be refined When you cater for the kind “ Journalese.” If a “dictionary word” You should scoff at (as absurd) Such as “laughable ”—it’s heard In “ Journalese.” You can’t “laugh” a thing, you know, But you have to let it go, Because folk love it so In “ Journalese.” Your adverbs you may “chuck All around” and trust to luck ‘As to where they may “ get stuck ” In “ Journalese.” And superlatives you pile Till you make the angels smile For they call that “ trenchant style” In “ Journalese.” All the charms of this new speech If I sang, the song would reach From Shanghai to Brighton Beach. For “ Journalese ” Borrows slang from every tongue With which man has prosed or sung ; It began when Earth was young Did “ Journalese.” BE. Urwick. a CORRESPONDENCE. — A PLEA FOR PEDANTRY. I Sir,—If the Society of Authors could persuade that “ puri sermonis amator,” the Pall Mall Gazette, to cease from splitting infinitives, ‘‘ to further queer the pitch,” and from using “ momentoes” for “« mementoes,” and “to while away the time ” for “to wile away the time,” I should rejoice greatly. Your obedient servant, Freperick WILLIAM ROLFE. 196 o Sir,—I wish that Miss Black had given a few more specimens of how English is, and ought nof, to be written in her “ Plea for Pedantry ” in The Author for March. Even Miss Masson, in the February number, did not mention that—may I say ?— terrible compound “ Whatever do you mean?” ““ Whyever did you say that?” It is to be found in the works of some of the sbest of our modern novelists. In Ireland shall and will puzzle the native, but “sofar,” “idear,” “« Mariar,” etc, are not heard, and, as a rule, Irish clergymen did not pray God to bless “ Victoria—rour Queen.” And again, there is the pitfall of the adverb squeezed in between two parts of a verb, as, for instance, “The boy is unquestionably lazy,” “The girl is distinctly satisfied with herself,” “ He stoutly refused,” “ He strenuously opposed,” and so on. For Miss Black’s collection of sentences which are topsy-turvy, I give the following. They were copied by me from newspapers. “On the 10th inst., at Dash Road, N., John James Fowler in the sure and certain hope of a blessed resurrection, in the house of his mother-in-law,”’ “To be sold, a grand piano, the property of a lady with carved legs.’’ ** Lost, a cameo Brooch, containing Venus and Adonis on the Edgeware Road.”’ Miss Black would have been kind if, for the benefit of the less well instructed, she had ex- plained, exactly, how the sentence beginning * Those whom” should run. I should have written “ Those who had been destined by Providence to be the chief ornaments—.” But I am not an expert, therefore I do not dogmatise. | hope that the Pleas for Pedantry will be continued in The Author. A MEMBER oF THE Socrery. — 1 Boox Disrrigurion, Sin,—It seems to me high time that authors and publishers should form a mutually defensive alliance against the encroaching power of the great book distributors. I have good reason to be convinced that unless Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., Smith & Co., and Mudie choose to take up a book, that book might as well remain in MS., for not all the reviewing and advertising in the world will sell it against their inclination ! They are able to dump down upon the country whatever books they like and withhold any that, for some reason or other, they do not care to supply. Anybody who lives in the provinces will Support me in the assertion that it is almost impossible to obtain the books one wants to read, THE AUTHOR. if those books happen to be by unpopular writers or of a type not palatable to the general taste. J have been trying hard for more than a year to get a book I saw favourably reviewed in December, 1902, but three provincial libraries have not been able to procure it ! And not only are we helpless at the libraries, but the buying of books is made difficult for us, A friend who ordered my last novel from a book- seller at Christmas was shown a letter (I presume from the almighty middleman) stating that the first edition was exhausted, which was a deliberate lie ; and the manager of a country bookstall, who also ordered it, was told that there was some diffi- culty with the publishers, another equally false statement. I havea serial coming outina magazine that is not very well known, and several of my friends have tried to get it. But no bookseller seems able to achieve this feat. The agents simply declare that such a magazine does not exist ! It will be asked, why do not booksellers write straight to publishers for the works published by them? ‘To that I can make no reply, except that, as a rule, they will not. I suppose it is a question of postage. The agents will say that they supply whatever is demanded, which means, whatever is popular. But there is an increasing demand for better books than those we find in our country libraries. Even the Philistine is dissatisfied with the rubbish foisted upon him, and everywhere we hear the complaint, “ { can’t get anything fit to read.” Are publishers content to let this go on, to remain helpless in the hands of these autocrats who govern the market? If they are, I suppose we authors can do nothing. I am hoping that two new enterprising libraries, recently established, may help to break up the ring ; but who knows ? They may follow the old lead. Yours truly, A PROTESTANT. Se Epitine, Sir,—I presume Mr. Pretor’s letter on “The New Departure in Editing,” in the March Author, is intended to be sarcastic. Those Editor’s com- ments of Pearson’s Magazine seem to me simply impertinent. Surely no self-respecting writer would send a second story to an editor who had presumed to label his work “feeble in plot” or “ weak in style.” : When one reads the stuff that finds its way into. the illustrated magazines, one certainly does not. yearn for the counsel and criticism of their editors ! Yours truly, Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 14 Issue 07 (April 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 14 Issue 07 (April 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-04-01-The-Author-14-7 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/493/1904-05-01-The-Author-14-8.pdf 17731b9f5af5b993948274993e947ec9 PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-05-01 Volume 14 Issue 8 Pages Page range in volume 197–224 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19040501 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XIV.—No. 8. May Ist, 1904. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. _—________¢ ~<—e —___—_- NOTICES. —+—<> + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. _ List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —_+—+—— The Pension Fund of the Society. Tx Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. Vou. XIV. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Gorisols 24 96.5.2... .... £1000 0 O Local laosis: <...-..2--. 6.7...) 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock .............-- War loan 3... ees London and North Western 3 % Deben- GUC SLOCK 00h ee 291 19 11 20k 9 8 250 0 0 Subscriptions from October, 1903. Nov. 18, Dec. 16, 1904. Jan. 6, Hills, Mrs. C. H. . Jan. 6, Crommelin, Miss . Jan. 8, Stevenson, Mrs. M. BE. . Jan. 16, Kilmarnock, The Lord . Feb. 5, Portman, Lionel . Feb. 11, Shipley, Miss Mary Mar. Diiring, Mrs. . : : Mar. Francis Claude de la Roche April18, Dixon, W. Scarth . April18, Bashford, Harry H. April19, Bosanquet, Eustace F. April23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain Longe, Miss Julia. Trevor, Capt. Philip OS Oo 1 So or on SGCanmnocooocorooooo Se NDOOrn Donations from October, 19038. Oct. 27, Sturgis, Julian Nov. 2, Stanton, V.H. . Noy. 18, Benecke, Miss Ida. Nov. 23, Harraden, Miss Beatrice : Dec. Miniken, Miss Bertha M. M. . 1904. Jan. 4, Jan. 4, ooococo Moncrieff, A. R. Hope . Middlemas, Miss Jean . Jan. 4, Witherby, The Rev. C. . Jan. 6, Key, The Rey. S. Whittell Jan. 14, Bennett, Rev. W. K., D.D. Jan. 2, Roe, Mrs. Harcourt Feb. 11, Delaire, Miss Jeanne ee ooo co} THE AUTHOR. FROM THE COMMITTEE. 1 T the meeting of the Committee held on Wednesday, April 13th, at the Office of the Society, twenty-five members and associates were elected, making the elections for the current year one hundred and three. The recent steady increase in the Society’s numbers is well maintained. A suggestion was laid before the Committee that the Society should take up the additional duties of Authors’ agents. The Committee, after careful consideration rejected the proposal on the ground that to take such action would be contrary to the principles on which the Society was founded. Several members of the Society entered into contracts some years ago with a firm of publishers for the publication of certain works in a series which the firm stated it was their intention to issue. This series appears at present to be incom- plete. No accounts have been rendered and the firm asserts that under the existing agreements it is not liable either to render accounts or to pay anything. So far, accordingly, the members have received no remuneration for the works whichhave been published. The legal position is difficult and involved. The Committee decided to take Counsel’s opinion in order to ascertain whether it would not be possible, under the contracts, to force the firm in question to render accounts, and pay royalties on the books already issued. Since the last issue of The Author the Committee have taken further steps with regard to the infringe- ment of copyright in the case of Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s “ Barrack Room Ballads.” They have received an answer to the Report which was laid before the Chief Commissioner of the Police, and they have placed a full statement of the case in the hands of the Home Secretary. It is the intention of the Committee to take all the steps in their power to obtain an alteration in the existing law. The Report of the Copyright Sub-Committee on the United States Copyright Law was read to the Committee. It had already been forwarded, in accordance with the Committee’s former instruc- tions, to the American Copyright League. The Committee propose to print the Report in a future number of Zhe Author. There was one contentious matter before the Com- mittee, and they decided on the advice of the Society’s solicitors to take action against the publisher involved. 1 Cases. One of the county court cases taken in hand last month has been satisfactorily settled—the debt and costs were paid the day before the hearing. In another county court case which was placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitor, the money was paid and the matter settled before the summons was taken out. Ten cases have been in the secretary’s hands. Of these, two were for accounts, four: for money, and four for MSS. Prompt settlements have been the rule. The accounts have in one case been rendered, and will, doubtless, be rendered in the other case also, though the matter must be delayed owing to the fact that the demand is against a New York firm. In the four cases where money has been demanded, three claims have been satisfied, whilst the fourth is still waiting settlement. Two of the four cases for the return of MSS. have been settled, but in the other two—more recent—the issue is still open. Of the cases remaining in the hands of the secretary from former months there are only two unsettled, one of which for the cancellation of an agreement, is very nearly adjusted. There has been some correspondence, but the final arrangement has not yet been arrived at. In the other case the publisher has promised to forward the accounts which are in demand, but they have not yet come to hand. ES April Elections. Alliston, Norman . . Kamesburgh, Becken- ham, Kent. Daly’s Theatre. Education Office, Maritzburg, Natal. Barrington, Rutland Barnett, P. A. Bashford, Henry Howarth Bissett, J. L. ; : 80, Sherwell Street, Johannesburg, 8S. A. Nethercote, Colwyn Bay, North Wales. Woodsgate, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells. Vevey La Tour, Swit- zerland. Mount Hampstead. 41, Princes Square, W. 11, The Mount, York. 22, Grafton Street, W. Les Quenetens, Bar- riere Rouge, Pont de Briques, P. de C., France. St. Michael’s Vicarage, Burleigh Street, W.C. “ Seabreeze,” Netley Abbey, Hants. Aber Maw, Wimble- don, 8.W. Bolton, Miss Anna Bosanquet, Eustace F. (S. Ashton) : : Chesney, Major-General F. R. Chidell, E. F. (Viator) . 2, Vernon, Davidson, A.F.. Dixon, William Scarth Harcourt, R. Vernon Hight, G. A. . : Hunt, Rev. W. Henry Metcalfe, Ethel E. . : Myall, Mrs. Ambrose (Laura Hain Friswell)  15, Woodville Gardens, Ealing, W. 26, Rue du Mont Tha- bor, Paris. Oxenham, John Pavitt, A. (Saxo-Norman) Plunkett, The Right Hon. Sir Horace, 105, Mount Street, W. 37, Norfolk Square, W. Evening Mail Cham- bers, Nutchett Street, Bendigo, Australia. 27, Southampton Street, Strand, W.C. “Plasisaf” Caerwys, Flintshire. One member does not desire the publication of name or address. 9 K.C.V.0., F.RB.S., ete. Prideaux, Miss 8. T. Taylor, Charles E. Weymouth, Edward S. . Williams, E. C. BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. — (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) a ART. THe PHin May Fouio of Caricature Drawings and Sketches in Line Block, Half-Tone, and Photogravure. With a Biography. 17$ x 11, xv. + 245 pp. Thacker. £2 28. n. Greav Masters. Part XI. With Introduction by SIR MARTIN Conway. Heinemann. 5s. n. Great Masters. Part XII. With Introduction and Descriptive Text by Str MARTIN CONWAY. Heine- mann. 58. n. BIOGRAPHY. Kines AND QuEENS I HAVE VACARESCO. 9 X 5%, 320 pp. Harpers. 10s. 6d. New Lerrers or THOMAS CARLYLE. Edited and Anno- tated by ALEXANDER CARLYLE. Two Vols. 8% X 5%, xiii. + 326 + 359 pp. Lane. 25s. n. Str WiLtLIAM Henry Fiower, K.C.B., F.R.S., &c., late Director of the Natural History Museum, and President of the Royal Zoological Society. A Personal Memoir. By C. J. Cornisu, F.Z.S., author of “ The Naturalist on the Thames,” &c. 9 x 6,274 pp. Macmillan. 8s. 6d. n. Rosserr1.—By A.C. Benson. (English Men of Letters.) 745, 238 pp. Macmillan. 2s, n. Known. By HELENE BOOKS OF REFERENCE. THe STATESMAN’S YEAR-Book, 1904. Edited by J. Scorr Ketrte. Forty-first Annual Publication. 74 x 5, 1,398 pp. Macmillan. 10s. 6d. n. DRAMA. His PontricaAL Conscience. By HA,RoLxo. 2nd edition, 9 x 54,73 pp. Burleigh. 2s. 6d. n. THE AUTHOR. 199 ECONOMICS, FiscaAL Facts AND Fictions. By F. G, SHAw, F.G,.S., Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., &c. 83 X 54, 240)pp. Bailliere. 5s. n. FICTION. THE CELEBRITY AT Home. By VIOLET HUNT. 304 pp. Chapman and Hall. _ 6s. Wuat OvugHt SHE TO Do? By FLORENCE WARDEN. 73 x 5,311 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. Tatty. By EMILy PEARSON FINNEMORE. 304 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 3s. 6d. THe GAGE OF RED AND WHITE. By GRAHAM HOPE. 73 x 5, 323 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. 73 x 5h, 7% x 54, Comin’ THRO’ THE RyE. By HELEN MATHERS. Popu- lar Edition. 7 X 5,437pp. Simpkin, Marshall. 1s. JOHNNY FoRTNIGHT. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. (Cheap Edition.) 84 x 54,127 pp. Arrowsmith. 6d. THE MoNEyY-MakeER (Le Brasseur D?’Affaires). 3y GeEorGES OHNET. Translated by F. ROTHWELL. 72x5, 851 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. Ayuwin. By THEODORE WATTS - DUNTON. (The World’s Classics.) 6 X 4, xv. + 486 pp. Grant Richards. 1s. n. RuLeRs oF Kinas. By GERTRUDE ATHERTON. 7? X 5}, 358 pp. Macmillan. 6s. THe AMAZING VERDICT. By MARIE LEIGHTON. 73 X 54, 468 pp. Grant Richards. 6s. RANDAL OF RANDALHOLME. By AUSTIN CLARE. 7$ X 5, 341 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. 7 THE ORIGINAL WOMAN. By FRANKFORT MOORE. 343 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE FIGHT FOR THE Crown. By W.E. Norris. (Cheap Edition.) 84 x 53,120 pp. Seeley. 6d. “ SrpE SHows.” By HELEN MATHERS. Popular Edition. 74 X 4%, 245 pp. Simpkin Marshall. 1s. Nepo THE NAILER. By 8. BARING-GOULD. Edition.) 8% X 53,123 pp. Cassell. 6d. THE CourT OF SACHARISSA. A Midsummer Idyll. By HvuGH SHERINGHAM and NEVILL MEAKIN. 7%} X 5, 314 pp. Heinemann. _ 6s, ’ By SNARE oF Love. By A. W. MARCHMONT. 7} X 54, 375 pp. Ward, Lock. 6s. Mapr oF Money. By DoroTHEA GERARD. 7} X 54, 1= X 6, (Cheap 330 pp. Methuen. 6s ANNA, THE ADVENTURESS. By E. PHILLIPS OPPEN- HEIM. 7# X 5,320 pp. Ward, Lock. 6s. A DANGEROUS QU Long. 68. st. By F. E. Youne. 7? x 43, 319 pp. THe SANYASI. By F. E. PENNY. 7% X 5, 328 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. THe VINEYARD. By JOHN OLIveR HOBBES. 7% X 5, 376 pp. Unwin. 6s. e : URIAH THE HITTITE. By DoLF WYLLARDE. 7% X 4§, 307 pp. Heinemann. 6s. A THe SuccEssor.—By R. Pryce. 735,332 pp. Hutchin- son. 62. Happy THougutTs.—By Sir Francis C. BURNAND. 7x 4g, 244 pp. Bradbury, Agnew. 2s. 6d. n. A DEAD RECKONING.—By JOHN BLOUNDELLE BURTON. 725, 306 pp. White. 6s, PAULETTE D’EsterRE. By HAROLD VALLINGS. 7}X5, 307 pp. J. Long. 6s. HISTORY, INDIA IN THE VicTORIAN AGE.—By RomesH Dutt, C.1.E., Lecturer on Indian History at University College, London. 84 x 53.628 pp. Kegan Paul. 10s. 6d. A Hisrory oF SourH Arrica. From the First Settle- ment by the Dutch, 1652, to the Year 1903. By H. A. BRYDEN. 8 X 5,363 pp. Sands. 6s. 200 By ELIZABETH SocIAL LIFE UNDER THE STUARTS. Grant Richards. GopFREY. 93 x 53, xxiii. + 273 pp. 12s. 6d. n. LITERARY. THE DANTE SOCIETY LECTURES. Austin, H. J. CHAYTOR, and Others. The Athenzeum Press. 2s. 6d. Vol. I. By ALFRED 64 X 44, 241 pp. MUSIC, To MeEmoriIzE Music, with By C. Frep Kenyon. Numerous Musical How 7% X 54, 56 pp. Examples. Reeves. 1s. : OLIVET TO CALVARY CHURCH CANTATA for Lent. By J. H. Maunder. Novello. Ils, 6d. PAMPHLETS. THE FOUNDATIONS OF A NATIONAL DRAMA — A Lecture delivered by HENRY ARTHUR JONES at the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, W., on Friday evening, March 18, 1904. Chiswick Press, POETRY, Porms.—By ST. JOHN Lucas. 73X5},127 pp. be. n. POLITICAL. THE New Far East. By A. Diosy, 83 X 53, xviii. + 368 pp. Cassell. 38. 6d. [ With brief new preface. | REPRINTS. THE HAMPSTEAD SHAKESPEARE. With THE LIFE OF SHAKESPEARE, by S. LEE. Four Vols. 7} x 54, 544+ 6444 666+xxvi.+495 pp. Finch. 21s. and 27s, n. SPORT. GREAT GOLFERS.—Their Methods at a Glance. BELDAM. 9 X 6, xxiv.+480 pp. 12s. 6d. n. FISHING HoLipAys.—By STEPHEN GWYNN. 299 pp. Macmillan. 7s. 6d. Constable 4th Edition. By G. W. 84x54, TRAVEL THE BALKANS FROM WITHIN.—By R. Wyon, 9 x 53 475 pp. Finch. 15s. n. 2 LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. ————+_. 7. Autobiography of Mr. Herbert Spencer has been published in 2 Vols. demy octavo, with his Portrait and other illustrations, at the price of 28s. net. Mr. Spencer himself, in the Preface, states as follows :— “Tt has seemed to me that a natural history of myself would be a useful accompaniment to the books which it has been the chief occupation of my life to write. In the following chapters I have attempted to give such a Natural History. That I have fully succeeded is not to be supposed, but perhaps I have succeeded partially. At any rate, one significant truth is made clear—that in the genesis of a system of thought the emotional nature is a ree factor, perhaps as large a factor as the intellectual nature.” THE AUTHOR. An American friend of Mr. Herbert Spencer, who has read the book, says :-— “Tt is as broad and many-sided as human experience, and the marvel and charm of it is its simple, straight- forward, and obvious truthfulness. It seems to me to exceed any of his former works in interest and practical value, and I have been a constant reader of his writings from their first publication in this country. Mr. Spencer’s supreme loyalty to truth and his native frankness have made his account of his life very open and unreserved. The report which was circulated in the St. James’ Gazette that Dr. Richard Garnett had written a play with Shakespeare as the leading character for production at a West End house is incorrect. We have Dr. Garnett’s authority for stating that he has written a play, which will shortly be published, founded on an incident in the life of Shakespeare, but it was written without any view to the stage, and the possibility of its performance has not yet been considered. Mr. Richard Pryce’s new book, “ The Successor,” has just been issued by Messrs. Hutchinson. If the subject—-an unspoken understanding between a husband and wife—is a little risky, the papers appear to acquit the author of any offence in the treatment. The exhaustive “Guide for Authors, Editors, Correctors of the Press, Compositors, and Typists,” on which Mr. F. Howard Collins has been working continuously for moresthan two years, and in which Mr. Herbert Spencer took a practical interest until prevented by ill-health, is now completely in type, and the revision well in hand. Among those who have read all the proofs may be mentioned Prof. Skeat, Mr. Henry Bradley (of the Oxford English Dictionary), Mr. Theo. L. De Vinne, of New York, the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, some of the largest firms of English and Scotch Printers, and many members of the London Association of Correctors of the Press. Miss Constance Hill’s book “Juniper Hall,” with illustrations by Ellen G. Hill, has been published by Mr. John Lane at the price of £11s.net. It is a pleasant account, with some hitherto unpublished particulars, of certain French refugees, who lived for a time at Juniper Hall near Mickleham in Surrey, and it contains, incidentally, the story of the courtship and marriage of Fanny Burney, afterwards Madame D’Arblay. One of the expensive books of the season will be the forthcoming “Master of Game,” the oldest English hunting book, which singularly enough has hitherto remained unpublished. A modern text as well as the old one will be given. It is illustrated with 52 plates. President Roosevelt has written the Foreword for the American edition, but it will also be given in the English edition. His Majesty the King as well as the Prince of Wales  have become subscribers. Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. are publishing it for the editors, Mr. and Mrs. Baillie-Grohman. Ordinary copies £5, edition de luxe £30, of the latter only two remain unsubscribed. It will be out this month. - We are pleased to see that The Country Life Library of Sport, under the editorship of Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson, is slowly increasing. The books are demi-octavo, illustrated, bound in cloth, at the price of 12s. 6d. a copy. Cricket and Shooting have already been issued, and Fishing is about to appear. Mr. Hutchinson’s name is a sufficient guarantee for the accuracy of the works. The next volume in the Woburn Library pub- lished by Messrs. Hutchinson and Co. will be Mr. F. G. Aflalo’s work on “ British Salt Water Fishing.” This book, like all its predecessors in the series, will be iilustrated with coloured plates. Mr. Aflalo, as the former editor of “ The Encyclo- peedia of Sport,” is well known as a great authority on all fishing, but especially on sea fishing. Theatrical papers, like Ze Fra, have welcomed Mrs. Alec. T'weedie’s last volume, “ Behind the Footlights.” Messrs. Hutchinson are the publishers. The price is 18s. net. In Sicily, Mrs. Alec. Tweedie has found much material for a new volume, which she hopes to have ready for autumn publication. Edith C. Kenyon’s new serial, “ Rex Harley’s Stratagem,” will commence shortly in the columns of Woman’s Life. Her serial, “Two Girls in a Siege” is nearing its conclusion in Our Own Gazette. “Little Robin Grey,” by the same writer, is in the press, and “A Girl ina Thousand” by her will also be published in the autumn. Mr. James Blyth, the author of “ Juicy J oe,” has written a new novel, “Celibate Sarah.” Like its author’s first book, it treats of life in the marsh- lands and the question of the regeneration of the marsh people. Mr. Grant Richards published the book on April 20th. “ Oddities, Others and I,” is the title of a new book which Miss Henrietta Corkran has published through Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. The price is 16s. net. It is, as the title suggests, a revelation of the author herself, and her impressions of the people she has met. The same firm has also published Mr. Frankfort Moore’s new novel entitled ‘‘ The Original Woman.” It is a story of modern life with the element of witchcraft interwoven. He treats the ancient cult from the standpoint of the modern man of science. “ The White Causeway ” is the title of another work by Mr. Moore, the opening chapters of which will appear in the May number of 7'he Lady's Realm. ‘A second edition of Mr. W. H. Wilkins’ book, “A Queen of Tears,” has been issued by Messrs. Longmans and Co. at the price of 36s. THE AUTHOR. 201 Messrs. Longmans also announce the publication of a new romance entitled “‘Lychgate Hall,” by M. E. Francis (Mrs. Francis Blundell) at the price of 6s. “Qld Hendrik’s Tales,” by Capt. Arthur 0. Vaughan, is a collection of animal stories gathered by the author from the Hottentots during the recent Boer War. Messrs. Longmans and Co. are the publishers. A new novel, by the author who writes under the pseudonym of “ Airam,” entitled “ Rudderless Ships,” will be published shortly by Mr. Henry Drane, at the price of 6s. It is a novel with a purpose—its purpose being to endeavour to prevent the increase of insanity by deterring children whose parents have any taint of insanity from marrying. The author has for many years had much to do with the treatment of mental disorders, and has felt the necessity for some steps to be taken to prevent their increase. The Gentleman’s Magazine for April contains a Russian story, in four chapters—* A Painter of Shrines ”—by Robert Bowman. «The Padre,” by Rose Harrison (author of “Esther Alington’’) is a story which depicts the stress, storm, and triumph of human experience in a world of temptation. Mr. Grant Richards has published a new sensa- tional story by Marie Connor Leighton, entitled “The Amazing Verdict.” Mr. T. Werner Laurie, for many years manager to Mr. Fisher Unwin, will shortly commence publishing on his own account. His address till June 30th, is 11, Paternoster Buildings, H.C. Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. have published a novel by his honour Judge Parry, entitled “ England’s Elizabeth.” Mr. Brimley Johnson has just published a new shilling edition (5th imprint) of “A Maid of the Manse,” by Mrs. E. Rentoul Esler. The book is excellently produced, in a tasteful paper cover. The new edition has a preface by the author. “The Shrine in the Garden.””—As applications are being made for this work, the Orient Press finds it necessary to state that its publication is unavoidably delayed. The book in question, which is a portion of the diary of a person recently deceased, is being kept back pending a legal decision in regard to certain matters with which it deals. Professor Lewis Campbell has edited a selection from the Poems of Thomas Campbell for inclusion in Messrs. Macmillan & Co.’s Golden Treasury Series. The poems are specially arranged for this issue, and a biographical and critical introduction is contributed by the editor. Mr. R. Mounteney Jephson, who has just 202 returned from the South of France, has been astonished to find his death reported in the Daily Chronicle. The paragraph referring to the republication in cheaper form of Mr. Jephson’s excellent story, “Tom Bulkeley,” stated that the Author died as recently as 1885, and that he had written eight or nine military and sporting novels. Mr. Jephson, we are glad to say, has returned from his stay abroad in the best of health, and is about to publish a new novel entitled “Froth.” The publisher is Mr. G. A. Morton, Edinburgh. The book is in two parts and written with a light en. = ?Op o’ my Thumb,” the one act play by Messrs. Frederick Fenn and Richard Pryce which was produced last month by the Stage Society has been bought by Mr. Frank Curzon for Miss Hilda Trevelyan, who made so great a success in the title-role. “Saturday to Monday,” by the same authors, was produced by Mr. George Alexander at the St. James’s Theatre, on April 14th. Mr. R. C. Carton’s new comedy, ‘The Rich Mrs. Repton,” was produced at The Duke of York’s Theatre, on Wednesday, April 20th. Miss Compton took the leading part. eg ae ge PARIS NOTES. —-—o— 1 —_ HE French Academy has awarded the Gobert Prize of 10,000 francs to the Marquis Pierre de Ségur for his work entitled “ Le maréchal de Luxembourg.” The second prize of 1,000 francs is awarded to M. Thouvenel for his works, “ Pages de Phistoire du second Empire ” (1854-1866) and “Trois années de la question d’Orient” (1856- 1859). The Thiers Prize of 3,000 francs for the encou- ragement of historical literature and research has been given to the Abbé Sicard for his book in three volumes, entitled, “ Ancien Clergé.”’ _ The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences has divided the Audiffred Prize between M. Henri Hauser, for a book on the teaching of Social Science; M. Piolet on “La France hors de France” ; M. Vast for his volume on “ PAlgérie et les colonies francaises,” and to M. Salaun for his work on ‘1’Indo-Chine.” The laureates of the Societé de Géographie are M. Sven-Hedin, who has been presented with the gold medal, the Capitaine Lenfant, M.M. Alfred Lacroix, Paul Pelet, Lieutenant Chédeville, Lieu- tenant Drot, Lieutenant Nieger, M. Bonnel de Mézieéres, the Commandant O. Barré. THE AUTHOR. “Force ennemie,” the novel by M. John-Antoine Nau, which has won for its author the first prize awarded by the Académie Goncourt, is a most remarkable book. It is supposed to be written by a madman who realises in his lucid moments that he is living in a private lunatic asylum. He gives an account of his coversations with his keeper, his doctor, and various inmates of the asylum. He analyses his own state of mind, discusses the various arrangements of the house, criticises the doctors, and describes in detail many of the inci- dents that take place. One of the other lunatics discusses with him their mental state and explains that the cause of their misfortune is the “ Force ennemie” within them. This idea haunts Veuly, and as time goes on he is convinced that it is true, and that he is “inhabited” by another creature who obliges him to do and say things entirely con- trary to his own inclinations. Unlike. Guy de Maupassant’s ‘‘ Horla,” this unwelcome guest is no second self, but a visitor from another planet, who introduces himself to Veuly by the name of “Kmdéhotn.” He informs his host that he had been waiting to find a human body to inhabit, and that he chose Veuly, because from one pole to the other he could never have found a man s0 easy- going, so wanting in energy, and altogether so weak-minded and imbecile. Veuly is not precisely flattered by this preference, and he is horrified at the thought that he can never again be alone, that whether he should wish it or not, from henceforth he must share every secret thought with this uncanny visitor. There is much unpleasant reading in the book, as the “ Force ennemie” induces Veuly to act entirely against his own judgment, so that he earns for himself a terrible reputation and can never succeed in explaining to the doctors that he is not responsible for his actions when under the influence of his unpleasant guest. The book is extremely curious and original, and the unplea- sant parts are relieved by the amusing conversations of the keeper. The author, who was comparatively unknown, has come to the front, thanks to the © Goncourt Prize, and his book is now in the seventh edition. : “Le Lac Noir,’ by M. Henri Bordeaux, is an entirely different book from anything to which this author has accustomed us. Once again the scene is laid in Savoy. The story turns on a trial for murder and the zeal of the lawyers employed in the case. The object of the book appears to be to give a psychological study of a conscientious lawyer and magistrate, and also to prove how much super- stition still exists among the peasant classes of Savoy. The whole volume is delightfully written, and the various characters live, but the story itself is gruesome.  THE AUTHOR. “La Vie Amoureuse de Francois Barbazanges,” by Marcelle Tinayre, is an exquisite picture of seventeenth century life in the quaint little town of Tulle. The authoress of “La Maison du Péché ” has given us another gem of literary workmanship. The story opens in 1673 with the birth of Francois. His father, M. Barbazanges, is devoted to astrology, and he at once studies the heavens in order to calculate his son’s horoscope. Francois grows up an imaginative boy with romantic ideas. Just as the hero of the “ Maison du Péché ” is steeped in religious traditions so Frangois is devoted to old- world romance. He grows up unlike other youths and is always in search of the ideal Jadye of his dreams. His various adventures on his way through life until he meets her take up the greater part of the volume. His strange meet- ing with his ideal woman, and his tragic fate are told in the final chapters. There is no strong plot to the story, and the charm of the book lies in the word-painting and the faithful evocation of the seventeenth century in provincial France. “Le Fléau,” by Gustave Guitton, is a book that might be read with profit in England as well as in France. It is a story of life in the working class, and shows the temptation which is placed in the way of the working-man in manufacturing districts by the drink shop, which is always so near to the factory. The author has taken the trouble to get statistics in proof of what he asserts. He tells us that in 1830 there were 281,000 public houses in France, that in 1899 there were 540,000, and that since that date there are 10,000 more. In this novel we follow a workman in his career and see how almost impossible it is for him to steer clear of the temptations with which he is beset. It isa tragic story and most pitiful as regards the hereditary taint in his children, When finally he is being tried for manslaughter his advocate boldly asserts that if his client should be condemned it would be unjust for the wealthy members of Parliament who have won _ their fortunes by his degradation to get off with no penalty. He declares that “drunkenness is a State institution, that through it the budget is ‘supplied with vast sums of money, that it is the source and foundation of many hundreds of huge fortunes, and that it is tacitly approved and encouraged by many members of Parliament, who are styled ‘ Honorable,’ and who are treated as honest men.” The book is well worth reading, as many facts are set forth which are worthy of con- sideration. Several interesting translations have appeared recently from various languages. Among these is “Le Troisitme Sexe,” by Ernst von Wolzogen, translated by the Prince B. Karageorgevitch. The translation is excellent, 203 and the book seems to gain rather than lose by its conversion into a more concise and elegant language. The “third sex’ is an admirable title, as without this definition one would be ata loss where to place the group of “creatures” described by the German author. Judging by this novel, one would imagine that just as in the “modern style” craze many of the German artists exaggerated the new idea until their designs were mere caricatures, so the “‘ New Woman” in German dress appears to be a carica- ture. Looked upon as a third sex she is merely a curiosity. We are introduced in this novel by M. von Wolzgen to the most extraordinary individuals. There is a doctoress of medicine and two sisters who are bankers, a she-lawyer, and then a group of the kind of men who can admire these specimens of the “ third sex.” Altogether the persons to whom one is introduced are not the kind one would care to know in real life, but meeting them in this way one is entertained by their conversation, their theories about life, their philosophy, their egotism, and, above all, their absurdities. The book is a clever satire and well worth reading, and, as we have already said, it is more readable in French than in the original. In the theatrical world the subject of a Theatrical Trust is once more being agitated. The Société des Auteurs dramatiques is very firm on this point, and will not hear of a “Trust” being formed. M. Deval, actor-manager of the Athénée, and M. Richemond, manager of the Folies Drama- tiques, have had great success with these two theatres. M. Roy, a banker, took over the lease of the Bonffes, and wished to be nominal manager of this theatre, with Messrs. Deval and Richemond to run it. The Société des Auteurs dramatiques objected to this arrangement, and a lawsuit is now going on between M. Roy and the Société. More recently M. Alphonse Franck, manager of the Gymnase, applied to M. Roy, and there was a plan formed for running this theatre on new lines. Once more the Société des Auteurs dramatiques has interfered. Another lawsuit is the consequence, so that M. Roy’s “ Theatre Trust” does not seem likely to succeed. M. Alfred Capus, President of the Committee of the Société des Auteurs dramatiques, explains that it would be against the interests of the authors and artistes to allow several theatres to be in the hands of one man. “The author’s rights,” he says, ‘‘the percentage on every performance exacted by the Société would be given up, a play would be bought for a fixed sum varying according to If the “ Trust” only the celebrity of the author.  204 THE AUTHOR. bought from these authors, what would then become of the others who are anxious to make a beginning ?” M. Deval and M. Richemond reply to this by quoting the words of M. Capus, who declares that “authors need artistic managers to control the theatres, and not directors of financial companies.” M. Deval then goes on to say that if authors want theatres at all for their pieces, they will have to sub- mit to having their theatres supported by financiers. As regards the author's rights, MM. Deval and Richemond declare that “ they are prepared to pay the same as the present contract with the Société exacts, 12 per cent. on the gross receipts and the 100 frances of billets de faveur for each performance.” They then go on to answer the other objections raised by the Société, and they propose that a clause should be added to the contract, stipu- lating that every year each theatre should be com- pelled to put on a piece by an author who either does not belong to the Société, or who has had no piece played for five years. It is very evident that the idea of this “Trust” is very tempting to the capitalists, but the Sociéte des Auteurs dramatiques holds the reins in France, and it does not consider that authors would gain much by following the example of Americans with regard to Theatre Trusts. It might be good for the few, but not for the majority, and as M. Capus is one of the most successful of French authors, one cannot help admiring the way in which he is fighting for his confreres. The great theatrical event is of course the new play at the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre. “ Varennes ” is a piece in six tableaux by MM. Lavedan and G. Lendtre. It is most admirably staged, and as regards the historical details it is well known that M. Lendtre is one of the greatest living authorities on this period. M. Sardou frequently consults him on any doubtful points of history, so that with M. Lendtre’s knowledge of the subject and M. Lavedan’s brilliant dialogue, the success of the literary side of the play was assured. Everyone was curious to see Madame Bernhardt in the réle of Marie Antoinette. She is admirable in her part, so admirable in fact that the great regret of everyone is that her réle is not enough. In the scenes where she does not appear there is a general feeling of disappointment—the other artistes are excellent, M. Magnier as Fersen, Mme. Dufréne as Mme. de Rochereux, M. Guy most amusing in his part; but the whole company cannot make up for the absence of Madame Sarah Bernhardt, and the spectators were inclined to blame the authors for causing them this disappointment. As regards the other theatres, “Le Retour de Jérusalem ” is certainly the greatest success of the season. At the Vaudeville “1’Esbroutfe” is still running, and at Antoine’s “ Oiseaux de Passage,” At the Gaité “a Montansier,” and at the Ambignu M. Pierre Decourcelle’s piece “ La Baillonnée ” ig a great success. At the Athenée, with the “ Prince Consort,” there is always a full house, and at the ThéAtre Victor Hugo M. Bour has put on “ Don Quichotte.” Atys HALLarp. a SPANISH NOTES. —-~>+—_ i T is difficult for English people to realise the important part played by the imagination in Spain. “' The King has lately issued a Royal Decree with respect to the celebration of the tri-centenary of the publication of “ Don Quixote” in May, 1905, which shows the place taken by that book in the hearts of the Spaniards. For this Royal Decree commands that a Committee be formed of the President of the Congress, the Ministers of State, War, Navy, and Public Instruction ; representatives of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando ; the Society of Authors and Artists; and the Scientific, Literary, and Artistic Atheneum of Madrid, with the Director of the National Library, etc., etc., to consider the best modes of doing honour to the great work of Cervantes in their different departments. “After the present Prime Minister questioned the right of a newspaper editor, who is a deputy, to publish the uncalled-for attacks consequent on his appointment of Sefior Nozaleda as Archbishop of Valencia, several telegrams purporting to come from the land of Shades were read aloud at the Press Banquet to give voice to the spirit of censure against Senor Maura ; and the other day one of the leading newspapers published a long discourse supposed to have been sent by Sagasta from the other world. ‘The Republicans who recently strove to start disloyal discourses in the public streets were quickly silenced, ana the speeches of such dissentients in the Congress as Canalejas, Moret,. Villaverde, etc., are more easily controverted than an attack from such an unassailable source as that of the deceased Prime Minister." Sagasta is sup- posed to mock at Seftor Maura’s ideal of making the Congress “the point of contact between the Crown and the country,” which he is hoping to: accomplish by the reform in the Parliamentary Elections whereby the deputies would be voted for at the public polls instead of being appointed by the ministers, which has been the custom since 1812. ‘This idea was first propounded in Colonel Figuerola Ferretti’s loyal Petition to his beloved. cd  sovereign on 3rd November, 1902.* Had Sagasta allowed the Petition to reach King Alfonzo, who is always anxious for the welfare of his country, the successive governments of Silvela and Villaverde would probably not have been so quickly over- thrown and the present one in such danger now, for it was respectfully suggested that a Provisional government composed of sections of each party with a Royal decree sanctioning the elections at the polls for a new government, would secure the adhesion to the Monarchists of those who waver to Republicanism from their despair of seeing this reform. Many members of a well-known London Club addressed Colonel Figuerola Ferretti a letter appreciative of a patriotism sincere enough to seek the consolidation of the monarchy even at a sacrifice, presumably only temporary, of his own position at Court. His “ Cantos de Espana” (giving the history of the Regency) breathe devotion to the King and Queen and present an interesting lyrical picture. Speaking of literature reminds me that Galdos, the great novelist and dramatist, has just produceda new drama in Madrid called “ El abuelo ” (the Grand- father) which is shortly to be performed in German in Berlin, Frankfort, Munich, and Vienna. Senor Linares Rivas-Astray (son of the government minister) has just given to the stage a striking picture of “high life” in Madrid, in a play called “ Aire de Fuera,” in which the well-known actress Sefiora Guerrero, wife of Senor Diaz de Mendoza, a grandee of Spain, takes the first part. Women also begin to rank as dramatists in Spain, for Senora Emilia Pardo Bazan’s piece at the theatre of the Princesa called ‘lia Suerte”? (Fate) was the one chosen for the Benefit of Maria Tubau. “Ta Catedral,” the last work of Blasco Ibanez, has now also excited great attention in Madrid, but the author’s Republican views detract from the interest of the féte given in his honour. The Spanish capital is looking forward with great enthusiasm to greeting the wife of Maurice Maeterlinck this month, for under her well-known name of Georgette Leblanc she is to play in her husband’s celebrated play of “ La Joyzelle” at one of the leading theatres. Music also claims much attention in Madrid just now. The daughter of the well-known pro- fessor Sefior Benaiges has shown great talent in her recent pianoforte recital, and Sauer’s concert was a great success, under the patronage of the Royal family. His Majesty King Alfonso has testified his appreciation of practical literary work in pre- senting Don Ezequiel Solana with the prize as the Oe * The Paris New York Herald of November 12th, 1902, applauded this movement. THE AUTHOR. 205 first teacher in Madrid; for this energetic director of a boys’ school has just published as the outcome of his two years’ travel and study, “A Manual of the Schools of Europe,” and two other Spanish books entitled respectively, “ Primary Education in Italy” (“ La Enseianza primaria en Italia”), and “Practical Guide to Manual Educative Work” (“Guia practica del trabajo manual educativo ”). The King’s trips into the provinces tend greatly to add to his popularity in the country, for not only was his important rencontre with the Emperor of Germany at Vigo preceded by most successful visits to Segovia and Toledo, but his time in Barcelona bids fair to dispel the shadow of separatism. The literary taste of Sefior Silvela (the late Prime Minister) is evidenced by the active part he took in the weekly conferences held at the charm- ing theatre of San Luis. On the one day he held forth on the life and character of Maria de Agreda, the potent counsellor of Philip IV., and on another his lecture on Beatrice Galindo, the governess and companion of Isabel I. of Spain, shows that he appreciates the power exercised in the past by the fair sex in his country. The Infanta Dona Maria de la Paz, sister of the late King Alfonso XII. and wife of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Bavaria, of world-wide reputation in the science of surgery, has recently published a charming little book called ‘* Mi Peregrinacion a Roma,” which gives a most interesting account of her visit to the “ Eternal City.” The wondrous churches and picture galleries are described in the poetic spirit characteristic of the Princess. Her emotion at the benediction of her children by the late Pope shows the fervour of her religious senti- ment, and her pleasure at again meeting Cardinal Rampolla, known to her in her youth as the Pope’s Nuncio in Madrid, and her enthusiasm at the sight of the Spanish pilgrims at St. Peter’s testify to her abiding love of her own country. The secretary of the royal authoress tells me that the book has just been translated into English by Frau Johanna Szeliuska. Echegaray’s new play “ La Desequilibriada”’ has excited great interest in Spain. The heroine, as the title shows, is an unbalanced character— unbalanced in her love which she sets against her admirer’s sense of honour in a matter of business ; so unbalanced in her hatred of her husband when she found that his subterfuge had won her as his wife, that she compassed his death ; and finally so unbalanced in her sense of maternal duty that she abandons her child for ever, leaving him in the care of her lover, from whom her remorse also separates her. Senor A. Palacio Valdés, well known in England by his novels, “ Froth,” “The Grandee,” and “The 206 Fourth Estate,” has added to his reputation by his last work, entitled “ La Aldea Perdida” (the Lost Hamlet). The sweet harmonious joys of a Spanish village, described from the experiences of the author’s own boyhood form a truly pastoral poem, but the romantic becomes tragic when the un- bridled passions of the new-comers who work the mines, cause the death of two of the four chief characters. When mentioning Galdos’s new play of “ El Abuelo,” which has created such a furore in Madrid by its masterly presentation of the force of the human passions and the superhuman power of gratitude, I should have added that the great novelist and dramatist has himself elicited that virtue by the generous way he has just devoted the rofits of his Benefit to the Chipiona Sanatorium for Sick Children. When Senor Picon, the well-known author of “Bl Enemigo” (the Enemy), declined the other day the invitation of the President of the Congress to make a speech, the newspaper called Hspana said the writer evidently wished to show that deeds are of more value than words, and in this Sefior Galdos has excelled. Percy Horspur. ———_————— 2 —__—_ LEGAL NOTES. +4 The Attempt to Maintain Net Prices in the State of New York. N important case for authors and publishers who place books upon the market within the state of New York has recently been decided by the New York Court of Appeals. It is one also which, owing to the principles involved, is of interest to those who do not publish books within the jurisdiction of the Court in question. The appellants sought to establish the legality under Chapter 690, laws 1899, New York, of a combination of publishers and book agents to keep up net prices, by refusing all dealings with retail booksellers who sold books published at a net price below that price, or who had any connection, either proved or suspected, with any such underselling. The combination had been declared unlawful in the court below and the Court of Appeal upheld this ruling by a majority of five judges to two. The act in question was passed : “To prevent monopolies in articles or commodities of common use and tojprohibit restraints of trade and commerce... .” And it provides that— “ Every contract agreement, arrangement or combination, whereby a monopoly in the manufacture production or sale in this state of any article or commodity of common use 1s THE AUTHOR. or may be created, established or maintained, or whereby competition in this state in the supply or price of any such article or commodity is or may be restrained or prevented, or whereby for the purpose of creating, establishing or maintaining a monopoly within this state of the manufac- ture, production or sale of any such article or commodity, the free pursuit in this state of any lawful business, trade or occupation is or may be restricted or prevented, is hereby declared to be against public policy, illegal and void.”’ Those alleged to have offended against this law were the American Publishers’ Association and others connected with the publishing business, representing about 90 per cent. of the book trade, and the complainants were R. H. Macy & Co., a firm conducting a “department store” in New York, in which they do a very large business and own a book department of considerable size. Messrs. Macy & Co.’s complaint alleged— “That during the year 1900 a number of prominent publishers, including defendants hereinbefore described as publishers for the purpose of securing to themselves an unreasonable and extortionate profit and at the same time with intent to prevent competition in the sale of books and for the purpose of establishing and maintaining the prices of all books published by them, or any of them, and all books dealt in by them, or any of them, and preventing com- petition in the sale thereof, unlawfully, illegally and con- trary to the public policy and the statutes of the state of New York . .. combined and associated themselves together ’’ etc. The methods used were further described thus : “ That as a part of said unlawful scheme and combination the members of said association agreed that such net copy- righted books, axd all other books, whether copyrighted or not, or whether published by them or not, should be sold by them to those booksellers only who would maintain the retail net price of such net copyrighted books for one year, and to those booksellers and jobbers only who would furthermore sell books [the word “ copyrighted ’’ is omitted at this point] at wholesale to no one known to them to cut or sell at a lower figure than such net retail price, or whose name would be given to them by the association as one who cut such prices.”’ In explaining and commenting upon the arrange- ment thus described Chief Justice Parker made the following observations : “It will be seen that while the leading object of this portion of the agreement apparently is to maintain the retail net price of copyrighted books, it operates in fact so as to prevent the sale of books to dealers who sell books of any kind to one who retails copyrighted books at less than the net retail price. “ And the agreement further provides that evidence shall not be required by the bookseller or jobber in order to restrain him from selling to one who has been blacklisted, but that all that shall be required to govern his action, and to prevent him from selling to such a person, shall be that the name has been given to him by the association as one who cuts such net prices. It has been admitted, and must be, that the agreement may be so worked out as to deprive a dealer from selling any books whatever, thus breaking up his business.’’ The actual carrying out of the agreement thus entered into was also referred to, and after  ® THE AUTHOR. reviewing its terms and the facts, which were not disputed, the learned chief justice held it to be an undertaking to interfere with the free pursuit of a lawful business in which any member of the com- munity was free to engage. He accordingly, with the assent of the judges who concurred with him, dismissed the appeal. In delivering a dissenting judgment of some length, Judge Gray pointed out that the agree- ment of the appellants only endeavoured to govern the sale of copyright books to be sold at net price, and not that of others. “The contract,’? he observed, ‘ did not extend to the copyrighted books other than by way of penalty, as the refusal to deal in them might be incidental to the refusal to deal with booksellers who would not co-operate in an agreement to maintain the net retail price of a copy- righted book. It is not unlawful for a person to refuse to deal with others as his judgment or fancy may impel him. His business is his own, and the only limitation upon his pursuit of it is that he shall not interfere with the legal rights of others. It seems to me that what he may law- fully do himself he may unite with others in doing, if of some common advantage.” The other dissentient judge, Judge Bartlett, followed the same line of argument; he asserted the right of the individual to trade with whom he pleased, and maintained that more than one might combine to do what one might do alone, adding that “The refusal to maintain trade relations with a given individual is an inherent right which every person in business may exercise for reasons which he deems sufficient, or for no reason whatever.” Judge Bartlett also made some pregnant obser- vations on the cutting of prices by big traders to the injury of small ones and of the trade generally, characterising the procedure adopted as one of the saddest phases of modern business life. “Tt is a well-known fact,’’ he said, “that the great department stores of the country have encroached upon many lines of trade entirely distinct from the main and legitimate business in which they are engaged. As an illustration, a dry goods establishment, engaged in selling a vast number of articles legitimately related to its busi- ness, concludes, in order to promote its principal trade, to offer for sale books, furniture, druggists’ sundries and numerous other articles that need not be mentioned, at cut prices, representing only the cost of production, and often- times far below it. The inevitable effect of this policy is to draw a large number of people to these establishments, and in the final result the dealer makes good his losses in the outside trade by the prices he obtains in his legitimate business. It may be fairly assumed that the general business is conducted at a profit. The result is a large number of the retail dealers in the various kinds of articles thus undersold are driven out of business, many of them at a time of life when they are unable to reinstate themselves in some other calling. It also results in great damage to manufacturers, pro- ducers, and wholesale dealers in loss of customers, who have been driven into insolvency.” 207 To this he added that no doubt the proprietors of department stores had a right to sell as cheaply as they pleased, or, indeed, to give away their goods to their customers, but that equally manu- facturers, producers, and wholesale dealers had a right to protect themselves by dealing or not dealing as they pleased, such a right being inci- dental to the right to exist and to act in self defence. With regard to this case it may be observed that the wording of the New York law as quoted appears to justify the finding of the New York Court of Appeals, although the principles laid down by the dissenting judges will commend themselves to many as being based upon justice and sound sense. In England, combinations alleged to be in restraint of trade have, from time to time, occupied the attention of the Courts. These have usually had todo with the relations between masters and workmen, and it was in a case of this kind (Allen . Flood, 1898, A.C. 1) that the law upon the subject was recently reviewed at great length. It seems impossible from the judgments in that case to conclude that a com- bination among publishers such as that which has been held illegal under the New York law could be successfully attacked by a bookseller under the Common Law of England. The opportunity, how- ever, is not likely to arise. The difficulty of com- bining and of organising the numerous units which make up the publishing trade in Great Britain and Ireland so as to drive out of the book trade all retailers suspected of disregarding net prices would be too great. In the State of New York it was possible to obtain the co-operation of 0 per cent. of the publishing houses, all unanimous in support- ing a policy of net prices. Similar efforts have been made in England, but not upon so compre- hensive a scale, and without such unanimity and without the power to crush or to injure seriously the trade of the recalcitrant bookseller, the action of only a limited number of publishers, even though they acted in unison, could hardly be open to the suggestion of illegality, or even of moral turpitude. There are two ways, moreover, in which an arrange- ment for the restraint of trade may be looked at. The agreement entered into may be void as between the parties to it, so that they cannot legally enforce it against one another, without being illegal so as to lay it open to attack from without. This, how- ever, may be described as a matter of legal detail. Attempts to bind down the retail dealer to a minimum price, below which he may not sell whether at a profit to himself or not, are not, of course, confined to the book trade. In any trade, how- ever, in England in which a large number of manu- facturers, both great and small, are engaged, it has been found difficult as a rule to secure the necessary unanimity and organisation. In the bicycle trade, 208 to quote a recent example, great efforts were at one time made to keep up prices, and retailers who did a large cash business in machines and in their accessories were ‘‘ boycotted’ or an endeavour was made to “ boycott” them by manufacturers, whose small customers naturally protested that they could not compete with the prices of their stronger rivals. Of the precise position of the matter at the present day I am not aware, but a considerable cheapening of everything has taken place, and I think I am right in saying that the artificial keeping up of prices by combination among manufacturers and wholesale distributors has been found impracticable. As to the conditions under which it is possible in the book trade, the Macy case in New York isa good example. : Only the questions of legality, and of the possibility of combination have been discussed in this article. The desirability of maintaining net prices, and of keeping up the price of books generally has not been gone into. It involves the consideration of whether such a policy would keep in the trade a greater number of small booksellers, while it curtailed the trade of bigger dealers, and this again would raise doubts as to whether the larger number of smaller dealers selling at higher prices or the smaller number of larger dealers selling at lower prices is the better condition for the author, for the publishers, and last but not least, for the reading public. These are interesting problems which have frequently been ventilated in the Author, and no doubt will continue to be so in the future. E, A, ARMSTRONG. <> ¢ THE LITERARY YEAR BOOK.* a General. HE “Literary Year Book” for 1904 is now a before the public. ‘his is the eighth year of issue. In the main features of this useful annual publication no alteration has been made, and, on the whole, the 1904 edition is an improvement on its predecessors. Like other works of reference its tendency is to increase in size, so that the editor may expect, before long, to be confronted by the necessity of omitting those parts which are least wanted. The “calendar” and “signs used in correcting proofs” could be easiest dispensed with, and the resumé, which occupies twenty-seven pages, might be considerably condensed. Nevertheless, * “Literary Year Book,’ 1904: George Allen, 5s. THE AUTHOR. rather than delete any feature or reduce the size of the type, it would be more serviceable were the book printed on thinner paper. Without increasing the bulk of the work, extra pages could then be added after the style of the “ Unique Manuscript Register” (A. J. Baynes, 441, Strand), on which the author could record conveniently an account of his year’s labours for future reference. The advan- tage of this to the “ Year Book” publisher would be, that the volume so used would not be lent, and each author would have to buy his own copy. To ensure a work of this character being gene- rally referred to, every list given ought to be as complete as possible. Turning to the ‘ Calendar”? we miss a record of the birthdays of the following well-known authors :—In January—Maria Edge- worth, R. Savage, Aikin, Bentley ; in February— Archbishop Whateley, Hallam the historian, About, Lowell, Grimm and Lover; in March—Manzoni ; April—Mme. de Staél and Froude; May—Le Sage, J. S. Mill and Lytton; July—Klopstock and Petrarch ; August—Fénélon; September—Chateau- briand, M. J. Daumas, Korner, Jane Taylor and Mrs. Hemans; October—S. T. Coleridge and Adelaide Procter; November—Hans Sachs and Shenstone ; December—E. Burritt, Mary Mitford, A. Cunningham and Samuel Smiles. The “Obituary” section has no note of the death of the eminent musical writer, H. J. Hipkins, author of the monumental ‘‘ Musical Instruments,” published by Black, the “ History of the Piano- forte” (Novello), and contributor of upwards of five hundred articles in Grove’s “ Dictionary of Music” and the “Encyclopedia Britannica.” Other names excluded from last year’s death list are Mrs. E. T. Cook, author of “The Bride’s Book,” ‘Highways and Byeways of London” (d. June 19); J. A. McNeill Whistler, author of the “Gentle Art of Making Enemies” (July 17) ; Wilfrid Cripps, C.B., F.S.A., author of “Old English Plate,” “Old French Plate,” (Oct. 26) ; James Innes Minchin, translator of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” (Jan. 13) and Richard Savage (Oct. 11). In the section devoted to “ Books of Reference” there is no mention of the “ World Directory of Music,” published by De Witt, Leipzig. Coming to “Authors,” when lesser lights are included, why are the following names overlooked ? Gilder, Joseph B., author of ‘‘Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth,” ‘“Lowell’s Impressions of Spain,” &e.; Bruce, John Mitchell, author of much medical literature and assistant editor of Quain’s Dic- tionary ; Parkin, G. R., author of ‘ Imperial Federation,” “Round the Empire,’ “The Great Dominion,” &c.; Edwards, Osman, author of “Studies of Theatrical Life,’ “A Gauntlet,” “ Japanese Plays and Playfellows,” &c. ; Watson,  Aaron, author of “ Brown Studies,” ‘ Waifs and Strays,” “For Lust of Gold,” &c. ; Foakes Jackson, Rev., author of the “ History of the Christian Church,” &c. ; Angus, Orme, author of, “Sarah Tuldon,” a Story of Wessex Life ; Ford, William, author of “ Baja the Freebooter,” “ Pun- jaub Coach,” &c. ; Forrest, Sir John, author of ‘ Explorations in Australia,” &c.; Prowl, Ebenezer, author of about a dozen authoritative text books on music which have been translated into French, German, and Italian ; Fraser, J. Foster, author of “ Round the World on a Wheel,” &c. ; Lancaster, W. J. Cosens, author of many excellent nautical novels. Victor Spiers is mentioned, but why is R. Phené Spiers, the author of valuable architectural works, left out ? Space restricts our naming more omissions of general writers, but, if we particularise in one department, and turn to the topic of most interest this year—i.e. the War—and recall the books dealing with Russia, Korea, and Japan brought before the public towards the end of last year, we will find that the writers of such works are con- spicuous by their absence in the “ Literary Year Book,” published last March. There is no mention of the authors of the following :—“‘The Russian Advance ” (Albert Beveridge), “Sixteen Years in Siberia” (Leo Deutsch), “ In the Uttermost East” (Chas. H. Hawes), “The World’s History “(Dr H. F. Helmolt), “Manchuria” (Alex. Hosie), “The Far East: its History and its Question ” (Alex. Krausse), “‘The Path of Empire” (George Lynch), “History of Russia” (Alfred N. Ram- baud), “The Great Siberian Railway ” (Michael M. Shoemaker), “Korean Sketches” (Rev. J. S. Gale), “Japanese Girls” (Alice M. Bacon), “Japan: its History, &c.” (Captain F. Brink- ley), “The Heart of Japan” (C. L. Brownell), “Things Japanese” (Basil Hall Chamberlain), “ Handbook of Japan” (W. Mason), “ Evolution of the Japanese” (Sidney Gulick), “ Japanese Training” (H. Irving Hancock), “Japan and her People” (Anna ©. Hartshorne), “ Kokoro” (Lafcadio Hearn), “ Feudal and Modern Japan” (Arthur May Knapp), “Tales of Old Japan” (A. B. Mitford), “History of Japan ” (Fred. Millard), “Japan and its Trade” (J. Morris), “Japan in Transition” (S. Ransome), “ Tmpres- sions of Japan” (G. H. Rittner), ‘‘ Three Rolling Stones in Japan” (Gilbert Watson), “ Japan : Aspects and Destinies” (Petrie Watson), and “ Ships and Shipping” (Francis Miltoun). Many of the above topical works are new editions of old ones, and few of the authors are novices. The incompleteness of the List of Authors seems, indeed, to imply that the value of the “ Year Book” for personal reference is overlooked. A reliable directory of the iiterary world would enable THE AUTHOR. 209 a publisher to communicate direct with any author he pleases. In these days, when an author seldom confines himself to one publisher, the public also should be able to refer to the “‘ Year Book” for a complete list of the works of a favourite author ; and, to facilitate such inquiry, the addition of a List of Titles, classified under Theology, Travel, Science, Fiction, Poetry, &c., would be welcome. The list of periodical publications needs also more careful revision. For instance, the London addresses of the following papers are wrong :— Belfast News Letter, 435, Strand ; Daily Dispatch, Manchester, 68, Fleet Street ; Newcastle Chronicle, 22, Essex Street ; Norfolk Chronicle, 149, Strand ; Nottingham Daily Express, 75, Fleet Street. Musical periodicals are nearly all omitted. Not one of the following well-known papers is given :— British Bandsmen, 188,Strand, W.C. ; Music Trades Review, 1, Racquet Court, E.C.; Journal of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, 19, Berners Street, W.; Musical Record, 199, Regent Street, W. ; Music, 188, Wardour Street, W.; J/usical Opinion, 35, Shoe Lane, E.C. ; Musical Standard, 83, Charing Cross Road, W.C.; Orchestral Association Gazette, 28, Gerrard Street, W.; Organist and Choirmaster, 9, Berners Street, W.; Strad, 3, Green Terrace, Rosebery Avenue. Amongst the Press Cutting Agents no German firm is mentioned, and amongst magazine photo- graphers one of the most enterprising firms—the City Art Photo. Co. (manager, Mr. W. D. Horn) —is overlooked. We offer the foregoing criticisms in the friendliest spirit, our desire being that so excellent a publica- tion may be made as perfect and complete as possible, for there is no reason why, with proper organization, the “Literary Year Book” should not be as comprehensive and up-to-date as “Dod’s” Peerage or “Crockford’s” Clergy List. If advantage is taken of such hints as those we have given, the result will be profitable to the publisher and the immense community to which he appeals.—A. R. Legal. The legal side of the book is one which, more than any other, needs the consideration of members of the Society of Authors. The articles included deal with the numerous points on which authors desire information and protection, but in most cases, though correct, so far as they go, are insufficient. This is the real difficulty in the production of a book of this kind. Insufficient information may often lead an author into serious errors, but we do not desire to cavil and find fault. We fully recognise that it is impossible for an editor to provide against all 210 contingencies on any question, more especially when those questions deal with copyright and the legal side of literary property. Even with the added assistance of the “ Literary Year Book” an author should be particularly careful, and in many cases should not consider himself secure without special expert advice. : : Agreements and copyright, in their respective chapters, with some slight deflections, are admir- ably dealt with, clearly and lucidly expounded, and very accurate. The agreements are classed under the following four heads— : Royalty Agreement ; Sharing profits ; The author commissioned ; The publisher commissioned. This is a fairly satisfactory division, but The Author Commissioned is rather a different form of agreement to the sale outright. If the publisher commissioned a book from an author he would be entitled to make larger demands from the author than if he merely purchased the copyright. On the whole, the divisions set forth in The Author are the more satisfactory. Sale Outright, Profit Sharing Agreement, The Royalty System, and The Commission Agreement. Mr. Charles Weekes, who is responsible for these chapters, sets out a series of usual clauses, explains them, and notes their omissions, but expresses no opinion as to how far he considers an author has a right or is entitled to make demands from a pub- lisher. From his point of view, as editor, he is justified in taking this line, if, indeed, it is not the only line he could adopt. The question of serial rights is treated hardly at sufficient length. This is often the most important side of the property of the writers of fiction, and also of writers of educational and technical works. The Editor states, ‘‘ All serialisation should cease when the book is published”; but difficulty often arises owing to the lack of finality in the contract with editors when the sale takes place. It would have been a good thing if he had dealt, perhaps in a separate article, with serial rights and the contract for the sale of those rights, and the difficulty that surrounds it. There is also another omission of great import- ance to authors—the agreements made between authors and their agents ; for as the agent is ina position more confidential to the author than the publisher or anyone else who deals with his pro- perty, it is essential that his agreement should be carefully controlled, and the author should see, when dealing with the agent, that he is not dealing with a man who is also acting on behalf of the publisher. There is very little fault to find with the other comments Mr. Weekes has made. In “The Author Commissioned” it might be as well for the author THE AUTHOR. to insist as one term of the contract that no altera- tion should be made in the MS. without his sanction, for although it is stated “that the assignment of copyright does not convey the right ‘to alter or revise the book in such a manner that the author’s reputation suffers,” yet there are many alterations possible which would annoy and disgust an author, but which need not necessarily be considered by a judge and jury as damaging to his reputation. Turning from the Agreements to the chapter on Copyright, we are pleased to say that the errors are few, as far as the exposition of the copy- right law is concerned. Only those who have tried the task can imagine how exceedingly difficult it is to compress a subject of this kind into so small a space, but the statements made are clear, correct, and, within limits, satisfying. The author, under the heading of “ Extent,” says that an assignment for any less period than the whole term of copyright, would be a licence only. From whence does he get this statement? Surely, it is possible to assign the whole copyright for a limited period, without merely assigning a licence to publish; otherwise, there would be no need for the registration of assignments at Stationers’ Hall. Under the heading of Magazines and Periodicals, the distinction that exists under the eighteenth section between Encyclopedias and Reviews, Magazines, etc., is hardly sufficiently emphasised. To anyone who read the paragraph as an amateur the difference would certainly not be clear. The writer states under the same heading, ‘‘ The work of a servant would vest in his employer from the first.” This point, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, must be yielded; but he continues, “it is doubtful if the sender of a voluntary con- tribution, though his work was used, would have any rights unless the terms were expressly men- tioned.” This sentence is enigmatical. Does the writer intend to convey that the author in those cases where a contribution has been sent without a special demand to an editor, and the contribution has been printed and paid for, would possess no rights whatever, and would therefore be considered to have sold the copyright ? Surely, this deduction cannot be correct. Again, under the heading of “Drama,” the following statement appears— “ After publication in print, but before authorised representation, it is doubtful whether a common law action would lie against an unauthorised per- former.” This is contrary to the view taken by Mr. Scrutton, whose statement of the law we personally are inclined to follow. Under the same heading, the writer is certainly ambiguous in the following sentence :— “As to performing right and copyright as they  may be retained or lost by first performance or publication outside the United Kingdom, first performance in ‘America does not divest the Com- mon Law right here.” This passage surely needs a little further explanation for the uninitiated. Under the “International” heading, it will be seen that Austria and Hungary are included in the Berne Convention. This is not correct. Austria and Hungary have a special Treaty with Great Britain, and some other countries, but they are not members of the International Convention. To sum up, however, the impression conveyed to a critic of that portion of the work, dealing with the legal side of literary property, is thab it is sound and trustworthy, and may, with limitations, be safely employed by those who seek information on the points which the writer has sought to elucidate. G. H. T. ——_+—>—_+—___——_ MUSICAL COPYRIGHT. ————+— Minority Report. N the March number of 7'he Author we printed a summary of the majority report on the ques- tion of Musical Copyright, issued by the departmental committee. Since that date the Musical Copyright Bill introduced by Mr. Mount has come up and passed a second reading in the House of Commons, and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Law. It has gone even further, It has been amended, and printed as amended. Mr. Caldwell, the sole author of the minority report, took the opportunity of placing his views before the House of Commons in his speech on the second reading ; perhaps, however, it would be fairer to take the statement of his views from his considered report rather than from his speech. In the opening paragraph he states as follows :— “The general evidence given disclosed the existence of another interest—that of the general public interested in the cultivation of music—an interest, however, which was not specially represented at the enquiry ; which is prac- tically ignored in the report of the majority of the Com- mittee, but which, nevertheless, fails to be considered in any amendment of the law which may be deemed necessary. “The whole of the witnesses examined (excepting the ‘King of the Pirates’) regard musical copyright as a right of property, such as a man has in his watch, entitling the owner of the copyright to exercise his right of property in any manner he pleases without any regard to the interests of the general public or to the advancement of music in the community. It is also upon that assumption that summary proceedings, analogous to those of the criminal law, seem to be recommended. “ A slight consideration will show that copyright is not such an absolute right of property as is claimed, but is a ‘liberty’ or privilege, conferred by Parliament, with the THE AUTHOR. 211 view of encouraging music in the general community into which the public interest enters, as well as that of the owner of the copyright, and over the exercise of which by the owner of the copyright Parliament has and exercises a right of control.’ In order to prove the final contention he quotes at length the Acts on which copyright is founded. We venture to think that his judgment is entirely incorrect, and that a deeper consideration of the subject would have secured a sounder opinion. The Government found a certain form of pro- perty existing, which, perhaps, more than any other, should be reckoned the sole property of its originator. They found that this property was ill-secured and easily filched from the owner. Accordingly, in order to secure it, they passed Copyright Statutes. At that time a cry was raised by people who, like Mr. Caldwell, considered they represented the public ; but the plea of the public was shown many years ago by the most distin- cuished authorities, and those who had given the matter their fullest attention to be without foundation. It is late in the day to bring up the question again, and it would take too much space to quote the learned authorities referred to. It would be interesting to enquire whether Mr. Cald- well has studied the legislation dealing with copy- right property since the passing of the Act of 1842; whether he has noted that all modern legislation in all the countries of the world has been to confirm the property in the author, to give him wider limits, not only as far as country but also as far as time! is concerned ; and that in the great majority of cases which have been taken into the courts of law the Acts have as a rule received the most liberal interpretation in favour of the authors of literary, dramatic, and musical property. He goes on to state that the owners of musical copyright have exercised their sole and exclusive “liberty” in a manner highly detrimental to the interests of the general public, as well as to the advantage of music, and have practically tempted and induced piracy. “To find anything like an approach to the present piracy of musical copyright, one has to go back to the piracy of books by American editions, owing to the high prices charged for books in this country placing books of educa- tional value quite beyond the reach of the general public, notwithstanding the cheapness of paper and printing. By the issue of cheaper editions for the general public the temptation to piracy has been removed ; and the public being now supplied at a reasonable price there is no market for pirated books, notwithstanding the somewhat irrelevant reference in the concluding paragraph of the report of the majority as to the alleged piracy of Mr. Arthur Balfour's pamphlet and Mr. Kipling’s poems. “The evidence has disclosed that the author or composer of a musical composition does not himself publish the sub- ject of his copyright. A trade or business has sprung up of publishers, who purchase musical copyrights either for a small sum, cash down, in the case of unknown composers, 212 or for a royalty of from one penny up to fourpence per copy sold—the customary royalty being threepence per copy, subject to a deduction of one-seventh. The publisher in the case of such purchases takes the place of the original owner of the copyright, with the same powers and subject to the same limitations and responsibilities. “ The publishers who are purchasers of copyright appear to have an arrangement amongst themselves with regard to the prices to be charged. The prices charged to the public seem to be the same in all cases, irrespective of the royalty paid to the author and composer, although the discount to the trade may vary as regards individual compositions and individual publishers. The successes are made to pay for the failures ; and as the failures are said to be five-sixths of the total, a heavy tax is by this arrangement laid upon the general public. A business arrangement of this kind is not contemplated by the Copyright Acts, which, although necessarily permitting sales of copyright, confer no further power in the assignee than that which existed in the original owner of the copyright.”’ The statements contained in the first paragraph just quoted are not in accordance with fact ; it must, therefore, logically follow that the deductions are equally erroneous. No doubt he is, to a certain extent, correct with regard to the attitude of the publishers. They purchase, in many instances for small prices, from the composers, and then market the music for their profit without any consideration for the public which Mr. Caldwell so boldly champions. This point of view has been well set forth in a statement received from a member of the Society, dealing with the present situation :— “ Hitherto the public has only been acquainted with the matter from the point of view of the publishers. Inasmuch as the publisher and shopkeeper are bosom friends, the composer, unless he is a genius with business ability who can look after himself, comes off worse even than the public, in the bargain. In private, the composer is willing enough to air his grievances, but in public, inasmuch as there is no combination amongst composers for mutual defence, the individual musician who has suffered, being afraid that his further compositions may not be accepted, thinks that dis- cretion is the better part of valour, Unfortunately for the composer there is no Sir Walter Besant in the musical profession. Zhe Musical News, which could do much for him, concentrates its attention on the evils of bogus colleges which interfere with the earnings of the music teacher, but the members of the syndicate owning that paper who could criticise music publishing methods if they liked, much to the distaste of the publishing houses, preserve a policy of silence. As nearly all the other musical periodicals, like the Musical Times and Musical Record, are owned by pub- lishers themselves, the individual composer, who is of little use to the advertisement manager, has no channel through which to air his wrongs.” But we cannot agree with Mr. Caldwell in com- paring the present musical piracy with the piracy of works in the United States some years ago, and a moment’s consideration will show his reason to be false. It must be clear to anyone who has studied the subject, that any literary, dramatic or musical property can always be produced by the pirate at a cheaper rate than it can be produced on behalf of the owner of the copyright. The pirate THE AUTHOR. has merely to think of his profit on the cost of production ; the legitimate publisher has to con- sider the profit of the author, in addition to the profit on the cost of production. Mr. Caldwell is, no doubt, right in some of his deductions as to the profit that is paid to the composer, as it is clear from the frequent instances which come before the Secretary of the Society, that the unfortunate com- poser is in a much worse position than is the author of literary and dramatic pieces, owing to his un- willingness to join an organised body of defence, which exists in the Society; but if the composer obtained the full share of the profit of the work, the outcome of his brain, it is not likely that the price of music would be appreciably reduced to the public. Mr. Caldwell should also remember that the surest way of increasing the study of music is by protecting adequately the producers of this work. If one, who has within him the capacity of a great composer, is to obtain a living wage, he must receive some fair security for his labours. This security, confirmed by Statute, must necessa- rily raise the price of these labours to the public. Mr. Caldwell states, with a precision which is hardly justified : “ Piracy of musical composition is due, therefore, to the same causes which at one time produced piracy in the case of books, and which, in the case of books, has been removed by the issue of cheaper editions, at a price within the reach of the general public.” The piracy of musical compositions is not really due to the same causes which brought about the piracy of books in the United States. The piracy of books in England never existed to a great extent, and the piracy of books in the United States only existed because there was no protective law, and not for the reason put forward by Mr. Caldwell, that they desired cheaper books on the market. There are many other interesting remarks in the minority report which have not been dealt with, and there are many interesting remarks in the evidence of Mr. James Frederick Willetts, known as “The Pirate King,” who wishes to pose as an altruist and public benefactor ; but it is hardly worth while to deal with the question at great length. It was essential, however, that members of the Society should comprehend fully some of the argu- ments—fallacious though they be—which are still, unfortunately, put forward to prevent remedial legislation for the protection of copyright property. There are, no doubt, many disputed points in copyright law, arising from the different interests of authors and publishers, but it is astonishing in the twentieth century to see arguments soberly put forward, which ought to have been laid in their graves seventy years ago. G. HoT.  THE PUBLISHERS’ ASSOCIATION. —— HE Report of the Annual General Meeting a of the Publishers’ Association was printed too late to be inserted in the April number of The Author. We are pleased to hear that Mr. ’ Reginald Smith, K.C., of Messrs. Smith, Elder and Co., has been elected to the Presidency of the Association. We congratulate Mr. Smith on his honourable appointment, and the Association on having secured so able a President. There seems to have been, at the meeting and during the past year, considerable work done in dealing with the sale of educational books and the question of preferential discounts to educational houses. ‘The matter is one of great importance to all writers of educational works. We are pleased to see that the Publishers’ Asso- ciation made a substantial grant to the expenses of the defendants in the case of Aflalo and Cook v. Lawrence and Bullen. Mr. Longman, in his speech, said that the resulting judgment established a principle of considerable importance to the publish- ing trade. The Committee of the Authors’ Society also considered the legal point important. The fact that the Publishers’ Association supported the defendants on the grounds put forward by their President finally does away with the ill-considered conclusion hastily arrived at by some members of the trade, that the action, commenced by the plaintiffs and supported by the Society, was frivolous and vexatious, In the Report are also issued the definitions of some simple publishing terms, which it would be useful for authors to remember :— Inpression—A number of copies printed at any one time. When a book is reprinted without change it should be called a new “impression,’’ to distinguish it from an “edition,’’ as defined below. Edition. An impression in which the matter has under- gone some change, or for which the type has been re-set. Re-issue.-—A republication at a different price, or in a different form, of part of an impression which has already been placed on the market. It is exceedingly useful to have these explana- tions authoritatively promulgated, and it is hoped that they will be strictly enforced. We can- not help, however, putting forward once again that it would be still more advantageous if the Association settled on the unit of an impression, and insisted on the members adopting the unit universally. Thus, if the unit was fixed at 1,000 copies, a limited issue of 500 copies would be half an impression, a sale of 100,000 copies would be 100 impressions. If this rational course was adopted, the trade would get rid of the absurdity of an imprint on a book of “Third impression” THE AUTHOR. 213 when only thirty copies had been sold. Such action is not only ridiculous, but it constitutes a mild fraud on the public. —_———_<$*_1———_e———____ THE APRIL MAGAZINE CONTENTS. LiveRARY, Dramatic, AND Musical BLACKWOOD’S MAGAZINE. Lord Acton’s Letters—The Scientific Historian in Theory and Practice—Tacitus and his Translations in “ Musings without Method.” CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Lord Acton’s Letters. By Augustine Birrell, K.C, Tshaikovski’s Operas. By A. E. Keeton. CORNHILL MAGAZINE. Sir Leslie Stephen. By Frederick Harrison. Memories of “The Times.’’ By Alex. Innes Shand. THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. The Philosophy of Herbert Spencer. Mr. Morley’s Life of Gladstone. The Letters of Ernst Curtius. The Letters of Horace Walpole. Sir George Trevelyan on the American Revolution. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Of the True Greatness of Thackeray. By H. H. Statham. Mr. Bodley on the Crown. By Justin McCarthy. D’ Annunzio’s New Play. By May Bateman. Letters on the Drama. Madame Navarro; Mrs. Craigie. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Lord Acton at Cambridge. By John Pollock. Mr. Paul’s History of England. By Augustine Birrell, K.C “To Soria-Moria Castle.’’ By Edmund Garret, MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, Alfred Ainger. By the Master of Peterhouse. THE MonTHLy REVIEW. Edward Fitzgerald. By the late Whitwell Elwin. The True Story of the Stratford Bust. By Mrs. Stopes. THE New LIBERAL REVIEW. The Rise of the Drama in Ireland. By John Campbell. THe NINETEENTH CENTURY REVIEW. The Place of Whistler. By Frederick Wedmore. Aeschylus and Shakespeare. By the Rev. R. §. De Courey Laffan. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. Gabrielle d’Annunzio. By Henry James. Leslie Stephen and his Works. The Novels of 'homas Hardy. Marco Polo and his followers in: Central Asia. TEMPLE BAR. On Browning in a Library. By the Rey. Archie F. Wibling. 214 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. BEDE ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained, But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements, (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not,to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It isnow possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Neyer sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. : @.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ——_+—>—_ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. og EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays. in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to: perform on the basis of royalties (i.c.. fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time, This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. : 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative : that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are reterred to the Secretary of the Society. 0 WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. oe ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. ——__—__—_—_—_+—>—_>—__—_ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. so 1. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special veason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. _ Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2, Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society.’ 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preser ration in a fire- proof safé. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7, No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 40s for life membership. 215 THE READING BRANCH. — 1+ EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach, he term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. oe NOTICES. —-—+— TYNHE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for Zhe Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, §.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. — nl Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. ge The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ++ LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE. SOCIETY. + ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance can be obtained from this socieiy. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C. AUTHORITIES. 19 N the month of May, 1905, the Spanish I nation will celebrate the Tercentenary of the production of Don Quixote. To publish at this period an article on the subject, and the sonnet, the reproduction of which Mr. Austin Dobson has kindly sanctioned, may seem to some anticipating events; but the Spaniards were making arrangements for the fétes in honour of this celebration so early as the end of 1903. If the Spaniards are taking action we musi not be behindhand. In a future number of The Author we shall give full details of the pro- posed fétes. The arrangements are in the hands of a Special Commission, including among its members the Mayor of Madrid, the Prime Minister, and other influential people, and a large sum has been voted towards the expenses. It has always been a kindly jest against the Spaniards that they put off everything till “ to- morrow,” but in this case they seem to be taking ‘time by the fore-lock.” WE regret to see in the March number of The American Author notice that the periodical will cease to exist with that issue. This must bea very serious matter to all those who have wished for the success of the American Authors’ Society. The Editor states that “the periodiocal joins the long phalanx of publications which have failed for lack of financial backing.” This can only mean that the majority of the Authors of the United States have not joined the combination of their profession as they should have done. What is the reason of this? Perhaps we can give some explanation from our own experience. For many years now we have been endeavouring to obtain the cost of production of different forms of American books. We have applied frequently to the American Authors’ Society asking for information on this point, but so far without success. When passing through New York we had the honour of meeting the Secre- tary and the President of the Society, and suggested the advisability of issuing books on the same lines as the English Society’s Cost of Production, and Methods of Publishing, as on these two points was based the whole system of authors’ profits. Is it possible that the citizens of a nation like the United States, who flatter themselves that they are so go-ahead and possessed of such strong business capacity, have shown themselves in the question of authorship alone wanting in the power of combina- tion, and lacking in the solution of the practical issues. We sincerely hope the withdrawal of The Amerwan Author is only temporary, and that at THE AUTHOR. no distant date, when the Authors’ Society shall embrace all those whose names are constantly swelling the ranks of writers, the periodical will be started again under more healthy auspices. WE regret to chronicle the death of Mr. Julian Sturgis, who was a warm supporter of the Societ and its aims, He was a subscriber of £50 to the Pension Fund, and joined the Society in 1892. —_1.—~»~—+ ___ SIR EDWIN ARNOLD. —_— 1 N Sir Edwin Arnold, whose death took place I in South Kensington on March 24th, English literature has lost an ardent worker, and a host of friends a personality whose charm was appreciated best by those who had the privilege of the most intimate acquaintance with it. Born in June, 1832, the distinguished writer had thus nearly completed his seventy-second year at the time of hisdeath. Educated at King’s School, Rochester, and King’s College, London, he won a scholarship at Oxford, and it was there his taste for letiers showed itself, almost his first essay in poetry, the “Fall of Balshazzar,” winning the Newdigate prize for English verse. His love for Oxford and University College is indicated by the fact that vnly two months ago, at the other extreme of a strenuous life spent in the continuation of studies to which Oxford gave him the first incentive, he asked that his ashes, after cremation, might go back and rest in her classic precincts. After leaving College with a Master of Arts degree, he was attached for a time to King Edward’s school, Birmingham, and from thence, with his wife and one young child, went out to India as Principal of the Government Deccan College at Poona. If Oxford had filled him with the learning of Greece and Rome the East opened his mind to the knowledge of still earlier civiliza- tions. He took an instant and heart-whole delight in a people whose ancient philosophies and beliefs it is one of his best memorials to have done more than any other Englishman to make intelligible to his countrymen at home. “The Light of Asia,” though not written till long afterwards, was the outcome of actual contact with those to whom the great epic is a living reality. It is undoubtedly Sir Edwin Arnold’s chief work as a poet, yet it was written not in the calm seclusion that would have seemed essential to such a labour, but during the stress of busy London life, and amongst scenes the very antipode of those with which it deals. After five years in India Sir Edwin returned to  THE AUTHOR. England, and subsequently joined the staff of the Daily Telegraph, working unceasingly for that paper practically up to the day of his death, and “ contributing to its columns an incalculable volume of material, historical, descriptive, or imaginative, and worthy to rank with the very best journalistic work of its generation.” A great traveller in all parts of the world, to him to travel and write were inseparably connected. Few of his books in this branch of literature have been so popular as those upon Japan. He made that charming land his own, and foresaw her place amongst the nations long before alliances or successful wars had awarded it to her. His third wife was a Japanese lady, to whom it fell to lighten the burden of his last days, a task accom- plished with unswerving tenderness. In the course of such a life, in the centre of politics and society, it was inevitable Sir Edwin should make innumer- able friendships, and the volume of his Memoirs which is to appear shortly will be not the least interesting of the many such books which have appeared of late. At one time a keen sportsman, and always a lover of nature and the country, Sir Edwin, moved by the kindly precepts of the religions he had studied, latterly put by rod and gun and devoted himself to yachting, for which he had a great fondness. None but those who knew him intimately could value fully the gentleness of his nature, the brightness of his outlook on life and the future, or the immense stores of knowledge to which even his books give but hasty and inadequate expression. To such his loss is indeed irreparable. The position that Sir Edwin Arnold held among the writers of the day and the value and beauty of his work has been dealt with so fully in the papers that it would be superfluous to say anything more in this short article. It must be added that he was a member of the Society and Council since its foundation. It is sad at so short an interval to have to chronicle the death of another of the earliest members of the Society. ——__+—<_+____—__ SIR HENRY THOMPSON, BART., M.B.LOND., F.R.C.S.ENG. ——_— + IR HENRY THOMPSON, whose death took place on April 18th, after a few days’ illness, wag one of the earliest members of the Society of Authors. He joined almost on the foundation of the Society, and showed genuine sympathy with our efforts at a time when the scheme of our asso- ciation was barely formulated, and when the support of a man so well-known in artistic, literary, social and scientific circles was especially valuable to us. 217 Sir Henry Thompson was born in Framlingham, a small Suffolk town, where his father was long in business. He was educated at a local Grammar School, and elected rather late in life to be a medical man, for he was twenty-eight years of age when he entered University College, London, as a medical student, and in the “forties” it was cus- tomary for the medical man to commence his curriculum at the age of sixteen or seventeen. His University career was one of unmitigated success. He took prizes and scholarships in most subjects, graduated with honours at the earliest opportunity, and immediately received a junior appointment at University College Hospital. Suc- ceeding within four years of obtaining his first surgical diploma to a place on the staff of the hospital, he was marked out for a career of excep- tional brilliance, and he fulfilled his promise. He was an admirable artist, heredity probably playing a part here, for his mother was the daughter of Samuel Medley, the portrait painter; he was also the possessor of a clear literary style, and had a logical way of arranging his knowledge. It is not surprising, therefore, that his medical writings were an immediate success, and as his hospital work gave him full opportunities for perfecting his practice in the special departments of surgery to which his theories mainly related, he soon became one of the best known surgeons in the world. He operated upon the late King of the Belgians and the late Emperor of France, and for at least a quarter of a century his name was a synonym for the per- fection of skill and resource in his particular branch of operative surgery. Sir Henry Thompson joined our body, however, as an author of fiction, for, as is now well-known, he was the writer, under the pseudonym of Pen Oliver, of two novels, “ Charlie Kingston’s Aunt,” and “ All But.” The first of these books achieved considerable success, which it deserved, for it contained an excellent situation, while it furnished an accurate and interesting picture of the manners of the London medical student in what may be termed the mid-Victorian epoch. But as a painter he was much more in his own groove than he was asa novelist. His pictures, which for some years were hung regularly in the Academy and some- times in the Salon, were the result of careful observation and skilled training; there is no doubt that if his professional calling had failed him his skill as an artist would have brought him into prominence. As a host Sir Henry Thompson was famous for his dinners of eight courses for eight persons at eight o’clock, known as “ octaves.” He was a skilled gastronomist, and until recently knew every one in the literary, artistic, and scientific worlds, and he gave as much thought to the selection of the company at his table as to the 218 preparation of the food. He aimed at making his ‘“‘ octaves” as much a mental as a gustatory treat, and invariably he hit his mark. : Sir Henry Thompson was President of the Cremation Society, a keen opponent of municipal abuses, and an ardent automobilist, and his pen was constantly active in the columns of The Times or The Lancet, now praising modern locomotion, now denouncing the crude methods of earth to earth burial, and now calling attention to the shortcomings of our sanitary authorities. Old age, which came slowly upon him, was accompanied by no abatement of ardour in his many pursuits; rather, by bringing him leisure from his surgical work, it left him more free to expend energy in other and multifarious directions. The Society of Authors has lost a useful friend in this brilliant and many-sided man. —— ee THE TRUE SPIRIT OF DON QUIXOTE OF MANCHA. T is reserved for only the very greatest | makers of fiction to create a character the interest of whose individuality shall equal or exceed the author’s. Dickens has done this; so has Thackeray ; and, in a more conspicuous degree, Cervantes. I do not know how Thackeray died ; but I remember, one by one, the last moments of Colonel Newcome. Most of us could write offhand a biography of Don Quixote; but it takes a specialist, with years of wearying research behind him, to produce a biography of Cervantes. And has not Argamasilla de Alba a wider fame as the birthplace of the Sorrowful Knight than Alcala de Henares as the birthplace of the Sorrowful Novelist. Many will think it late in the day to analyse Don Quixote’s character with any critical or cor- rective purpose. Nevertheless, it has been said and echoed by the vulgar of all time that Cervantes’ object in producing the Quijote was to sweep away a certain class of literature. Once more I protest against this fallacy. There is no moral aim in Cervantes’ chapters, any more than there is a moral aim in Shakespeare’s plays. No work “with a purpose” could soar so high or live so long. The aim is flawless portraiture, the only base of all immortal art. Homer, Velazquez, Dante, Cervantes, Shakespeare—serene, dispassionate, punctilious portraiture denotes them every one. The more the artist haggles over this or that opinion, the more he subdivides his interest. He pleads a selfish cause—his own. Notso if he THE AUTHOR. presents a portrait. Something of ourselves will certainly be here, broad enough and bold enough Therefore it is not his own _ for all to recognise. selfishness that the author should indulge, but that of his audience, offering them a fragment, more or __ less considerable, of their personal image. And we are so inexorable in this selfish expectation that it gives us greater pleasure to see our own vices delineated, than the virtues of another. The motive for the introduction of the books of chivalry was technical, not moral. Don Quixote’s exploits is the treeless, thinly-popu- lated region of La Mancha, possessing at the most. a wild Titanic beauty derived from emptiness and space, but never from diversity. It is nota region fitted for adventure. Similarly the Manchegans are not—are not reported tc have been—a com- munity of adventure-seekers. To frame a narrative out of these chilling factors demands some stimulus extraordinary, beyond the people and the place. This stimulus was provided by the books of chivalry, a means of making incident, where inci- dent, under normal circumstances, was sheerly inconceivable. Don Quixote must plunge into adventure ; yet if he lead a regular Manchegan life no possible adventure can encounter him. In a little world whose motto is tranquillity, only the criminal or the madman can tweak society’s nose and make a veritable stir. The criminal in this case was inadmissible. Therefore Don Quixote must be mad ; just mad enough to turn the hum- drum upside down, but never incoherent to the point ot idiocy. He must, in fact, be cursed (or blessed) with just a half or quarter madness, such as most of us are credited with, His mania, too, had better be grandiose and kindly. And so with aquiline perception Cervantes pounced upon a fashionable and attractive madness, a Spanish megalom: nia, the craze for knight-errantry. Here were pa‘. .os, humour, energy, in abundant store, together vith vital interest in the portraiture for manya paniard and non-Spaniard to behold their own ru.zction. Such, I am positive, was the genesis of Don Quixote’s “ eccentricity.” Apart from detail of this nature it is no slur upon the Spaniards to say that Don Quixote is a permanent likeness of their inmost shape and quality. The church and the sword, or perhaps I had better say the monastery and the sword, have created between them the whole of Spanish history. What is Don Quixote but a joint embodiment of the ascetic and the warrior? He wages war; he worships women ; but his warfare, like his gallantry, is that of a Sir Galahad :— ““ My good blade carves the casques of men, My tough lance thrusteth sure, My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure. The theatre of 7  THE AUTHOR. 219 « How sweet are looks that ladies bend On whom their favours fall ! For them I battle till the end, To save from shame and thrall.” All women in Don Quixote’s eyes are equally beautiful, equally supramundane. All of us at some time have attempted to believe the same. Here, then, are lines of universal portraiture ; and as we titter at Don Quixote’s madness, we stumble with asudden cry upon our own. Returning to the eminently Spanish features of our hero. Don Quixote, regarded as typical of Spain, displays to us a nation whose magnanimity is equalled by her roughness. The singular im- pulse marking the crusader and the knight-errant, particular apostles of those only objects of peren- nial worship, God and woman—has lasted longer in Castile than anywhere, developing, throughout that region and between the eighth and eighteenth centuries, into an over-ripeness highly detrimental to the commonwealth. Even now this spirit in Spain is not extinct. Manuel Bueno asserts with perfect truth that his countrymen are at once generous and inhuman. The paradox, borne out by Fouillée and other authorities, applies with obvious fitness to Don Quixote. I would suggest, however, that the Spaniard’s generosity is older and less eradicable than his inhumanity ; witness, once more, Don Quixote. The baser quality is the fruit of centuries of fighting. The nobler is apparently indigenous. Then, as the complement of Don Quixote the Spaniard, we have Don Quixote the brother of us all, or even (dropping modesty and clinging to our comfortable classic*) our very self. His character is therefore regional and extraterritorial. Compare him in this aspect with Hamlet, miscalled the Dane. Both fragile Hamlet and the fragile champion of La Mancha are exquisitely human, but only Don Quixote is exquisitely national besides. Hamlet is one of us; Don Quixote one of us, and also one of our friends the Spaniards. To this extent Don Quixote’s is the fuller portrait. He has been described as “the emblem of faith.” Tf this be so, Hamlet is just as much “ the emblem of doubt”; and faith and doubt between them keep the world a-spin. But faith and doubt in these two instances are carried to an ecstasy, and want of mental balance is the outcome. We must not doubt, we must not hope—except with modera- tion. Is it not insignificant that of these two * “Whilst [| study to find how I am a Microcosm, or little World, I find myself something more than the great. There is surely a piece of Divinity in us, something that was before the Elements, and owes no homage unto the Sun. Nature tells me I am the Image of God, as well as Scripture: he that understands not thus much, hath not his introduction or first lesson, and is yet to begin the Alphabet of man.”—Religio Medici. characters, Hamlet and Don Quixote, who stand together upon the very pinnacle of fiction, one should be mad and the other mad enough to be suspected of madness? This sometimes prompts me to suppose that only the insane is worth recording in the chronicles of human thought. “What is beyond?” is the question which Don Quixote always asks. The same question is always on the lips and in the heart of Hamlet. But where Don Quixote asks with confidence, the other asks with dread. Otherwise, what have they not in common? “A virgin heart in work and will” belongs to both. Hamlet’s words are very frequently as “ wild and whirling ” as Don Quixote’s deeds ; but the ambitions and aspirations of either are equally sound and equally charitable. How often, as I roamed across La Mancha, did I believe myself to contemplate Don Quixote in the flesh and in the soul. How noble was his forehead, how fearless and benign his glance, his upward gaze how earnest and inspired, how lucid and majestic his address. Each of these aspects and emotions came upon me with a jewel crisp- ness :— Parea ciascuna rubinetto, in cui Raggio di sole ardesse si acceso, Che ne’ miei occhi rifrangesse lui. As to the scenes Don Quixote has immor- talized—somnolent Argamasilla, the mournfal Cave of Montesinos, the sedgy meres, with their Arthurian sadness, of Ruidera—these seem to stand before me even now, detached with meteor clear- ness from the firmament of memory, and crystal- lized by time and truth into unclouding splendour. LronarpD WILLIAMS. -——<—_ DON QUIXOTE.* ao EHIND thy pasteboard, on thy battered hack, Thy lean cheek striped with plaster to and fro, Thy long spear levelled at the unseen foe, ‘And doubtful Sancho trudging at thy back, Thou wert a figure strange enough, good lack ! To make Wiseacredom, both high and low, Rub purblind eyes, and—having watched thee go— Dispatch its Dogberrys upon thy track : Alas ! poor Knight ! alas ! poor soul possest ! Yet would to-day when Courtesy grows chill, And life’s fine loyalties are turned to jest, Some fire of thine might burn within us still ! Ah, would but one might lay his lance in rest, And charge in earnest . . . were it but a mill! Austin Dosson. * Printed from the last Edition, 1902, of Mr. Austin Dobson's collected poems, with his kind permission.— Ep, 220 THE ANNUAL DINNER. —1—<—+—_ (PNHE Annual Dinner of the Incorporated Society of Authors, was held on April 20th, at’ the Hotel Cecil, the Chairman of the Committee of Management, Mr. Douglas Freshfield, occupying the chair. Nearly 150 members and guests were present, the latter including Lord Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice of England, and Sir W. B. Richmond, R.A., who occupied seats to the right and left of the Chairman, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Bristol, Admiral Edward Field, C.B., Sir Harry Johnston, Major Darwin, Mr. Appleton, the well-known New York pub- lisher, Mr. W. Heinemann, and many others. At the conclusion of dinner, for which grace was said by the Bishop of Bristol, the usual loyal toasts were duly honoured, and the Chairman rose } to propose success to the Society, for which he suggested a more appropriate name might have been “The. Society for the Protection of Authors,” or even ‘“ The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Authors,” since it was concerned with the legal and business rather than with the literary aspects of authorship. They were equally ready to protect the rights of a writer on golf or of an immortal poet. Their Committee discussed not matters’ of style and taste, but of accounts and agreements. Business had been said to be the bane of author- ship. But this was an antiquated and obsolete view. The days of Grub Street were long past, and no one now seriously held that it was incon- sistent with the dignity of authorship to write for money. With regard to the relations of author and publisher, the public was apt to pay too much regard to the pecuniary risk run by the publisher, | and to disregard the value of the capital introduced | by the writer, consisting of that which the average | common-sense man did not so much esteem, and i perhaps did not keep a stock of—brains. / Mr. Freshfield went on to refer to the decision in » Aflalo vy. Lawrence and Bullen in the House of _ Lords. The satisfactory point about this decision was that, although it had entailed heavy expenses to the Society, it had finally determined a doubtful and very important question in copyright law. In arriving at this result it was a satisfaction to the Committee to feel that they had been acting in co-operation with the Publishers’ Association, which, recognising the importance of the point involved, had, it was announced, contributed to the costs of the defendants. While he in no way presumed to question the decision arrived at, Mr. Freshfield thought that as to one matter of fact the Law Lords had gone astray. It was surely unfair to argue that the mere fact that a contri- butor to a magazine or encyclopedia received a THE AUTHOR: snbstantial sum for his article was evidence that he intended to part with all his rights in it. The amount of the return the publisher might reason. ably expect, or had actually obtained, from the original periodical publication, as well as the amount paid down by him, was an_ essential element in the consideration of the bargain. Re- ferring to the present multiplication of middlemen in literature, Mr. Freshfield suggested that the main work to be done by the Author’s Society was to make the best of the present system of book production. He looked back with regret to the eighteenth century. In those days, under the old system of subscriptions, the author went round to his friends. He collected their money, and he had not to wait twelve months to get it. Publishers and booksellers had not then been differentiated, and he simply went to the publisher and had his book printed and distributed. Nowadays there was the printer, the illustrator, the bookbinder, and after they had passed by them they had to reckon with the literary agent, the publisher, and the bookseller. All of them must make their profit, and he did not say they made an exorbitant profit. Fortunes were not made by publishers at all to be compared with the great fortunes that were made in other businesses. ‘The Dictionary of National Biography ” was published not with the profits of publishing, but, as Mr. Murray Smith often used to avow, with the profits of Apollinaris. Mr. Freshfield next made allusion to a recent article on the subject of Literary Agents in The Author, and expressed a wish to see a reply to it which should indicate the proper sphere of such agency, which he understood had been found serviceable by many distinguished authors, though it was no doubt open to abuse. He also touched upon the correspondence concerning the “ ghost” in literary work, pointing out that the system of making use of a “ ghost ” for latin verses was one of very old standing in public schools, where the employer, when discovered, was likely to receive at the hands of the headmaster a summary lesson in {literary morals. /In conclusion, Mr. Freshfield paid / a tribute to the honourable dealings of the better i class of publishers, and reverting to his comparison between the Society and that for the protection of children, suggested that while many authors are in their business dealings very like children, pub- lishers might be considered like parents, as defined by a member of the rising generation, as ‘‘ good on the whole, but the better for being looked after.” The toast of the Society was replied to by Mr. Sidney Lee, who alluded early in his speech to the confidence of all members in the Committee and in the Secretary, as carrying on the traditions of the founder of the Society, Sir Walter Besant. He also referred with satisfaction to the decision in  THE AUTHOR. the Aflalo case as settling a doubtful legal point. In touching upon the relations between author and publisher, Mr. Lee spoke of the Committee as exercising judicial functions, and pointed out that publishers were not the ogres that the fancies of some authors painted them, whereas there existed arrogant humbugs among authors. The author's grievance, he observed, might really be against the reading public, but that it was for the interest of both author and publisher to encourage the main- tenance of a high standard of literary work. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proposed the health of the guests in a vigorous speech, declaring that as a man was known by his friends so a society was known by its guests. The Author’s Society had as its guests the Lord Chief Justice of England and Sir William Richmond, the former of whom was a lawyer, an author, and a sportsman, whose fair play and ruthless honesty recently displayed in connection with the Alaska arbitration, would make-the name of Lord Alverstone descend as a peer of those great men who made his office famous. With regard to Sir William Richmond, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pointed out that he had turned his back upon a life of ease and material gain in order to serve the community upon the London County Council, a body of which it might be said that none on earth needed the presence of an artist more, if London was to cease being a city of mean streets and lost opportunities, and to become the greatest city that the world had ever seen. In conclusion, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle observed that a schoolboy had defined ‘“‘elocution” as “an American method of putting criminals to death,” and suggested this as a reason for not prolonging hisspeech. With the names of guests mentioned he associated those of the Bishop of Bristol, Admiral Field, Sir Harry Johnston, and Major Darwin. Before Lord Alverstone rose to reply for the guests, the Chairman read a friendly message which he had justreceived from the Institute of Printers and Kindred Trades, who were dining in another room, and he informed the society that he had returned suitable good wishes and congratulations in reply. The Lord Chief Justice, after thanking Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the complimentary terms in which reference had been made to his own judicial and other public services, expressed his admiration of and gratification at the manner with which the Authors’ Society regarded its litigation, and particularly the late adverse decision in the House of Lords. He expressed himself wishful that all litigants might accept their defeats in the law courts in the same calm spirit. One of his predecessors, Lord Coleridge, had said that it was the duty of a judge to dismiss all suitors from his court wquos placatosque, and he should himself look forward in the future to seeing both sides satisfied 221 because a point of law had been settled and established. His Lordship expressed his pleasure and interest in social intercourse with authors, dwelling upon the distinction between the lawyer's task in dealing with facts, having but little scope even in advocacy for the play of his fancy, and the work of the author, who could give his imagination free play. Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., R.A., observed that he had trained himself for the position of Alderman which he had accepted upon the London Council, by serving first upon the Council in his borough, and spoke of the work that he had done in combating Philistinism. Referring to the decoration of St. Paul’s, he declared that if crimes in that connection were charged against him the Bishop of Bristol, who sat near him, had been a culprit with him. With regard to the cry of “ Art for Art’s Sake,” Sir William avowed him- self unable to understand its meaning, but he deprecated any doctrine that one art should divorce another. Alluding to any demand that might be made that artists should paint “on lines of highest technique,” Sir William Richmond likened the stress laid upon technique, in art criticism, to judging the author of a book by his handwriting. He dwelt on the inspiration derived by artists from the Bible, from the works of Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Shakespeare, Milton, and other classic writers. He also alluded in complimentary terms to the subjects for his skill which the artist might find in the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. “ Great authors,” he said, “ stimulate painters with ideas.” In proposing the health of the Chairman, the Bishop of Bristol protested against Mr. Freshfield posing as merely a business man. He was, his lordship said, a distinguished author who, like Sir Leslie Stephen, began writing through his desire to describe the Alps. His volumes upon the Caucasus were among the “ heaviest” books in his (the Bishop of Bristol’s) library, but there was not a dull page among them, and he had recently added to them an excellent description of the Himalaya. Mr. Freshfield, in reply, regretted that the Pre- sident of the Society, Mr. George Meredith, should be prevented by ill health from taking the chair, and expressed his thanks to the company for the kindness they had shown to him as a substitute. In excusing himseif from prolonging the evening by anything but a brief speech, he mentioned that at a previous dinner of the Society he had over- heard one lady author say to another on her way from the dining hall, “ My dear, [am nearly dead,” to which the other had answered, “I am quite.” Mr. Freshfield had no desire to diminish the number of the Society’s Members in the manner indicated, and he accordingly invited those present to adjourn 222 to the next room, where the usual conversazione was held, and where the rest of a highly successful evening was spent. The following members and guests were present : Madame Albanesi, W. W. Appleton, E. A. Arm- strong, Miss Agnes Armstrong, A. W. a’Beckett, The Rev. F. W. Bamford, Robert Bateman, Mrs. Beville, Miss Helen Boddington, Miss Philippa Bridges, Clifford Borrer, Oscar Browning, Mrs. Mona Caird, F. Carrel, Miss Challice, A. R. Colquhoun, Mrs. Colquhoun, Sir William Charley, Mrs. E. M. Davy, Miss Jean Delaire, Miss Sarah Doudney, C. F. Dowsett, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Miss O’Connor Eccles, Mrs. Edison (“ George Frost’), T. Mullett Ellis, W. B. Home Gall, »R. Garnett, C.B., Mrs. Aylmer Gowing, Horace G. Groser, Lady Glover, A. P. Graves, Francis Gribble, Mrs. Gribble, Major Arthur Haggard, Major-General Sir Reginald Hart, K.C.B., A. Hope Hawkins, Miss Henslowe, Miss Con- stance Hill, Mrs. Katherine Tynan Hinkson, Mrs. Willoughby Hodgson, H. Martin Holman, Miss M. C. Home, Mrs. Humphreys (“ Rita’’), The Rev. Henry N. Hutchinson, Miss Ionides, Scarboro Johnson, Mrs. Jordan, C. A. Kelly, G. T. Knight, Mrs. Knight, Sidney Lee, Robert J. Lees, Mrs. Low, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, ‘‘ Maarten Maartens,” Miss M. M. Macpherson, Miss Constance Maud, Athol Maudsley, Mrs. Maudsley, E. K. Muspratt, E. P. Oppenheim, Louis N. Parker, 8. F. Pells, Mrs. Perrin, Major Douglas Phillott, C. Harvard Pierson, Lionel Portman, Jaakoff Prelooker, G. W. Prothero, Miss Lucy Redpath, Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., Mrs. Reeves (‘Helen Mathers”), Emil Reich, A. Rogers, Miss Rossi, “ Leicester Romayne,” William Royle, C. M. Russell, Miss May Sinclair, Prof. W. W. Skeat, LL.D., Mrs. Michael Smith, Mrs. Isabel Smith, Miss Hannah Stanton, A. A. Strong, F. Stroud, Miss Stroud, Arthur J. Thomas, G. Herbert Thring, Mrs. Thring, Herbert Trench, Mrs. Alec Tweedie, Miss E. Underdown, H. Faure Walker, Mrs. Faure Walker, Percy White, “ Dolf Wyllarde,” R. Whiteing, and W. Wellington Young. 9 “WHAT’S IN A NAME?” 1 HERE is no copyright in the name of a book or play. It does not form part of the thing copyrighted, which is the “composition,” a.¢., the play or the book. In the year 1881 the Judges of the Court of Appeal held that no one could seize upon a few words of the English language and create a monopoly in them by saying that thenceforth nobody else could apply them publicly as the name or description or label of another composition. THE AUTHOR. Such few words are not capable of giving rise to any proprietary rights such as copyright involves, But, and it is obviously a large But, the ordinary common law doctrine of fraud or misrepresentation applies, that is to say, according to the technical phrase of the common law an action of “ deceit” will lie, wherever one man tries to pass off his goods as if they were another’s. For example, if a book or a play by A.has acquired a market value (or draws the public) and is known to the public by a certain name, X., then B. cannot use the name X. in such a way as to induce the public to come and buy or see his own, a different, book or play, under the belief that it is the well-known X. You will observe that it is an essential fact in — such a case that the particular book or play by A., named X., has acquired already a trade reputation with the public. who identify it by the name X. The result is that when two or more books or plays are brought out at the same, or practically about the same time, under the same title, none of them can stop the others from using that title ; for in the early stages there can be no public repu- tation grown round any of them. That was the case which came before the Court of Appeal, where two serial tales appeared both in the same year, entitled ‘‘Splendid Misery,” one being by Miss Braddon. With a play, no doubt, if it were a success, the public reputation would grow round it, and become attached (as part of its “ goodwill’) very rapidly. But if a play be a failure, I take it that anybody can always produce another under the same name, for the whole doctrine of “ deceit ” or “* passing off” could not apply in such a case. When a play from its age or from its inferiority has no market reputation to draw the public it is obvious that no one who uses its name for another work is trying thereby to trade upon the reputation of the prior play. If two plays appeared about the same time at West End London theatres by authors of. equal fame or equally unknown, under the same title— although it might be an inconvenient thing, no action would lie—in the absence, that is to say, of any other evidence of “ deceit ” or of desire on the part of the less successful venture to create confu- sion in the public mind between the two plays. When the older play had a well-established market reputation attaching to it—which might accrue very rapidly—it would clearly be a risky business to bring out a new play under the same title, for the public would be sure to confuse the two, and the author of number 2 could hardly prove the innocence of his intentions in using that title. Between new plays a very slight difference in title would clearly prevent confusion. W. S. SHERRINGTON.  THE AUTHOR. CORRESPONDENCE. —_1——+ Tas New DEPARTURE IN EpITING. Drar?Str,—Will you allow me a few lines to reply to M.P.’s letter in the April Author on “ The New Departure in Editing ?” In the first place neither of the phrases which he quotes—* Feeble in plot” and “ Weak in style” —appears in the printed form which we send with returned manuscripts : and in the second place, our editorial comment 7s welcomed, as our corre- spondence testifies, by many hundreds of writers who have submitted stories for our consideration. It is difficult to understand M.P.’s attitude ; have editors been unkind to him ; is he an unsuc- cessful aspirant to literary fame ? I do not know. But I feel sure of one thing. No “self respecting writers ” (to use his own phrase) would wish to associate themselves with his views. A person who describes as impertinent a sugges- tion which, whatever its merits, was conceived in the interests of writers and is undoubtedly appreci- ated by them : who deliberately misquotes, or who © does not take the trouble to read the document which he is criticising: and who speaks dis- paragingly of the stories published in magazines to which every author of repute is contributing, has certainly little claim for consideration at the hands of either author or editor. Yours faithfully, Tue Epitor, Pearson’s Magazine. —1— 1 — Wuat’s In A NAME? Sir,—The pages of The Author have already chronicled certain views upon the important subject of the ownership of book-titles. Those interested in the matter—and who of us is not ? —-should refer to the October and December, 1896, and May, 1898, numbers of this journal, wherein sundry defensive methods similar to those now pro- posed by Miss Mary Cholmondeley were put forward. “(Can anything be done?” this lady aptly enquires. The passage of years has increased rather than lessened the difficulties of a solution. I imagine, however, the idea of a registration bureau of some sort founded on the lines indicated still finds most favour ; with, presumably, a time limit for the shelter of any bantling which may be catalogued. It certainly does seem hard that all the labour expended upon selecting an appropriate attractive name for a work in process of construction may become liable to wreckage through an unfortunate conflict of choice. The experience of many writers must point to vexatious collisions of this nature ; 223 in my own humble way I have been the victim of mishap. be ee It will be wise, therefore, to seek a safe remedy for one of the by no means minor trials which beset the paths of authorship. Union is strength. Combined effort should surely result in the dis- covery of some satisfactory scheme for the relief of a troubled community. Grcin CLARKE. —-—>—+— Srr,—I have adopted the above title, not because I intend to answer the question which it embodies, but because 1 propose to deal with some of the contents of Mary Cholmondeley’s communication under that heading in the April issue of The Author. In that are raised, among others, the questions of how to ascertain whether a title is new ; whether it is possible to institute a register of the titles of books, to which all new ones should be added ; and whether it is possible for arrangements to be made for securing a title in advance of the publication of the work, on payment of a fee. All of these questions are intimately connected with those of Registration of Copyright and the management of our National Library ; and, in what follows, I confine myself to books and to the British Isles. The suggestion of securing a title in advance of publication was mentioned in 7’%e Author of June, 1894 (p. 6), as having been made by Mr. George Haven Putnam. It is one which could very easily be carried out if the chaos which, in this country, goes by the name of copyrighting were reduced to system. Such a proposed new title would, of course, need to be entered in a register, and that register would (likewise, of course) need to be kept at the office of registration. ‘The office at which pro- yisional copyright is thus to be secured would need, of course, to be the Copyright Registry, or Office; and, to enable the registrar to know whether any proposed title were new, he would need to be able to consult the register of titles already used. At present there is no such register ; there is only a list of those titles which have been regis- tered at Stationers’ Hall, and the British Museum catalogue. Now, Stationers’ Hall, where copy- rights are registered, is not a government institu- tion, but the head-quarters of the Company of Stationers, to whom the registering of copyright has been delegated, and it has no other means of ascertaining what title is new than from its own registers, which are not consulted unless the applicant makes special payment therefor. The British Museum catalogue is an author’s, and not a  224 title-catalogue—except in the case of anonymous works—and search therein for a title is, therefore, extremely difficult. For the purposes of copyright in this country, registration of a work (which would, of course, include the title) is not necessary ; copyright comes into being from the mere fact of publication; neither is it necessary, to secure copyright, to deposit a copy of any work either at the Copyright Registry or at the National Library. Consequently, many works are not entered on the copyright register, although copies of them are to be found in the British Museum ; and, also, many works are not sent to the British Museum, because, although the delivery of a copy of all British-published books thereat is by law compulsory, there is such laxity in enforcing the law, that advantage is taken of it not to deliver them. There is, thus, no complete catalogue of British- published books. What is wanted to remedy this state of affairs is, first of all, that the Copyright Registry be made a branch of the National Library, and the registers of books in possession of the Company of Stationers be transferred to the British Museum. The second thing required is that the British Museum compile a titles-catalogue which, besides containing all the titles in the Stationers Company’s registers and in its own catalogue, should contain those of all books known to have been published in the British Isles, whether in the library or not. Those not in the library would be easy distinguishable from those present by the absence of a press-mark. The third thing required is that, to secure copy- right, registration of the work and the copyright- owner’s name, at the National Library, should be compulsory on the day of publication ; and that, at the time of registration, there should be delivered at the Copyright Registry (which would be the National Library) a copy of the work registered. No copyright should exist in any work published in this country unless those two conditions be fulfilled, and any one should be at liberty to reprint and sell such British-published works as had not been thus dealt with. A further condition, in the case of an anonymous work, should be the depositing, at the time of registration, a sealed envelope containing the writer’s name, which, unless permission be given previously, should be revealed at the expiration of, say, fifty years, or at the writer’s death. No charge should be made in the first instance for registration of the copyright, the book being regarded as its equivalent in value ; but charges might be made for a certified copy of any entry ; for the transference of a copyright ; and, where it is desired to register a title in advance, for an examination of the register. THER AUTHOR. By the above-suggested means the ownership of the copyrights of all British-published books would always be beyond dispute, and all British-published books and their titles would find their way auto- matically into the National Library and its catalogue. As the novelty or otherwise of a title would, thus, be instantly ascertainable, an outcome of this proposed plan could easily be the registration, in a separate register, of new titles, in advance of publication, for a period of, say, one year, on pay- ment of, say, one guinea; and the ability, to secure a title temporarily would be a great con- venience to many writers, besides being a source of revenue to the Copyright Registry. The completing, so far as possible, the list of British-published works, would, I believe, help largely to complete a national collection of them ; and to have, as nearly as possible, a complete collection of British-published books is, it seems to me, one of the chief functions of a British National Library. Huprert Hags. ——*——+— A PLEA FoR PEDANTRY. Sir,—I have been interested to see the mention of “that terrible compound whatever” in your correspondent’s letter under the above title. I am well aware that the word is under a ban. But I must confess that I have never understood the exact rationale of the ban. And I sometimes doubt whether those who are most inexorable in enforcing it themselves know exactly what it means. Does it mean that not whatever but what- soever is the correct form? Or does it mean, for this is what some of the expressions used seem to imply, that whatever is simply a vulgar equiva- lent of what? But whilst whatever and whatsoever are evidently interchangeable, it seems to me that there is the same distinction between what and whatever as between where and wherever, or between the Latin guod and quodcunque. And I think it would require some courage, or ignorance, to assert that quod and quodcunqgue have identical meanings. Of course to use whatever for what is a blunder ; but it is not an equal blunder to use what for whatever. When Rossetti (“House of Life,” Sonnet XLVII. 9) writes :— But now, whatever while the soul is fain To list that wonted murmur— it is evident that whatsoever might (if the verse would admit it) be substituted for whatever, but what would alter the meaning. 1 too “ am not an expert,” but I wish that one of your readers who is would kindly make the situation logically plain. ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 14 Issue 08 (May 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 14 Issue 08 (May 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-05-01-The-Author-14-8 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/494/1904-06-01-The-Author-14-9.pdf 515fa9c76424bd8a8847b4b064e66219 PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-06-01 Volume 14 Issue 9 Pages Page range in volume 225–252 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19040601 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che HMuthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XIV.—No. 9. TsLEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —____—>_+____—_- NOTICES. —— OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tur Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7he Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. — > List of Members. Tu List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. Vou. XIV. JUNE Ist, 1904. [Prick SIXPENCE. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Wonsols 28 4 i £1000 0 O Docal boas 0. 500 0 O Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............64- 291 19 a1 War loan... 2019 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture StOCk’; 3 .-6..4.56 prs 250 0 0 AB ap eure asa £9243 9 2 Subscriptions from October, 1903. : £8. cd. Nov. 13, Longe, Miss Julia. 20) 50 Dec. 16, Trevor, Capt. Philip. - 0 58 0 1904. Jan. 6, Hills, Mrs.C. H. . ~ 0 5 0 Jan. 6, Crommelin, Miss . : 20 10 0 Jan. 8, Stevenson, Mrs. M. EK. . - 0.5 0 Jan. 16, Kilmarnock, The Lord . .~ 0 10-0 Feb. 5, Portman, Lionel . : ~ ob 00 Feb. 11, Shipley, Miss Mary 2 0 5 0 Mar. Diiring, Mrs. . : : 707 5) 0 Mar. Francis Claude de la Roche . 0 5 O Ou o April18, Dixon, W. Scarth April18, Bashford, Harry H. : . 0 10. 6 April19, Bosanquet, Eustace F. . . O10 6 April23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain. 0 6 0 May 6, Shepherd, G. H. Ob 0 Donations from October, 1908. Oct. 27, Sturgis, Julian : : -90 0 90 Nov. 2, Stanton, V. H. : : 7 5b 0 0 Nov. 18, Benecke, Miss Ida . : 7 1.00 Novy. 23, Harraden, Miss Beatrice 75 020 Dee. Miniken, Miss Bertha M. M.. 0 5 0 1904. Jan. 4, Moncrieff, A. R. Hope . 5 0 0 Jan. 4, Middlemass, Miss Jean . 010 O Jan. 4, Witherby, The Rev. C. . 0 5 0 Jan. 6, Key, The Rey. 8. Whittell 0. 5 0 226 £8, d. Jan. 14, Bennett, Rev. W. K., D.D. 015 0 Jan. 2, Roe, Mrs. Harcourt 010 O Feb. 11, Delaire, Miss Jeanne 010 O May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth 5 0 0 —_—__+ 0 ——__—_ FROM THE COMMITTEE. —+—>— + HE Committee held their monthly meeting on May 2nd, at 39, Old Queen Street. The first business, as usual, was the election of members and associates, and seven fresh mem- bers and associates were elected. The number is small owing to the fact that the April meeting was held towards the middle of the month, and the May meeting at the earliest possible date in May. The total number of elections for the current year now reaches 110. Two cases were before the Committee. The first referred to a question of accounts between an author and a puohehee The Committee decided to endeavour to obtain a settlement of the case by entering into negotiations direct with the publisher, hoping by these means to discover, if possible, an explanation of the points in dispute. The second case raises questions of interest and of some diifi- culty between a member of the society and an author’s agent. As the matter is still under the consideration of the Committee, no further state- ment can be made at present. It was decided, subject to the approval of the President of the Society, to forward an address to the President of the Spanish Academy on the ter- centenary of the production of “ Don Quixote.” The draft of the address was laid before the Committee and approved. Mr. George Meredith, the President of the Society,. has also signified his approval of the draft. —— Cases. Since the May issue of 7’he Author eight cases have been placed in the Secretary’s hands for settlement ; three for money, one for money and accounts, two for the return of MSS., one for the settlement of contracts between author and pub- lisher, and one for accounts merely. Taking them in reverse order, the case for accounts referred to a Canadian firm, and conse- quently cannot be settled for some time. Again the case for the settlement of contracts, owing to complicated negotiations, cannot be adjusted imme- diately. Where demands were made for the return of MSS., the MSS. have been sent to the Society’s office, and returned to the members concerned. THE AUTHOR. In the case of accounts and money, with the con- sent of the Chairman, the matter has been placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors, as it has been found impossible to get any answer from the publisher. Of the three cases for money, one has been satisfactorily settled, one has had to be post- poned for technical reasons, and the other has been postponed owing to the absence of the publisher from his office. The last case contains some curious points, as the publisher sold a portion of the author’s rights some time ago without communicating with the author, and without accounting for the amount he received, when rendering his usual statement. No doubt, however, a satisfactory explanation will be forthcoming when the Society has put forward the author’s just demands. Another small case which was placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors has been satis- factorily settled, without the necessity of taking it into Court. May Elections. Jackson, John ; . St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter Lane, Fleet Street. Kenward, James, F.S.A. 48, Streatham High (Elvynydd) Road, 8.W. Kirmse, Mrs. L. Fontainbleau, Manor toad, Bourne- mouth. Kirmse, Richard Fontainbleau, Manor Road, Bourne- mouth. Shepherd, Geo. Henry 27, King Street, St. - James’s Square, Hilfield, Bath Road, Bournemouth W. Simpson, Miss Gaynor Stowe, Edwin " Oo BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. — to (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) AGRICULTURE. Buy EnGuisH AorES. By C.F. Dowsetr. 2nd Edition. 83 x 54, 224 pp. The Author: Winklebury, Basing- stoke, 33. 6d.  THE AUTHOR. 227 ART. Great Masters. Parts XIII.and X1V. Edited by SIR Martin Conway. Heinemann. 5s. n. each. IMPRESSIONIST PAINTING: ITS GENESIS AND DEVELOP- MENT. By WyNFoRD DEWHURST. 124 x 83, 127 pp. Newnes. 25s. n. BIOGRAPHY. ELEAN 2 OrmMEROD, LL.D., EcoNoMIC ENTOMOLOGIST. Autobiography and Correspondence. Edited by ROBERT WALLACE. 9 X 53, xx.4+ 348 pp. Murray. 21s. n. Kings AND QuEENS | Have Kyown. By HELEN VACARESCO. 9 X 53,330 pp. Harper. 10s. 6d. DRAMA, SUPERLATIVE FRIENDSHIP. ‘“ A Home or School Play for Ladies or Girls.’ By the Rev. JOHN BRUSTER. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., Ltd. 9d. nett. EDUCATIONAL. ELEMENTARY SCIENCE AND NATURE ‘STUDY. By H. THISELTON Monk. Simpkin Marshall & Co. 1s. 6d. 1. THE GLOBE GEOGRAPHY READERS. By Vv. T. MURCHE. Macmillan, 2s. ‘ FICTION. Ture Girt. By S. MACNAUGHTAN. 72 X 5, 309 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. CELIBATE SARAH. By J. BuyrH. 73 xX 54, 292 pp. Grant Richards. 6s. For Love AND Ransom. By ESME STUART, 7% X 5, 379 pp. Jarrold. 3s. 6d. Miss ARNOTT’S MARRIAGE, By RICHARD MARSH. 73 X 5, 341 pp. J. Long. 6s. Bats av TWILIGHT. By HELEN M. BouLTON. 74 X 5, 304 pp. Heinemann. 6s. THe OrANGERY. A Comedy of Tears. By MABEL DEARMER, Author of “The Noisy Years,’ etc. Smith, Elder. 6s. NATuURE’s COMEDIAN. By W. E, Norris. 7] X 55, 310 pp. Longmans. 63. GLENCAIRLY CASTLE. By H.G. HurcHINson. 7] X 5, 326 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. BrRoTHERS. The True History of By Horace ANNESLEY VACHELL. Murray. 6s. CourT CARDS. Unwin. 6s. In THE Wronc Box. By Fox RUSSELL, 317 pp. Everett. 3s. 6d. ARouND A Distant STAR. By JEAN DELATIRE. 7$X 5, 301 pp. Long. 6s. ENGLAND'S ELIZABETH. By His Honour JuDGE i. A. PARRY. 7% X 5,351 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. BIANCA’S CAPRICE, and Other Stories. By MorRLEY Roperts. 8 X 5,312 pp. White. 6s. THE BLUNDER OF AN INNOCENT. By E. MARIA ALBANESI, New Edition. 7% x 5, 322 pp. Methven. 6s. Mapes ov Money. By DorRoTHEA UERARD. 336 pp. Methuen. OvuR MANIFOLD Nature. By SARAH GRAND. Cheap Edition. 74 x 4%, 282 pp. Heinemann. 2s. SmoKING FLAx. By the Rey. Sivas HocKkIne. 7% X5h, 340 pp. Partridge. 3s. 6d. Musm%. The Story of an Anglo-Jap imese Marriage. Pearson. 6d. Treason. A Romance of Politics. Tynedale Press a Fight against Odds. 8 x 54, 397 pp. By ANSTICE CLARE. 7} X 5, 315 pp. 7% xX 5, 7% X 5, 6d. DorotHEA. By MAARTEN MAARTENS. 7} X 9, 573 pp. Constable. 6s. A PRINCE OF CORNWALL. 7% x 54,410 pp. Warne. 6s. By C. W. WHISTLER. IN THE WHIRL OF THE RIsinc, By B. MITFORD. 72 X 5,311 pp. Methuen. _ 6s. THE MASQUERADERS. By “Rrta.’’ 7% X 5, 371 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE WINE OF LOVE. 311 pp. Nash. 6s. DEALS. By Barry PAIN. 72 X 5}, 279 pp, Hodder & Stoughton. 5s. Love's Proxy. By RicHarpD BaGor. 73 X 5, 305 pp. Arnold. 6s. THE LovETHAT HE PAsseDBy. By Iza Durrus HARDY. 74 X 5,388 pp. Digby Long. 6s. é THE STONE-CUTTER OF MempHiIs. By W. P. KELLY, 72 X 5,371 pp. Routledge. 6s. A WisE AND A FoontsH VIRGIN. By GERTRUDE WARDEN. 73 X 5, 296 pp. F. V. White. 6s. A JAPANESE MARRIAGE. By Dovugnuas SLADEN. New Edition. 8} x 53,401 pp. Treherne. 6s. n. ALLAN QUATERMAIN. By H. Riper HaGearp. (Cheap Edition.) 8% x 53, 182 pp. Longmans. 6d. n. Youna Love. By L. DouGAut. (Cheap Edition.) 74 X 5, 179 pp. Black. 6d. AN ISLEIN THE WATER. OH, WHAT A PLAGUEIS LoVB! By KATHARINE TYNAN. (Cheap Edition.) 74 X 5, 221 +150 pp. Black. 6d. each, By H. A. HInKSON. 74 X 5, HISTORY. SociaL LIFE UNDER THE Stuarts. By ELIZABETH GoDFREY. 82 X5%, 298 pp. Richards. 12s. 6d. n. THE PUNJAB IN PEACE AND WAR. By 8S. 8. THORBURN, Indian Civil Service (retired). Blackwood & Sons. 12s. 6d. n. Two maps and four battle plans, LITERARY, SrortEs FROM DANTE. ~ By NortEY CHESTER. 7} X 43, 238 pp.. Warne. 2s. 6d. n. Ke.Lric RESEARCHES. By E. W. Byron NICHOLSON. 800 pp. H. Frowde: Oxford University Press, 21s. n. MEDICAL. THe MerpicaL CurricuLumM. By Proressor E. A. SCHAFER, LL.D., F.R.S. .82 x 53,30 pp. Elinburgh : The Darien Press. ORIENTAL. SAYINGS OF K’UNG THE MASTER. (The Wisdom of the Kast.) Selected, with an Introduction, by ALLEN Upwarp. 64 xX 5,50 pp. The Orient Press. 1s.n. POETRY. GRANUAILE, A QUEEN OF THE WEST. A Poem in Six Cantos. 2nd Edition. By CHARLES RICHARD PANTER, LL.D. 74 X 54, 207 pp. Jarrold & Sons. 5s. Porms. By Sir Lewis Mornis. (Authorised Selections) 54 X 34, 340 pp. Routledge. POLITICAL. GREATER AMERICA. By A. R. COLQUHOUNs 436 pp. Harpers. 16s. FiscAL Facts AND Ficrions. By F.G. SHAW. 4s. n. 9 x 6; Saillitre, SOCIOLOGY. THe PRIZE: SOCIAL Succpss. By F. C, CONSTABLE. 7 x 43,177 pp. Grant Richards. 5s. n, TECHNICAL, A TEXxT-BoOK OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. By Witrrip T. LINEHAM. ‘7th Edition. 1066pp. Chay- man & Hall. 12s, 6d. n. 228 THEOLOGY. Paraposis, or “In the Night in Which He was (?) Betrayed.’’ By E. A, ABBOrT, (Diatessarica, Part IV.) 9 x 6, xxiii. + 216 pp. Black. 7s, 6d, n. THe YOUNG PRIEST. Conferences on the Apostolic Life. By HERBERT CARDINAL VAUGHAN. Edited by his Brother, MONSIGNOR CANON J.S. VAUGHAN. 7] X 5, 347 pp. Burns & Oates. 5s. TOPOGRAPHY. Tur New Forest. By Horace G. HUTCHINSON. 94 x 68,310 pp. Methuen. 21s, n. STRATFORD-ON-AVON. (Illustrated Pocket Library.) 3s. Nl. THe QUANTOCK HILLS: THEIR COMBES AND VILLAGES, By SrpNeY LEE. New Edition. 7 x 5, 304 pp. Seeley. By BratTrRIx F. CresswELL. Homeland Association. 2s. 6d. n. TRAVEL. PRESENT-DAY JAPAN. By AuGusTaA M. CAMPBELL DAVIDSON. 94 X 6, 331 pp. Unwin. 21s. THe SToRY OF ALPINE CLIMBING. By FRANCIS GRIBBLE. (The Library of Useful Stories.) 6 x 39, 180 pp. Newnes. Is. A WINTER New (and cheaper) Edition. mais. 65. RB. PILGRIMAGE. By H. RipER HAGGARD. 81 x 53, 376 pp. Long- Oo LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL . NOTES. —— NTHONY HOPE’S new book “ Double Harness,” a story of modern life, is to be published by Messrs. Hutchinson & Co., in the antumn. It is announced that a volume of short stories may be expected from the pen of Mr. Rudyard Kipling in the autumn. We are informed that his Majesty the King has accepted a copy of Mr. James Cassidy’s new book “Love is Love,” published by Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., at the price of 2s. 8d. net. The volume contains sixteen short stories, each of them founded on a true incident. “Where is your Husband, and Other Brown Studies” and “A Medley Book” are the titles of two books by George Frost, copies of which have been accepted by her Majesty the Queen. ‘Lost Angel of a Ruined Paradise,” is the title of a work by the Rev. P. A. Sheehan, D.D., which Messrs. Longmans & Co. are publishing. The same firm is also publishing Mr. Wilfrid Ward’s ‘‘ Memoir of Aubrey De Vere,” based on unpublished diaries and correspondence. Mr. Poultney Bigelow has been appointed a Professor in the Law Faculty in the University at Boston. Mr. Bigelow’s department deals par- ticularly with ‘Foreign Relations and Colonial Administration,” and his lectures dealing with this subject will commence in the winter of the THER AUTHOR. present year. We understand that this is a new department in college education, and has for its object the training of young men for honourable employment. A second edition of ‘ Rita’s” new book “ The Masqueraders” is in the Press, as the first edition was sold out soon after publication. “Impressionist Painting: Its Genesis and Development,” by Wynford Dewhurst, has been published in a handsome volume by Messrs. George Newnes, Limited, at the price of 25s. net. Mr. Dewhurst has written the book with a view to preaching the doctrine of impressionism, parti- cularly in England where he considers this style of painting is very little appreciated. The book contains many illustrations which serve most effectually to demonstrate the methods set forth. Mr. Dewhurst trusts that the volume may be of real service to the cause of art education. “Buy English Acres” is the title of a book written by Mr. C. F. Dowsett, at the beginning of this year. The second edition, which contains much added matter, is now placed before the public. The book can be obtained from the author at Winklebury, Basingstoke, Hampshire. The price is 8s. 6d. net, post free. Mr. A. W. Marchmont, author of “ By Right of Sword,” has a novel entitled ‘“ Miser Hoadley’s Secret’ appearing in Methuen’s Sixpenny Library, and in the companion series, The Novelist, the same author’s popular book, “A Moment’s Error” is to be published. Owing to the great amount of revision which has been necessary in order to bring Mr. E. A. Reynolds Ball’s book, “ Mediterranean Winter Resorts” up to date, the fifth edition will not be published till the 1st of October, 1904. The intrigues between the English and Scottish Courts during the closing years of the sixteenth century form the material for Austin Clare’s new novel, entitled “Court Cards,” which Mr. Fisher Unwin has published. Mr. Grant Richards has just published a volume of essays from the pen of Mr. F. C. Constable, under the title of ‘The Prize: Social Success.” The essays treat of moral and social questions. The French Minister ‘ de l’Instruction Publique et des Beaux Arts” has lately created Mr. G. H. Clarke “ Officier d’Académie.”? Mr. Clarke has edited or written alone or in collaboration the following works: “ Le Misanthrope,” Moliére ; “Les Fourberies de Scapin,” Moliére ; “Table of the Order of French Pronouns” (Williams and Norgate) ; ‘School Grammar of Modern French” (J. M. Dent & Co.) ; “ Les Femmes Savantes,” Moliére ; ‘‘ Waterloo,’ Victor Hugo; “Primer of Old French”; ‘Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichow.” (Blackie & Son); “ Intermediate  THE AUTHOR. French Grammar ” (John Murray) ; “ La Bataille de Waterloo,” Houssaye (A. and C. Black), A new work by Mr. J. E. Gore, F.R.A.S., entitled “Studies in Astronomy,” is in the press, and will shortly be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. It will be illustrated by some fine photographs of nebulz and clusters. Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. have published with illustrations a work entitled “ Aspects of Social Evolution,” by J. Lionel Tayler, at the price of 7s. 6d. The book deals with the question of heredity, environment, and temperament, and is both social and medical in its character. Messrs. Brown, Langham & Co. publish early in June a new novel by Mr. E. H. Lacon Watson, author of “The Templars” and several other books. “The Making of a Man” is the title chosen for the new story, which will deal, ter alia, with the career of a celebrated minor poet. In this month’s (June) Chambers’s Journal is an informing article by Eustace Reynolds- Ball, dealing with the vie intime of the Piedmont peasantry. This is a somewhat novel subject, on which the author has had special opportunities of acquiring information. In the new issue (being the 41st) of the Sfates- man’s Year Book, edited for Messrs. Macmillan & Co. by Dr. J. Scott Keltie and Mr. J. A. Renwick, a series of statistical tables and diagrams has been brought together illustrative of the conditions of British trade and shipping from 1860 to the present date. Besides this compilation, so necessary for students of the fiscal question, may be mentioned a diagram showing the extent to which Belleville boilers are employed in the various fleets. In the general revision to which the book has been sub- jected may be noted the first appearance of a section devoted to Panama as an independent State. Mr, W. S. Gilbert produced, at the beginning of last month, a new play at the Garrick Theatre. We are pleased to welcome the return of this author to the dramatic stage. ‘That the piece is full of the old humour is clear from the fact that Mr. Arthur Bourchier is turned into a clown, and Miss Violet Vanbrugh into a columbine, and a Judge of the High Court into a pantaloon. The piece was received with much favour. “Tna,” a play in four acts by Mr. R. O. Prowse, was put on the stage of the Court under the auspices of the Stage Society. It is a study in re- morse, as the heroine thinks she has been virtually guilty of the death of her husband. Two plays by William Toynbee—“ Dolly’s Ordeal,” in one act, and “ Necessity Knows No Law: a Comedy of Personages,” in four acts— will be produced at a matinée at one of the West End theatres during the present season. 229 PARIS NOTES. — HE book of the month is undoubtedly “ La Cominune,” by MM. Paul and Victor Mar- gueritte. In the form of a novel the authors give us the history of the Commune as they under- stand it, and show us a series of pictures of life in the various ranks of society during the troubled time which followed the Franco-German war, On reading this book one understands Mlle. Dosne’s anxiety to publish earlier than she had intended her brother-in-law’s book, ‘‘ Notes et Souvenirs de M. Thiers (1870-1873).” MM. Paul and Victor Margueritte endeavour to show us the various causes which led to the terrible insurrection in Paris. They describe in detail the miseries which the Parisian working-class and the bourgeois families had endured during the siege, their suspense, disappointments, distrust of their chiefs, hunger and discomfort of every kind, and finally their humiliation on hearing that the Prus- sians were to enter the French capital. The patriotic citizens were beside themselves with indignation and, taking advantage of this state of things, all the riffraff of the population thought the moment pro- pitious for a general rising against order and au- thority of any kind. The portraits of many of the historical personages are admirably well drawn, the description of the entrance of the enemy into the city, the story of the murder of Clément ‘Thomas, of the death of Mon- seigneur Darboy, and the account of the awful scenes of fire, bloodshed, and destruction are most tragic and pathetic. Many books have been written on the subject of the Commune, but none have given a more vivid and graphic description of that fatal insurrection than this novel by MM. Paul and Victor Mar- gueritte. The reader who cares to know both sides of an argument should certainly study ‘* Notes et Souvenirs de M. Thiers” before commencing “Ta Commune,” as it is just as well to know the difficulties with which M. Thiers had to contend before reading the verdict of the brothers Mar- gueritte. M. Pierre Loti appears to have renounced fiction for atime. His last book was ‘ L’Inde,” and his new one “ Vers Ispahan.” The former was pub- lished with two different titles ; the edition for France was “ L’Inde (sans les Anglais),” and the edition for sending abroad was simply ‘“ L’Inde.” In the preface to this new book the author tells us what to expect : “Qui veut venir avec moi voir i Ispahan la saison des roses prenne son parti de cheminer lentement & mes cOtés, par ctapes. . Qui veut me suivre, se résigne a beaucoup de jours passds dans les solitudes, dans la monotonie et les mirages.... ”  230 This is a warning not to be despised, as the book is really a description of a voyage. It is charming, and has all the poetry of description to which one is accustomed in Loti’s works. One of the most interesting chapters in the volume is the one telling of a visit to the tombs of the two poets Saadi and Hafiz. The latter is buried under a tomb of agate in the midst of an enclosure with avenues of orange blossom and roses. ‘This garden, which was at first reserved for him, has become an ideal cemetery, as muny admirers of the poet have, at their request, been also buried there. Their white tombs are surrounded with flowers, and the nightingales are to be heard every night. A little farther on is the tomb of Saadi. This ig much more modest than that of Hafiz, and is marked by a white stone; but it, too, has a wealth of flowers around it. “Vers Ispahan” should be kept as a charming, restful book for a summer holiday. It is impossible to hurry through it, as every word is worth reading. «lias Portolu,’ by Madame Grazia Deledda, is a delightful study of humble life in Sardinia. The authoress was born in Nuoro, a little town con- taining 7,000 inhabitants, and she places her story there. In the opening chapter Elias has just returned home after a sojourn in a penitentiary. His family and friends assemble in honour of this event and of the engagement of Pietro, the eldest son of the house. Elias is féted like a student returning home for the holidays, for among these primitive people when once a sin has been punished there is no further grudge against the culprit. He may begin an entirely fresh page in his life and he will not be taunted with his past. There is no strong plot to the story, but as a psychological study of Sardinian peasants it is very charming, and gives us an idea of an entirely different world, and of a totally different way of looking at many things from that to which we are accustomed. There is great originality, too, in the way in which the story is told. “Crainquebille, Putois, Riquet et plusieurs autres récits profitables ” is the title of a volume of short stories and sketches by M. Anatole France. “ Crainquebille” is a literary gem, one of the simplest and most pathetic of episodes told in the simplest and most exquisite style imaginable. The hero of the story is only a costermonger, and the incidents déscribed are such as one might witness every day in crowded cities, but every person lives, and there is deep pathos and tragic humour underlying the whole. “Putois” is a charming sketch, an excellent example of the way in which history can be built on a foundation of fiction. “Riquet,” though only a little dog, has not THE AUTHOR. lived with M. Bergeret to no purpose. He is mar- vellously philosophical, and his “ Thoughts ” are well worth reading. There are about a dozen other sketches or stories in the volume, each one of which has its special raison d’étre. “ Joseline,” by M. Edouard Delpit, is a book which will please readers who prefer a dramatic to a psychological novel. There is plenty of incident, the characters are well drawn, and the story itself is quite possible. The most interesting personage in the book is a wealthy, self-made man, who, until the age of fifty, has had a very lonely life. He falls in love with a young girl who is secretly engaged to a young workman. For the sake of her family she consents to marry the millionaire. He, how- ever, discovers the true state of matters, and shows great nobility of character. The dénowement is tragic. Among the new books are: “ Paravent de soie et dor,” by Madame Judith Gautier; “Le Mar- quis de Valcor,” by Daniel Lesueur ; “ Isolée,” by Brada ; “ Autour des Iles bretonnes,” by M. Caradec ; “La Vie d’un simple, or Mémoires d’un métayer,” by M. Guillaumin ; “ De la Paix, du Désarmement et de la Solution du probleme social,” by Madame Winteler de Weindeck; ‘‘Visions bréves,” by M. Radet. M. Jules Claretie has just published the sixth volume of “ Vie 4 Paris.” An interesting case has been brought into the law courts. The widow of Leconte de Lisle pro- tested against the publication of a book entitled “ Premicéres Poésies et Lettres inédites de Leconte de Lisle.” The verses and letters were wrilten during his college days (about the year 1858) by the poet, and M. Guinaudeau, who brought out the volume, received them from a former friend of Leconte de Lisle. The widow of the poet, as residuary legatee, objected to the publication of poems, which her husband had never deemed worthy to include in his complete works, and the sale of the volume was stopped until a decision was given. M. Guinandeau claimed that these poems came under the heading of ‘‘ posthumous works,” and as such belong to the person who owns them, and that this person has the same rights as an author with regard to them. M. de Hérédia, M. Henry Houssaye, M. de Nolhac, and other distinguished literary men wre to Madame Leconte de Lisle expressing pathy with her and their approval of the had taken in the matter. The judgment has just been g Guinaudeau and his publisher have to francs indemnity to Madame Leconte The destruction of the books canna by this Court, so that in order  THE Stop the circulation of the volumes the case will probably be brought before another Court. In an interesting article by M. Théry in the Economiste européen the question of the “Theatre Trust” is discussed in detail, The writer praises the Société des Auteurs for having “ vigorously attacked this scheme of monopoly.” M. Thery points out that by doing away with competition between theatre managers the result would be no competition between artistes, authors, decorators, or costume designers, so that French theatrical art would lose one of its chief elements of success and of universal influence. The Société des Auteurs dramatiques at its annual meeting discussed the question of the “Theatre Trust,” and decided to continue to oppose it energetically. The Syndicate of Dramatic Critics also held a meeting, at which a vote was passed that the critics would stand by the authors on the question of the “Theatre Trust.” At the theaties Madame Sarah Bernhardt con- tinues “ Varennes” until she leaves for Belgium. At the Gymnase “ Le Retour de Jérusalem” has held the pill for 200 performances, and M. Antoine has had great success with ‘ Oiseaux de Passage.” At the Gaite “La Montansier,” too, holds the bill until Madame Réjane’s departure, and at the Ambigu “ La Baillonnée” is another success for M. Decourcelles. The Porte St. Martin has put on “Blectra,” a Spanish play, and the Vaudeville “La Troisieme Lune.” On the occasion of the centenary of Georges Sand the Odéon will give a performance of the “ Démon du Foyer.” M. Ginisty has received permission from the Ministry to have a Georges Sand Exhibi- tion in the foyer of the theatre. There will be on view the most celebrated portraits of the great authoress, some sketches and water-colour paintings of hers, and various relics and souvenirs connected with her. At the Comédie Frangaise, for the centenary of Georges Sand, M. Jules Claretie has decided to give “ Claudie.” The piece which Madame Judith Gautier and M. Pierre Loti have written for Madame Sarah Bernhardt is entitled “Fille du Ciel.” It is a Chinese drama, and will be put on next season. China certainly seems to be in favour at present. The new play by Madame Fred Grésac and M. Paul Ferrier is a Chinese comedy entitled “La Troisicme Lune.” M. Maurice Bernhardt has dramatised the novel by M. Sienkiewicz, “Par le Fer et par le Feu.” This is to be put on next season at the Sarah Bernhardt Théitre with M. Huguenet in the role of Zagloba. Auys HALLARD. AUTHOR. 231 AUTHORS’ AGENTS. ———+— WW" have read, very naturally with interest, the able and well-considered paper pub- lished under this heading in the April issue. Upon several points we emphatically agree with G. H. T., but upon one or two others we should like to make a few observations, which might even be useful to members, and should be glad if you will kindly allow us space. That the methods of agents are of growing importance, authors will not dispute ; indeed, in the interests of literature a wider separation is desirable between the literary and commercial side of the matter than exists now ; doubtless this will eventually obtain, and therefore it is essential that those methods should be sound and beyond reproach, That to the beginner the agent can be of very little service we cannot quite accept. lar more than to the experienced and established writer (who has little difficulty in finding a market for his wares) is he of use to the novice. To the beginner, in fact, he can, and should be, a very material help. ‘The novice desires to enter a re- stricted, yet highly competitive field, the customs, methods and requirements of which he is almost absolutely ignorant, and in furthering his endeavour, an agent, cognisant of all these, is of the utmost value. Again, as a rule, the beginner is too apt to rush to pen and paper upon the least provocation, without fully considering the general interest, or publishing probabilities of his idea when developed, and in cases of this sort the ageat who knows his business and has the interests of his client at heart, can, by giving judicious counsel, save him much time, and spare him much disappointment and, moreover, often put him upon the right trend. The reason why nine-tenths of rejected MSS, are declined is that they are written without con- sideration, rhyme or reason. As you fairly point out, the business of a literary agent is not run upon philanthropic lines, but it is hardly necessary for him to give greater attention to authors who earn him a large income than to such whose return ig small. Work of very well-known authors sells automatically, is besought ; it is the work of lesser authors which in the placing requires skill, know- ledge, judgment and energy. When an author’s output is not large enough to pay an agent, he can scarcely expect the agent to make any particular effort on his behalf on commission alone, but if he pays a fee to an honest agent to cover specified work, he should be able to rely upon that work being done. In theselection of an agent, however, there are two important points upon which the author, whether established or not, needs to 232 exercise caution. He should never entrust his work to an agent unless he is confident, in the first place, that the man he employs conducts his general business with an entire absence of favouritism, and in the second place has no per- sonal misunderstandings with any publisher or editor. Agents cannot afford to have personal animosities against either. As to the rate of commission, we consider this more of a personal question, and one dependable upon particular/circumstances, which might safely be left to author and client. Amongst authors earning large incomes there are very few so “hopelessly unbusinesslike ” as to allow unfair, or disproportionate deductions from their profits ; moreover, it must not be forgotten that it is the agent who, generally speaking, finds the openings for the author. But that the agent should always keep the welfare of his clients well before him, is only a principle of common business honesty, and whenever he plays into the hands of a publisher he is guilty of a gross breach of trust. But in indicating a system under which the agent becomes financier as well, and buys work from impoverished authors with a view of selling at a large profit to himself, G. H. T. puts his finger upon a very evil practice. The system is varied by the moneylender-agent advancing sums against unwritten work, and in this way (as he takes care not to let the author get out of his debt by always having a pocket open to him) not only secures a continuance of the “agency” but receives an unjust rate of interest for the accommodation. The evils of this system are manifold. Generally speaking, carelessness in regard to money matters is an attribute of the literary temperament. In some cases extravagance leads to difficulties, and resort to the moneylender-agent, who like Barkis is always “ready and willin’,” becomes a necessity. The ultimate effect of this upon the author is financially disastrous ; to other authors for whom the moneylender-agent acts, but who do not require his financial assistance, it is unfair, since obviously he has a deeper interest in the man who is bound to him, and consequently exploits him further, whilst, what is of more consequence, the de- moralizing effect upon literature is even more disastrous. Instead of working for, art’s sake, and endeavouring to express the best that is in him, the involved author has to grind away at “pot boilers” in order to meet obligations he never succeeds in freeing himself from, There are certain publishers guilty of the same disre- putable practice, but whilst the system is at all times an immoral one, they occupy a position very different from agents. For ourselves we see no reason whatever why an agent should not werk in unison with the Authors’ THE AUTHOR. Society, and be an ardent supporter as well (indeed we consider the Society should have the support of all in any way concerned with literature and its production). If he is afraid to have his contracts and methods inspected by an authoritative body obviously he is not conducting his business upon honest lines. Upon the subject of contracts, especially the “‘ next-two-book ”’ clause, we should like to make a few remarks. ‘The position of the beginner is this. He is unknown, and has a book which he requires published without any risk to himself. The publishers who are at all likely to undertake’ this are few at the most. It is the publisher who is called upon to speculate in the venture, not the author, and it is he that dictates the terms of publication, and not the other, who can either accept or reject them. If he accepts, the book is published ; if he refuses, it is not. Harsh as existing conditions may seem—it must not be forgotten, however, that there is also the pub- lisher’s point of view—there they are, and an author, if he wishes to aim at fame and fortune must, until he is strong enough to make his own terms, accept them. Authors moreover should remember, what is frequently overfooked, that no book is absolutely necessary, that the world will still revolve if his song remains unsung, and to dictate terms to a publisher is in these days to incite his amusement. As to the “ next-two-book ” clause in particular, G. H. T. advises that no author should in any circumstances bind himself to a publisher for more than one book, but against this advice we must, with deference, again adduce our immediate argument—that until an author is strong enough to make his own terms he stands between accepting those of the publisher and being published, or refusing them and remaining in obscurity. A case came within our business not long since. A publisher—who does not enjoy the reputation of being the most generous in the trade—agreed to publish a first work on condition that he had the refusal of the next two. At the time, as a matter of fact, we advised the author not to sign. The publisher replied that those were his terms and could be taken or left. The author in question, anxious to secure publication, accepted, with the result that the book has boomed and gone already into a fourth edition, Now, if this author had declined these terms, from our experience and knowledge of the character of the work, we are certain no other publisher would have undertaken it; and if the author had not accepted them, instead of being established as a successful author, he would still be in obscurity and likely to remain there. It is perfectly true that he is tied to this publisher, upon not very liberal terms, for the  THE AUTHOR. next two books, but on the other hand he has now a literary reputation which cost him nothing to achieve; he has even made an immediate cash profit through the achievement. There is also the publisher's point of view. Now that this author has made a reputation, through the publisher’s enter- prise, certain other publishers are very anxious to secure his future books, but the publisher in question speculated in the first instance, and after all it is only reasonable that he should reap the benefit of his enterprise instead of others who were prepared to risx nothing. In view, therefore, of the present conditions of publishing, we do not think that an author will be wise in all cases to follow the advice of G. H. T. upon this point. The difficulties of a new writer procuring first publication are becoming increasingly complex, and we do, not consider they are likely to be reduced by’ the novice attempting to dictate terms. We should not have the least objection to the sub- mission of an agreement of this or any character to the Society, but at the same time we should feel it incumbent upon ourselves fully to explain the novice’s position in the literary world of to-day. There is no profession the working arrangements of which can be regarded as altogether perfect, and since all are humanly exercised we doubt if there ever will be one. Certainly we do not think that G.H.T. is right in thinking that the ideal literary agent would be one who worked for a fair number of authors at a fixed annual sum. An agent is now remunerated by commissions upon orders which he secures. Naturally, his com- mission is the only inducement he has to obtain orders, and if his commission were compounded for an annual sum the inducement would be lost and the author the first to suffer. However conscien- tious the agent may be, it would be impossible for the author to obtain from him the same satisfactory results as he does when the agent’s profit depends entirely upon his successes. Spricc, Peprick & Co., Lrp., GALE PEDRICK, Managing Director. —_—__—_—_—<>_+—_—_- LEGAL NOTES. et Wuat’s In A Name? HE right of an author or of his assignee in the name which he has given to his book sometimes occasions inconvenience to another author who has selected a similar name for his own work ; and the law upon the subject is perhaps a little indefinite and is not always clearly under- stood. Whatever the precise nature of the right 233 may be, it is not easy for the writer of a new work to avoid infringing it, and a number of interesting suggestions have been made in The Author for pre- venting, by a scheme of registration, infringements from occurring in future. Obviously if the author can search in a complete register of book-names he will have a chance of avoiding for himself the inconvenience of a dispute arising out of his adoption of a title already used. The matter, therefore, divides itself naturally into a discussion of the existing state of things, and the definition, if possible, of the rights at present existing, and of the proposals made with a view to improvement in the future. here have not been many cases decided in the law courts with regard to the right to names of individual books, for reasons which are not difficult to guess at. On the other hand, there have been several where the names of periodical literary productions have been concerned. The selection of names for individual books lies with the author, and any confusion with the name of another is accidental on his part. The selection of names of magazines by publishers is done more or less deliberately. A name is chosen on account of the merit which it is believed to possess, and the chooser of it is usually aware of the existence of the rival publication. Where he has knowingly chosen a name which runs close to that used by another he naturally defends his choice. The author or publisher of a book usually withdraws in order to save trouble, if not for any other reason. The right to the name of a book is not copy- right, as has been frequently explained in he Author ; and the name is not atrademark. At the same time there is in a title a right which is capable of protection, and it is in some cases of importance to an author that it should be pro- tected. In others it is a source of great annoyance to an author when some brother writer endeavours to prevent him from using a name which he fancies in order to protect a work which is of no value, and which consequently needs no protection. At all events, there are two points of view from which the matter can be contemplated : that of the author of the formerly existing work and that of the author of the second or projected work. Most of the writers who have discussed the subject in 7'he Author have apparently found themselves in the latter class. With regard to the nature of the right. In Bradbury v. Beeton, 18 W. R. 33, a case in which the proprietors of Punch sought to protect their title against one which might have been confused with it, Vice-Chancellor Malins said: “The de- fendants have no right to use a name which is calculated to mislead or deceive the public in pur- chasing.” ‘I'his simple phrase sums up the law on the subject. No author has a right to deceive the 234 public or to injure his brother writer by using a title which may mislead persons who, wishing to buy the book of the latter, might find themselves purchasers of the book of the former. In Kelly v. Hutton, L. R. 3 Ch. 903, Lord Hatherley said that there was nothing analogous to copyright in the name of a newspaper, but that the proprietor had a right to prevent any other person from adopting the same name for any other publication. It has also been pointed out that, should a journal change its name, anyone can adopt the old name for another periodical, so long as he does not in any way hold out the latter to be in fact the former. In the dealings of ordinary commerce there is a protection afforded to the labels and wrappers or to the name of a well-known article of commerce which is not derived from the registration of a trademark. This offers a close parallel to the protection afforded to the title of a published book, and it would appear to be founded upon the same principles. Traders are not always honest, and are sometimes ready to “‘ pass off” their goods as the better-known goods of some other producer. The goods of the latter may be distinguished by a trademark, and this may be imitated, together with the general design and ‘“‘get-up” of the article sold. The injured party then proceeds to ask the Court to forbid the infringement of his trademark, and to forbid the goods of the rival being “ passed off” as his. In defence, the rival may assert that the trademark is one not properly upon the register and move to strike it off. If he fails in this, the plaintiff will be entitled to the full protection which he seeks, but even though upon this point the judge’s decision is adverse to the plaintiff, and the trademark is found to be one which should not be on the register, there may still be a decision in favour of the plaintiff upon the question of “passing off.” “No man has a right to pass off his goods as though they were the goods of another.” There can be no doubt as to this, but it is essential in a ‘passing off” case to prove where a trade name or wrapper or similar thing has been imitated that the name or thing sought to be protected is generally known as distinguishing the plaintiff's goods. It is enough to prove that the “ passing off” is likely to interfere with the sale of the plaintiff's goods ; it is not necessary to prove that it has in fact so interfered, or that it was intended to do so. In The Author of August, 1900, there was quoted an instructive case as to titles tried in America, where the University of Oxford obtained an injunction against an American publishing firm to stop them from bringing out a Bible entitled an‘ Oxford Bible: The Sunday School Teachers’ Edition.” The learned judge said with reference to the use of the name THE AUTHOR. Oxford and to the point taken that this was merely a place name: “But this word is part of the plaintiffs’ name, and as such has given name to the plaintiffs’ Bibles and has come to be a means of showing their origin. The defendant has no con- nection with the place or name, and this use of the name by the defendant can be for no purpose: but to represent the defendant’s Bibles as coming from the plaintiffs.” Of course the intentional use of the name made this instance worse, but it was not essential, andi the case is otherwise interesting as showing the: grounds on which the injunction was granted. This, therefore, it is submitted, is the legal position = that A. must not take for his book the name used by B. so as to have his (A.’s) book mistaken for B.’s. Probably in a great majority of the cases. where an author of a new book is attacked by the author of an old one because he has published, or has let it be known that he is going to publish, a work under the name used for the old one, the- author of the old book could suffer no damage, as. nobody ever heard of his book, or everyone has. forgotten it, and nobody could mistake the new one for the old. In a great majority of these- cases A. can snap his fingers at B. if he chooses to- do so, so far as any action at law is concerned. In practice, however, he may not like to run the risks,. or if he does not mind doing so, his publisher is nervous, and declines to go on unless the name is. changed. From the other point of view, the author: who sees that another writer is going to bring out a book with a name which he has used for a book. which is in circulation has a legal right to prevent this being done, andit would be difficult to show that he is not perfectly justified in protecting his own pro- perty. When he is merely bluffing or asserting for his. deceased work a claim to fame which it does not possess, the question has to be decided whether he- is to be treated with contempt or humoured. If I appear tohave minimised the danger or the annoyance- arising from the question of a used title, it is only because I think that to someextent it is exaggerated by writers on the subject in The Author. I have myself suffered from the nuisance, as I had to change the name of a novel, after it had been: announced in advance, because the writer of a. short story having the title I had chosen, declared that she was bringing out, or was thinking of bringing out, a volume of tales in which that par- ticular short story (for which she had used the name- I had chosen) would figure as the first item, giving its name to the book. My publisher was desirous. of treating a lady with courtesy, and of avoiding controversy, 80 my name was changed, although the: first pages were already set, and although we agreed that the other author had no legal right to stop us and could not have succeeded in any action brought.  THE AUTHOR. with that intention. My book is as dead now as a doornail. I certainly should have no right to prevent anyone from using the title I ultimately chose, and I should not try to do so. With regard to the question what amount of circulation or “life” a book should have in order to enable its author or the owner of its copyright to prevent a new book from being published under the same name, it is difficult to find or to suggest any definite rule. I would submit, however, that a book discoverable in the bulky “ Publishers’ Catalogue of Current Literature” would be entitled to protec- tion, and that a book not to be found in that and never heard of by the author of the new work, or by his publisher or the publisher’s reader, would probably be held to be entitled to none. I have said nothing about such titles as “Tom Jones” or “Qlarissa Harlowe,” which someone suggested. No author or publisher would be responsible for a new book so named, and no bookseller would sell it. I propose in a future article to discuss the remedies suggested for the existing state of things. The suggestions have been principally made in order that the author of a new book may know whether his proposed title has been used before. BE. A. ARMSTRONG. —___—_——_—>_+___ MUSICAL COPYRIGHT BILL. —_+—~ + — As AMENDED BY THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON Law.—Printep, March 24, 1904. Arrangement of Clauses. 1. Offences. », Power to apprehend persons committing offences under Act. 3. Appeal to quarter sessions. 4. Alternative procedure by production of true copy of entry of copyright, 5. Search warrant and seizure of pirated music. G. All copies and plates seized to be brought before court. 7, As to forfeiture and destruction of copies and plates seized. 8. Penalties. 9. Recovery of penalties. 10. Interpretation. 11. Short title. 12. Registration of copyright and date of first publication. 13. Commencement and application of Act. 14, Application to Scotland. 15. Saving for foreign copyright. Be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of 235 the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :— 1. Any person who— (1) Prints, or causes or procures to be printed, any pirated musical work ; (2) distributes or carries about any copies of any pirated musical work for the purpose of sale, or of being dealt with in the course of trade ; (3) sells, or causes or procures to be sold, or exposes for sale, or offers or keeps for sale, or solicits orders by post or otherwise, for any copies of any pirated musical work; - (4) is found in the possession of any copies of any pirated musical work or the plates thereof for any of the purposes above mentioned ; shall be deemed to have committed an offence under this Act if it be proved to the satisfaction of the court that he knew that— (a) such musical work was pirated ; (b) or that such plates were the plates of pirated musical works. 2. It shall be lawful for any police constable, on the request in writing of the owner of the copyright or of his agent thereto authorised in writing, and on the production to such constable of a copy of the entry of such copyright in the book of registry certified under the hand of the officer appointed by the Stationers’ Company, and impressed with the stamp of the said company, in terms of the Copy- right Act, 1842, and at the risk of such owner, to take into custody, without warrant, any person who, within view of such police constable in any public place, or place to which the public have access on payment or otherwise, commits an offence under this Act, and whose name and address shall be unknown to and cannot be ascertained by such constable. 3. If any person feels aggrieved by any convic- tion made by a court of summary jurisdiction for an offence against this Act, he may appeal there- from to a court of quarter sessions where the fine imposed exceeds forty shillings, or the value of the articles seized exceeds forty shillings. 4, Whenever a certified and stamped copy of an entry of a copyright in the book of registry is required by this Act to be produced to any person, it shall be sufficient if instead of such production a true copy thereof is given to and left with such person. 5.—(1) Where on the information upon oath by the owner of the copyright in any musical work, or of his agent authorised thereto in writing, of an offence under this Act, a court of summary juris- diction is satisfied that there are reasonable 236 grounds for believing that pirated copies of such musical work specified in such informatior, or the plates thereof, are being kept for purposes con- stituting an offence under this Act, and are to be found in or upon any house, premises, or place within its jurisdiction, the court may, by warrant, authorise any police constable named and referred to in such warrant to enter such house, premises, or place at any time between the hours of nine in the morning and six in the afternoon, and to search for and seize and carry away such copies and plates. (2) The court may, if it appears necessary, empower the constable named in such warrant with such assistance as may be found necessary to use “force for the effecting of such entry as aforesaid, whether by breaking open doors or otherwise. 6. All copies of musical works and _ plates thereof so seized shall be brought before a court of summary jurisdiction for the purpose of its being determined in accordance with the provisions here- inafter contained whether the same are or are not liable to forfeiture and destruction under this Act. 7.—(1) As soon as may be after any copies of pirated musical work, or plates thereof, shall have been brought before a court of summary juris- diction under the provisions of this Act or the Musical (Summary Proceedings) Copyright Act, 1902 (in this Act referred to as “the Act of 1902’), the owner of the copyright, or his agent thereto authorised in writing, shall, if the person alleged to have been dealing with such copies or plates, or to have been in possession thereof under such circumstances as to constitute an offence under this Act, is known or can be found, apply to the court to issue a summons to such person to show cause why the same should not be furfeited and destroyed, and the court may issue such summons accordingly, and on the hearing of the summons may order that the said copies and plates or any part thereof be forthwith forfeited and destroyed, or be otherwise dealt with as the court may think fit. (2) If such person is unknown or cannot be found an information or complaint shall be laid by or on behalf of the owner of the copyright, or by his agent thereto authorised in writing, or on behalf of the police, for the purpose only of enforcing the forfeiture and destruction of such copies and plates, and the court may without summons, on proof that the musical work to which the copies or plates seized relate is pirated, or that such copies or plates were in the possession of such person under such circumstances as to constitute an offence under this Act, order such copies or plates or any of them to be forfeited and destroyed at the expiration of a period of two months from the making of such order, unless within the said THE AUTHOR. period some person alleging himself to be the person in whose possession the copies or plates were found, or to be the owner of the copies or plates to which such order relates, or of any part thereof, shall attend before such court and shall lodge a claim in writing to such copies or plates or any part thereof, and stating therein his true name and address, and shall thereupon apply to the said court to issue a summons (which the said court shall upon such application issue) to the person claiming to be the owner of the copyright, to show cause why the same should not be given up to him. (8) If such applicant at the hearing of the said summons establishes to the satisfaction of the court his claim to have the whole or any part of such copies or plates given up to him, the court may make an order to that effect, but at the expiration of the said period of two months, or, if a claim is then pending, on the determination of such claim, all the said copies or plates (if any) referred to in the original order of the court, and not given up as aforesaid, shall be forfeited and destroyed or be otherwise dealt with as the court may think fit, and thereafter no person shall be entitled to any compensation or redress in respect of such forfeiture and destruction. 8. Every person who shall commit an offence under this Act shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five shillings for each copy and five pounds for each plate in respect of which the offence was committed, provided the whole fines inflicted on any one offender in respect of the same offence shall not exceed twenty pounds. 9. All fines under this Act shall be recoverable and applied, and any act or thing authorised to be done by or in a court of summary jurisdiction shall be done under the provisions of the Summary Jurisdiction Acts in England, Scotland and Ireland respectively. : 10. In this Act the several expressions to which meanings are assigned by the Act of 1902 have the same respective meanings. The expression “ plates” includes any stereotype or other plates, stones, or matrixes or negatives used for the purpose of printing or reproducing copies of any pirated musical work, 11. This Act may be cited as the Musical Copy- right Act, 1904, and this Act and the Act of 1902 may be cited together as the Musical Copyright Acts, 1902 and 1904, and shall be construed together as one Act. 12. On and after the commencement of this Act the proprietor of the copyright in any musical composition first published after the commencement of this Act, or his assignee, shall print, or cause to be printed, upon the title page of every published copy of such musical composition the date of the  first publication thereof, and otherwise this Act and the Act of 1902 shall not apply. 13.—(1) This Act shall come into operation on the first day of October one thousand nine hundred and four, and shall extend to and apply in the Isle of Man as well as to and in the United Kingdom. (2) In the application of this Act to the Isle of Man all penalties recoverable under this Act and all Acts by this Act or the Act of 1902 authorised to be done by or in any court of summary juris- diction may be recovered or done before or by a high bailiff or two justices of the peace. 14. In the application of this Act to Scotland, the following provisions shall have effect. :— (1) All jurisdiction necessary for the purpose of this Act is hereby conferred on sheriffs : (2) In section five hereof the words “order (in which atime and place of hearing shall be named)” shall be substituted for the word “summons,” and the words “ after parties have been heard at such time and place as may be named in the order” for the words “on the hearing of the sum- mons,” and “at the hearing of the said summons”; and the words ‘“ without summons” in said section five (subsection two) shall not apply. 15. In any case to which an Order in Council under the International Copyright Acts applies in respect of musical copyright an_ extract from a register or a certificate or other document stating the existence of the copyright, or the person who is the proprietor of such copyright, if authenticated as directed by the seventh section of the Inter- national Copyright Act, 1886, may be deposited with the officer appointed by the Stationers’ Com- pany for the purposes of the Copyright Act, 1842 ; and the deposit of such extract, certificate, or document, and the registration of such extract, certificate, or document, on the books of the registry kept under the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1842, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be the registration of a copyright within the meaning of the Copyright Act, 1842, and the owner of such copyright, or the person who, under the said section, is authorised for the purpose of any legal proceedings in the United Kingdom, and is deemed to be entitled to such copyright, shall, for the purposes of this Act, have all the rights and be subject to all the liabilities conferred and imposed on the owner of a copyright registered under the Copyright Act, 1842, or his authorised agent, and a true copy of such extract, certificate, or document may be given to and left with any person, Whenever a certified and stamped copy of an entry of a copyright in the book of registry is required by this Act to be produced to such person, THE AUTHOR. 237 ENGLISH IN THE MAKING.* —_. <4 —_ HE knowledge of language and the study of English, ought to be to the author what the mixing of colours and the study of technique is to the artist. There are some artists who delight to boast their ignorance of technique. Their cult is small. Unfortunately there are many authors who attempt to write without any studied knowledge of language and the use of words. They do not make a boast of their ignorance. They are not cognisant of it. Nor are the semi-educated public who read their works. It is essential from time to time that a seer (in its original sense) should step forth and proclaim as Mr. Bradley has done in his book the causes by which the more remarkable changes in the language were brought about, and the effect which these changes have had on its fitness as an instrument for the expression of thought. He commences with a chapter on the making of English grammar. He continues by showing the extraordinary influence of foreign tongues upon the formation of the language. How the words of one tongue have been accepted, of another rejected without, in some cases, apparent reason. Then follows the process of word-making in England after English had become a settled speech, and lastly, chapters on the changes of meaning, and some makers of English. ~ To the author who would be an artist in language the last chapters are the most important. To know the right meaning of a word and its proper application, is half-way to the writing of clear and forceful English. The book does not deal with the subject exhaustively. Yet it may suffice to sow the good seed, and the seed in some cases may bring forth the good fruit. On this hope the book is recom- mended to all. —__—___+—<—_+—___———_ A ROUND STONE OR TWO. (EMBEDDED IN A Book.) —- + — «Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” Old Proverb, N a terse preface of justification Miss Findlater asserts (with a ‘‘ venture”) that such dwellers may : at least it is their privilege to throw a few. Then with well-considered aim from the honourable interior of her own glass Fiction-House, * “The Making of English,” by Henry Bradley. Pub- lished by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. + “Stones from a Glass House,” by Jane Helen Findlater (James Nisbet & Co., 68.). .238 this novelist-critic proceeds to throw her stones straight from the shoulder—in eleven fairly hard- “hitting chapters. To be plain, Miss Findlater considers that the writer of fiction must know more than the mere reader of it, about the merits or defects of a story. ‘To have attempted to write fiction is to know its difficulties; and a realisation of these gives at once more leniency and more severity to criticism. The novelist will always judge technical faults severely ; because he knows that it is generally possible to avoid such blemishes by care and skill. But he will always be more merciful than the novel reader in judging faults of conception, knowing, as every writer does, that this is a matter over which the writer has very little control. The novelist has a further excuse for writing about novels—that no one can write about them with the same deep interest.” Miss Findlater says she has tried to treat some of our present-day fiction in a synthetic manner, so as to show the cause, development, and tendencies of each group of books. The present state of book reviewing is, she considers, extremely unsatis- factory. ‘Criticism, from being practised by the few and competent, has become a trade carried on by the many and singularly unfit. The first and most glaring defect in modern criticism is its tendency to over-praise. ‘I'o spoil our authors by injudicious praise is quite as bad as, if not worse than, crushing, or trying to crush them by over- severity ; in either case the goose that lays golden eggs for a greedy public may be killed ; there is, however, a refinement of cruelty in the modern method of author-murder decidedly reminiscent of the butt of Malmsey. There should be a standard of art in the mind of every real critic by which we can measure the stature of each applicant for fame. The true critic is the author’s best friend. Moderate praise, temperate adjectives, a degree of fault-finding, and,a sympathetic appreciation for what is attempted as well as what is accomplished, these are the signs of the true critic. Reviewers have two snares laid ready for their unwary feet: they are apt either to hail some new-comer who is not a genius as if he were one; or they entirely fail to discern genius when they encounter it. It is always possible, however, to compare the scope of a new writer with that of his predecessors, however widely separated the form in which he finds expression may be from the models of other days. Does he touch life at as many points as they did? Is he as true to nature as they were ? It is on these things and not on the perpetually changing element of form that a writer’s claim to greatness must eventually rest. And until the critics realise this, that a book with small ideas cannot be great, and that greatness must be sought for in the constitution of a book, its essential ideas, THE AUTHOR. not till then will reviewing be other than it is,” “As Compared with Excellence” is the title of this excellent chapter on criticism and reviewing, Pressure on space prevents further quotation from this very interesting and thoughtfully written “Essay in criticism”’: it is well worth a careful perusal, $$ —_ MAGAZINE CONTENTS. 9 THE BOOKMAN, Cardinal Newman, THE CONTEMPORARY. The Nestor of Living English Poets. By T. Churton Collins. ; THE CORNHILL. How I traced Charles Lamb in Hertfordshire. Rev. Canon Ainger. Historical Mysteries. V. The Case of Elizabeth Canning. By Andrew Lang. THE FORTNIGHTLY, A French King’s Hunting Book. By W. and F. Baillie- Grohman. R. D. Blackmore and His Work. A Plea for a Reformed Theatre. thorpe. By the By James Baker, By Mrs, B. A. Cracken- HARPER’S. The Primitive Book. By Henry Smith Williams, LL.D. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW. “ The Life of John Bunckle, Esq.” By John Fyvie. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The English Theatre. By G, G. Compton, THE MONTHLY REVIEW. Literature and History. By C. Litton Falkiner, THE NATIONAL REVIEW. Huxley. By Sir Michael Foster, K.C.B. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The State and Scientific Research. By Sir Michael Foster, K.C.B. Against a Subsidised Opera. By Hugh Arthur Scott, Lord Acton’s Letters. By The Right Honble. Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, G.S,C.I. THe PALL MALL MAGAZINE. The Country of George Meredith. By William Sharp, More Avowals. By George Moore, TEMPLE BAR. “T Seminatori :” A Translation from D’Annunzio. A, H, Clay. By THE WORLD'S WORK. Edward Elgar: His Career and his Genius, By Rose Newmarch. Continental Armies in Current Fiction. By Chalmers «Roberts,  WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —_+— ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction sbould be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: 1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duetion forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It isnow possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with:royalties are published in Zhe Author. 1V. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :-— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book, General. Allother forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :-— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. Weare advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright, —___—_+—>_+—______—- WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. gg EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secrétary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. THE AUTHOR. 239 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system, Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. <A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (‘.c.. fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7, Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10, An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. OO WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. 1 ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property, The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He 240 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —__—_—_—_+—<>—_+____—_- HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. — 1 1. VIERY 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. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination, 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee haye now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. ‘I'he Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers, (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them, (3) To keep agreements. (4) J'o enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. ~ This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeayour to preyent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. THE READING BRANCH. —_ +o EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, —__—~—¢ NOTICES. ee HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for Zhe Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W.. and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Ne ee aE SEED Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. Oe The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bunk of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. : LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —— ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, pP either with or without Life Assurance can be obtained from this socieiy. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  AUTHORITIES. eps N last month’s Author we stated that the J Masical Copyright Bill had passed the second reading in the House of Commons, had been referred to the Standing Committee on Law, had been amended by the Standing Committee after the hearing of evidence, and printed as amended. Some time has elapsed since this took place, and the Bill is no further advanced. We wonder whether it will meet the fate of all modern copy- right legislation, and be shelved to give place to measures which have a closer influence on party votes. In another column we publish the Bill as amended. Tur following letter has been forwarded to the Authors’ Society. We have much pleasure in giving it prominence :— 3rd May, 1904, * We believe that the friends of the late Sir Leslie Stephen would wish to give some outward expression of their affec- tion and regard for him, It has been suggested that in the first instance an engraving should be made of the portrait by Mr. G. F. Watts, R.A., and that copies should be presented to the London Library, to the Atheneum Club, to Harvard University, to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and to other institutions with which Sir Leslie Stephen was closely associated. Mr. Sidney Colvin has kindly undertaken to superintend the execution of the work. The proposal is warmly approved by Sir Leslie Stephen’s family. It would be convenient if subscriptions and communica- tions be forwarded to Mr. Sidney Lee, 108, Lexham Gardens, Kensington, London, W. GEORGE MEREDITH. JAMES BRYCE. FREDERIC HARRISON, HENRY JAMES. A, C. LYALL. JOHN MORLEY. One of the members of the Society forwarded a poem to the editor of a well-known weekly religious paper. The editor as he was bound to do in cases where no payment is made, wrote to the author before publication, stating the fact, and was informed in answer that the member did not desire any remuneration. The writer was therefore all the more astonished to see his poem reproduced in the paper with one verse deliberately cut out. Considerable margin is very often given to editors in dealing with ephemeral matters in daily and even in weekly papers; but it is doubtful whether in a magazine, or in the case of literary work which, like a poem, is complete in itself, THE AUTHOR. 241 the editor ever takes the liberty of acting in the manner set forth above. Yet one other instance comes to mind: Does not Mr. Oliver Wendell Holmes state in “The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table,” that he was commissioned by the committee of a certain society to write a poem for a festive gathering? He accordingly gave full praise to wine, and the pleasure of “ quaffing the flowing bowl,” and was astonished to find his poem reproduced with various alterations, owing to the fact that the society was a temperance society. In the book, the full poem with corrections, is printed. Such a mistake might justify the editor or the society in refusing the poem, but, surely, not in making the alterations. ONE of the daily papers has been much interested in the number of different nouns of multitude used in the English language, for the differentiation of animals and men, but the writers of the paragraphs seems to be unaware that a full list is given in one of the earliest books on sport, entitled “The Boke of St. Alban’s,” of which the first edition appeared in 1486, and the last in 1881. It is one of the most prized treasures of the older authors. bibliophile, containing treatises on hawking, hunt- ing, and coat-armour, mostly compilations from Out of the whole list we print a few examples which may prove of interest to some of our members. Herde of Swannys. Herde of Cranys. Herde of Harlottys. Bevy of Ladies. Bevy of Roos (Roes). Bevy of Quaylis. Sege of Heronnys. Mustre of Pecockys. Congregation of Peple (people). Hoost of Men. Fflight of Doves. Route of Knyghtis (Knights). Pride of Lionys (Lions). Sleuth of Beeris (Bears). Litter of Wellpis (Weips). Kyndyll of Yong Cattis (Kittens). Dryft of Tame Swyne. Harrosse of Horses. Rago of Coltis Rakoe \ (Colts). Trippe of Hares. Gagle of Geese. Brode of Hennys (Hens). Bedelyng of Dokis (Ducks). Scole of Clerks. Doctryne of Doctoris. Fightyng of Beggars. Drifte of Fishers. Rage of Maidenys (Maidens). Rafult of Knavys (Knaves). A Blush of Boys. Covy of Partriches. Desserte of Lapwyng. Fatt of Woodcockis. Congregation of Plevers. Swarme of Bees. Cast of Hawkis. Flight of Goshawks. Flight of Swallows. Teldyno of Rookes. Shrewdenes of Apis.  242 A Nest of Rabbettis. A Pontifacalite of Pre- A Mute of Houndes. latis. A Kenet of Rachis. A Dignyte of Chanonys A Soundre of wilde (Canons). A Discretion of Prestis. A Rascalt of Boyes. A Blast of hunters. A Disworship of Scottis. Swyne. A Chase of Assis. A Multiplieng of Hus- bondis. At the request of the Marquess-of Lansdowne, an interesting return of the financial support given from State or Municipal Funds to dramatic, operatic, or musical performances in foreign countries, has been made by the various repre- sentatives of His Majesty in Europe, North and South America, and Cairo. It would appear that in nearly all countries such assistance is given—sometimes out of the Sovereign’s purse, as in Germany, sometimes out of the Government Funds, and not infrequently out of municipal funds. Support is given in various forms—by giving sites for theatres, by actually maintaining theatres at municipal or Government cost, or by paying the deficit in the annual statement of certain theatres. The two countries that do not appear to con- tribute in any way to operatic or dramatic perform- ances, are the United States and Great Britain, and the country which contributes most is France. Four national theatres in France occupy without payment the buildings in which they are situated, subject to certain not very onerous conditions, and Parliament grants annually a subsidy fixed some years since at the following figures :—800,000 frances (£32,000) for the Opera ; 300,000 frances (£12,000) for the Opera Comique ; 240,000 frances (£9,600) for the Theatre Francais; and 100,000 francs (£4,000) for the Odeon. In Belgium the subsidy seems to be granted, not merely to the performances, but also to the com- posers of musical and dramatic works. They are entitled to certain grants on those works which have passed successfully a committee appointed by the Government. In no other country does it appear that the subsidies are paid direct to the author or the composer. As, however, the work is bound to be written by a Belgian, they will not benefit the writers of any other country. The return has been collected in order to enable the Government to arrive at some conclusion on the question of the national opera or national drama for Great Britain, and will afford very favourable evidence for those who have been agitating in the matter. THE AUTHOR. Str Henry M. Sranuey died on May 10th at his town residence, Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, With regret we chronicle the decease of one of the most distinguished explorers of modern times, In this character his first claim to fame was his finding of Livingstone in 1874, and his last the famous leadership of the expedition for the relief of Emin Pasha in 1885. His literary labours consisted mainly of the volumes written after his great journeys, though in his early days he had done considerable work as a journalist in New York. He had been a member of the Society for some years, no doubt prompted by a sympathetic feeling for his fellow authors, as he did not utilise the benefits of the society to any great extent. —_r-— MISS ELEANOR A. ORMEROD, LL.D.* — oe PYNHE Life of Miss Eleanor A. Ormerod, edited by Mr. Robert Wallace, has just been pub- lished by Mr. John Murray. It is the record of a life devoted to the benefit of her fellow creatures. Mr. Wallace calls her an “Economic Entomologist.” This is a_ highly technical description of the talented lady. Born of a good old Gloucestershire family, she was devoted from her childhood to the science of Natural History. As she grew in years she turned her knowledge to practical use for the good of others. She studied how she could remedy the many ills brought by insect pests to the farmer’s crops. Her work was carried on with untiring unselfishness, and with the greatest modesty. The book, which is a record of that work, is full of interest on account of the strong personality of the subject. The letters that Miss Ormerod wrote for the benefit of those who suffered were very numerous, and the subjects she dealt with brought her into correspondence with many of the best known scientists of the last century. Through her life she obtained much recognition of her untiring and useful work. She was presented with Gold Medals from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1900, and University of Moscow in 1872, and Silver Medals from the Royal Horticultural Society for Collection of Economic Entomology in 1870, Société Nationale d’Acclimatation de France Entomologie Appliquée in 1899, Inter- national Health Exhibition, London in 1884, Moscow Polytechnic Exhibition in 1872, and was the first woman to receive the honour of LL. D. of the University of Edinburgh. * Eleanor Ormerod, LL.D., Economic Entomologist, Autobiography and Correspondence, Edited by Robert (John Murray.) Wallace,  THE AUTHOR. The Society of Authors, acknowledging her dis- tinction in the work which she had made her own, endeavoured also to show its recognition of the value of her studies. In the year 1896, twelve years after the foundation of the Society, it was decided to elect ladies us members of the Council. In order to show the wide extent of the Society’s work in all branches of Literature, the Committee desired to appoint some lady whose scientific researches and literary reputation would entitle her to this position. The lady best qualified was Miss Eleanor Ormerod, and her qualifica- tions were so great as to exclude all other com- petitors. She was unanimously elected a member swith five others—Mrs. Oliphant, Miss Charlotte M. Yonge, Mrs. Lynn Lynton, Mrs. Humphry Ward, and Miss Flora Shaw (Lady Lugard) the first lady members of the Council of the Society. —_—_______s—_<—_2__—__—_ FROM FAR WESTERN CANADA. eee HERE is no doubt plenty of the raw material of literature in British Columbia. But for the most part it is very raw, and accessible only to the adventurous. The wildest, the most picturesque, and the richest in natural resources of all the provinces of the Dominion of Canada, it is at the same time the most westerly. It fronts on the Pacific, and, therefore, is farthest away from such stores of literature, art, and learning as Canada possesses. To some extent, therefore, the conditions are disadvantageous. A belt of country on either side of the Canadian Pacific Railway has been written about with great assiduity, so that the traveller now knows what to expect after he has passed the vast expanse of the North-West prairies and begins to approach the inaccessible and snow-capped Rockies and Selkirks. | But those grand and silent barriers once passed and British Columbia entered, the explorer cannot fail to feel that he has come to a new region. The feeling will be accentuated, if with knapsack and gun on shoulder, he wanders away from the main avenue of traffic, through a land of mountains, lakes, streams, deer, bears, Indians, mountain goats, and scattered mining and ranching opera- tions. As the Switzerland of the Dominion, it has 400,000 square miles against Switzerland’s 16,000, and against the 121,000 of the United Kingdom. Its population of less than 200,000 persons, 28,000 of whom are Indians, and 14,000 Chinese, are chiefly occupied (with the exception of these interesting aliens and aborigines), in pushing their fortunes in mining, agriculture, fishing, ranching, lumbering, and politics. They are all, so to speak, up to the neck in natural resources the most splendid and various. The 243 waters teem with fish, the soil is astonishingly productive, there is gold and copper in the hills, and the timber in the forests is of appalling magnificence. But, Tantalus-like, many of these pioneers are unable to take advantage of the wealth around them. The day has yet to come in British Columbia when the necessary capital for operations is bestowed with a wise and liberal hand. At the present time the astute financier of the United States is awaking to the unrivalled opportunities of the country, and cutting out the more elephantine Croesus of Britain. ‘The difference between them is that the American looks after his money and sees that it is put to good use, while the Britisher flings abroad his gold and lets it look after itself. It will be readily gathered that in a country of this kind, there is not much call for literature of the higher kind. There is a great sale of the ten-cent magazines of the United States. There would be an equally good sale of English periodicals if the postal arrangements of the United Kingdom were not so absurdly restrictive. Something lurid and dramatic in the way of a story is as much appreciated here as it is in other unformed and rudimentary communities, and the publishers of Toronto, as well as of the United States, supply us with a continuous succession of fresh literary mushrooms put up in the most taking style. It must, however, be allowed that there is a saving: remnant of cultured people who are glad to hear: the distant echoes of a life they once enjoyed, and who are the pioneers of art and literature in the midst of a life that is almost entirely devoted to subduing the earth and the pursuit of the dollar. The praiseworthy efforts that are being made by the Province in the cause of primary, and. to a small extent in secondary education, give room for the hope that its percentage of intelligent readers will ultimately not be less than that of Hastern Canada. Also, the library at the really fine Legislative Buildings at Victoria is much more “literary” than might be expected, and there is a Carnegie library in the city of Vancouver, con- taining a few works on history and science, and: — many volumes of fiction that are already redolent of microbes from frequent perusal. Besides, there are writers. The newspaper Press is far better than could be expected. British. Columbia has in E. Clive Philipps-Wolley a poet who, in his “Songs of an English Esau,” has shown that he possesses the divine gift in no small, measure, and who has also written a number of clever novels. Mrs. L. A. Le Fevre has written a creditable little book of verse, and she appears. also on the pages of Lord Dufferin’s very interesting volume to the memory of his talented mother.. Mrs. Julia W. Henshaw has written several novels. 244 besides many magazine articles. Mr. R. E. Gosnell, formerly Government Librarian and now Secretary of the Bureau of Provincial Information, is the author of the most important current standard work on the position and resources of the Province, as well as many cognate articles. He is also en- gaged on a Life of Sir James Douglas, the first Governor of the Province, The names of Agnes Deans Cameron, Isabel A. R. Maclean, and J. Gordon Smith, are on the list of those British Columbians who are doing honourable service with their pens ; and there may he others that a wider- sweeping or narrower-meshed net than the present writer is casting, might gather in. But even the briefest survey of things literary in British Columbia would be incomplete that did not mention the work of Father A. G. Morice, O.M.I., a French missionary-priest, who began his work among the Déné Indians of the interior in 1885. In addition to making a language for the Dénés, which he has reduced to written phonetic signs, he has contributed many philological papers and articles on aboriginal manners and customs to the proceedings of scientific societies. He is now engaged on a history of British Columbia, treating especially of its early days under the Hudson’s Bay régime, and the publication of this important work may be looked for during the present year. It is understood that it will contain much informa- tion from original sources, and that in some of its conclusions it will contradict the statements of former historians. Father Morice is possibly the only author of this continent who makes a practice of printing his own works. This was forced upon him in the first instance by the fact that he was too many miles, by forest trail, from any printer’s, to be able to avail himself of expert assistance in making and setting up the strange shorthand- looking type from which the Déné prayer books are printed. He therefore had his printing outfit “packed” out to the distant settlement and accomplished the typography with his own hands, Lying before me as I write is a very neatly-printed pamphlet of 74 pages, which the worthy Father set up and “worked off,” entirely unaided. It is entitled “A First Collection of Minor Essays, mostly Anthropological, by Rev. Father A. G. Morice, O.M.I., Hon. Mem. Philological Society of Paris, and of the Natural History Society of British Columbia, Corresponding Mem., Canadian Insti- tute, and the Geographical Society, Neufchatel.” Mrs. Julia W. Henshaw, whose name I have already mentioned, is at work on “A Book of Mountain Flowers,” which, when it is published, will be highly prized by those who are awake to the beauty and paramount interest of the western mountains from Alaska to the Sierras, Mrs. Henshaw is an expert in photography, and she is THE AUTHOR. making a most comprehensive collection of photo- graphs of the various plants im situ, which, of course involves much intrepid climbing. There is probably no one so well furnished for this task as this clever journalist. She has had much expe- rience in the mountains, and is an ardent sports- woman and a keen observer. Bernarp McEyoy. ———_-——_> _____. THE BLACKMORE MEMORIAL. a, E regret that an account of the unveiling of the Blackmore Memorial in Exeter Cathedral was too late for insertion in the May number of The Author. An event so full of interest to members of the Society cannot pass unchronicled. No one could have had better qualifications for the duty than Mr, Phillpotts. He has long been known as a sincere writer on, and chronicler of the beauties of Devonshire. ‘To no one, therefore, would Mr. Blackmore’s work appeal more warmly. John Ridd, Davy Llewellyn, the Doone Valley, and the Bideford district must be to Mr. Phillpotts familiar faces and familiar places, so that his address was bound to come from the heart, and be touched with the same spirit which fired the author of “Lorna Doone” and “ The Maid of Sker.” Mr. James Baker, another member of the Society, had heen acting as Chairman of the Com- mittee and Mr. R. B. Marston as Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer of the Fund. The Memorial took the shape of a tablet with a bas-relief head of the author and a stained-glass window. The marble tablet with the portrait was executed by Mr. Harry Hems, of Exeter, and is a good likeness. The window portraying the character of John Ridd was largely given by Mr. Perey Bacon. The corrected wording of the tablet is as follows :— This Tablet and the window above area tribute of admiration and affection to the memory of RICHARD DoDDRIDGE BLACKMORE, M.A., Son of the Rey. John Blackmore, Educated at Blundell’s School, Tiverton, and Exeter College, Oxford (Scholar). Barrister of the Middle Temple, 1852. Author of “Lorna Doone,” * Springhaven,” and other works. Born at Longworth, Berks, 7 June, 1825, Died at Teddington, Middlesex, 20 June, 1900. “Insight, and humour, and the rhythmic roll Of antique lore, his fertile fancies sway'd And with their various eloquence array’d, His sterling English, pure and clean and whole,” * He added Christian courtesy,and the humility of all thoughtful minds, to a certain grand, and glorious gift of radiating humanity.” Crapock NOWELL.  pom val NO Sige | pod eh THE AUTHOR. The great nave of the Cathedral was filled with visitors from all parts of the kingdom when Dean Earle, Bishop of Marlborough, the Bishop of Crediton, the Chapter and Choir passed in pro- cession to the north-west door, where the monu- ment is erected. Mr. Eden Philpotts here gave his eloquent address upon Blackmore as a writer and as a man, and then unveiled the monument and window. The Dean, in an interesting speech, recalled the literary memories of the Cathedral, and eulogised the work of Blackmore. Mr. James Baker followed, referring to the elevating power of Blackmore’s writing, and thanked all, American and English, who have helped forward the work of the Committee. The special service, including the collect written by the Dean for the occasion, was then proceeded with, and at its conclusion the Dean welcomed the friends of Mr. Blackmore at the Deanery, giving an opportunity for hearing many a reminiscence of Blackmore and his work. —_—_——_——_—__—_+—____——_ POSTAL RATES. ——_——+— A CANADIAN GRIEVANCE. S in the United States, so in England, the question of Postal Rates has been brought prominently forward. The Committee of the Society, the Publishers’ Association, and the Chamber of Commerce have used their influence with but poor effect as far as British Postal Rates are concerned. Yet the point raised would appear to be more than a mere question of authors’ and publishers’ rights, and of the best way of marketing their wares. Under existing conditions Canada is an especial sufferer. A Canadian bookseller writes :— “We sell American periodicals better because they are cheaper. They cost almost the same at the offices of publi- cation, but. the difference in postage is so great, that the British magazine (value for value) costs the purchaser about double the price of the American. “ A few figures will show you how this affects our sales, We sell about BRITISH, AMERICAN. 45 Royal. 215 Strand (American 60 Harmsworth. edition). 55 Windsor. 125 Pearson’s (American 15 Young Ladies’ Journal, edition). 8 Pall Mall. 180 Munsey. 2 Studio. 60 McClures’, 2 Connoisseur. 165 Ladies’ Home 9 Chambers’ Journal, Magazine. 15 Century. 15 Harper’s Monthly. 14 Scribner’s. 67 Smart Set. “ We have a long list of subscriptions for English periodi- cals, but we sell few of any one. “That Canadians would gladly buy British periodicals, if not too expensive, is shown by the number of Zhe 245 Strand and Pearson's we sell. These cost us 74 cents in New York, and are mailed to us at 1 cent per lb. (this we pay), while if we bought the English editions we should pay about 9 cents in London and 8 cents a lb. postage. Should the American edition of Zhe Strand be withdrawn, and we be compelled to buy the English edition, our sales would soon drop down to forty or fifty copies per month. “I have taken these two magazines as typical : the same can be said of every popular English periodical published. Can you not see how very important this question of postage is? How the authorities at home are compelling the Canadian public to buy American publications, publi- cations that are often openly anti-British? Can you not see that this system hits every writer of English fiction, by closing a large part of his market, and by preventing his name becoming familiar with a book-buying com- munity? Can you not see, too, how we are teaching the rising Canadian generation American methods and ideas, by forcing such publications upon them? In Eastern Canada it has been suggested that a change be made in the tariff laws, and in-coming magazines be made duti- able. This would not meet the case at all, as the duty would be a tax upon British as well as American publica- tions. It would only compel the American publishers to sell by direct subscription through agents (duty cannot be levied upon single copies). The periodical business would thus be taken out of the booksellers’ hands, and the situa- tion would not be relieved one iota. “No, the only cure is a cut in the English postal rate. If the United States can afford to mail such matter from New Orleans to Alaska for 1 cent. a lb., surely the British Government can afford to charge less than 8 cents. per Ib. for mailing the same matter between London and Montreal. But it is not only the Canadian trade that suffers. The Canadian is patriotic and Imperialistic. He is proud of being a member of the Empire, and he desires that his children should be nurtured with British ideas. He feels more than hurt, therefore, that, owing to a difficulty which might be easily remedied, the United States literature is gaining a large circulation in the Dominion and spreading views which he considers to be unhealthy and unsound. That the feeling is strong may be gathered from the contents of an article written by Mr. J. A. Cooper, editor of “The Canadian Magazine,” ” which appeared in The Toronto News. In it he states as follows :— “At present news-dealers’ counters are loaded with United States publications. The newsboys throughout the country peddle the cheapest of United States journals, The boys and girls of Canada are fed upon literature which is anti-Canadian and often immoral. On almost every Canadian table the flamboyant, sensational journals of the United States are given the place of prominence. British publications reach only the newspaper offices and a few of the large public libraries. Canadian publications, other than newspapers, are given slight consideration, though a few are making a plucky fight against national indifference. “Tf this country is to remain British in sentiment and material interests, there must be a greater familiarity with British literature and political discussions. If trade between Canada and Great Britain is to grow, there must be a mutual exchange of newspapers and class journals, At present Canada studies only United States politics, industrial methods, and advertisements.’’ 246 Commenting on the large circulation of United States periodicals, Mr Cooper states as follows :— “The answer must be divided into two parts: First, as to British publications ; second, as to Canadian. British magazines and weeklies are crowded out of their market partly because the British publisher has made little attempt to keep them thereand partly because of official indifference. The British publisher once had a fairly good trade in Canada, but he bartered his inheritance for a mess of pottage. For example, the “Strand’’ and “ Pearson’s ”’ sold here are not English editions. The sharp Yankee did not want English advertisements to circulate in the United States or Canada; therefore he bought the right to sell these two magazines in America. He gets out an imitation of the English publication of the same name, fills it with United States articles and United States advertisements, and it is these editions that Canada buys. Examine any copy of each of these publications and you will see that this is true. Trade follows the advertisement nowadays, not the flag ; therefore the wily United States manufacturer looks after the advertising pages of what his countrymen read, and of what Canadians read. “ Attempts have been made to induce the British Govern- ment to allow monthly magazines and monthly class papers to be mailed from Great Britain to Canada at one cent per pound, instead of eight cents, in order to meet United States competition ; but the British Postmasters-General cannot see any necessity fora change. They see no reason why English periodicals should sell in Canada—why British literature would be good for British connection—why British advertisements would be good for British trade. They may see it some day, but tkey refuse to see it now. They are as blind to their best interests on this continent as they were in the days of the American Revolution. When Austen Chamberlain was Postmaster-General, he was waited on by a large deputation from British Chambers of Commerce and certain publishing interests, but he was unconvinced. The matter has been discussed several times in the British House of Commons, but the appeal fell on deaf ears.” Mr. Cooper dwells many hundreds of miles from the writer of the printed letter, and a longer distance from Mr. McEvoy, of British Columbia, who kindly contributes an article from far Western Canada. Yet the last named makes a similar complaint against postal rates and United States literature. If the United States are working for postal reform merely with a business end in view,—to get better sales and a large circulation, surely the British Author and the British Publisher should make some greater effort, when in addition to the stimulus of business they have also the Imperial ideal. Imperial Penny Postage was, no doubt, a great bond of union, and worked with great power for the extension of ideas between the dwellers in the Empire, but the printed book, Empire- circulated, would have still greater influence. Imperial copyright is one great factor; this already exists. It is to be hoped that at no distant date the author may be able to distribute his property throughout the Empire with the same ease with which he now controls it, 1s: 1, 1 THE AUTHOR. A CAPE LETTER, —— + ONTRARY to expectations, the Artistic Copyright Bill described in my last letter failed to pass into law, owing to the abrupt termination of the Parliamentary session and dis- solution of the Houses which followed the Minis- terial crisis of last year. The new Attorney-General has expressed his entire sympathy with the measure, and has promised to introduce it at the earliest possible date ; but, with the session half over and an Opposition policy of stubborn obstruction impeding business, there appears little hope of a dis- cussion of the Bill before the next prorogation takes place. In the new Parliament, of course, the pro- gress made last year counts for nothing ; were it otherwise, little time would be required to end the Bill’s vicissitudes. Musical piracy, so often referred to in The Author, seldom finds an exponent in this Colony ; but a person named Simmonds, residing in Cape Town, has lately been the object of legal atten- tions by the Musical Copyright Company, Messrs. Chappell & Co., Ltd., and Messrs. Boosey & Co., in regard to unauthorised editions of various songs. In the case of the first-named plaintiff the Supreme Court has ordered an account to be kept, and in that of the third-named it has granted an interdict and the surrender of the copies, in both cases pend- ing an action; whilst the Resident Magistrate’s Court has awarded Messrs. Chappell damages to the extent of £20, the limit of jurisdiction. As a result of a certain transaction in dramatic rights, a shameful attempt at money-wringing has come before the Supreme Court. A Cape Town merchant named Koenig sued the proprietress of the now dissolved theatrical company known as Hall’s Australian Juveniles for a sum of £1,260 (plus interest), representing performing fees on certain musical plays. From the evidence it appeared that plaintiff, who had a diverse con- nection with the Company, was engaged by its proprietors to secure certain rights; the assign- ment of these rights he quite unjustifiably obtained in his own name, on the strength of which fact he now claimed the rights as his own property. The Court unhesitatingly dismissed the plea, save as regarded an amount whiclr had been tendered by defendant, to cover royalties for which plaintiff was liable under the assignments. This amount, with costs to date of plea, was-awarded to plaintiff, by whom, however, the remaining costs were ordered to be paid. The sum claimed, which was reckoned on a basis of £15 15s. per night, was in itself preposterous; reliable evidence being adduced to show that the ordinary charge for the right of playing these musical pieces in South  THE AUTHOR. African towns ranged from £1 to £3, or in exceptional cases £5, per night. From judicial decisions we may turn to judicial authorship. Two volumes of “ The Institutes of Cape Law,” by the Hon. A. F. S. Maasdorp, B.A., Chief Justice of the Orange River Colony, have been published by Messrs. J. C. Juta & Co., Cape Town, and a third is to follow. Asub-title describes the work as “a Compendium of Common Law, Decided Cases, and Statute Law of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope,” and Books I. and II. respectively deal with “The Law of Persons” and “The Law of Things”; whilst the remaining volume will have for its subject “The Law of Obligations.” In his preface, the author disclaims all pretence to original research, the work being simply a welding together of earlier text-books, with the latter’s. contradictions and archaicisms harmonised and brought up to date. Each volume is prefixed by a long table of cases cited, and the foot of every page is well weighted with references to authorities. In “ On Circuit in Kafirland, and Other Sketches and Studies” (London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. ; Cape Town: J. C. Juta & Co.), the Hon. Perceval M. Laurence, LL.D.. has collected a number of papers which have previously appeared in the South African Law Journal and elsewhere. “They are rather a mixed lot,” says the author, “representing some of the recreations, legal and literary, of a colonial judge.” Two of the papers deal with cireuit reminiscences, four with legal matters ; three are biographical sketches ;_ whilst the volume closes with a short story translated from the French, and an address on Dr. Johnson. Apologising for the last-named item, the genial judge gives notice that “well-informed people are respectfully warned off!” The subjects of the biographical papers are respec- tively Cecil Rhodes, Lord Russell of Killowen, and Sir Frank Lockwood. A number of books treating of South African affairs from the inside have been issued from British houses during the last few months. One of the most notable of these is “The Essential Kafir,” by Dudley Kidd (London: A. & C. Black), which professes to be a composite portrait of the South African native, without distinction of tribes. The word “ Kafir” is used in a very wide sense, embracing many tribes, the “ essential ” likeness underlying whose variations Mr. Kidd has en- deavoured to depict. The book is “intended to serve as a warm-blooded character-sketch of the South African natives, in which everything that is of broad human interest takes precedence of departmental aspects of the subject.” A hundred exceptionally fine full-page photogravures grace the volume. ‘A more modest work on an allied subject is “The 247 Native Problem in South Africa,” by Alex. Davis, appended to which is “A Review of the Problem in West and West Central Africa,” by W. R. Stewart (London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd.). This contains chapters on “ Native Character and Customs” and on the “Influence of Exeter Hall,” several others being grouped under the general heading of “ Mines and Labour.” “It is an endeavowr to enlighten the British public on the question, and place before the authorities in power sufficient connected data to enable them to understand the real position in Africa.” Under the somewhat vague title of “ The African Colony : Studies in the Reconstruction” (London : Wm. Blackwood & Sons), Mr. John Buchan, for- merly private secretary to Lord Milner, has pro- duced a volume designed to supply the inquiring Uitlander with some fuller information concerning South Africa than that derivable from statistics. He has divided his subject into three parts, historical, geographical, and political ; and an index and a map are provided. “ Happy Days and Happy Work in Basutoland,” by the Deaconess 8. B. Burton (London: 8.P.C.K.), is a chatty little volume devoted to missionary life among the Basutos. here are a preface by the Right Rev. Bishop Webb, Dean of Salisbury, and several illustrations. Another minor publication, also illustrated, is an anonymous ‘‘ Memoir of the Life and Work of Rev. John Brebner, M.A., LL.D., late Superintendent of Education in the Orange River Colony” (Edinburgh: Lorimer & Chalmers). “Old Cape Colony,” by Mrs. A. F. Trotter (London: A. Constable & Go.), is “a chronicle of the Colony’s men and houses from 1652 to 1806.” Some of the material for this book appeared in a Christmas number of the Cape Times, entitled “ Old Cape Homesteads,” some five years ago. Mrs. Trotter brings to her task a keen enthusiasm. The volume contains reproductions of a number of her own drawings, and is affectionately dedicated to her “ unpunctured bicycle.” “Natal: An Illustrated Official Railway Guide and Handbook of General Information,” compiled and edited by ©. W. Francis Harrison (London : Payne Jennings), is a substantial volume, con- taining a large fund of detailed information, and provided with a profusion of good photogravures, and with plans and maps. From a Hamburg house (Cape Town: J. C. Juta & Co.) comes “The Native or Transkeian Territories, or Kaffraria Proper,” a handbook of the history, resources, and productions of that portion of Cape Colony, compiled by Caesar C. Henkel, who is also responsible for the excellent photographs with which it is illustrated. A large map accompanies the book. ‘A series of artistic souvenirs, under the general 248 title of “ Brydone’s Tourist Handbooks,” has been published in Cape Town, the booklets issued de- scribing ‘ Groote Schuur,” “Cape Town,” “ A Trip round the Kloof,” and ‘Table Mountain.” Among other small local publications are “Glimpses in Rhyme,” by A. Cunningham-Fairlie, a collection of miscellaneous verse; ‘ Looking Forward,’ repnted to be.the work of a spirit signing itself “ Aziel ”—a sort of South African “ Julia ”—-who, in a series of letters to Earth, communicates a Dantesque description of the world beyond ; “ The Mountain Club Annual,” an illustrated record of Cape mountaineering. Two works by residents in this Colony, but otherwise unconnected with the country, are ‘‘ Shakespeare’s Books,” by H. R. D. Anders, B.A. and “ The Bible from the Standpoint of the Higher Criticism of the Old Testament,” by Rev. R. Balmforth (London : Swan Sonnenschein & Co.). Not the least important fruits of colonial author- - ship are the volumes of “ Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society,” a number of which have appeared during recent months ; whilst the South African Association for the Advancement of Science has initiated a similar series with its first annual report, just published. ‘he latter body has, within the last few weeks, concluded its second annual session, the proceedings at which will pro- vide matter for its next volume. New magazines have been less frequent of late. Of those issued, three deal with commercial and trade matters, viz., Zhe African Insurance, Bank- ing, andCommercial Gazette, edited by R. R. Brydone; The Colonist, edited by E. Verne Richardson; and Lhe South African Clay Worker and Builder. The Examiner, whose brief existence was recorded in a previous letter, has been succeeded by The New Era, a weekly review published in Cape Town, and edited, like its predecessor, by Chas. H. Crane. In the course of his last annual report to Parlia- ment, Dr. G. M. Theal, the colonial historiographer, bitterly complains of the treatment received by his “ History cf South Africa.” Unable, in any case, to repay the great cost of production, the volumes are undersold by others whose contents have been extracted from them. Dr. Theal has now accepted a proposition, made by his publishers, to issue a new edition of the work at so low a price that the buccaneers will find reproduction unremunerative. This edition will contain additional matter, and will occupy seven volumes, as against the six of the previous edition. The Keeper of the Archives, Rev. H. C. V. Leibbrandt, though he has been busy at various sections of his work, has, owing to the late disso- lution of Parliament, not yet been able to publish any of the matter which is ready for press. THE AUTHOR There died at Johannesburg a short time ago Dr. M. J. Farrelly, author, among other works, of “The Settlement after the War,” an authority on international and constitutional law, and adviser on these subjects to the Government of the late South African Republic. Another writer has passed away in the person of Mr. J. D, Ensor, Serjeant-at-Arms to the House of Assembly. Before coming to this country about twenty-three years ago, Mr. Ensor had been for some fifteen years on the staff of the Daily Tele- graph, for which he acted as war colrespondent in Mexico. He was also intimately connected with the Boy’s Own Paper, and for a time acted as amanu- ensis to W. H, G. Kingston. He came out here for the benefit of his wife’s health, relinquishing journalism for a Civil Service appointment. Literary work, however, continued to claim some of his time, and a couple of volumes of “Kafir Stories” are recorded to his credit. Sypnky YorKeE Forp. Cape Town, April 27th, 1904. ———_—_——_+—@— —___ INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT. —1~>— + “ ECUEIL des Conventions et Traités con- cernant la Propriété Littéraire et Artisti- que publiés en Francais et dans les langues des pays contractants avec une introduc- tion et des notices par le Bureau de l'Union Internationale pour la Protection des C&uvres Littéraires et Artistiques.” Berne, 1904. 8vo. Pp. xxxli. 876, The benefits conferred upon authors by the labours of the Berne Bureau of the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property are so justly and universally appreciated by the whole literary profession, and the value of the works that have from time to time been published under the auspices of the Bureau is so generally realised by all students of international copyright (and not less by those who approach its problems from the ethical and philosophical stand- point than by those who concern themselves with the legal aspect alone) that the last publication put forth by the Bureau in a handsome volume of more than nine hundred pages might well stand suffi- ciently recommended by the prestige of its prede- cessors. But it may be asserted without hesitation, and without the least fear of preparing a disappoint- ment for any one, that the collection of legal documents and of notes and observations accom- panying them which has been recently produced under the title above quoted exceeds in value and interest all previous publications that have emanated  THE AUTHOR. from the same source. As a manual of inter- national copyright law it is both fuller and brought more nearly up to date than any other with which we are acquainted, and at the same time presents an important feature possessed by no other work of the same scope in the presentation of all the leval texts in their original languages” ; whilst the comments and notices interspersed among the legal texts represent an invaluable history of the appreciation, the present position, and the future prospects of copyright in the various countries, which is not only unique but must be also of the highest interest to all intellectual readers. Some work of this kind which should show the whole of the present situation of international copyright in a single view has long been a desidera- tum. So long ago as 1891 M. Jules Lermina, the Secretary of the International Literary Associa- tion, declared that it was desirable to have exact reports of the views held regarding international copyright by the various countries. The sub- stance of what these several reports would have contained is here collected and presented to the lawyer and student in a single volume ; and the compilers are undoubtedly justified in remarking in the “ advertisement ” which they have placed at the opening of their work that “collections of this kind are a direct assistance to the propagation of equitable ideas, to the formulation of lucid legisla- tion, and to the preparation of means for a con- stantly more and more complete unification of measures for mutual protection.” The lessons suggested by a perusal of the volume are indeed innumerable, and not the least striking of them is the occasion which the facts here recorded present for some painful reflections upon the want of pro- portion between the boasted intellectual advance- ment of certain countries and the evidence their legislatures give of the national appreciation of intellectual rights; whilst it is impossible not to be struck by the self-restraint and sanity of the remarks which deal with the lines upon which it is alone possible to hope for some advance towards a greater consistency of profession and practice. The compilers must be particularly congratulated both upon the skill with which they have in this work managed to group and present the ency- clopaedic mass of matter with which they were called upon to deal, and upon their success in having made a volume of an engaging character out of materials that might have been perusable only by specialists and statisticians. The book is primarily divided into two parts. Of these the former is wholly in French (the * Japan forms a solitary exception; the difficulties of presenting the language in Roman characters having limited the production of the Japanese treaties to a French translation, 249 official language of the International Bureau), and consists of two sections ; 1. International Unions, that of Berne, (1886, 1896), that of Montevideo (1887), and that of the Hague (1896) ; 2. Par- ticular Conventions between several pairs of States. In this section short *t Notices ” relate the history of copyright in the several states, and also sketch the present literary situation. Here are to be found, in alphabetical order, not those countries alone which have entered into agreements of international copyright, but all whose literatures have any claim to consideration. The latter part of the book presents first five authorised translations of the text of the Berne Convention, German, English, Spanish, Italian, and Norse, in this order; and then similar translations of the Convention of Montevideo. Its second section consists of the Particular Conventions in the original languages from which the French translations in the first part of the book are made. An appendix, similarly divided into a French and a polyglot section, con- tains additions bringing the work up to date, and the Danish version of the Berne Convention, received whilst the work was in the press. The whole is preceded by an introduction which sketches the history of International copyright from its earliest origins, gives an account of the existing Inter- national Literary Unions, and describes the develop- ments that have, since its foundation, taken place in the Berne Union. Whilst the legal documents, and especially the polyglot originals (calculated to arrest the atten- tion of the linguist even if he has neither legal nor copyright sympathies), must figure as the most substantially important portion of the work, much that is of superlative interest is included in the interspersed “ Notices” which trace the copyright and literary history of all states that can rightly make any claim to be considered. These little résumés Which, as well as the introduction, are from the pen of M. Ernest Roetlisberger, the Secretary of the Bureau, are particularly admirable. In a few lines they sketch lucidly the history of copy- right in the various countries, the views at present held in each instance respecting it, and give an appreciation of the present literary situation from which more may be rapidly learned than could be gathered with much iabour from any ordinary works of reference. To any one interested in foreign literature these felicitous little “ Notices” may be recommended as mines of information that alone furnish more than sufficient reason for a high recommendation of the book. M. Roetlisberger’s summaries and annotations everywhere abound with plums of engaging details. Thus we learn that a reproduction in an engraving of Rubens’ “ Descent from the Cross,” was an early object of a triple privilege in France, Belgium, and 250 Holland, “cum privilegiis regis christianissimi, principuum Belgarum, et ordinum Balaviae” A decree of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla of the 22nd of December, 1840 (whilst Italy was still divided into a number of States), furnishes an example of protection of foreign works, harmonising with an unique feature of the present Italian copy- tight law. ‘ Foreign works are national property, saving dispositions to the contrary in political conventions.” In the “ Notice” on Denmark, a remark on piratical translation, made by Professor Torp at the congress of Dresden, in 1895, is quoted, which supports the view, more than once insisted on in the pages of The Author, and frequently enforced in the present volume, that piratical and unauthorised translations are deleterious to national literary progress. “Freedom of translation has an effect the opposite of the normal and beneficial tendencies that aim at giving the intellectual cultivation of a people a truly national character. The great bulk of books read by the masses who are without intellectual training is composed for the most part of translations of dubious value, which cannot possibly assist to the shaping of a real national spirit of a healthy and elevated type.” These are but specimens gathered at hazard of the sort of interesting observations with which the work abounds. Uninviting as its title may appear to some readers, it is scarcely possible to imagine the man of letters who will not find pleasure in perusing its pages. In the hands of the student of international law it will be found to be indis- pensable ; hardly less so to the student of the comparative development of foreign literatures, and in point of fact immensely interesting to anyone who sympathises with the intellectual progress of humanity. ———_—_—_+—@— ______ THE BEGINNING A LITERARY CAREER IN ENGLAND. —_1-~ + From THE PerRsonaL STANDPOINT OF A COLONIAL. MAY at once say that there are two main points that have to be borne in mind by a Colonial or American coming to England if he would avoid disappointment. The first is that the English people, owing to their historical antecedents and the feudal con- stitution of their society, have no admiration for intellect as such, nor are they disposed to yield any special deference or consideration to its possessors. The questions they inwardly ask of every man they meet are:—First, is he a “gentleman” in the technical sense of the term, THE AUTHOR. by birth, profession, or breeding ? Secondly, is he a man of personal honour and integrity? If he be both, he may pass anywhere, and will be treated with respect in any society ; but if he have the latter qualifications without the former, if he be a working man for example, or retail shopkeeper, or engaged in any occupation forbidden to the class of “gentleman,” neither intellect nor character will avail. He will not count, he will have no personal influence, and, except for political purposes, no one will be interested either in himself or his opinions, The aristocracy scarcely read at all, much less read solid works, and have, in consequence, little interest in the writers of books; and the other classes have accepted their estimate. Intellect is regarded by the people rather as a commodity than as a personal attribute, a thing to be bought in the market as it is required, like a pair of shoes, without more ado; and it has, in consequence, little more differential interest in itself than the corn or wine or cloth with which a merchant deals, and out of which he makes his income. In all the other great nations of the world a large amount of admiration, personal deference and consideration are accorded to men of intellect as such. It isnot so in England, and hence it is that of all men a cultivated Englishman is least under- stood by the cultivated men of other nations ; and until his sterling qualities of character have had time to disclose themselves, is perhaps the least liked, I shall never forget my amazement when I first came to England on being asked by a cultivated and charming lady, with whom I was dining, as to what interesting sights or persons I had seen. On my answering that I had been to hear Spurgeon and Morley Punshon and Dr. Parker, she coldly replied, “Oh ! we don’t think much of them,” the “we” meaning the class of ladies and gentlemen to which she belonged, and who alone count either personally or in matters of opinion. And what she said I found to be largely true. The reason was, that, in spite of the world-wide reputation of those men, and the vast congregations to whom they ministered, there were not, perhaps, in any of these congregations, especially that of Spurgeon, more than half-a-dozen families belonging to the recog- nised class of “ladies and gentlemen.” It was as if in America a man should imagine that he could get personal admiration or consideration by having the reputation of being the preacher who could draw the largest congregation of negroes ! The second point to be borne in mind seems a paradox after what I have just said, but is never- theless true. It is that, in spite of this want of interest in intellectual things, nowhere else perhaps in the world will be fonnd a greater number of competent and accomplished critics of every side of life or thought ; and this is owing to the immense  a id 7 a THE AUTHOR. complexity and variety of the intellectual material of all kinds that proczeds from London as from a workshop, to supply the rest of the English- speaking world ; the quality of the demand every- where calling forth the appropriate talent to meet it. How, then, is this to affect the decision of the young Colonial ambitious of making a literary reputation in the Mother Country? In answer, I should say that if his aim is to bea novelist, a poet, a dramatist, or a humourist, he may come over at once, for he will be in no way handicapped by the jand of his birth, The recognised critics know their business thoroughly, and will be sure to do him full justice. And even if they did not, as all classes read novels, the number of cultured and competent readers and of experienced play-goers is so large that his merits will be at once recognized. Gilbert Parker had no difficulty in getting a hearing as a novelist, or Haddon Chambers, the Australian, as a dramatist. But if he is a writer on serious subjects, on the other hand, he must be prepared for a considerable amount of preliminary disappointment. The way it operates is somewhat in this wise ; When the leading monthly magazines took to signed articles, editors were no longer required, as formerly, to have sound general know- ledgeofthe subjects discussed, but, like stockholders, only of the market value of the names of the men who discussed them. And, as the readers, as I have said, have but a languid interest at best, either in writers on serious subjects as such, or in their writings, and when condemned to read them, require them to be of recognised brand, the Colonial coming over here is likely to be trebly handicapped, by the indifference of the public to intellectual men and things as such, by their aversion to seeing unknown names discuss them, and by the want on the part of the editors (with one or two notable exceptions) of a sufficient knowledge of the subjects discussed, to be able to appraise at their true valueindications of exceptional originality, penetration or power. And even if he get some eminent man to interest himself in his work, it will avail him nothing with an editor, unless the said eminent personage will refer to it publicly, and so prick the public curiosity. But this again men of eminence are usually as chary of doing for budding authors who have still their spurs to win, as the editors are of accepting their work. Then again, if tired of having your magazine articles returned to you, you venture to publish in book form, other but equal difficulties will con- front you. The publisher will pass your MS. on to his reader for his verdict ; and the fact that you hail from a colony will go seriously against you, whereas did you but come from Germany, for 251 example, it would be in your favour. The result is that you must publish at your own expense. But even after you have published at your own expense your troubles will only have changed their shape. Your difficulty now will be with the Press. When the publishers send a press copy of a book which they have published at the author’s expense, they mark on it “from the author,” not “ from the publisher.” And as the leading critical journals are practically obliged to review the books brought out by the publishers who advertise in their columns, the moment the editors see a book in- scribed “from the author,” they are relieved from this obligation ; and as their space is limited, and the pressure on it is great, it is very questionable whether you will get a review at all, good, bad, or indifferent. And the moral of it is that most, if not all, of the advantages of having the name of a good publisher on your books will be quite thrown away if the press copies are sent out as “from the author” and not “ from the publisher.” Once your book is in the hands of the reviewer it will get fair play, and your preliminary troubles will be over; for there are no men more fair or manly than Englishmen, or greater lovers of justice. J, BEATTIE CROZIER, —_—_—_—_—_——_e—<>—_+___—__ CORRESPONDENCE. — Book DIsTRIBUTION. Er Srr,—In the April Author “A Protestant” puts the query “ Why do not booksellers write straight to publishers?” etc. The nearest com mercial traveller or the nearest grocer can tell him why—and the reason is that the country bookseller is a sober, respectable, retail tradesman, just like his neigh- pour the grocer or the draper. I, too, ordered a certain book, the second work of its author. The bookseller sent off for it, and a week later trium- phantly handed me the first work of that author, with the information from—one of the firms men- tioned by “A Protestant ’”’—that this was the only work of that author. I delivered myself of the remarks, expletives and observations natural to the occasion, and was answered that the firm in ques- tion was “ the largest house in London,” “ known all over the world,” &c., and so I stilted off and left it at that. Afterwards it occurred to me (triumphantly !) that there is a reason for everything. I considered that the bookseller is a shopkeeper, and a shop- keeper is remarkably like the ruck of human beings —at least to look at. Now a few conversations 252 with shopkeepers of the grocer variety showed me that a retail tradesman must of necessity deal with a distributing middleman. It is baldly impossible for him to deal direct with the manufacturer or importer of every article he sells. The nearest cominercial traveller will tell you that, as a rule, every shopkeeper is in debt to the wholesale house from which he gets his goods. That is to say, he is the slave of a running account, and is farther or less far behind with his payments according as times are good with him or not. This running account is very handy for him and keeps him going at an easy level, instead of leaving him to the violent ups and downs which would need such a large capital sum to weather if he paid cash on the nail while his own customers paid cash when they couldn’t help it. But it keeps him tied to the wholesale house, more or less, and so makes the wholesale house saucy, also more or less, as the tradesman finds when he sends for anything which that house does not, for any reason in the world, supply. Now the running account is just as handy in “these hard times ”—which began with trade and will end with it, being the atmosphere of trade— to the country bookseller as to the country draper. We flare up in Zhe Author with pages of print on the status and failings of the bookseller, but the bookseller, being just human and just a retail tradesman, continues in the same old groove that trade has rutted out for him. The fault is with us, in ranking our business as suppliers of a marketable commodity so high, that we fancy that all who have to do with it should “carry on” as totally oblivious of mere business details as the presbyters and deacons of any other high mystery and religion you like. The one direction in which relief—for this par- ticular complaint—is to be looked for is in the estab- lishment of the “two new enterprising libraries,” if that means “two new middlemen.” The establishment of half-a-dozen new ones might do the trick. The natural pressure of competition would abate the sauciness of the present middle- men monopolists. Tor if the “ Almightly Middle- man” disappeared from the book trade to-morrow the country bookseller would disappear with him, unless the publishers at once combined to establish a clearing house or distributing centre which could be to the bookseller just what the “ Almighty Middleman” had been—a keeper of running accounts; a giver of credit to ordinary everyday shopkeepers, Will the publishers ever establish such a clearing house and credit-giving centre? Not much. “It would be too much trouble.” “The game wouldn’t pay for the candle.” The game in fact is not too bad for the publisher as it stands now—is not the THE AUTHOR. very existence of the Incorporated Society of Authors emphatic testimony to that? The onl help to be looked for then, is in the establishment of still more middlemen—tons of ’em. Authors who have made such huge profits (vie published figures) out of their work might cast an eye this way and, upon dying, instead of endowing a college ora cat, direct the establishment of another middle- man business as wholesale bookseller. So shall we hear less upon this point, either from fellow authors. or from our own lips, which explode so fierily upon occasion against that respectable clerk of the mysteries, the country bookseller, dash him ! I remain, yours, ete., ANOTHER PROTESTER. —1+— II. Sirn,— Would your columns allow of m y suggest- ing to “A Protestant” that he should make the experiment of ordering the books he wants from the nearest tobacconist-newsagent. I have found this enterprising individual more obliging and a great deal more capable than the local bookseller, and pleased to increase his business by attending to orders which the bookseller appears to consider: beneath his dignity. Yours truly, A CaTHOLIC, a Exeter ENGLISH. Srr,—Evidence is rapidly accumulating of pre- cedents by high and learned authorities proving the inscription on the R. D. Blackmore monument to be correct. “ This tablet with the window above: are a tribute.” If the inscription offends against a supposed grammatical rule, yet it offends in the- company of some of our greatest writers. A professor of English literature sends me the following quotations, and earnestly hopes that the Committee will not have the inscription altered. Stubbs, III. 106. Line3: “On the 8th of March, the King, with Bedford, Beaufort and the Council were at Canterbury.’’ * Julius Caesar.” Act. 4, Scene III. : “Impatient of my absence, And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony Have made themselves so strong.’’ Fielding. ‘Tom Jones.” Chap. IIL. : “ Your poor gamekeeper with all his large family have: been perishing.”’ Alison. “ History of Europe "’: * The Duchy of Pomerania with the island of Rugen were added by Sweden to the Danish Crown.’’ Your obedient servant, JAMES BAKER. Shakespeare. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 14 Issue 09 (June 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 14 Issue 09 (June 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-06-01-The-Author-14-9 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/495/1904-07-01-The-Author-14-10.pdf 6a9a41c3045e2d3f0e4d14bbf4a4600d PDF Text Text ���������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-07-01 Volume 14 Issue 10 Pages Page range in volume 253–284 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19040701 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin The Huthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vor. XIV.—No. 10. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. o—~<f © NOTICES. — OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tu Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. Te attention of members is called to the fact that, in accordance with the decision of the Committee, only ten numbers of The Author will be printed during the year. The August and September numbers are not issued. —~< List of Members. Tur List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. Vou, XIV. Juny isr, 1904. [Prick SIxPENCE. The Pension Fund of the Society. Tun Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fand, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present stand- ing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consols 24 %...sssersecseeeerenerereneress £1000 0 O Local Loans ......---sceceeeeeereseetetes 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock .....-.--.++++- 291 19 11 Wear LOa 6.6022 -e--eeeecee eet 201. 9 38 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture Stock .......cececeeeeeereee es eneee 250 0 O otal 1.2... £2,248 9 2 Subscriptions from October, 1903. £ s. a. Noy. 13, Longe, Miss Julia . 0 5 0 Dec. 16, Trevor, Capt. Philip QO: 5 0 1904. Jan. 6, Hills, Mrs. C. H. . 0 5 0 Jan. 6, Crommelin, Miss 010 O Jan. 8, Stevenson, Mrs. M. E. 0 5 0 Jan. 16, Kilmarnock, The Lord . 010 0 Feb. 5, Portman, Lionel 10 0 Feb. 11, Shipley, Miss Mary 0 5b 0 Mar. _Diiring, Mrs. . : : 7 0 5 0 Mar. Francis Claude dela Roche . 0 5 0 April18, Dixon, W.Scarth . : - 0 5 0 April18, Bashford, Harry H. ; . 010 6 April19, Bosanquet, Eustace ae - 0 10 6 April 23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain . 09 5 0 May 6, Shepherd, G. HB. . i 0-0 0 June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., G.C.B. ; ; tl 170 Donations from October, 1908. Oct. 27, Sturgis, Julian : ‘ Nov. 2, Stanton, Ve : ~ 5b 0 0 254 THE AUTHOR & se d, Nov. 18, Benecke, Miss Ida. 1 0 0 Nov. 23, Harraden, Miss Beatrice - D0 0 Dee. Miniken, Miss Bertha M. M.. 0 5 0 1904. Jan. 4, Moncrieff, A. R. Hope . - B00 Jan. 4, Middlemass, Miss Jean . - 0 10°70 Jan. 4, Witherby, The Rev. C. . - 0 5 0 Jan. 6, Key, The Rev. 8. Whittell . 0 5 0 Jan. 14, Bennett, Rev. W. K.,.D.D. . 015 0 Jan. 2, Roe, Mrs., Harcourt . . 010 0 Feb. 11, Delaire, Miss Jeanne. . 010 0 May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth . - 5 0 0 June 23, Kirmse, R. . : : . 08. 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. a) + FROM THE COMMITTEE. HE Managing Committee of the Society of Authors held its June meeting at 39, Old Queen Street, on the 13th. The minutes of the last meeting were read, and the elections were then taken. Twenty-one members and associates were elected, bringing the total for the current year as high as 131. This is largely in excess of the number of members elected during past years up to the same period. It is. hoped that the increase will con- tinue, and that those writers who hold secured positions and are not members will be moved by an unselfish impulse to join the Society which has done so much for them and their profession directly and indirectly. At the May meeting, as noted in the last number of The Author, the Committee decided to send an address to the Spanish Academy on the tercentenary of the publication of Don Quixote. It has now been decided to appoint Mr. Leonard Williams, who suggested the idea, as delegate of the Society to hand the address to the Spanish Academy when the celebrations take place. Although the wording of the address has been settled, and approved by the President, the outward form has not yet been agreed upon. There were a good many cases before the Com- mittee for their consideration. One case dealt with a complaint against the big distributing libraries, but the Committee regretted that they were unable to take the matter up as they could not hope that the interference of the Society would bring about any useful result. Similar questions have, from time to time, been considered, and exhaustively dealt with by the Committee. Members are referred to the early numbers of The Author. In April, the Committee decided to take counsel’s opinion on a series of contracts existing between members of the Society and a firm of Canadian publishers. Since this decision was arrived at, the publishers in question have promised the authors with whom they contracted to forward accounts in July. The matter was again before the Committee, and they decided to postpone action until the time mentioned by the publishers had expired. In two cases arising out of disputes as to the amounts due from authors to publishers for work done, the Committee after exhaustive enquiry and after reading the report of their solicitors, came to the conclusion that they should give their support in one case, but could not, from the evidence before them, take up the other. The dispute between an author and an agent before the Committee in May was again up for consideration. Counsel’s opinion, which had been obtained in the meantime, was read, and the Committee decided to advise the member to act in accordance with the view expressed by Counsel. A question of a contentious nature between an author and a publisher also came before the Com- mittee. The publisher had agreed to spend a sum on advertisements. The question was whether the amount had actually been expended. The Com- mittee decided to appoint an accountant to vouch the advertisement charges. A letter from the Foreign Office notifying the action of Sweden in joining the Berne Convention, a letter from the American Copyright League with regard to United States Copyright Law, and other correspondence, were read before the Committee. —1—— Cases. SINCE the last issue of Zhe Author nine cases have passed through the Secretary’s hands. Five have been demands for money against magazines and publishers. Of these three have already ter- minated successfully, aud there is every probability of equal success with the other two. There has been one demand for accounts, which the publisher in answer to a letter hastened to produce. Two demands for the return of MSS., of which one has been successful ; the other case has only just come into the Secretary’s hands. The last, a ques- tion of the termination and cancellation of contracts and final settlement of accounts between author and publisher, has been carried through to a satisfactory conclusion. Of the cases quoted in former numbers of The Author, there are but three still open. There is a dispute between an author and a publisher in the United States, the conclusion of which is naturally Bi Oe ties Sac  slow owing to the time which must elapse between each mail. The other two cases have almost been concluded—one dealing with an amount due from a publisher, and the other to a dispute as to the exact number of words in a MS. In the latter case the difficulty arose owing to the fact that the writer was paid by the number of words. The publisher has willingly accepted the Society’s arbitration. June Elections. Anson, Sir William, D.C.L. All Soul’s Oxford. Bigelow, Mrs. M. E. . c/o Miss M. Yueill, 3,445—60 Street, Chicago, U.S.A. Bremner, Robert Locke . Glencairn, Dunblane, Perthshire. Deane, H. F. W. . . Gower Lodge, King’s Road, Windsor. Deeping, Warwick . . “Oaklands,” Has- Colleges tings. De la Pasture, Mrs. Henry Llandogo. Evans, Mrs. . : . The Elms, Begbroke, near Oxford. Hills, Miss Christine D. I’. Littlehampton, Sussex. Keating, Joseph. 19; oe Square, W.C. Moffatt, Miss E. B. . Chinthurst Cottage, Shalford, Surrey. Morris, Mrs. Frank . 63, FitzGeorge Avenue, Auriol Rd., West Kensington. Newland-Smith, Ernest . 76, Belgrave Road, S.W. Pereira, Miss Louise . 24, Morningside Drive, Edinburgh. Rumbold, The Right 127, Sloane Street, Hon. Sir Horace, Bart., S.W. G.C.B. Sieveking, J. Giberne . Lyon Road, Harrow, N. Soutar, Miss Lucy H. . Mayfield, Falkirk, N.B. Steynor, B. N. : . “Pembridge,” Mal- vern. Weekes, Charles, B.L. . 20, Gainsborough Mansions, Queen’s Club Gdns., W. Weekes, Miss Rose K. . Sutton Vicarage, Dartford. 74, Merrion Square, Wynne, Miss Fiorence Dublin. One member does not desire the publication of either his name or address. THE AUTHOR. O55 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) ART. Great Masters. Parts XV.,XVI., XVII. With Descrip- tive Text by Str Martin Conway. Heinemann. 5s, n. each. Toe Art or J. MAcWHIRTER, R.A. By Mo SPIELMANN, With five full page and numerous text illustrations. 144 x 10%, 22 pp. Hanfstangel. BIOGRAPHY. OppITIES, OTHERS AND I. By HENRIETTE CORKRAN. 9 x 6,328 pp. Hutchinson. 16s. THE LIFE OF MAJOR GENERAL WAUCHOPE, CB. CMG, By Str GEORGE DOUGLAS. 9 x 6, 431 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 10s, 6d. ECONOMICS. Free TRADE. By THE RIGHT HONBLE. THE LORD AVEBURY, P.C. 9 X 53, 164 pp. Macmillan. 5s. n. INTERNATIONAL TRADE. By J. A. Hopson. 73 X 5, 202 pp. Methuen. 2s. 6d. n. FICTION. THE EARTHLY PuRGATORY. By L. DOUGALL. 7% X 5, 345 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. Extracts From ADAM’s Diary. By Mark TWAIN, 8} x 54, 89 pp. Harper's. 2s. 1. Op Henprick’s Taues. By Capr. A. O. VAUGHAN. 73 x 5}, 234 pp. Longmans. 6s. LycuGate Hany. By M. E. Francis (Mrs. Francis Blundell). 73 X 54, 347 pp- Longmans. 6s. My FRENCH FRIENDS. By CONSTANCE Maup. 7} X 5, 323 pp. Smith, Hlder & Co. 6s. MaLincourt KEEP. By ADELINE SERGEANT. 73 X 5, 310 pp. J. Long. 6s. A WomAN OF Business. By MAJOR ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. 72 X 6, 335 pp. J. Long. 6s. Nyria. By Mrs, CAMPBELL PRAED. 73 X 5, 432 pp. Unwin. 6s. ; THE CARDINAL'S PAWN. By L. MONTGOMERY. T. Fisher Unwin. 6s. n. INCOMPARABLE BELLATRS. By AGNES AND EGERTON CASTLE. 7§ X 4%, 326 pp. Constable. 6s. THe ORDEAL BY Fire. By ALLEN UPWARD. 7 x 43, 320 pp. Digby Long & Co. En. By MARMADUKE PICKTHALL. 73 x 5, 350 pp. Constable. 6s. THe GREAT PRO-CoNSUL. By SYDNEY C.Grigr, 7} x 5, 440 pp. Blackwood. 6s. LizA oF LAMBETH. By W. SOMERSET MAUGHAN, (Cheap Edition.) 84 X 54%, 99 pp- Unwin. 6d. HISTORY. Tre Spirit or IsuaM. By the Hon. Mr. Justice AMEER Aut. (Popular Edition, published in Calcutta: S. J. Lahiri). London: Kegan Paul & Co. A SHoRT HISTORY OF THE SARACENS. By the Hon, MR. Justice AMEER ALI, Macmillan & Co. 7s. 6d. n. 256 LAW. COMMENTARY ON THE BENGAL TENANCY ACT. By M. FINUCANE, M.A., and the Hon. Mr. JUSTICE AMEER Awl. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta ; Thacker & Co., London. MAHOMMEDAN LAw. Vol. I. j AMEER ALI. 3rd Edition. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta ; W. Thacker & Co, 28s. n. THE STUDENTS’ HANDBOOK OF MAHOMMEDAN LAW. By the Hon. Mr. Justice AMEER ALI. 4th Edition. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta ; Thacker & Co., London, 4s. 6d. n. By the Hon. Mr. Justice MEDICAL. ScHooLt HYGIENE. By ARTHUR NEWSHOLME. 320 pp. Sonnenschein. 38. MEDICO-THEOLOGICAL. DIVINE HYGIENE—THE SANITARY SCIENCE OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES. By ALEX. RATTRAY, M.D 2 Vols. 730—750 pp. Nisbet & Co. 32s. 7% X 44, MILITARY. THE SECOND AFGHAN WAR, 1878-79-80. Its ConpuctT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. Its CAUSEs, By Cou. H. B. Hanna. Vol. Il. 9 x 6, 372 pp. Constable. 15s. n. THE ARMY ON ITSELF. By H. A. GWYNNE. 7 X 43, 193 pp. Warne. 2s. 6d. n. MUSIC. THE DIVERSIONS OF A Music LOVER. 84 x 53,260 pp. Macmillan. 6s. HANDBOOK ON THE ART OF TEACHING AS APPLIED TO Music. WARRINER, Mus. Doc. 74 X 5,176 pp. A. Hammond & Co., 6 King Street, Regent Street, W. 28. 6d. By C. L. GRAVES. SPORT. PRACTICAL HIN1S ON ANGLING IN Rivers, LAKES, AND Sea. By W. M. GaLLIcHAN. 74 X 5, 116 pp. Pearson. Ils. FISHING (‘‘ The Country Life” Library of Sport). 2 Vols. Edited by H. G. HUTCHINSON. 91 X 6. 526 X 445 pp. Newnes. 2s 6d. n. SOCIOLOGY. Success AMONG NATIONS. By EMILE REICH. 270 pp. Chapman and Hall. 10s. 6d. n. 9 x 6, ASPECTS OF SocIAL Evo.LuTion. First Series. Tem- peraments. By J. LIONEL TAYLER, M.R.C.S. 84 x 5}, 297 pp. Smith Elder. 7s. 6d. THEOLOGY. CONCERNING THE Hoty BiBLE. ITs UsE AND ABUSE. By THE RicHT Rey. Monsicgnor JoHN 8. VAUGHAN. 74 X 4%. Washbourne. 3s. 6d. n. “Hora BIBLICA.’”’ By ARTHUR CARR, M.A. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. TOPOGRAPHY. THE QUANTOCK HILLS: THEIR COMBES AND VILLAGES. By BrHATRIX F. CResswELb. 74 xX 5, 106 pp. The Homeland Association. 2s. 6d. n. Near Oxrorp. By THE Rey. H. T. Inman. 61 xX 5, 215 pp. Oxford: Alden. Is. and 2s. 6d. n. 218 pp. TRAVEL. THE ALps. Described by SIR MARTIN Conway. Painted by A. D. McCormick. 9 X 6}, 294 pp. Black. 208. n. THE AUTHOR. LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. —~<+ —— N “The Masters of English Literature,” I Mr. Stephen Gwynn seeks, by a process of selection, to give a readable account of the development of English literature from Chaucer’s time onwards. He deals, in all, with almost fifty authors, and of most of them a tolerably full and critical account is given. Mr. Grant Richards published, early in June, the second volume, dealing with sporting dogs, of “The Twentieth Century Dog,” compiled by Mr. Herbert Compton from the contributions of some five hundred experts. “Major Weir,” by K. L. Montgomery, author of “The Cardinal's Pawn,” will be published during the coming season by Mr. Fisher Unwin. The book is a romance, with the noted wizard Thomas Weir, for the central figure. Messrs. Barnicott and Pearce, of Taunton, have published, at the price of 6d., a work entitled ‘‘ The Country Gentleman’s Reference Catalogue to the best Works on Agriculture, Gardening, Botany, Natural History, Sporting, Recreations and Kindred Subjects.” In a lecture at the Royal Institution, dealing with the subject of ‘ The State and Literature,” Mr. H. G. Wells pleaded for the more leisurely and larger criticism found in books, the duty of litera- ture in this sense being to teach men and classes their place in the world, and in the social scheme. He stated further, that the most important litera- ture, personal relationship, was to be found to some extent in good essays, sermons, biographies, and autobiographies, but that the great bulk of the people desired it served them in novels and plays. They went to see the latter and delighted to read the former, partly because they liked stories, but very largely, consciously or unconsciously, from social curiosity. If these interpretations in novel and in play were well done, the State would endure ; if badly done, it must go to pieces. The literature of personal life and emotions was to be found in poetry and philosophy, which should be looked to to keep the whole mass of the social order in sympathy and-in one key one with another. The third edition of ‘The Commentary on the Indian Evidence Act,” by the Honourable Mr. Justice Ameer Ali, and Mr. Justice Woodroffe, will appear in December of the current year. Mr. Justice Ameer Ali, who will also produce, early in 1905, the fifth edition of “The Students’ Handbook of Mahomedan Law,” is at present engaged on a “History of Mahomedan Civilisa- tion in India,” with an introduction dealing with the pre-Mahomedan period.  During the autumn, Mrs. Croker will publish her new book, “The Happy Valley,” through Messrs. Methuen & Co. Mr. Charles Garvice’s two books, “In Cupid’s Chains,” and “Just a Girl,” have gone into a second and third edition respectively. ‘The former has been translated by Miss Mary Otteson into Norwegian for a Norwegian syndicate. Mr. Garvice’s last novel, “ Redeemed by Love,” is being syndicated by the National Press Agency in England, and by Messrs. George Munro’s Sons in America. The same author has also completed, in col- laboration with Mr. Denman Wood, a dramatic version of his book “Nance,” which will be produced at Mr. Wood’s theatre, the New Court, Bacup, in the autumn. : The following verse is taken from the title page of Mr. John Oxenham’s new novel, ‘“‘A Weaver of Webs,” which Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published :— “Warp and woof and tangled thread— Weavers of webs are we Living, and dying, and mightier dead, For the shuttle once started shall never be stayed— Weavers of webs are we.” Mr. W. L. Courtenay’s essays on the work of Maurice Meeterlinck, which appeared in the Daily Telegraph, were published in book form in the middle of June by Mr. Grant Richards. The book also contains sketches of other foreign writers, including D’Annunzio, Turgenieff, Tolstoy, Gorky, and Merejowski. Mrs. Rowland’s new novel, entitled “ Capricious Caroline,” which is now running serially in The Times weekly edition, will be published in book form in the middle of September by Messrs. Methuen & Co., who are also publishing new editions of “ Love and Louisa,” and “Peter a Parasite,” by the same authoress. In addition, Mrs. Rowlands has in hand a series of stories for The Tatler, and a series of articles for Zhe Daily Chronicle, besides a number of short stories com-~- missioned by other papers, such as The Bystander and London Opinion. Miss J. S. Wolff, author of ‘“ Les Francais en Menage,” “Les Francais en Voyage,” etc., has just published a series of “Object Lessons in Practical French” (Blackie & Son), and is prepar- ing a second volume of her French History series, “Tes Francais du dix-huitieme Siecle” (Edward Arnold). Vol. I., “ Les Francais d’Autrefois,” appeared last September. The Chromoscopist for June, contains a character study by ‘‘ Mancy,” entitled “Jacky.” ‘“ Mancy” has also an article in the June number of The Spiritualist, entitled “ Palmistry and Its Benefits.” We understand that Messrs, Constable & Co. THER AUTHOR. 257 have changed their address from 2, Whitehall Gardens, and will remove to larger premises at 16, James Street, Haymarket, S.W. “Behind the Footlights,” Mrs. Alec Tweedie’s last work, which was published by Messrs. Hutchin- son & Co., with twenty full page illustrations at the price of 18s., has gone into a second edition. «A Voice from the Void ” is the title of a book by Miss Helen Boddington, which Messrs. Methuen & Co. will publish during the autumn. The twenty-sixth Congress of the International Literary and Artistic Association will take place in Marseilles from the 24th to the 29th of Septem- ber next. The subjects set down for discussion are: 1. Musical authors’ rights; 2. Publishers’ agreements respecting artistic works; 3. Pro- tection of photographs; 4. Moral rights, and public copyright as applied to monuments of the past ; 5. A study of the countries in which several languages are spoken, and of copyright in transla- tions from one to another of the languages in use within the country ; 6. The publication of works of history and criticism ; 7. Protection of archi- tectural designs; 8. Protection of engineers’ plans ; 9. The International situation in various countries ; 10. The revision ofthe Berne Convention. Mr. Grant Richards will publish in a few days “The Server’s Handbook,” by the Rev. Percy Dearmer. It is the fifth volume in the “ Parsons’ Handbook” series. « Derek Vane,” author of “The Three Daughters of Night,” etc., has disposed of the serial rights of her new novel, ‘ The House on the Black Water,” to Messrs. Cassell. She is writing some humorous articles for the Boudoir, and has short stories appearing in the Outlook, Manchester Chronicle, etc. Miss Jean Delaire’s book, « Around a Distant Star,” which we noticed lately as about to be published, has met with favourable reviews in the Daily News, The Glasgow Herald, and The Sheffield Telegraph. Miss Marie Corelli has a series of articles on “Pagan London” running in The Bystander. The first of these articles appeared on June 22nd. “ Suggestions for a New Political Party, with principles, methods, and some Application,” is the title of an article by Dr. Beattie Crozier which will appear in one of the coming numbers of The Fortnightly Review. «The Reverend Jack” is the title of a novel by Naunton Covertside (Naunton Davies) which will shortly be published by Mr. Henry Drane, at the rice of 6s. Mr. Stanley Weyman has received a testimonial to the popularity of his work, which has much touched him. His book “The Long Night” deals with the history of the city of Geneva. Such interest has it aroused that some of the most 258 prominent of Geneva’s citizens, in token of their appreciation, have forwarded to the author an address with a small bronze statuette of Calvin. A short extract from the document itself will convey better than words from our pen, the feeling of those who have acted in the matter. ‘*We are anxious that so ideal a relationship (7c. between Mr. Weyman and the City) should not vanish, without placing in your hands some material evidence of our grateful admiration. “The statuette of Calvin is no unbecoming ornament for the writing table of one whose works, like yours, are founded on that vast Anglo-Saxon influence which has in every part of the world cherished the religious and political views of the Reformer, views of faith and liberty which have become for you the foundation and the inspiration of your Art.” We heartily congratulate Mr. Weyman on receipt of a compliment as pleasant as it was unexpected. Everyone will have been amused and interested in the Poet Laureate’s position as an anonymous author. A full statement of the circumstances under which his play was accepted by Mr. Bourchier has appeared in all the papers, and demonstrates the fallacy of the statement so often made, that managers do not read plays that are sent to them by unknown writers. The comedietta, for it is but aslight piece, was produced on June 16th, and runs for about halfan hour. It met with a very cordial reception. Mr. Bourchier and Miss Bateman took the chief parts. The play founded on Mrs. Croker’s novel, “Terence,” which has, for the last ten months, been attracting good audiences in New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, and other cities of the United States, will, we understand, have a further run in the same country during the next season. “ Beyond the Vale” is the next of Mrs. Croker’s novels to be dramatised, with a view to production in the States. : +» PARIS NOTES. —_1~>—+ HE Académie Francaise has awarded the Bordin prize of 3,000 francs to be divided into two prizes of 1,000 francs, to M. Paul Gautier, for his book on “Mme. de Staél et Napo- léon,” and to M. Michaud for “ Sainte Beuve avant les lundis,” and two other prizes of 500 francs. The Marcel Guérin prize of 5,000 francs is divided into four prizes of 500 and three of 1,000 francs. M. Dunand and Ivan Strannik are among the authors who have shared this prize. The Archon Despérouse prize is divided into one of 1,000 francs, awarded to M. Vermenouze for his THE AUTHOR. poem “ Mon Auvergne,” and the rest into prizes of 500 francs to other poets. The Montyon prize of 19,000 francs is awarded to Capitaine Lenfant for his book ‘Le Niger” ; Félix Régamey for “Le Japon”; Colonel de Pélacot for his ‘ Expédition de Chine de 1900” ; Paul Acker for “Petites Confessions” ; Paul Labbé for his ‘‘Bagne Russe”; Jean Reibrach for “Sirénes” ; Jean Viollet and Charles Frémine for “ Petit Coeur” and “ Poemes et Récits.” Other prizes have been awarded to Abbé Laveille, Louis de Foureaud, the Marquis de Segonzac, Abbé Piolet and Pierre Guzman. “La Société Francaise pendant le Consulat: Aristocrates et Républicains,” by Gilbert Stenger. This volume is the second of a series which the author is writing on the epoch he has so carefully studied. In the first volume, “ La Renaissance de la France,” we had a picture of the times when Napoleon I. was Général Buonaparte. In the first part of this new volume we have an account of the “ Emigration,” and the miseries of the aristocrats in exile. The second part is devoted to the study of the Republicans and the work- ings of the Consulate. he book is most interest- ing, and a faithful picture of the times. We have anecdotes about the celebrities of the day, and excellent portraits of Talleyrand, Lebrun, Fouché, and many other well-known historical charac- ters, including Benjamin Constant and Camille Jordan. “ Le Marquis de Valeor,” by Daniel Lesueur, is a most dramatic novel with a strong plot, and mystery enough to satisfy the most ardent lovers of intrigue. Unlike some of the other novels by this author, there is not so much psychology in the ‘“‘Marquis de Valvor,” or, rather, the psychology is left for the reader to discover between the lines, as it were. One has to study the characters by their actions, as the events follow each other so quickly that until one closes the volume one has not time to come to any conclusions. ‘To tell the plot of the book would no doubt spoil it for many readers. It is written in the same admirable style as the other works which have brought Daniel Lesueur to the front rank of contemporary novelists. Mr. Charles Foley, of the “Telephone” play fame, has been tempted to build up a novel on a certain rumoured episode which was a great. topic of conversation some ten or twelve years ago. In “ Fleur d’Ombre” we have the story of a French girl named Lolette who marries a young foreigner and for a year or two has an ideally happy life. She then makes the terrible dis- covery that she has married a prince in disguise. Through the death of his brother her husband becomes heir to a throne. Lolette and her baby-  boy are considered de trop by her royal husband’s family.. A more suitable wife is provided for the heir apparent, a princess who had been engaged to the brother who died, and Lolette is expected to be resigned as the “ widow » of a distinguished living husband. The story is well told with all the delicate veiled irony in which Mr. Foley excels, and in France the book is having great success. “Sur la Branche” is the title of the new book by Pierre de Coulevain, the author who had such success in France and America with ‘* Noblesse Américaine” and ‘“ Eve Victorieuse,” both of which works won for the writer Academy prizes. The new book is undoubtedly stronger than either of the other two novels. It is extremely original, and one wonders after reading it whether to call it a novel. It seems to be, rather, a true study of life, of real every-day life with all the small things and all the great things woven together. The author is a keen observer, with absolute faith in the great plan “ to which all creation moves.” Tae woman who is supposed to be writing the story is living alone “on the branch,” or, in other words, her home is broken up and she goes from one hotel to another, and from one country to another, believing that the romance of her own life is over, but watching with deep interest the comedies and tragedies around her. As time goes on she discovers that her own romance is by no means over, and the threads are once more put into her hands by destiny, so that she may do the part assigned to her in weaving the web of life. From her own bitter experience and grief she has learnt much, a larger tolerance and an immense opti- mism. The book appears to have been published at just the right moment and is being greatly discussed. “Tsolée,” by Brada, is a most charming novel and a psychological study from the first chapter to the last. The young girl, whose isolation gives the title to the book, is a Mlle. Charmoy who has been brought up in the approved French way, but who on the death of her relatives in France, is handed over to some English relatives. She is distinctly out of her element in the English home to which she is consigned. Not only does her “Latin soul” revolt against much that she disap- proves in the Anglo-Saxon atmosphere, but she has unfortunately lost her heart to a French cousin, and this detail complicates matters considerably. It is always a delicate and usually a thankless task for a French or English novelist to place his characters ina foreign milieu. Brada has succeeded in giving us a faithful picture of a certain kind of British home, but it is of that kind where a vulgar- minded woman with plenty of money and an intense admiration for all that is “smart” reigns supreme. THE AUTHOR. 259 We are therefore inclined to think that the French girl’s loneliness in England is not so much due to her exile from her native country as to her exile from a refined home. As a French novelist’s study of English life the book is extremely interesting. M. André Maarel has written a novel entitled “La Chevauchée,” which is really a study of the political world. Lucien Surget is a politician who sets out with the idea of helping his country in many ways, but who finds that the path of a politician is by no means an easy one. Un semblant de bon sens pratique,” he says “ Vameénera doucement aux compromissions, et sa vanité, sur excitée par la flatterie, lui fera bientdt confondre Yidée de son devoir avec Vidée de sa prosperité ersonnelle.” Without the authorisation of Madame Lardin de Musset, the sister of Alfred de Musset, a volume of the poet’s correspondence with George Sand has just been published in Belgium. Some years ago Madame Lardin de Musset refused her consent to having her brother's letters made public, so that with great indelicacy the persons responsible for the appearance of this volume have taken it to another country for publication. If these letters were to be given to the public, in common fairness it should have been done by the de Musset and the George Sand representatives together. If there are passages detrimental to George Sand which have been omitted, the same should have been done for de Musset, otherwise the book is of no value as a justification of George Sand’s conduct. Among the new books are the following : “ Bldorado,” by Paul Brulat; “ Au Pays du Mystére,” by Pierre de Maél ; “ Marie Claire,” by Francois Deschamp ; “Mes premiéres Armes Littéraires et Politiques,” by Madame Adam ; “Récits et Legendes d’_ Alsace Lorraine,” by Genevieve Lanzy ; ‘La Vie de Paris,” by Jean Bernard ; “ Les Francais de mon temps,” by the Vicomte G. d’Avenel. ‘he theatrical season is practically over, but some of the plays are still running, and at one or two of the theatres the summer season has commenced. As so many foreigners are in Paris during these months this sammer season is becoming quite important. The Odéon commenced its celebration of George Sand’s centenary with “ Le Démon du Foyer,” and a George Sand exhibition in the foyer of the theatre. “ Glaudie” will be given at the Francais. A delightful innovation in Paris is the out-door theatre in the Bois de Boulogne, the ‘héatre de Verdure of the Pié Catelan. On the 22nd of June the Comédie-Francaise gave “ Oedipe roi”; the Odéon gave the foarth act of the “Ariésienne ”; 260 the ballet of “ Manon”’ was danced by the corps de ballet of the Opéra Comique. It is fifty years since any performance has been given at the Pré Catelan. Atys Hauuarp. —~<- « UNITED STATES NOTES. —~_ (WNHE trail of the November Presidential election is over everything this year, not excluding literature. Histories of the Republican Party, lives of their candidate, and similar pro- ductions are as plentiful as blackberries ; and even the clear stream of fiction is perceptibly a little muddied with politics. Meanwhile we have had a few biographies whose real concern is with the past. Dr. Joseph Barrett’s ‘Abraham Lincoln and his Presidency ’”’ is based, indeed, upon a “campaign biography,” written with its subject’s assistance ; but the work in its present form is of quite a different character, and is a useful solvent of much myth that has gathered round its hero. Mr. Thomas E. Watson, going further back, has added to Jefferson literature a somewhat episodical but rather entertaining volume. He complains bitterly of the deification of New Englandism, and handles none too gently contemporary writers on his subject, such as Woodrow Wilson, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Elroy Curtis. A notable biography also is “The Life of John A. Andrew,” Governor of Massachusetts during the Civil War, which has been written by Henry Greenleaf Pearson. With all his admiration for Lincoln the ardent war governor found the President’s cautious methods rather trying. This and other matters, such as the relations of Andrew with General Butler, are handled in an admirable manner, and the whole work is remarkable for scholarship and literary power. The “ Memoirs of Henry Villard,” on the other hand, though of no slight interest and importance, are of very uneven merit. That part of the work which recounts the author’s career as a war correspondent, and generally all of it that deals with his life as a journalist, is eminently satis- factory ; but, from easily excusable causes, what is told us of Villard as the financial organiser of the north-west is presented in a sadly fragmentary manner. One is glad to hear, however, that its shortcomings are likely to be remedied in a supple- mentary publication. The life of a man who did so much for America deserves the fullest possible treatment in all its phases. THE AUTHOR. One other biography we must mention, viz., Mr. Francis Newton Thorpe’s “ Life of Dr. William Pepper,” Provost of Pennsylvania University. It tells sympathetically, if a little diffusely, the life- story of a really great personality—a man who not only created a university, but left a great pro- fessional reputation both as a medical writer and a practising physician. He literally wore himself out before his time by sheer pressure of work. It is not a little refreshing to read of this go-ahead character sticking up for Greek and Latin before the Modern Languages Association—he himself spoke French fluently; and the opinion of such a man that the purification of American public life was to be sought rather in educational work than in ward politics is at least worthy of serious consideration. The Supreme Court has decided that books are books and not periodicals. They will, therefore , no longer be able to go through the mails as “second class” matter. The “ Encyclopedia Britannica” has found a protector in Judge Lacombe, who has restrained the Tribune Association of New York City from printing and selling as a premium a so-called “‘Americanised Encyclopedia Britannica.” The latter, it was held, had formed their eight volumes by cancellations and mutilations of two-thirds of the English work. A large amount of doca- mentary evidence was put in. Actions were also brought against the publishers, the Saalfield Pub- lishing Company, of Akron, O., by Appleton & Co., who alleged that the ‘“ Americanised ” supple- ment infringed the copyright of their “ Cyclopedia of American Biography.”’ They obtained damages as well as an agreement to destroy copies and stop sales. The author of “Mrs. Wiges of the Cabbage Patch” has also obtained relief from the law. Mrs. Bass had been so pestered by the unwelcome attentions of “hoboes” and others, that she at length had recourse to strong measures, and last April found herself charged with assault in the form of throwing a pitcher upon the head of one Mrs. Emily Smith, of Hazlewood, Ky. The Louisville police justice dismissed the charge “on general principles,” expressing the view that Mrs. Wiggs had had great provocation. The plaintiff’s plea that she was under the impression that the author of “big-sellers ” was in need of charitable relief was distinctly piquant ; and certainly not less so was the testimony of the defendant, who left the court saying “ Now maybe Tl be able to spend my old age in peace, and maybe my trees ‘ll grow out where all them memorals has been pulled off, and maybe my yard won’t be full of strange people every Sunday, and I can move downstairs, where I used to live.”  i "To return to literature. America is not wanting in clever novelists, but her poets are few and far between. All the greater then is our pleasure in pointing to the achievement of Mr. William Vaughan Moody, who has followed up his highly promising “ Masque of Judgment” with ‘The Fire-Bringer,” a drama of even greater merit. The two, it seems, are designed as parts of a trilogy, the remainder being yet to come. We trust that there may be a few who will find leisure from politics and fiction to make acquaintance with literature that has attained so high a level. Some weeks ago’ we were astonished to see printed in that usually sane and carefully edited organ, the Dial, a “communication” headed “ In Re Shakespeare-Bacon” and signed “ Francis Bacon Verulam Smith,” which is about the most fatuous piece of literary criticism that we have ever read in a serious paper. Were it not for the well-known character of the publication one should certainly have dismissed the thing as a somewhat impudent jew d’ésprit. The writer of the “com- munication” sets out to follow up a “line of proof” adopted some time ago by a contributor to the English paper Literature. ‘The latter seems to have propounded the somewhat untenable hypothesis that every great author is commonly associated with his chief creation. This is how Francis Bacon Verulam Smith follows up the clue: «« What, now, is the chief, the best known character in the so-called Shakespearian dramas? Hamlet, to be sure; and in the name lurks a very clever erypto-pun—Ham [i.¢., Bacon] let [or, hindered from openly declaring his identity]. Let us goa step further. What is Hamlet’s most famous speech? The immortal soliloquy. And the most familiar line therein? The first. Let us examine this line. ‘Be’ is phonetic for the second letter of the alphabet, and the line thus becomes ‘To B[acon] or not to B[acon are these plays to be ascribed], that is the question.’ And how is the question decided? In the affirmative, of course. The soliloquist determines against self-annihila- tion. The Baconian authorship is thus established.” We notice that the communicator hails from St. Albans, presumably in England. Can it be that the editor has been had by some wicked under- graduate? Shelley, according to Hogg, would indulge in somewhat similar practical jokes. And now we must grapple with Fiction. The book which headed the list of the Six Best Sellers at the end of May was Miss Johnston’s “Sir Mortimer,” a romance of Elizabethan times, Ellen Glasgow’s “The Deliverance” coming second. As to the precise altitude of literary merit reached by the first there is room for some difference of opinion ; that the second has really great dramatic power there can be none. The scene is Virginia ; THE AUTHOR. 261 the time, the reconstruction period after the Civil War ; and the central theme, the power of love to overcome the spirit of vengeance. Mrs. Atherton’s “ Rulers of Kings” will scarcely add to her reputa- tion ; but Stewart White has fully maintained his with “The Silent Places.” It is the story of two Hudson Bay Company’s runners hunting a default- ing Indian trapper, and of the passion of an Ojibway girl for one of the whites. Amongst other historical novels which attain a respectable level may be mentioned “Robert Cavelier,”’ by William Dana Orcutt; “ When Wilderness was King,” by Randall Parrish ; and George Morgan’s “The Issue,” the last and best of the three, containing some faithful descriptive passages concerning the battles and personages of the Civil War. The political novel is strongly represented by Francis Lynde’s western study called ‘The Grafters,” a well constructed if somewhat over- technical work, and by David Graham Phillip’s powerful depiction of Wall Street ways, “ The Cost.” Arthur Coton’s “ Port Argent’ also deals largely in matters political. One may express a hope, fond and foolish as it may seem, that such books as these may have power enough to react a little upon public opinion. Promising first appearances in fiction have been made by Mrs. Beatrice Demarest Lloyd and Miss Margery Williams ; “ The Pastime of Eternity ” is the imposing title given by the former to her tale of incompatible temperaments. “The Price of Youth” is rather audacious in places, and perhaps a little reminiscent in others, but has genuine pathos, and fidelity to the life described, though the writer, we understand, is an Englishwoman. Miss Miriam Michelson has made an undoubted hit with her “In the Bishop’s Carriage,” whose heroine is a thief who gets caught by a theatrical manager and converted—into an actress. The Bishop’s carriage has little to do with the main interest of the story ; but it is probable that the poster which pourtrays the incident connected with it is having much to do with its financial success. Another book which has “caught on” mightily is the versatile Mr, Severy’s detective story, “The Darrow Enigma.” Melvin L. Severy has tried his hand with some success not only at journalism, playwriting and art, but has also devoted himself to science and patented various inventions. Finally Mrs. Edith Wharton has published a volume of striking short stories; George Burr McCutcheon has made a hero of a dog, though quite unlike that of the author of “The Call of the Wild” ; Byron’s career has been embodied in fiction in Miss Rives’s “The Castaway” ; and Winston Churchill has followed up “ The Crisis” 262 and “ Richard Carvel” with a new romance, “ The Crossing.” : The Japanese novel has also made its first appearance in English through the enterprise of American publishers. Our obituary list is happily a short one. It includes, besides Edgar Fawcett, a poet and novelist, who died in England, Guy Webmore Carryl, best known by his collection of Parisian stories, entitled “Zut,” aman who seemed but at the threshold of a brilliant career; Mrs. Abby Morton Diaz, author of some successful books for children; Mrs. Sarah Jane Lippincott, who wrote under the name of Grace Greenwood, and founded ‘The Pilgrim ” ; and Colonel Augustus C. Buell, the biographer of Paul Jones and Sir William Johnson. To these should perhaps be added the widow of Nathaniel P. Willis, though she was not an author, and Mrs. Clemens. Se LEGAL NOTES. ——+— What’s in a Name? VENTURED to discuss in last month’s Author the position of the writer of a new book with regard to a title which has been used before by another writer, and to suggest that in most cases the new writer can afford to disregard the previous one, on the ground that the author of a book which has been published has only a right to prevent another from using his title in certain circumstances. The author of the previous work apparently can do this when he can show that his book is known to the public by the name which he has given to it, and that his market is likely to be interfered with by a new book which may be mistaken for his, but not otherwise. The device used by some newspaper owners of publishing dummy copies in order to protect a title of which they claim to have the monopoly, is useless for any practical legal purpose. I take it, however, that the author (or the owner of the copyright or right to publish) would have the right to prevent another book from being sold under the name of his, in any case where his book was being publicly bought and sold ; it would not be necessary for him to show that it was being sold by the original publisher at the time. He might have produced a limited edition, the price of which was daily rising, and the sale and reputation of which would be injured by the new book annexing the well known name. In the case of plays, the fact that a play can be revived at any time is of course material. No one would be justified in bringing out a new play and calling it “Hast THE AUTHOR. Lynne” or “The Importance of being Earnest,” and because at that time no play of the name was being performed. It would be a question of fact for the tribunal hearing the case, should an action be brought, whether the book or play in question was so far alive or liable to be revived as to be entitled to protection. Sometimes the question is asked whether a person publishing a book of a different kind from another under a similar title could be prevented from doing so. Presumably, if the sale of the second book is likely to interfere with that of the first from their being mistaken for one another, the use of the title causing the confusion could be prevented. In this case it would again be a question of fact how far the error would be possible. A title must often be equally applicable to two books of a totally different character. Suppose that at the time when “‘ Vanity Fair” was begin- ning to enjoy fame, a popular preacher in a West End church had chosen to bring out a book of sermons with the same name, an old lady writing to her library for “ Vanity Fair” (the sermons) might have received Mr. Thackeray’s masterpiece, and never have read, the sermons at all; or another having been recommended the novel might by a similar mistake have received the sermons and,. obedient to their precepts, might never have opened a book of romance again. It is certainly not easy to lay down any rule to the effect that books of similar titles upon different subjects will not clash with one another. If, however, the state of things is simply this, that the writer of a new work must not use a title that will interfere with the prosperity of an existing one, it seems fairly clear that the legal right to prevent the adoption of a title cannot often belong to those who claim it. This was suggested in the last issue of Zhe Author, but I should like to lay emphasis upon it. What really belongs to the previous author in most cases is simply the power to annoy, and possibly the opportunity to exact a small payment as compensation for an imaginary wrong, a payment, however, which could not be enforced in a Court of law. There is a conceivable case in which the author of a dead book might bring out a new edition for no other purpose than to interfere with the sale of the: new one, and it would be very difficult to prevent him from doing so, and from thus supplying some evidence of vitality. Should this occur it would not be easy to prove that the re-publication was: only for the purpose of extorting compensation, and the possibility of such a thing being done is a. contingency to be reckoned with. It must be conceded therefore, that however: seldom the author of a book who has inadvertently taken the title of another, which he has never  . a heard of before, can be prevented legally from proceeding to use it, no one would willingly or wittingly choose a name already used if he had any means ready to his hand of ascertaining the previous use. The remedies suggested seem to be twofold, namely, a full official list of all names made use of, or secondly, a system of formal registration conveying some right of protection such as is conferred by registration upon owners of registered trade marks and devices, or names used as such. With regard to the mere official recording of published names there are a few observations to be made. Supposing such a list were to be compiled, it would be a very long one, even if it only contained the books separately published in each year, but probably it would have to contain more than this. Books serialised would have to go in, and so would short stories and articles. I gave the instance of my own experience when the author of a short story, who said (no doubt trulv) that she was going to republish it, caused my publisher to insist on my altering the name of a novel which had been already announced for publication. In order to prevent this, I should, I suppose, had such lists as those imagined been in existence, have had to look through them for ten or twenty years back, a search which would have been certainly tiresome and possibly useless for practical purposes. Take such a title as “Some Emotions and a Moral.? Under what word would it be indexed? If tabulated only under the first word, “Some,” the person desirous of publishing “ An Emotion and a Moral,” would miss finding it, as he would have only looked under the word “ An.” And yet this latter title would clearly be liable to be mistaken, and its use would be indefensible. Tf more than one of the elements were indexed, so that “Some Emotions and a Moral,” would be found under “Some,” under “Emotion,” and under “Moral,” the list would be increased still more, and the staff of clerks necessary to keep it complete, orderly, and up-to-date would have to be a large one. In urging the making of such a list officially as a remedy for the existing grievance, it must be remembered that the cure proposed should be a practical one, such as Parliament would be likely to adopt. It is not easy to show that the receipt of a book would compensate a public or national library for the trouble and expense of indexing its title, and enabling searchers to have access to the list thus compiled. It is still more difficult to argue that the receipt of a threepenny magazine or a halfpenny newspaper should reward the public institution for selecting from its con- tents the titles which ought to be recorded. This refers to the mere recording of titles officially without the concurrence or assistance of THE AUTHOR. 263 the authors or publishers. The regis/ration of titles by authors, so that only those registering shall acquire a right to use and to protect those titles is a larger question, the discussion of which I propose to defer. E. A. ARMSTRONG. — oe The “ Encyclopedia Britannica” in Canada. A. & CG. Buack v. THe Iupeertan Book CoMPANY or TORONTO. Wuen the judgment in this important action was delivered (January, 1903) the present writer at least thought the world had heard the last of it. The Imperial Book Company, however, took it to appeal, and it has now once more been determined in favour of the English publishers, Messrs. Adam and Charles Black. As the case was commented upon at some length in Zhe Author for April of last year, it is not proposed to repeat here all the old arguments over the old issues, but only to consider such parts of it as have acquired a fresh importance at the appeal trial. And first the case may be briefly stated. Messrs. A. & GC. Black, the owners of the “Encyclopedia Britannica,” had authorised the Clark Company of Toronto to publish that work in Canada, and this firm was actually publishing it when it was found that another company—The Imperial Book Company—was importing into Canada for sale their copies of the same work printed in the United States. To the action—for injunction, delivery up of the piracies, and account of profits—which followed, the defence made by the Imperial Book Company was shortly as follows :— 1. That the Copyright Act is not in force in Canada. 2. That a certificate of registration at Stationers’ Hall is not (even in the absence of rebutting evi- dence) proof of ownership of copyright. 3. That Messrs. Black, having assigned their copyright to the Clark Company, could not sue ; and that the Clark Company, not having registered the assignment, likewise could not maintain the action. 4, That notice had not been properly given to the Customs, as required by the Customs Laws Consolidation Act, 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. 36, s. 152) There were other minor and technical points raised ; but these were the clear issues, a decision favourable to the defendants, upon any one of which would have destroyed Messrs. Black’s right to their property in Canada. The judge below decided adversely to the defendants upon all of them, the fourth point evidently giving him the 264 most trouble. And this fourth point again became the real question upon which the case turned at the appeal trial, two judges out of three (Moss, C.J.0., Maclennan and Maclaren, JJ.A.: April 19th, 1904) devoting their judgments entirely to it; and one out of three dissenting from the opinion of the other two, and being in favour of reversing the judgment of the Court below. It may be assumed that the learned judges were in agreement on all the other points. Well, then, as to this fourth point. The question was: Should Messrs. Black have given proper notice to the Customs that they wished to bar the importation of these “ Encyclopedias,” printed without their authority, into Canada? They said “No”; The Imperial Book Company said “ Yes.” Two of the judges said “No”; the third said “Yes.” Tt all turned on the construction of Sections 151 and 152 of the Customs Act. Section 152 expressly states that notice must be given. But Section 151 states as expressly that the Customs Acts are to apply to all British Possessions except such as shall by local Act or ordinance make entire provision for the management and regulation of the Customs of any such Possession, or make, nm like manner, express provisions in lieu or variation of any of the clauses of the saad Act. Was Canada such a Possession? Moss, C.J., said “Yes”; Maclennan, J.A., said “Yes” ; Maclaren, J.A., said “No.” As this is the sole question upon which the judgment turned, so it is the sole question in the case which demands of the interested reader some attention before he can master the reasons for and against it ; because, in dissenting from his learned brothers, the last judge showed very skilfully how a Copyright Act may get confused with a Customs Act, resulting in serious differences of opinion in construing them, as in the present case. Now Section 151 of the Act says, “ Such Posses- sion as shall make entire provision for the regula- tion of its Customs.” “ But,” asked Maclaren, J.A., “is Section 152 to be regarded as part ofa Customs Actatall 2?” Isit not an amendment of the English Copyright Act ? Section 17 of that Act states at large that piracies must not be imported; it savs nothing about notice to the Customs. Then comes this Section 152 of the Customs Act, cutting down the right given by making notice necessary. Well, then, is not this Section 152 really a Copyright Act? But, if so, it does not matter how much provision Canada might have made for the regulation of her Customs—this Section 152 is outside her control ; in other words, the notice required by it should have been given. But, again, Section 151 says: ‘‘ Such Possession as shall make entire provision for the regulation of its Customs.” And Canada had made, in regard to THE AUTHOR. the importation of books, no provision at all! Therefore, again, Section 151 does not operate to exclude Canada from the effect of Section 152. The opinion of the dissenting judge has here been given first, in order that the judgment of the agreeing judges may be more easily grasped as by way of reply to it. The Chief Justice said : “ Section 152 undoubtedly forms part of the Customs Act... and I do not see how it can be separated from Section 151 . . . which nowhere says that it is when the British Possession has provided protection for the owners of copyrights that the exception is to take effect.” That is to say: Whether Canada had or had not made provision for the regulation of copyright is not the question. She had made provision for the regulation of her Customs ; these provisions did not happen to touch the present case ; but the fact of her having made them excludes her from the effect of Section 152 by bringing her under the operation of Section 151. In like manner Maclennan, J.A. : “Tt is argued that Section 152 is not a Customs but a Copyright Act . . . and that, therefore, it applies to Canada notwithstanding Section 151... . Itis also argued that Section 17 of the Copyright Actis also a Customs Act, and is withheld from application to Canada by Section 151, in which case importation would no longer be illegal! I cannot agree with either contention. Section 17 provides against importation into England and the British Possessions. . . - If all the Customs Acts were repealed this enactment would not be effected. ... No more is Section 152 a Copyright Act, nor less part of a Customs Act because, in order to facilitate the transaction of Customs business, it permits the importation of copyright works as a penalty for omitting to give notice. . . . Section 152 is applicable to the United Kingdom, and to all British Possessions as have not made provision for the regulation of their own Customs, but it is not applicable to Canada.” To the student of Copyright law and its intricacies. it may still seem a trifle doubtful as to which side has the better of what is after all a mere technical point, and he may look forward still to seeing the case before the Privy Council. There will, however, be little doubt as to which side is in the right. The space at disposal does not permit of reference to the other chief but simpler points in the case, all of which underwent clear and thorough elucida- tion at the hands of the learned judges. Particularly interesting and lucid was the distinction which Judge-Advocate Maclennan drew between an  assignment and a licence ; and Mr. MacGillivray came in for another compliment in being quoted by the Court of Appeal as well as in the Court below. CHARLES WEEKES. oe COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION IN THE 58TH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. —_e (From The United States Publishers’ Weekly). F the bills to amend the Revised Statutes relating to copyrights only one became law, namely, that providing for copyright pro- tection to exhibitors at St. Louis. The amendment to Section 4952 of the Revised Statutes, making provision for an extension of the present system of providing for authorised transla- tions, was favourably reported in both houses, but did not secure a vote. Bill 5314, introduced in the Senate by Mr. Platt, of Connecticut, to limit free importation of books copyrighted in the United States, was read twice and referred to the Committee on Patents. The modification, given below in italics, occurs in Chapter 3, Section 4956 : “ . . but the privilege accorded to certain institu- tions, under paragraph 515 of Section two of the said Act, to import, free of duty, not more than two copies of books, maps, lithographic prints and charts, shall apply to the importation of books, maps, lithographac prints and charts, which have been copyrighted in the United States, only when holders of the American copyrights thereof in writing consent to such importa- tion; and except in the case of persons purchasing for use and not for sale, who import subject to the duty thereon and with the written consent of the holders of the American copyrights, not more than two copies of such book at any one time.” The Bill No. 13355, introduced in the House by Mr. Tawney, requiring the filing of proof that copyright books, etc., are printed from type set within the limits of the United States and provid- ing a penalty for the making of false proof or wilful failure to comply with the condition of the present law, passed the House, but did not reach the Senate. ‘The amendment was proposed to take the place of the last two provisions of Section 4956, and reads as follows : “That accompanying the two copies of the book, photo, chromo or lithograph required to be delivered or deposited, as herein provided, there shall be an affidavit under the official seal of any officer authorised to administer oaths within the United States, duly made by the person desiring THE AUTHOR. 265 the said copyright or by his duly authorised agent or representative residing in the United States, setting forth that the two copies required to be so deposited have been printed from type set within the limits of the United States or from plates made there- from or from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States or from transfers made therefrom; and the place within the limits of the United States at which such type was set, or plates or negatives were made, and by whom. “Sec, 2. That any person violating any of the provisions of this Act or who shall be guilty of making a false affidavit as to his having complied with the conditions thereof for the purpose of obtaining a copyright shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thou- sand dollars, and of all his rights and privileges under said copyright shall thereafter be forfeited.” Mr. Otis, from the Committee on Patents, sub- mitted a report on Mr. Tawney’s amendment, which concludes as follows : “The law now provides that no person shall be entitled to a copyright unless he shall on or before the day of publication in this or any foreign country deliver at the office of the Librarian of Congress or deposit in the mail within the United States addressed to the Librarian of Congress a printed copy of the title of his publication or other matter for which he applies for copyright. He is also required by the existing law, not later than the day of publication, to deposit with the Librarian of Congress two copies of such copyright book, map, chart, etc., and the law expressly provides that these two copies ‘shall be printed from type set within the limits of the United States, or from plates made therefrom, or from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States, or from transfers made therefrom.’ The law which thus requires the deposit of two copies of the publication and that the same shall be printed from type set within the limits of the United States, etc., before a copyright can be obtained, does not require any proof to be filed that such books have been thus printed within the limits of the United States, nor does it impose any penalty whatever upon an author or publisher who obtains a copyright without having first complied with this condition as to the printing from type set within the limits of the United States. “ After investigation your committee have reason to believe that it is not only possible, but that in some instances the present law has been evaded and violated to the injary of American labour, and that this can be done with comparative ease under the existing law ; that there is no remedy and no means of enforcing this condition as to printing  264 most trouble. And this fourth point again became the real question upon which the case turned at the appeal trial, two judges out of three (Moss, C.J.O., Maclennan and Maclaren, JJ.A.: April 19th, 1904) devoting their judgments entirely to it; and one out of three dissenting from the opinion of the other two, and being in favour of reversing the judgment of the Court below. It may be assumed that the learned judges were in agreement on all the other points. Well, then, as to this fourth point. The question was: Should Messrs. Black have given proper notice to the Customs that they wished to bar the importation of these “ Encyclopedias,” printed without their authority, into Canada? They said “No”; The Imperial Book Company said “ Yes.” Two of the judges said “No”; the third said “Yes.” Jt all turned on the construction of Sections 151 and 152 of the Customs Act. Section 152 expressly states that notice must be given. But Section 151 states as expressly that the Customs Acts are to apply to all British Possessions except such as shall by local Act or ordinance make entire provision for the management and regulation of the Customs of any such Possession, or make, in like manner, express provisions in lieu or variation of any. of the clauses of the said Act. Was Canada such a Possession? Moss, C.J., said ‘“ Yes”; Maclennan, J.A., said “Yes”; Maclaren, J.A., said “No.” As this is the sole question upon which the judgment turned, so it is the sole question in the case which demands of the interested reader some attention before he can master the reasons for and against it; because, in dissenting from his learned brothers, the last judge showed very skilfully how a Copyright Act may get confused with a Customs Act, resulting in serious differences of opinion in construing them, as in the present case. Now Section 151 of the Act says, “ Such Posses- sion as shall make entire provision for the regula- tion ofits Customs.” “But,” asked Maclaren, J.A., “tis Section 152 to be regarded as part of a Customs Actatall 2?” Isit not an amendment of the English Copyright Act? Section 17 of that Act states at large that piracies must not be imported; it says nothing about notice to the Customs. Then comes this Section 152 of the Customs Act, cutting down the right given by making notice necessary. Well, then, is not this Nection 152 really a Copyright Act? But, if so, it does not matter how much provision Canada might have made for the regulation of her Customs—this Section 152 is outside her control ; in other words, the notice required by it should have been given. But, again, Section 151 says: ‘“‘ Such Possession as shall make entire provision for the regulation of its Customs.” And Canada had made, in regard to THE AUTHOR. the importation of books, no provision at all! Therefore, again, Section 151 does not operate to exclude Canada from the effect of Section 152. The opinion of the dissenting judge has here been given first, in order that the judgment of the agreeing judges may be more easily grasped as by way of reply to it. The Chief Justice said : “Section 152 undoubtedly forms part of the Customs Act... and I do not see how it can be separated from Section 151 . . . which nowhere says that it is when the British Possession has provided protection for the owners of copyrights that the exception is to take effect.” That is to say: Whether Canada had or had not made provision for the regulation of copyright is not the question. She had made provision for the regulation of her Customs ; these provisions did not happen to touch the present case; but the fact of her having made them excludes her from the effect of Section 152 by bringing her under the operation of Section 151. In like manner Maclennan, J.A. : “Tt is argued that Section 152 is not a Customs but a Copyright Act . . . and that, therefore, it applies to Canada notwithstanding Section 151... . Itis also argued that Section 17 of the Copyright Actis also a Customs Act, and is withheld from application to Canada by Section 151, in which case importation would no longer be illegal! JI cannot agree with either contention. Section 17 provides against importation into England and the British Possessions. . . . If all the Customs Acts were repealed this enactment would not be effected. ... No more is Section 152 a Copyright Act, nor less part of a Customs Act because, in order to facilitate the transaction of Customs business, it permits the importation of copyright works as a penalty for omitting to give notice. . . . Section 152 is applicable to the United Kingdom, and to all British Possessions as have not made provision for the — regulation of their own Customs, but it is nob applicable to Canada.” To the student of Copyright law and its intricacies it may still seem a trifle doubtful as to which side has the better of what is after all a mere technical point, and he may look forward still to seeing the case before the Privy Council. There will, however, be little doubt as to which side is in the right. The space at disposal does not permit of reference — to the other chief but simpler points in the case, — all of which underwent clear and thorough elucida- tion at the hands of the learned judges. Particularly - interesting and lucid was the distinction which — Judge-Advocate Maclennan drew between an  THE AUTHOR. assignment and a licence; and Mr. MacGillivray came in for another compliment in being quoted by the Court of Appeal as well as in the Court below. CHARLES WEEKES. of 6 COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION IN THE 58TH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. —“~- (From The United States Publishers’ Weekly). F the bills to amend the Revised Statutes relating to copyrights only one became law, namely, that providing for copyright pro- tection to exhibitors at St. Louis. The amendment to Section 4952 of the Revised Statutes, making provision for an extension of the present system of providing for authorised transla- tions, was favourably reported in both houses, but did not secure a vote. Bill 5314, introduced in the Senate by Mr. Platt, of Connecticut, to limit free importation of books copyrighted in the United States, was read twice and referred to the Committee on Patents. The modification, given below in italics, occurs in Chapter 3, Section 4956 : “ . . but the privilege accorded to certain institu- tions, under paragraph 515 of Section two of the said Act, to import, free of duty, not more than two copies of books, maps, lithographic prints and charts, shall apply to the importation of books, maps, lithographic prints and charts, which have been copyrighted in the United States, only when holders of the American copyrights thereof in writing consent to such importa- tion; and except in the case of persons purchasing for use and not for sale, who import subject to the duty thereon and with the written consent of the holders of the American copyrights, not more than two copies of such book at any one time.” The Bill No. 13355, introduced in the House by Mr. Tawney, requiring the filing of proof that copyright books, etc., are printed from type set within the limits of the United States and provid- ing a penalty for the making of false proof or wilful failure to comply with the condition of the present law, passed the House, but did not reach the Senate. The amendment was proposed to take the place of the last two provisions of Section 4956, and reads as follows : “That accompanying the two copies of the book, photo, chromo or lithograph required to be delivered or deposited, as herein provided, there shall be an affidavit under the official seal of any officer authorised to administer oaths within the United States, duly made by the person desiring 265 the said copyright or by his duly authorised agent or representative residing in the United States, setting forth that the two copies required to be so deposited have been printed from type set within the limits of the United States or from plates made there- from or from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States or from transfers made therefrom; and the place within the limits of the United States at which such type was set, or plates or negatives were made, and by whom. : “Sec. 2. That any person violating any of the provisions of this Act or who shall be guilty of making a false affidavit as to his having complied with the conditions thereof for the purpose of obtaining a copyright shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thou- sand dollars, and of all his rights and privileges under said copyright shall thereafter be forfeited.” Mr. Otis, from the Committee on Patents, sub- mitted a report on Mr. Tawney’s amendment, which concludes as follows : “The law now provides that no person shall be entitled to a copyright unless he shall on or before the day of publication in this or any foreign country deliver at the office of the Librarian of Congress or deposit in the mail within the United States addressed to the Librarian of Congress a printed copy of the title of his publication or other matter for which he applies for copyright. He is also required by the existing law, not later than the day of publication, to deposit with the Librarian of Congress two copies of such copyright book, map, chart, etc., and the law expressly provides that these two copies ‘shall be printed from type set within the limits of the United States, or from plates made therefrom, or from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States, or from transfers made therefrom.’ The law which thus requires the deposit of two copies of the publication and that the same shall be printed from type set within the limits of the United States, etc., before a copyright can be obtained, does not require any proof to be filed that such books have been thus printed within the limits of the United States, nor does it impose any penalty whatever upon an author or publisher who obtains a copyright without having first complied with this condition as to the printing from type set within the limits of the United States. « After investigation your committee have reason to believe that it is not only possible, but that in some instances the present law has been evaded and violated to the injury of American labour, and that this can be done with comparative ease under the existing law ; that there is no remedy and no means of enforcing this condition as to printing (266 from type set by American labour and within our own country. That being the case, your committee is of the opinion that the person applying for a copyright should be required as a condition prece- dent to furnish proof in the form of an affidavit that all of these conditions with respect to the labour employed in the printing and the place of printing the copies of books to be deposited have been complied with, and in the event that any false statement is made in said affidavit concerning a material fact, and upon conviction thereof, the person thus attempting to obtain a copyright should be punished and the copyright forfeited.” oo — CoMMENT. Tue United States publishers have always been to the fore in promoting satisfactory Copyright Legislation, but the heart of the politician is hardened and he still seeks to hamper the litera- ture of his own country for the benefit of the printer and typesetter. Commenting on the question of extended trans- lation rights The Publishers’ Weekly states as follows :— “It is certainly to be hoped that some relief will be given to foreign authors by replacing the requirement for simultaneous publication with a provision permitting time for making adequate arrangements between an American author and a foreign author, and for the actual work of translation. So strong has been the German feeling against the present limitation, or nullification, of pro- tection for translations, that there is a movement in Germany among authors and publishers to request the German Government to withdraw from copyright relations with this country. This would be doubly unfortunate, as it would not help here in bringing about better arrange- ments, and would definitely harm the German music and art interests, which are protected under the present copyright law.” This action on the part of Germany is the first sign of dissatisfaction with and retaliation against the United States Act. The United States publishers see the danger, and with the strenuous exertions of Mr. Putnam have succeeded for atime in removing it. If the amendment is passed Ger- many may be temporarily satisfied, though there are other nations not altogether satisfied with the so-called reciprocity created by the present Act. Ifthe amendment is not passed Germany may think fit, as she has already threatened, to cancel her treaty, and the politician will begin to reap the fruit of his hardness of heart. When the clamour of the United States authors, who are now, even under this limited protection, growing in numbers, is heard, he will perhaps realise who are the real producers of a country’s literature. The question of the importation of copies is not one of great account, and it can be passed over, THE AUTHOR. but the question of insisting upon an affidavit being made, and an affidavit before an officer authorised to administer oaths in the United States, will not only seriously hamper all foreign authors in obtain- ing copyright, but will be another difficulty to the producers of literature in the United States itself. The Publishers’ Weekly makes the following comment :— “The proposal to require from publishers affidavits as to manufacture in this country seems to be an unnecessary annoyance, unless it can be shown that this is necessary to carry out the manufacturing clause, on which the present law is centred. We have become affidavit crazy in this country, and the number of affidavits to be taken by a business man, especially for governmental accounts, is so great that the oath has become as perfunctory as the signature of government officials. It was claimed at the hearing in this proposal that many publishers were import- ing plates as junk and printing from them copyright editions. If this can be shown to be true to any consider- able extent, that would be sufficient reason for the proposed affidavit, which otherwise would be considered unnecessary. “It is to be regretted by the friends of a true international copyright that so little progress has been made in this country since 1891 towards a better system, such as is almost universally adopted by other civilised countries under the terms of the Berne Convention. The need is generally felt, and now generally expressed, of a larger treatment of the question than is possible in piecemeal legislation, and the pressure for a copyright commission is becoming so general that before long we should see a body of experts representing the several interests involved, including those of authors and readers as well as manu- facturers, appointed by Congress or under Congressional authority by the President.’’ The publishers take a clear and correct view of the situation. It is clear and correct from the standpoint of those who produce the work, from whose minds the stories are evolved, and by whose labour they are made into a marketable commodity, Germany has threatened to retaliate if the amend- ment relating to translations is not passed ; but this question of affidavits may bring forward retaliation on the part of other countries, and if the retaliation is followed by a demand for strict reciprocity, or carried further by the cancellation of the existing arrangements, the authors of the United States will find themselves face to face with the loss of a great part of their income and some of their largest markets, and the publishers with that dread competition in pirated works which was one of the reasons that caused the American trade to throw the whole of its support on the side of a satisfactory copyright law. When before 1891 piracy was legitimate, the United States had but few authors and little literature, and it was with difficulty owing to their small numbers they got a hearing for the protection of their rights, but, under this present copyright law, full of limitations as it is, the protection afforded has brought to the front many writers, and much literature, and has given a strong stimulus  THE AUTHOR. to the publishing trade. It is not likely, therefore, that this body of writers, now numerous and influential, will allow itself tamely to be sat upon by those trades who fancy they may suffer. Perhaps the day will come when the United States as a whole will grasp the fact that the larger the protection given to their authors the greater will be the literature of their country, and, no doubt, as a corollary the greater will be the business which will accrue to the typesetter and printer. —_——_—__—_—_e——__—_ THE UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LEAGUE. — HE American Copyright League, communi- cating with the Society, expressed a desire that the Committee of the Society of Authors should make a Report, expressing in their opinion the present difficulties existing under the United States Copyright Act. The League, however, barred from the discus- sion the question of printing in the United States. This is, of course, the most important point of difference, one which particularly needs amend- ment; but in accordance with the wishes of the American Copyright League, the Committee, after full consideration of the subject, forwarded a Report, omitting this question entirely. It may interest the members to see the points set ont in detail ; the Committee have therefore decided to print the Report with the answer of the Copyright League. It is drafted in the form of a letter from the Secretary of the British Society to the Secretary of the United States League. Report of the Copyright Sub-Committee on the Amendment of the United States Copyright Law. To THE SECRETARY THE AMERICAN COPYRIGHT LEAGUE, March 29th, 1904. DEAR §1R,—While thanking your Association once more for the desire you have expressed that the Author’s Society should send a report of its views on the amendment of the United States Copyright Act, the Committee feel that you have placed them in a somewhat difficult position by the exclusion from the discussion of the question of type- setting in the United States, the point to which, before all others, they attach the greatest importance. In accordance with the information contained in my former letter, on the authority of the Managing Com- mittee, the Copyright Sub-Committee was called together. They met at the offices of the Society on March 25th, and, after careful consideration and discussion, desire the following report to be forwarded to you. Firstly, they would place before you the question of simultaneous publication. They consider that the term should be more clearly defined, and if possible a longer period allowed for the production in the United States of 267 work published in England. The Committee would like to draw your attention to the definition on page 17 of the draft Bill enclosed.* This Bill embodies, so far as it goes, the present views of British authors and publishers as to the amendment of the existing British Copyright Law, and it will, no doubt, form the basis of any alteration of the law that may be passed by the Government. At present, however, there appears to be no immediate prospect of the Government taking up the matter, and the Bill is only set before you to draw your attention to various points, and to afford an example of the present trend of copyright amend- ment in this country. On page 17 referred to, you will see a proposed definition of “‘ simultaneously,’’ and the Society of Authors considers that it would be a great advantage, if, in the United States, you could put forward some similar definition. The period to be fourteen days at the least. Any longer period which might be suggested would, of course, be of still greater advantage to British authors. The second point to which the Committee would draw your attention is the duration of copyright. In the present Act of the United States, copyright exists for twenty-eight years, and for a further period of fourteen years in certain circumstanees. We would like to call your attention to Sec. 4, Sub-sec. C., of the Bill enclosed. After taking into consideration all the conflicting interests, the Committee have come to the conclusion that the best length for the duration of copyright would be the life of the author and thirty years. In some cases, no doubt, under the present British law, copyright might endure for a longer period, since, as you are no doubt aware, the present term of copyright is for forty-two years from the date of publication, or the life of the author, and seven years afterwards, whichever is the longer period, so that, in exceptional circumstances, a change in the law might reduce the term of copyright twelve years. But the Society of Authors supports the change for two reasons, firstly, it does away with the necessity of determining the exact date of publication ; secondly, it is in conformity with the period of copyright which finds most favour in European countries, and might thus, if generally adopted, form a step towards the codification of the international law on the subject. The third point to which we should like to draw attention is the necessity for a summary remedy in cases of infringe- ment of copyright and dramatic rights, in regard to which the Committee beg to refer you to page 9, Clause 25, of the Bill. It has been found on many occasions difficult to secure any adequate protection against one who infringes copyright or performing right, owing to the fact that there is no summary procedure. The Committee understand that this difficulty has also occurred in the case of infringement of dramatic rights in the United States, where an actor manager has infringed a performing right in one State, and has entered the jurisdiction of another State. With regard to musical copyright, infringement in Great Britain has been so universal, and has inflicted such a serious loss upon the holders of musical copyright property that the Govern- ment has been forced to pass a small Amending Act (see copy enclosed) by which musical copyright holders are empowered to take very stringent and summary proceedings, and a further Amending Bill is now before Parliament (see copy enclosed). Proceedings of a similar nature, we suggest, would prove a great advantage in the United States. Finally, our Committee desire to call your attention to copyright in a review or a magazine, Section 10, page 5, in order that the ownership of the copyright in these circum- stances may be more clearly defined. There is one further point, which does not so much deal with the amendment of the copyright law, as the method of * The Committee enclosed the final Draft of the last Copyright Bill. 268 administration of the present Act. An article or a book may be copyrighted in the United States as well as in England. For some reason or other there is a desire to introduce the work into the United States, printed and pro- duced in England. For this purpose the English copyright owner prints on the copy “ Copyright in the United States,” under the terms of your Act. The Custom House authorities refuse to pass the book, because of the imprint ‘* Copyright in the United States,” which they say is contrary to the law. ‘This may, no doubt, be the case ; but if, on the other hand, the book is introduced without this notice, pirates in the United States assert that they have obtained a copy which does not bear the requisite copyright notice under the Act, and that, in consequence, the copyright has not been properly secured. The pirates, therefore, consider that they are at liberty to reprint in any form they think fit. It would seem that if these literary thieves secured only one book, on which the copyright Notice was omitted, there would be a danger of the work being pirated, It must be clearly understood that in regard to simul- taneous publication, and to the duration of copyright for the life of the author and thirty years, the reforms herein suggested could not be put in operation in the United Kingdom until an amendment of the existing law had been passed. The Committee feel honoured by the distinction you have conferred upon the Society by asking its opinion on this most difficult question, and I trust that the report which they are submitting herewith, together with the draft Bill enclosed, may be of material assistance in bring- ing about some alteration in the United States Copyright Act. Believe me to be, yours very truly, G. HERBERT THRING, Secretary. April 27th, 1904. DEAR SrR,—At a meeting of the Executive Council of the American Copyright League held yesterday, I had the honour of presenting your letter of March 29th, 1904, which was carefully considered by the Council. On behalf of the Council I thank your Society for your attention to our request, and also for the drafts of the proposed British copyright legislation. Your Society’s suggestions will be given full attention in any legislation covering the scope of them. On one point I may call the attention of your Committee to a misapprehension. There is no lack of protective legislation in this country relative to the infringement of dramatic rights. The Society of Dramatic Authors, supported by this League, some years ago procured from Congress a Bill enabling the process of one judicial district to be enforced against a violation of copyright law in another district, thus putting an end to the previous security of the one-night stand pirate, whose peripatetic offences against the law could not be promptly reached. In addition to this there are eight of our States in which special legislation has been passed, making it a misdemeanor to produce plays without permission of the owner of the copyright, and this legislation is likely to be still further extended. You will therefore see that there is really nothing left to be done in the matter of American security for dramatic copyright. This is the only form of copyright invasion which is an offence against both the civil and the criminal law, T am, indeed, Very respectfully yours, R. U, JOHNSON, Secretary. G, HERBERT THRING, Esq., Secretary Incorporated Society of Authors, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, 8. W., London, England. THE AUTHOR. MAGAZINE CONTENTS. — + THE BOOKMAN, Three Nature Writers — ‘ Isaac | Walton,’ “ Gilbert White,” “ Richard Jefferies.” By G. Forrester Scott, BLACKWOOD’sS MAGAZINE, A Scottish Philosopher's Autobiography. The late Prof. York Powell. In “ Musings without Method,’’ Mr. Boutmy’s Generalisations, A Great Proconsul. THE CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Frances Power Cobbe. By the Rev. John Verschoyle. The Riddle of the Universe. By Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, Jean Louis Nicode, By A. E, Keeton. THE CORNHILL MAGAZINE. Sir John Moore. Maxwell, Bart. By the Right Honble. Sir Herbert THE FORTNIGHTLY. Shakespeare's Protestantism. By W. 8. Lilly. Herbert Spencer : His Autobiography and his Philosophy. By Francis Gribble, The Prologue of Arcturus. By Edmund Gosse. The Plague of Novels. By J. Cuthbert Hadden. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Leslie Stephen, By Sir Frederick Pollock. Mr, Sturge Moore’s Poems. By Robert Trevelyan, MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, The Girlhood of George Sand. THE MONTHLY REVIEW. A Note on Leslie Stephen. By R. E. Crook. Thackeray's Boyhood. By the late Rev, Whitwell Elwin, John Dyer. Frederick York Powell. By J. C. Bailey. By Theodore Andrea Cook. THE NATIONAL REVIEW. The New Ireland. By Sir Gilbert Parker. Napoleon and the United States. By J. R. Fisher, The Poet’s Diary, No. 6. Edited by Lamia, THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. How They ‘Train Actors in Paris, By Richard Whiteing. The Kingsley Novels. By Walter Frewen Lord, THE PALL MALL MAGAZINE, Our Degenerate Stage—Opinion and Suggestions of French Dramatists and Actors: M. Paul Hervien, M. Francois Coppee, M. Jules Bois, and M. Coquelin. THE WORLD'S WORK. Herbert Spencer's Life. The Making of a Time Table. By W. J. Scott. There are no articles of literary, dramatic or musical interest in Zhe Month or Longman’s Magazine.  THE AUTHOR. WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —+ ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if @ proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duetion forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III, The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth, From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Ze Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book, General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright, s—~> WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. og EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, 269 : 3. There are three forms of dramatic contrac in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory, An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (>.) Sale of performi i i ( p ing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale -of gross receipts t for plays in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. : (¢.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (@.) apply also in this case. : 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. : 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time, This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration, 9, Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. oe WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. > ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright, He 270 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. ——— ee HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. 1 1, VERY member has a right toask for and to receive K advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10, The subscription to the Society is £1 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. THE READING BRANCH. —-——+ — EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, +— NOTICES. Se HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for Zhe Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. NE Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —+~> The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —+ e+ — ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance can be obtained from this socieiy. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. —_1~9—+— HERE has been fresh discussion raised in the papers as to the 100 best books, and various lists have been printed and various comments have been made. After all, there is only one satisfactory answer from any person who, in these days of education, has read as many as a hundred books, that is, there is only one list—his own. Tue Musical Copyright Bill is dead for the present. We chronicle the fact with regret. There will be a meeting of protest held on July 4th, in order to urge the Government, if possible, to save the Bill. We see it mentioned in one of the papers that Mr. Boosey, of Chappell & Co., states, as an argu- ment that publishers do not make handsome profits, that Messrs. Chappell & Co. only pay 5 per cent. to their ordinary shareholders, and that out of 100 songs published last year only ten paid for the cost of printing, circulating and advertising. It would appear that this is rather an argument that some publishers are bad tradesmen and do not know their business; and not that music publishing cannot bring in profits if conducted on proper lines. It is most unsatisfactory for composers that publishers should continue this gambling with the composer’s property. It ruins the publishing business, and necessitates those terrible contracts against which we have often inveighed, on one of which we comment in this issue. When will composers make a_ united endeavour to resist this method of doing business ? From a cutting in the Lilerary World it appears that the articles in The Author on Agents, signed «G. H. T.” and Gale Pedrick, have called forth the following comment :— “ A question of some interest to beginners in fiction—for it is only in that class of writings that it can ordinarily arise in practice—is whether an author should bind himself by a contract with a publisher to give him the right to bring out the next two books he may write on the same terms (or slightly modified ones) as those proposed for the book under discussion. Both sides of the case have been ably stated by ‘G. H. T.’and Mr. Gale Pedrick, in The Author, The former strongly advises against the practice, but the latter, who is the managing director of a literary agency, puts forward very plausible reasons for conceding the point in certain cases. He cites an instance where an author, anxious to secure publication, accepted such an offer against his agent’s advice, with the result that his book, which would otherwise most probably have remained unpublished, has already gone into a fourth edition. The argument, of course, turns almost entirely on the worth of the assump- tion as to the probability of non-publication on other 271 terms. If a sufficient number of publishers made the ‘next two books’ clause a sine qua& non, authors would naturally have no option.” We should like to call particular attention to the last sentence of the quotation. The writer seems to forget, in the American phrase, that “there are others,” and if a large number of publishers endeavoured to force an unequal clause on the producers of literary pro- perty, fresh publishers would at once arise who would be willing to enter into a fair contract. A remark of this kind reminds one somewhat of the suggestion made by one of the trade, that if authors insisted on demanding better terms they would destroy the trade of publishing and be unable to obtain a market at all. The question, of course, is one of supply and demand. If, however, all the publishers at present in existence withdrew from business, the author could still place his work before the public by his own efforts should he desire to do so, although he might not in his infantile beginnings obtain so large a market in the first instance. : THE Jorning Post makes public the following particulars of a publishing contract :— “An author sent a little song to a publisher of the highest repute, and received an offer of a certain amount for ‘all serial rights.’ This she accepted, and on sending another song, she was told that it would be accepted ‘on our usual terms.’ Several others were taken in the same way. Then the publishers issued a book of songs which included some of these. The author wrote and protested, as she had hoped to bring her songs together in a book of her own. The publishers serenely replied that ‘our usual terms’ meant ‘serial rights and copyright.’” The Morning Post comments strongly on the publisher’s action, and deservedly so. Ifthe author had been a member of the Society and had cared to lay the matter before the committee, there is little doubt but that they would have taken the case vigorously in hand with a view to obtaining justice. It is just such a case as this that should be published in Ze Author, with the names of the publishers concerned. We have known some extraordinary contracts from publishers of books, and more extraordinary contracts from the pub- lishers of music, but it is not often that a bargain, or rather, a trick, to the discomfort of the author, so bad as that quoted above, is brought off. Ir is the custom of the Editor of 7ruth to make caustic remarks on matters that come under his ken from time to time. During the past month he has devoted one or two paragraphs to the Biographical Press Agency, and suggests taking up this form of business himself, as he seems to think it would be highly remunerative.  272 It appears that those gentlemen who have paid £10 10s. to the agency secure thereby fifty copies of their biography written by themselves, adorned with their portraits, executed by the agency’s photo- graphers, plus the possible satisfaction of seeing the biography published in the Gossip columns of a halfpenny newspaper. In addition to the economic question which Truth has so criticised, there is this further danger to be considered, namely, the danger of assigning the copyright either in your own photograph or in your own biography. If the distinguished gentle- men who have paid their guineas thus dispose of their rights and allow them to slip beyond their control they may find their biographies printed and their photographs published at times inopportune, and in places unsatisfactory. It is important to those whose position entitles them to the doubtful honour of publicity to be able to control where and when their biographies should appear and their photographs be reproduced. As Truth points ont, the economic side of the question is very instructive, as nowadays the competition for the personal paragraph is so great that the editor ought to be more anxious to pay for the information he receives than the subject for the information he gives. In the Westminster Gazette we see it stated that Miss Beatrice Harraden’s novel, “Ships that Pass in the Night,” brought her only the sum of £125. The writer states, “It is a remarkable object lesson on the mistake of an unknown author parting with the entire copyright of her first book.” With this statement we heartily agree. But the price which Miss Harraden received is quite a record when compared with the prices paid by one well-known publisher who, in order to induce young authors to accept his terms, lays before them the fact that other authors, whose names he mentions, have received the same sum— from £20 to £30—-for the entire rights of their first works. He also states, with the same show of generosity, that it is not an uncommon thing to take up a first book paying the author a royalty after the sale of 2,000 copies. Readers will naturally suppose that after the sale of so large a number the author reaps his reward by a large return, but no, the royalty that the publisher vouchsafes after 2,000 copies is a modest 10 per cent. It would be interesting to know how many of these first books with this royalty ever sell more than 2,(00 copies. A publisher with a true sense of his position, instead of making a boast of his cheap bargains to authors ought rather to be silent. Such open- ness is not as good a bait as a spinning minnow in a trout stream. THE AUTHOR. EPITAPH FOR AN AUTHOR’S TOMBSTONE, —> O child beloved of the Gods, nor born In the fortunate glow of a climbing star ; No prince, no hero of hope forlorn Was the dust beneath me, tra la la. Fame, a harlot, as all assert Who slide from the slope of her hazardous car, Passed him by with a close-drawn skirt Like an honest woman, tra la la. Wealth he knew not, nor greed of place, But loved green valleys, and wandered far, Counting the voluble waves that race O’er the scrambling shingles, tra la la. Faith he lost where the cities sweat In grime to the sky, where the dogmas are, But found in meadow and rivulet A foolish comfort, tra la la, He died, and was buried under me, Hopeless, heedless of Avatar, Far from the city, close to the sea, Tra la, tra la Ja, la la, la la! Sr. Joun Lucas. Lg ag THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.* —_- a last volume of Sir Leslie Stephen’s work, displaying, as it does, his power of sane, clear-sighted criticism wholly undimmed, is a fitting climax to more than thirty years of scholarly labour. Of the five lectures which it contains, the first is devoted to a defence of the historical and inductive method of criticism—a method employed by Sir Leslie Stephen himself in the course of the lectures, whilst the remainder deal with the periods terminated respectively by the death of Queen Anne (1714), the declaration of War with Spain (1739), the close of the Seven Years’ War (1763), and the year of the Regency ‘Bill (1788). To this time— “The century, as its enemies used to say, of coarse utilitarian aims, of religious indifference and political corruption; or, as I prefer to say, the century of sound common-sense and growing toleration, and of steady social and industrial development,” he applies the modern method of criticism which holds that “ Literary history . . . isan account of one strand, 80 10 speak, in a very complex tissue; it is connected with the * “English Literature and Society in the Righteenth | Century.” (Ford Lectures, 1903.) By Leslie Stephen (Duckworth.) 2 ee Be Soe  THER AUTHOR. intellectual and social development; it represents move- ments of thought which may sometimes check and be sometimes propitious to the existing forms of art; it is the utterance of a class which may represent, or fail to represent, the main national movement ; it is affected more or less directly by all manner of religious, political, social, and economical changes; and it is dependent on the occurrence of individual genius for which we cannot even profess to account.” Certainly no period inthe history of our Literature is so apt as the Highteenth Century in affording an illustration of the dependence of literary form on national movement. The drama, to take a single line of literature as an example, ceased to be fine not because, as Matthew Arnold asserted, the Puritans crushed it; for in reality the Puritans only became powerful when the drama was already dancing down the road of decadence ; but because, as Sir Leslie Stephen shows, the cleavage between the Court and the nation had destroyed the popularity, and hence the means of existence of that essentially aristocratic institution, the Stage. This example of the method employed by the “inductive” critic affords an agreeable contrast to the judicial attitude which held that every new author was to be tried by a kind of court-martial with Aristotle’s poetics asa code of law, and caused Voltaire to utter ineptitudes on Dante and Shakespeare. ‘The critic’s function is rather to enquire “What pleased men, and then, why it pleased them ; not to decide dogmatically that it ought to have pleased or displeased on the simple ground that it is or is not congenial to himself.”’ Sir Leslie Stephen was already stricken with mortal illness when he wrote these lectures, but the lucidity of the style, so simple, so energetic, and so buoyant, never flags ; and the philosophic breadth of view, the wide knowledge, and fine sense of proportion, render the book as delightful as anything that he has written, One can scarcely think of higher praise than this. + 0 THE ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON MEMORIAL. —* HE Memorial to Robert Louis Stevenson was unveiled in St.Giles’s Auld Kirk, Edinburgh, on Monday, June 27th, by Lord Rosebery, No fitter place could have been chosen than “ The auld Kirk ” of that city, which is so full of personal reminiscences of the author, with which so many of the characters in his books are associated. The fitness of the place was equalled by the beauty of the memorial itself. It is a bronze in low relief of Stevenson lying on that couch from which it was 273 his misfortune so often to be compelled to write, with paper on knee and pen in hand. It is a fine work of art. A large crowd assembled early, and the period of waiting was filled in by a recital on the organ. Then at two o'clock Lord Rosebery entered the building and took his place on the platform. He stated that he had not come to make a long speech or indulge in a eulogy of Stevenson. All that took place eight years ago, when the movement was taken in hand which was completed that day. He asked that the services of those who had assisted in carrying out the object before them, those willing givers of time and money, should be re- membered. He called especial attention to the labours of the sculptor (Mr. Saint Gandens) and the work of the secretary (Mr. Napier). It was a memorial of a man of genius by a man of genius; but, he continued, great as was the result as a work of art, the true memorial to Louis Stevenson was not here. It was in the hearts of the readers, and, he might say, the worshippers, of his writings ; and, lastly, in that great edition of his works that they had seen produced. It was no doubt a sad reflection that one who had loved the Scottish hills and dales with so true an affection, and who had chronicled his love with so vigorous a pen, should be buried far off in the Pacific islands in Samoa. But genius was world-wide, and took no count of time or place. His Lordship then stepped forward and un- veiled the bronze, given, as he stated, by the bounty and piety of the author’s fellow-countrymen, and many other lovers of his work. Mr. Sidney Colvin, Stevenson’s old friend, then handed over the monument to the Very Rev. J. Cameron Lees, minister of the church. His speech was full of sad recollections of the struggle of the indomitable spirit against the weakness of the body. He called to mind the characteristic attitude of Stevenson, so ably set forth in the memorial, when physical weakness resulting from dangerous heemor- rhage necessitated his lying on a couch. He told how often, when he was not allowed to speak, Stevenson used to converse in writing, cheerful and — indefatigable. He stated that for some reasons he was glad that the execution of the undertaking had not come till eight years after Stevenson’s death. ‘Time must always be the test of genius, and he saw no falling off in the rising generation of that love for Stevenson’s Romances which was also in the heart of his contemporaries. He then formally handed over the work, and the Rev. J. Cameron Lees, who had known the author in his early years, spoke a few suitable words in acceptance. The following gentlemen were present on the platform :—Lord Rosebery, Chairman; to the: right of the chair—Mr. Sidney Colvin, the Very 274 Rey. J. Cameron Lees, Principal Donaldson, of St. Andrew’s University, Prof. Campbell Fraser, Mr. J. D. G. Dalrymple, of Meiklewood, Mr. Charles Beckett, of Glasgow, Mr. John Maclauchlan and Mr. James Cunningham, of Dundee ; to the left of the Chairman—Prof. Masson, Lord Kinross, Prof. Baldwin Brown, Prof. Flint, Mr. Holmes Ivory, W.S., Mr. Rufus Fleming, United States Consul, Mr. W. B. Blaikie, Mr. W. D. M‘Kay, R.S.A., Mr. G. Herbert Thring, representing the Incorporated Society of Authors. : The following were also present :—Sir Arthur Mitchell, Sir James Guthrie, P.R.S.A., Sir Charles Logan, Rev. David Macrae, Rev. Dr. W. W. Tul- loch, P. W. Adam, R.S.A., Pittendrigh Macgilli- vray, R.S.A., R. J. Mackenzie, Esq., M.A., David Robertson, A.R.S.A. (President Scottish Arts Club), Bailie Murray (Senior Magistrate of Edin- burgh), A. N. Paterson, M.A., A.R.I.B.A., Glasgow, G. Stratton Ferrier, R.I., R.S.W., J. Campbell Mitchell, P.S.S.A., Very Rev. Archibald Scott, D.D., J. B. Sutherland, 8.8.C., J. Wilson Brodie, Esq., Harry Cheyne, Esq., W.S., J. B. M‘Intosh, Esq., W.S., R. Jameson Torrie, Esq., W.S., T. N. Hepburn, Prof. Neicks, Prof. Cossar Ewart, Prof. Rankine, Prof. A. R. Simpson, John A. Inglis, Esq. (representing the Speculative Society), John Harrison, Esq. (Master of the Merchant Company), Alex. Buchan, LL.D., Representatives of the St. Giles’s Board, Representatives of the St. Giles’s Kirk Session, Mr. J. H. Napier, Solicitor (Secretary ito the Memorial Committee). It was felt a great pity that it had been impos- sible to bring together a larger attendance of his fellow-workers in fiction. The notice, however, was ‘Short, and the time somewhat inopportune, while .the distance from London was great. The Secretary had to chronicle a long: list of regrets. Among the number who were unavoid- -ably absent, he mentioned the names of George Meredith (President of the Society of Authors), Douglas Freshfield (Chairman of the Committee -of the Society), J. M. Barrie, Thomas Hardy, A. T. Quiller Couch, Anthony Hope Hawkins, Andrew Lang, Stanley Weyman, Edmund Gosse, Augustine Birrell, A. W. Pinero, Sir A. Conan Doyle, Miss Beatrice Harraden, Robert Bridges, Dr. John Watson (“ Ian Maclaren”), Lord Balfour -of Burleigh, Right. Hon. A. J. Balfour, Prof. Dowden, Prof. Saintsbury, Dr. Richard Garnett, Prof. Bradley, Oxford, R. Maclehose (Treasurer, Glasgow Committee), H. Bell (Treasurer, Liver- pool Committee), A. Bennie (Treasurer, Man- chester Committee), W. S. Gilbert, and many -others. _ Oe THE AUTHOR. THE WOMEN WRITERS’ DINNER. nl T the annual dinner of the Women Writers on June 20th there were some 200 members present. Miss Beatrice Harraden under- took the position of chairwoman. She made a brief and light speech, in which she said she had been told by the secretaries that she was to speak ten minutes. This, she averred, she had never done in her life, and was quite incapable of doing either then or at any other time, also, that there were so many subjects tabooed. Man, for instance: she could have spoken eloquently upon man—or love, or the Fiscal Question, or the iniquities of the Income Tax, or on any of those subjects of which too much has already been heard elsewhere. She would, therefore, only congratulate the Women Writers on their annual meeting to eat, drink, smoke and talk together, having numbered its fifteenth anniversary. Others might affirm that it was love that made the world go round, but that, for her own part, she believed that it was tact— tact, that quality in which all women excelled, and our hon. secretaries more than any. Miss Harraden having resumed her chair, Mrs. Sidney Webb gave a very brilliant and clever speech. She rose, she said, at the request of the secretaries to speak, because, she supposed, she must appear to be the very opposite to the novelist—a mere dull economist. But that whereas the novelist dealt with the facts of life, the economist dealt with the fictional side—the mighty fiction of the “ average man.” ‘The novelists drew men and women as they found them, or read them, the fictional part of their work lay in the plot; and it was from the work of the novelists that the economists sought for the great ruling motives that influenced the average man. She laid at the doors of Swift, Gay and Fielding, and the writers of the eighteenth century, the horrors of the sweating system, because it was the habit of that time, and of those writers, to dwell upon the motives of insatiable grasping after wealth and pleasure in mankind. I think some of Mrs. Sidney Webb’s hearers felt a trifle aghast at this calling to account of the mighty dead, and welcomed her story of Herbert Spencer who, when he wished to study the subject of matrimony, asked her, and others, what novels he should read. She said she herself read all the best novels that came out, but that they bored her horribly. There was one thing that bored her more, and that was a poem. She concluded by warning novelists to write with charity and hope of mankind, because of that strange truth that what is believed in, and insisted upon, becomes at last a truth, Mrs. De La Pasture returned in her speech to lighter themes. She pointed out how the  THE AUTHOR. incomparable Jane Austen used in her old-fashioned day to throw a cover over her work when anyone came to see her. Mrs. De La Pasture suggested that when the modern novelist wrote anything that might hurt the young, or offend the old, that they should throw over it the “handkerchief of Jane Austen.” We, hearing her, and remembering much of modern work, were inclined to think that the sale of pocket handkerchiefs would be enor- mously increased if Mrs. De La Pasture’s advice was acted upon. The committee for 1904 consisted of the follow- ing distinguished ladies :—Chairwoman of Dinner, Miss Beatrice Harraden ; Mrs. Baillie-Reynolds, Mrs. Hugh Bell,* Miss Clementina Black,* Mrs. Burnett-Smith,* Mrs. W. K. Clifford, Mrs. Craigie,* Miss Ella Curtis, Madame Sarah Grand,* Mrs. M. St. Leger Harrison,** The Honourable Mrs. Henniker,* Mrs. Percy Leake, Mrs. L. T. Meade,* Miss Elizabeth Robins,* Miss Adeline Sergeant,* Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick, Mrs. Steel, Dr. Margaret Todd, Miss Billington, Mrs Francis Blundell, Miss Christabel Coleridge, Mrs. B. M. Croker, Mrs. De La Pasture, Mrs. Alfred Felkin (i. Thorneycroft Fowler),* Mrs. J. R. Green, Miss Violet Hunt, Mrs. Belloc-Lowndes, Miss Honnor Morten, Miss Evelyn Sharp, Mrs. Arthur Stannard,* The Duchess of Sutherland,* Mrs. Alec Tweedie,” Mrs. L. B. Walford, Mrs. Humphry Ward,* Hon. Secretaries (Miss G. M. Ireland Blackburne, Miss L. R. Mitchell) ; and the following were appointed to preside at the tables :—Table 7, Mrs. Steel and Miss Netta Syrett ; Table 6, Miss Ella Curtis and Mrs. Baillie-Reynolds ; Table 5, Mrs. J. R. Green and Mrs. Croker; Table 4, Miss Beatrice Harraden and Mrs. Francis Blundell; Table 3, Mrs. De La Pasture and Mrs. W. K. Clifford; Table 2, Mrs. Belloc-Lowndes and Mrs. Walford ; Table 1, Mrs. Stepney Rawson and Miss Violet Hunt. ArtHuR Hoop. Oa DINNER AT THE AUTHORS’ CLUB. 1 HE last Dinner of the Authors’ Club for the present season was held at 3, Whitehall Court, on Monday, the 30th of May, and passed off most successfully. Mr. J. M. Barrie was the Chairman of the evening, and Mr. P. F. Warner was the guest. Amongst those present were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Capt. Wynyard, Mr. K. J. Key, and Mr. Hesketh-Prichard. There was no vacant seat in the room. Mr. Barrie’s enthusiasm for cricket is well * Unavoidably absent. 275 known, and in proposing the health of the guest of the evening he gave further evidence of this. He stated that when the news arrived of Mr. Warner’s successful attempt to bring back an article which he would not particularise, he had read the account in Piccadilly, with hansoms and four wheelers passing over him, though he scarcely felt them. He was glad to chronicle the fact thaf Mr. Warner had done something far bigger than merely win the rubber. He had had entrusted to him the reputa- tion of the game for honesty, fair play, and courtesy. He had brought it back unsullied. Up to the present he (Mr. Barrie) had only had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Warner play cricket twice. On one occasion he had made one run, and on the other occasion he had not been so successful. Finally, he remarked that if Shakespeare had not invented cricket, as no doubt he did during the two years when even Mr. Lee did not know what he was about, Mr. Warner would have been bound to have done so. Mr. Warner responded to his health in a some- what more serious vein. He did not think he could have done much in Australia if he had not been perfectly sure of the loyalty and confidence of the other members of his team. With regret it must be stated that in his opinion the Austra- lians at the present time were not as good as they were some Six or Seven years ago, that their bowl-- ing seemed to have deteriorated. He hoped that when they came over here next year the Test Matches would be played out to a finish. He closed his speech with the remark that, although many, taking a pessimistic view of the cricket of the present day, said it was going to the dogs, he personally could find nothing wrong with the game, or in the method of playing it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proposed the health of the Chairman. oe NOTES OF SPAIN. ee OUIS PARDO, the well-known author, has just published an erudite work, entitled “De arte al comienzo del siglo” (Art at the Commencement of the Century), and those interested in the evolution of taste will read with pleasure the information given by a man so well versed in his subject. ‘Las Confesiones de un pequeiio plosofo” (Con- fessions of a Little Philosopher), by J. Martinez Ruiz, is a book which commends itself to Spanish ladies, from its interest as a psychological study of a child, given in a form so sympathetic and charm- ing that it opens a new and easily opened door to Castilians in the study of children. 276 Don Augusto C. de Santiago has just given to the world a book called “ La Jura de la bandera” (The Oath of the Banner). The trend of the work is to foster the patriotism of Spain by cele- brating the thoughts and deeds of men, both past and present, who have served their country well. The national colours on the cover, and the portrait and biography of King Alfonzo XITI. at the begin- ning of the work, shows the place occupied by the young monarch in the ideal of patriotism. Indeed hardly a day passes without Spain being more and more assured of the sympathy of her King in all that is for her welfare ; and the pre- diction voiced by Colonel Figuerola Ferretti on page 149 of his celebrated “ Cantos de Espaiia ” (Songs of Spain, or the History of the Regency in a lyrical form), that a visit of the King to Barcelona would banish the shadow of separation has proved true, and the land bodes well to be one in its interests. Not only has Alfonzo XIII. notified his intention of learning Catalan, and patronised the chief meetings for the welfare of Catalonia, but the warm welcome recently given at Madrid to the Catalonian theatrical company of Enrique Borras, shows that Barcelona can also feel in sympathy with its sister city in the realm of drama, which is a door to the understanding of the psychological characteristics of each. This was especially seen in the plays of “‘Mar y cel” and ‘Sierra baja,” portraying ideas and customs quite different to those of Madrid, and the consummate acting of Borras, the manager, with that of Fernando Mendoza, Thuillier, Fuentes, etc., soon won the sympathy and the admiration of the audience. It is said that the manager was extremely nervous before making his début on the stage of Madrid, but his fears were unfounded—his genius was at once felt, and Madrid, both social and intellectual, figuratively fell at his feet. The Apolo theatre has lately given with great success the new play by Caballero, called “ Hl abuelito,” which hangs mainly on the subject of divorce. Tt seems strange that the tragic fate impending on a man’s career as a picador is not more often treated in Spanish plays. The serious injuries recently received by the two picadors, Mazzantini and Rodas, at a bull fight in Madrid, excited and interested the whole city, but one cannot but think that “prevention would be better than cure.” Much sorrow was expressed in Spain at the death of Urrabreta Vierge, a Spanish author of great repute, who has been living in Paris since 1869. He is well known for his illustrations of “Don Quixote,” ‘Gil Blas,” etc. In a country like Spain, where oratory plays such an important part, it is flattering to see Azorin cite English orators as the most clever, and this THE AUTHOR. by dint of their power of enforcing expression by well regulated pauses and judicious lowering of the voice. In these particulars Sefior Maura, the Prime Minister, seems to excel. The celebrated physician, Ion Francisco Huertas, was distinguished the other day by being received as a member of the Academy by Alfonzo XIII. With his customary intelligence the young monarch expressed his interest in all that con- cerns the intelligence and culture of his country, to the delight of the learned Corporation, and the numerous sages who assisted at the ceremony. It was not long ago that the young King won the hearts of all at the important conference, held at the Atheneum on Agriculture, when he said : “ It ismy wish to be the first agriculturist in Spain.” It is by such expressions that a king makes willing slaves of his subjects. Whilst the terribly vexed question of capital and labour causes so much trouble in Spain, the notable book called “ Socialismo y democracia christiana,” by D. Mariano Pascual Espamol, is welcomed as a possible solution of some of the difficulties. The work is the result of long study and labour, and his comparison of the two forces, with the physical elements kept in their right spheres by the atmo- sphere, which if removed would cause combustion, is philosophical, and his appeal to this atmosphere of reason to equilibriate the powers of labour and capital comes with the authority of justice, as his methods of equilibriation are stated as the result of long enquiry. “Love, Duty and Honour” is the title of a striking play just published by Lieut.-Colonel Figuerola Ferretti. The scene is laid in Cuba during the war, of which he can speak with the dramatic force of one who took part in it, and the different standpoints from which these three great qualities are viewed and acted upon show that the author is a psychologist of no mean order. The situations and the conversations seem to commend the play for the boards as much as for a mere book. The three women characters are clever presentments of three kinds of love. The late Prime Minister Siloela has again shown himself a true exponent of the Ideal. In his well- attended conference on the necessity for Spain of centres of instruction both technical and practical, as seen in other lands, he spoke eloquently of the necessity of love in education “for (he said) it is the indestructible basis of all ideas and the princi- ples that affect the hearts and minds of men, for all ideas and all doctrines devoid of love are bound to die.” The present Summer Exhibition of Fine Arts at Madrid shows that Spain holds her own in that domain, ‘The visit of the Infanta Dofia Eulalion with the popular Infanta Dofia Isabel during the  ' THE AUTHOR. 277 election of the gold medallist exhibitor, excited much enthusiasm, and one only felt sorry that . Sefior Rancés, the sub-secretary of Public Educa- tion, who presided at the election, was obliged to declare that not one of the competitors had received the requisite number of votes. José Mongrell is distinguished as a master of colouring—especially seen in his “ Tormenta,” and his portrait of a lady. Fillol is one of the chief Spanish painters who ex- presses ideas in his pictures, and “ Hl hijo de la Revolucion” (The Sons of the Revolution), and “‘Hijos de quien” (Whose sons?) are pictures of life’s tragedies. Blasco Ibanez and Rodrigo Soriano are also dramatic in their works. In a picture called “ Barcelona in 1902” Casas gives a large presentment of the Civil Guard and a crowd, and the same picture would doubtless do for the same circumstance on other occasions. Bilbao, who ever since his great success in 1887, when his picture “ Idilio” was so deservedly applauded, has never failed his country, is seen at his best in his “Salida de la Fabrica de Tabaco.” Nobody who has witnessed the girls leaving the cigar factory at Seville can ever forget the picturesqueness of the scene, and it is only a master of form and colouring, like Bilbao, who can make it a living picture in a frame. Percy Horspur. 1 —>— SWEDEN AND THE BERNE CONVENTION. —+—~<>—+ — HE following letter from His Majesty’s Representative in Sweden, sent to the Foreign Office, has been forwarded to the Society of Authors. The Committee have much pleasure in printing the information. STOCKHOLM, May 20th, 1904. My Lorp,—With reference to Sir W. Barring- ton’s despatch of this series, No. 30 of the 16th of December last, I have the honour to report that the Bill framed with a view to enabling the Swedish Government to adhere to the Copyright Union has now been voted and will become law on the Ist of July next. According to this Bill paragraph 3 of Chapter I. and paragraph 14 of Chapter II. of the Law of August 10th, 1877, respecting copyright in this country are modified as follows :— CHAPTER I. PARAGRAPH 3. _“ Literary work which an author publishes simultaneously in different languages, and the fact whereof is stated on the title page or first pages of the work, shall be considered as having been com- posed in each of the languages used. No transla- tion can be made without the author’s consent within ten years of the publication of the work.” | CHAPTER II. PARAGRAPH 14. “The rights of authors and translators mentioned in this chapter hold good during the lifetime and for three years after their death. If authors or translators have not put their names to their works any one can print or perform them five years after publication.” The Bill also contains the following clause : “This law enters into force on the 1st of July, 1904. It affects all literary productions published previously. ‘Translations which were made before that date and which have been published in accordance with the terms of the former law without the consent of the author may continue to be published. “If anyone, before this law enters into force, has in accordance with the former law and by per- mission performed dramatic, musical or musico- dramatical works, he may continue to do so.” Certain formalities will, I understand, have to be gone through before the adhesion of the Swedish Government to the Berne Union can take place, and I could gain no information at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as to the probable date when the matter would be finally settled. I have, &c., (Signed) F. 8. CLARKE. Tue Marquess oF LANsDowNE, K.G., &e., &¢c., &. <> THE VALUE OF RELICS AND POETRY. —<_e N the summer of 1877, at the Albert Memorial I Hall, some relics of Lord Byron were dis- played. Among other things were a little silver watch, a meerschaum pipe, two helmets which the poet wore in Greece, a drinking glass given by Byron to his butler, and five pieces of hair lent by Lady Dorchester, the Rev. H. M. Robinson, D.D., Mr. John Murray, and Mr. E. J. Trelawney. It is recorded that the hair was not of fine texture and was brown mixed with grey. The exhibition, I believe, was not a success. Could it well be otherwise ? What profit is there to the mind in such mementoes of departed greatness ? «The poet’s eye ina fine frenzy rolling’’ looked upon Nature, and ideas were rendered into words. which are a treasure for all generations. Let the lover of Byron’s verse imagine—surely imagina- tion is inherent in those who read and appreciate 278 poetry—himself or herself at the Albert Hall in 1877. The watch, the pipe, two helmets, a drink- ing glass, and five pieces of hair! They belonged, at one time, to the poet ; does the sight of these call forth any pleasurable sensations? I opine it does not. Let the same reader of Byronic stanzas imagine himself or herself—on the occasion of the usual autumnal holiday—in sight and within sound of the rolling waves. Is there not a natural beauty in the expanse of the wild, wind swept waters ? Is there not health in the briny breeze? Is there nothing more ? Not much—always, of course, remembering that health and beauty are two of the most glorious gifts Nature offers—without the aid of the poet. But with the words which he penned there is a charm added to what one looks upon—the charm of human sympathy, of human thought of no mean power, ; “Roll on thou deep and dark blue ocean.” “ Do not the words appeal to us, not so much as a quotation from a poem, as a reflex of our own unuttered feeling? And then we will take together the two fine images or visions which are conjured up by the following lines :— “Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; Man marks the earth with ruin—his control Stops with the shore... The armaments which thunderstrike the walls Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake, And monarchs tremble in their capitals. . - . These are thy toys.” Surely there is here--to quote Byron in favour of Byron—-that which :— ‘Lends to loneliness delight.” The veriest lad of any village school will under- stand and appreciate the personal element in this :— . *‘ And T have loved thee, ocean! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be Borne like thy bubbles onward ; from a boy I wantoned with thy breakers.” Consider now the lounger by the sounding sea turning away from the shore towards the rooms he or she occupies. The evening is passing into night ; the lights of the town are flashing ; the stars are not yet out; at least not in thronging multitudes. One parting glance is given at old ocean, and with that glance the ever-beautiful word-picture is once again remembered :— ‘Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty’s form | Glasses itself in tempests ; in all time, Calm or convulsed—in breeze, or gale, or storm, icing the pole, or in the torrid clime Dark heaving, boundless, endless and sublime. * * * * * Time writes no wrinkle on thine azure brow— Such as creation’s dawn beheld, thou rollest now.’? THE AUTHOR. It would be a prosaic mind, indeed, that could assert Byronic stanzas had not materially heightened the pleasure of this meditative stroll. J. Harris Briguouse, ae PP THE IDEAL PUBLISHER. —— 4 A Dream or Farr Traps. HE other night I hada curious and unusually circumstantial dream. I thought I was walk- ing along a narrow, dingy street which seemed to be Paternoster Row at one end and Henrietta Street at the other. On nearly every door was the name of a well-known publisher—it was really a most literary thoroughfare. I had a heavy brown- paper parcel under my arm which I knew contained & manuscript ; nevertheless I hurried past the im- posing buildings, which housed the well-known firms (my haste may have been partly due to the fact that I’d had business dealings with most of them) till I came to a modest-looking frontage at the end of the street, on the windows of which was the legend, *‘The Open Books Publishing Company.” ‘The name aroused my curiosity and I was attracted by the simplicity of the exterior, having good reason to distrust “marble halls” in connection with publishing. ¢t-entered, and instead of being re- ceived with cold suspicion and studied arrogance by the clerks in the outer office, 1 was welcomed with respectful cordiality. ‘“ Yes, Mr. Jay, the manager, is here; he always is from nine till six,” said a responsible-looking person. ‘“ He’s disengaged now.” And I was ushered into the sanctum in a state of bewilderment, since never before had I seen a publisher until I had awaited his pleasure for at least ten minutes in a virulent draught. Mr. Jay was a young man of “good appearance,” as the advertisements say, but he did not attempt to patronise me, nor did he greet me as a dear old friend. He bowed in a most business-like manner, and inquired what he could do for me. I told him that I had a MS. to place, and that I had been attracted by the title of his company. Would he please explain what it meant. : “If you have had any experience of literary business,” he said, “ you will know how essential it is that confidence should be restored between author and publisher.” a This struck me as an unpromising beginning be- cause each of the eight distinguished publishers with whom I had had previous dealings, had put forward the same platitude ; so I looked my doubts.  S ao ilstAsaVEIS ORE Caste THE AUTHOR. “‘ Hitherto,” he continued, ‘‘publishers have demanded the complete confidence of authors, as between tried and trusty friends, and any attempt to conduct the sale of a manuscript on an ordinary business footing has called forth sentimental reproaches. Now publishing is the only trade, so far as I can discover, in which all parties directly interested are not given equal opportunities of know- ledge where the conduct of the business is con- cerned. No trustful sentiment is demanded from persons with a claim to a share in the profits of other commercial enterprises, but the books are examined and passed by chartered accountants.” ‘*The fact that authors don’t usually risk any money in the business is supposed to make. a difference,” I said. “ But the author of a book is in precisely the same position, commercially speaking, as the author of a play,” he replied. ‘And in every properly-con- ducted theatre the accountants go in on Saturday nights to examine the books, and each week the persons with a claim to a percentage of the profits —there are often several involved—receive their share, as vouched for by the accountants. When I started this business, I determined to run it on ordinary commercial lines, and to throw overboard all the publishing shibboleths and conventions— otherwise tricks of the book trade. I could not stand being alweys under suspicion, and for my own sake I have my books periodically inspected by a firm of chartered accountants recommended by the Society of Authors. I pay half the expense myself, and the remaining half is distributed among my authors.” «That sounds satisfactory,” I said, “as long as one can trust to the books being correctly kept. But, of course, mistakes might creep in.” “JT have arranged for another safeguard,” he proceeded. “I have often heard writers complain that they have no means of knowing how many copies of their books have been sold. Accordingly I have borrowed an idea from the music-trade, and I have each copy of an edition stamped with a number. I also invite authors to visit my ware- house at stated times in order that they may see for themselves how many copies of their books remain on hand.” “But how about the American market ?” I inquired, for my distrust was too deep-rooted to be easily allayed. ‘‘ You publishers usually take fifty per cent. of the profits on an American edition, and you never seem able to dispose of the copyright. You send out so many hundred copies in sheets, and the profits are amazingly small.” “ Not amazingly swall,” hecorrected. “Ifyou remember that most English publishers are openly or secretly in partnership with a firm on the other side. They tell you, don’t they, that the American 279 publisher will only give a nominal price per copy, hardly enough to cover expenses ie - “Yes,” I exclaimed. “ And I often see that a book is selling well in the States at four or five times the price nominally paid for it to the English publisher, while the author’s total profits amount to something like ten pounds. I have often asked for items of the American sales and expenses, but have always been refused.” “Exactly,” he returned, with an air of satisfaction, “and you naturally suspect that the actual profits on the transaction are divided between the English and American partners. The direct result of this wide-spread suspicion has been the rise of the literary agent, who is content with ten per cent. of the American profits. It is bad policy to starve or frighten away the goose that lays the golden eggs. Now I’m offering to arrange for the publication of my authors’ books in America for the same percentage charged by agents—ten per cent. I shall probably extend this system to Indian and Colonial editions.” “JT have heard it stated,” I observed, ‘that, owing to the immense competition in the publish- ing trade, it is impossible to make the business pay on straightforward commercial lines—that is, without secret profits.” «That is absurd,” he returned. ‘I’m convinced that publishers lose money every year owing to their system of keeping authors in the dark. For example, certain methods of publishing have fallen into absolute discredit—I mean publishing on com- mission, and on the half-profits system. There are plenty of writers who would be willing to publish works dealing with specialised subjects on commis- sion, if they could be certain of straightforward treatment. Again, many young euthors would sign a half-profits agreement if they knew that the balance-sheets would be passed by a qualified accountant. For a young publisher without much capital, who is anxious to build up a business, these two methods of publishing offer modest profits with the minimum of risk.” “Are you introducing any other new methods into the publishing trade?” I asked. “Yes. I render accounts half-yearly in the old way ; but I pay my authors one month, instead of four or six months, later. Then, so far as the author is concerned, I don’t count thirteen copies as twelve, because that is an arrangement made between publishers and booksellers for their own (supposed) convenience, and the author has never been consulted in the matter. Then I’ve got several new ideas on the subject of advertising— there is a lot of money spent on the advertising of books in England, with very poor results. Also, I’ve patented a new detachable cover, which I propose to use for copies supplied to circulating  280 libraries. The cost is very small, and it can be replaced as soon as it gets soiled or damaged, Again % : At this point he was interrupted by a rapping at the door. I was just about to hand him my manu- script, and ask if he would undertake its publica- tion, when a voice in my ear said : “Right o’clock, and [ve turned on the water in the bath-room.” I awoke with a start, and realised to my bitter disappointment that the Open Books Publishing Company was only a dream. But why shouldn’t it be a reality ? E. M.S: a ~~ “FATTY DEGENERATION OF THE SOUL.” —1 + SUPPOSE there is something in a habit of | silence that encourages people to make those who wear it the recipients of their confi- dence. That habit, at all events, is one of mine, and upon no other hypothesis can I explain the fact that I am entrusted with what I think must be an unusual amount of early intelligence of what my friends are doing and planning in the shape of literature. Sometimes I attribute it, with a feeling of humility, to the probability that it never occurs to them to regard me as a possible competitor with themselves: they know I am keenly interested in literature in general and their owncontributions toit in particular, but they regard me as too , L do not know precisely what, but something unflattering to my vanity, to be afraid to unbosom themselves to me. Whatever the reason may be, I am, at one time and another, given glimpses into the inner self of some of my friends which I cannot believe they permit to many others. All of these glimpses furnish me with material for thought; some of them are amusing ; some of them are sad ; for the imaginative man, if frequently vain, is always sensitive, and the road up Parnassus is girt about with thorns. One such glimpse was permitted me a night or two ago. A young fellow of my acquaintance whom I had invited to dine with me, made a mistake in the date, with the result that he had myself .as entire audience. I discharged my functions so successfully that from being merely garrulously agreeable he became gravely con- fidential. Our talk had turned upon the income to be derived from literature as distinct from journalism, and I quoted the substance of a passage in ‘“ The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft,” which, by the THE AUTHOR. way, my friend had never read, where N—, a representative of the best and brightest side of literary success, informs his host that in the twelve months just concluded he has earned two thousand pounds. My guest, I should premise, is a particularly glossy youth, always, as he would phrase it, very well groomed, and J, knowin nothing of his private affairs had always suppose him to be the recipient of a handsome allowance from his father who is a drysalter in a large way of business. My guest was interested. “J don’t know who N— may be,” he remarked, “but that is pretty good hunting.” For a moment he seemed a trifle envious, but then added hope- fully : “Still, I ought to makeas much soon. I’ve made over nine hundred this year, and it is not ended yet.” I was amazed. I knew that he was what another friend of mine terms “a writing cove,” but that is a vague term which might cover anything from a professional addresser of enve- lopes to a leader-writer on the Z%mes, neither of whom, I imagine, would earn so much. I fear, too, that my opinion of him was enhanced : ‘‘ fear,” becanse one’s estimation of a man should not be affected by his income. “Do you do much journalism ?” I enquired. “Oh! no,” he answéred ; it is all from fiction.” I cast my mind back over a considerable period of time, but could not recall a single book bearing his name ; then at the risk of seeming ignorant or discourteous, I said so, hazarding an enquiry as to whether he used a pseudonym. : “‘ Several,” he replied, “‘ but I write over my own name too. It depends on how many stories I have running simultaneously.” Again I was amazed, for this was a revelation of fecundity undreamed of by me. Then he explained that he wrote serial stories for newspapers. “J am writing three now,” he said quite simply. “Not writing them simultaneously ?” I pro- tested. “ Certainly,” he answered ; “but they are all for weekly papers: five thousand words a week each, and I send in the copy three weeks in advance. It’s a bit of a teazer sometimes when you're writing for a daily.” I supposed it might be. ‘“« What papers do you write for?” was my next question. He named three, of not one of which had I ever heard before. ‘« And how long are the stories ?” I asked. “That depends on how they go down with the readers,” he said. ‘I go on just as long as they are keen, and bombard the editors with corre- spondence about the yarn.”  THE AUTHOR. “So you don’t work out the whole thing according to your own ideas, and simply publish a finished story in instalments ?” “Oh! no,” he said again. “The editors give me the tip as to what bits are catching on with the public, and I work those up for all I am worth. Sometimes, of course, they send me sensational pictures to write up to.” There was no suggestion of irony in his tone when he said “of course.” “Whether they are @ propos of the story or not ?” I asked. “T make them & propos,” he replied. “It is very ingenious of you,” I said weakly; I could not at the moment think of a happier phrase ; ‘‘but—forgive me—is not the story a little—well, spotty, in the event ?” “Perhaps it is,” he admitted. “But it’s all right,” he jerked out suddenly. “The editor’s happy and the readers are happy, and nine hundred pounds is nine hundred pounds.” T allowed that that was true; but I detected a look of vague discontent on his clean-shaven face. “And are you happy?” I asked with affected nonchalance. It was then I got the glimpse of the inner man ‘ which has prompted me to record the conversation. His own story was sufficiently common-place. His father, a respectable and successful business man, had followed the policy, common nowadays, of giving his sons a public school and university education, with the result, also common nowadays, that they deemed themselves too good for the trade to which they were indebted for their advantages, and were inclined to disparage the father who had begotten them. This particular lad left the university with the smattering of many things and inadequate knowledge of any one, which seems so contemptible to men of his father’s kidney, and after an acrimonious debate flatly refused to adopt drysaltery, and announced his intention of embracing literature. Perhaps if his father had been inexorable and had cut off all supplies from this recalcitrant son, so that he had come to know what it really means to be cold and hunery, the muses might have smiled upon him, and his dilettantism might have been hardened into something enduring ; but his mother’s heart was infinitely large and his father’s purse was capacious ; his allowance was diminished, it-is true, but only so much as to compel him to burn pipe tobacco instead of cigars before the altar of the goddess Fame, and he was never placed in the position of being obliged to write for dear life. It is the overloaded stomach that causes night- mare, but I fancy it is the empty one that knows visions. My young friend in his comfortable little Gat found time pass not unpleasantly, but at the 281 end of the two years which are generally supposed to enable a man to judge whether or not he has it in him to attain some measure of success in the world of letters, he was no further forward than when he forsook the parental home at Tooting for the less decorous purlieus of the King’s Road. _ Then he was given an opportunity of getting into this fiction mill, and seizing the chance was whirled merrily round and round, grinding words as he went, to which, for whatever reason, he did not attach his name, and earning an income which, as I have said, amounted to nine hundred pounds in a fraction under the last twelve months. _His method of work is simple. He dictates his stories into a phonograph and the records are transcribed in a typewriting office and sent direct to the newspapers; thence the stories return to him in proof, and he corrects the literal mistakes and keeps a casual look-out for howlers. He has dozens of stories, of enormous length, cut from the variegated papers in which they appear and pasted up in exercise books, and it was the recollection of these volumes that brought the expression of dis- content to his face when I asked him if he was happy. For that is the end of his stories. No publisher will look at them ; no critic of standing has ever heard of them; no literary agent thinks it worth while to accept him as a client; these last cannot help him in his serial work which, from time conditions alone, does not allow of intervention by any third person ; and the reputa- tion be has made in his particular line has become an insuperable obstacle to his making any reputa- tion in literature. He has, in short, committed the fatal mistake of making the wrong reputation, to lose which is much more difficult than it is to make a right one at the outset. The fluidity of language which enables him to keep pace with his engagements is incompatible with the nicety of language necessary to the production of literature ; he has lost all sense of the values of words in a calculation of their vaine; his apprehension of a dramatic idea has been shaken by his passion for a melodramatic situation. He has discovered that in doing work of a lower kind in order to earn the means to live while doing work of a higher, he has lost the power to do the latter. This last discovery has, indeed, been tested practically. A publisher of repute, who lay under some obligation of friend- ship to the old drysalter, hearing that his friend’s son was an author, asked him to write a novel; full of hope, the son complied ; but the taint of the cheap serial was over it all, and the book was hopeless; after a second unsuccessful essay the plan was abandoned by consent. My author, instead of being fed like a running horse, bas been fattened, and, to use George Gissing’s pregnant phrase, heisavictim to fatty degeneration of thesoul. 282 Is it an incurable disease? That. is what I should greatly like to know, for I fancy there are not a few “ writing-coves” amongst us, to whom an answer would be fraught with interest. Of course I know it is an ancient story. Nearly a hundred and fifty years ago the suggestion was put forward, and put forward well, if rather dog- matically. Here is the passage ; and if my g euest of the other night should happen to see this article, it may amuse him to trace the quotation, and it will assuredly benefit him to read the little work in which it appears: “The author, when unpatronized by the great, has naturally recourse to the bookseller. There cannot per- haps be imagined a combination more prejudicial to taste than this. It is the interest of the one to allow as little for writing, as of the other to write as much as possible. Accordingly tedious compilations and periodical magazines are the result of their joint endeavours. In these circum- stances the author bids adieu to fame, writes for bread, and for that only, imagination is seldom called in. \ He sits down to address the venal muse with the most phlegmatie apathy; and, as we are told of the Russian, courts his mistress by falling asleep in her lap. His reputation never spreads in a wider circle than that of the trade, who gene- rally value him, not for the fineness of his compositions, but the quantity he works off in a given time. “ A long habit of writing for “bread thus turns the ambi- tion of every author at last into avarice. He finds that he has written many years, that the public are scarcely acquainted with his name; he despairs of applause, and turns to profit, which invites him. He finds that money procures all those advantages, that respect, and that ease which he vainly expected from fame. Thus the man who, under the protection of the great, might have done honour to humanity, when only patronized by the bookseller becomes a thing little superior to the fellow who works at the press.” A YS. —————_+—_>—¢ CIVIL LIST PENSIONS. ——>—+—_. HE following pensions have been granted during the year ending March 31, 1904, under the provisions of the Civil List Act, 1901 :— Mrs. Anna Johnson Henley £125 In consideration of the literary merits of. her late - husband, Mr. W. E. Henley, and of her inadequate means of support. Sir William Laird Clowes : In recognition of his services to naval literature. Mrs. Charlotte Michael Stopes .. In consideration of her literary work, and of her straitened circumstances. Mrs. Mary Gertrude Henderson In consideration of the distinguished services of her late husband, Lieutenant- Colonel G. F.C. Henderson, C.B. Maria, Lady Gilbert In recognition of the services of her ‘late hasband, Sir Henry Gilbert. 100 THE AUTHOR. Mrs. Lucy Allen ... In recognition of the services of her late husband, Mr. R. W. Roberts, Master, R.N., in connection with the disembarkation of troops during the Crimean War. Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth May In recognition of the artistic merits of ‘her late husband, Mr. Phil May, and of her straitened circumstances. Emma, Lady Fitch In consideration of the ser vices of her late busband, and of her straitened circumstances. John Wesley Hales S In consideration of his services to English literature, Miss Henrietta Keddie ... In consideration of her services to literature, and ‘of her straitened circumstances, Leonard Gissing and Alfred Gissing ... In consideration of the services to literature of their late father, and of their straitened circumstances. Alfred Theobald Palmer.. ; In consideration of his services to history. Mrs. Edith Louisa Stopford Porson In consideration of the services rendered to astrono- mical science by her late husband. Frances Elizabeth Dobson Mary Dobson Julie Dobson A In recognition of the s services rendered to zoological science “by their late brother, Sur. ‘geon-Major George Edward Dobson. CORRESPONDENCE. —_1+—~< + CRITIC AND PUBLISHER. Srr,—Last autumn Messrs. Harper and Bros. published Vol. III. of my ‘“ History of the German Struggle for Liberty,” a work which is mapped with a view to making six volumes. Many honest critics hold me responsible because my publishers have published this volume without an index. They also note with just surprise that the book pretends to be complete in three volumes. Also, they note that the illustrations are not in harmony with the character of the work. So far I have passed the matter over in silence. Now, however, it may be of service to my fellow victims to enquire if a law cannot be framed to protect us in the future. I was not consulted in regard to my book either as to illustrations, title page, or index. The publishers had no excuse for their conduct save the stereotyped one, against which I am protesting—to wit, that they know best what is good for a book. Would it not be fair to the author if the pub- lisher warned the reader, and especially the book reviewer, whenever he has seen fit to print a page or picture without the knowledge or consent of the author? I have literary sins of my own in abundance, and I object to carrying any for publishers, however scholarly they may be. Pouttney BiGELow.  THE AUTHOR. 283 EXETER ENGLISH. I. Str,—Almost all writers, whatever their emi- mence, are guilty of solecisms and bad grammar, but this does not justify the deliberate perpetuation of ‘such errors by inscription of them in public places. Numbers of good authors are extremely hazy about the difference between the perfects and participles of tie and lay, but “laid awake”’ or “ there let him Jay,” would not look well in Exeter or any other cathedral. “ Destruction and happiness is in their ways” may be good old English, as ‘et Venus et puer risit ” would be capital Horatian Latin, but a plural subject with a singular verb is now merely a sign of slovenly writing, just as ‘‘to try and do” is a mistake, though countenanced by Demosthenes, and a plural verb with the disjunctive “neither ”— “nor,”’ as, for instance, “neither he nor his brother are coming” is wrong, whoever uses it. Your obedient servant, REGINALD HAINES. —— +9 Il. Smr,—Perhaps it may be of interest to quote the opinion of some of the greatest of modern French writers on the question of using a plural verb with a singular subject having a tail tacked on to it by means of the preposition “ with.” On the 31st of July, 1900, M. Leygues, then Minister of Public Instruction, issued some new “rules” (or rather “tolerations”) for French Grammar. Amongst them the following appeared ; “On tolérera toujours le verbe au pluriel dans : Le général avec quelques officiers sont sortis (ou est sorti) du camp.” _ The Académie appointed a committee to con- sider these new rules, consisting of such men as Henry Houssaye, Gaston Boissier, Hervieu, Gaston Paris, Mezieres, Gréard Brunetiére, Coppée, de Vogué, Jules Lemaitre, de Héredia, Gabriel Hanotaux. ‘he criticisms made by this committee were adopted by the Académie. ‘I'he remark made on the above rule was: “ Dans exemple ; le général avec quelques officiers sont sortis (ou est sorti) du camp, le mot avec n’étant pas un adverb d’énumération, mais une préposition, le pluriel est irrégulier.” __ Surely this is the only logical conclusion. Even if good writers have used a plural verb in a fit of absentmindedness, there is no reason why we should imitate them in their faults. Yours truly, G. H. CLARKE. Dovus.e Tires or Books. Smr,—I wish to draw attention to a curious phenomenon of modern date. I remember a time when every book was reviewed under the title which the author gave it. But a fashion has since arisen whereby the reviewer is ashamed of quoting such a title, because he prefers to show his ability in improving upon it. As this fashion is fast becoming universal, I think I am doing no harm in quoting two examples from the June number of Lhe Author, At p. 237, a book entitled “'The Making of English” is reviewed under the title “English in the Making”; and another book entitled ‘‘Stones from a Glass House,” is reviewed under the title of “ A Round Stone or Two.” There is a great practical inconvenience about this custom. The unreal and secondary title is the one under which the review is quoted in the “Contents” and in the “Index.” Consequently the author or other student who wishes to consult the review is denied any help which an index may afford him. And no author has now the oppor- tunity of ascertaining that a review of his book has appeared in a given journal. I venture to think that this is undesirable and inconvenient in a very high degree. T am unable to understand the underlying prin- ciple. Ifa title has been deliberately chosen by an author, why should it be deliberately neglected, to the confasion of all to whom an index is supposed to be helpful? Surely this is not busi- ness, but something more nearly approaching to a thoughtless indifference to the wants of a serious student. On the other hand, the custom proves that authors are wholly wrong in complaining of the difficulty of finding good titles. For whatever titlean author may select, it can always be bettered (at any rate in the estimation of a competent critic, for they are all competent) by an alternative arrangement. Why do not authors compile lists of alternative titles from old journals? Ifa book is reviewed in six journals, it obtains six alternative titles, all of them (by the nature of the case) better than the original! Surely this is a phenomenon worthy of attention. : Water W. SKEAT. —_— st LIQUIDATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Str,—The following may serve as a warning. In December, 1902, I received a notice from a firm of lawyers in Boston that an assessment was to be made of the affairs of an American journal to which I had contributed for thirty-two years. I agreed to the winding up of the company—all the creditors being asked to do so. 284 Time went on and I received no information. Last summer a friend wrote to some one in Boston to enquire into the case on my behalf. He was informed that all creditors had been paid 10 per cent. except the foreign contributors “as their accounts did not agree with those of the company.” My account was £24—in the company’s books it was £17. The head of the firm said he had 8 dollars odd in my name, which he would send over as soon as he had enquired into the dis- crepancy. I wrote in October to the effect that I desired payment of the 8 dollars held by him. No answer has been sent, and I have written three or four times. In my last letter I said if they did not send me the amount by return, I should make the matter public in 7e Author, with your permission. Surely it is strange that the foreign contributors (an Italian and myself—possibly more) should all have made mistakes in their accounts, and that they alone amongst the creditors are not paid ! Yours faithfully, 8. B. ~~ ANCIENT Sirtver Bouquet Houpers. Dear Srtr,—Can any of your readers, or members of the Incorporated Society of Authors, give me any information upon the subject of ‘Ancient Silver Bouquet Holders,” or refer me to any work treating of such articles ? Yours truly, W. J. Hassan. Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Rugby, June 13th, 1904. 1s AutHors’ AGENTS. Srr,—I have read with much interest the various insertions in Zhe Author on “ Authors’ Agents,” and the “ Rights of Authors.” My view is that a great many of the troubles of authors, and the small sums they obtain for their works, really arise from the great ignorance of the authors themselves. They know s0 little about the business side of getting out a book. I would advise all authors to study to some extent :—(1) The law of contracts ; (2) the law of copyright (including International copyright) also the Berne Convention ; (3) the cost of production of books, paper, printing, moulds, stereotypes, etc. ; (4) and last but not least the management of accounts (including bookkeeping by double entry). Accounts sent in by publishers are frequently most bewildering, and require a trained accountant with access to the publishers’ books to understand. Added to above it is useful to know the law of THE AUTHOR. accountancy, or .rather the law as it affects accountants, A man who knows nothing about the art of driving horses is not likely to succeed in driving well at his first or second attempt, nor will he be able to do so till he has really learnt his business. And so it is also with the author and book production. The reader may possibly get frightened at what T have said, and think to himself, “I have so much to learn.” But he need not be scared at what I have advanced. The secretary of the society will no doubt put him in the way of suitable books to read on the various subjects I have named, and armed with the knowledge obtained from these books the author will be able to contend against imposition, over charges, and secret profits, all of which are more or less attempted to the injury of the unbusiness, unskilful author. — All the tricks practised in the past for the pur- pose of imposing on the author have been brought about by the dense agnorance of the author himself, and many will say he deserved it, for if he will not look after, and learn what so closely concerns him- self, he must needs suffer, nor is the world as yet so fair a planet that the well-informed will teach the lazy as against the material interests of the former. On the other hand, much as to the art of publish- ing has been kept dark, which art is now more fully known. Why should not authors rouse themselves, and let them remember that “God helps those who. help themselves.” A few words I should like to add as to the great usefulness of the Authors’ Society. To myself it would appear that all literary men, whether novelists, dramatic writers, poets, historians, or musical writers, should do all in their power to uphold the Society, and by carefully reading the monthly publication of the Society (The Author), the most unlearned will more easily learn the art of publishing, and the knowledge he will thus attain will be invaluable to him. Publishing has distinctly entered on a new era, and the sooner authors learn this truth it will be the better for them and for all concerned, Messrs. Sprigg, Pedrick & Co., Limited, write learnedly about authors’ agents. They say: ‘He, the author, should never entrust his work to an agent unless he is confident in the first place that the man he employs conducts his general business. with an entire absence of favouritism.” Alas for authors’ agents if I read the late Sir Walter Besant aright. There appeared to him at the time he wrote that there were but two agents. he could recommend. And authors who know their business can tell pretty correctly who those two agents were. A SENEX. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 14 Issue 10 (July 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 14 Issue 10 (July 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-07-01-The-Author-14-10 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/498/1904-10-01-The-Author-15-1.pdf 0b6df9252e5d9ff0681f6b474be6bab4 PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-10-01 Volume 15 Issue 1 Pages Page range in volume 1–28 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19041001 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin The HMuthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 1. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —______e—~< > —__<_- NOTICES. ++ OR the opinions expressed in papers that are K signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tur Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7he Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. ++ List of Members. Tus List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. ———+— The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension. Fund at present VOL. XV. OcTroBER 1sT, 1904. [Prick SIXPENCE. ‘to over 140. standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consols 24 %....-.c2cecesceececeereceeeers £1000 0 0 Wucal Osns 6.6.62 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............+-- 291 19 11 War loan 3) 201 9 38 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture Stock 245502 ce 250 0 0 Motel’: 21.02... £2,243 9 2 Subscriptions from April, 1904. £ s. a. April18, Dixon, W. Scarth . 0-6 0 April18, Bashford, Harry H. 010 6 April19, Bosanquet, Eustace F. 010 6 April 23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain 0 5 0 May 6,Shepherd,G.H. . : / 0 db 0 June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., G.C.B. : 7 be ©} July 27, Barnett, P. A. 010 0 Donations from April, 1904. May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth June 23, Kirmse, R. . < June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. occu one coo July 21, The Blackmore Memorial Committee : ; 720 0 0 Aug. 5, Walker, William S. : - 2 0 0 —_—_____+—»—+ —____ FROM THE COMMITTEE. ———— + — HE last meeting of the Committee before the Vacation was held.on Monday, July 11th, at 89, Old Queen Street. Thirteen new members and associates were elected, carrying the elections for the current year This number, for the first seven months of the year, is largely in excess of the  2 number for the same period during the last five or six years. There is every sign, therefore, that the Authors’ Society is still continuing to carry on the good work for which it was founded by Sir Walter Besant. The Committee, however, desire to point out—according to the saying that has now become proverbial, that “every man 18 a debtor to his profession ”—that, although some authors may not need the assistance of the Society directly, because they are men of business themselves, or because they employ men of business or literary agents to carry on their work, yet they gain an indirect benefit from the Society’s action, and ought therefore to be members. The Committee elected Viscount Wolseley and Sir William Anson to be members of the Council. It is hardly necessary to mention their qualifica- tions for membership to this body, Lord Wolseley as a distinguished writer on military subjects, and Sir William Anson as one of the most distinguished educational leaders in England. The final form of the address to the Spanish Academy was settled. Those members of the Committee present signed the address, which will be circulated to all the members of the Council of the Society. The Committee of the Blackmore Memorial Fund, through their Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. R. B. Marston, offered in a letter laid before the Committee to apply the balance of that fund to the pension scheme of the Society of Authors. The Committee of the Society expressed their thanks for the step taken, and the Chairman wrote a letter to the Committee of the Blackmore Memorial Fund stating how glad the Society would be to accept the amount. The question of Colonial postage was again brought forward. Owing to the articles that have appeared in 7'he Author two members of Parliament had made enquiries of the Postmaster- General as to whether it would not be possible to take some steps in the matter. The answers, the Committee regret to state, were unsatisfactory. The Committee, however, instructed the secretary to enquire whether there would be any possibility of bringing the question before the next Postal Congress, and further to write to the Canadian Authors’ Society in the hope that that body might be able to bring some pressure to bear. There were three cases before the Committee. After careful consideration the Committee advised a definite course of action to the members con- -cerned, and considered that they would be in a position to give further assistance if the action suggested did not prove successful. Some discussion took place with regard to the selection and appointment of a United States agent of the Society. THE AUTHOR: Cases. Since the beginning of the vacation there have been twenty-nine cases before the Secretary for settlement. ‘The largest number of these refers to demands for money. Out of fourteen, eight terminated satisfactorily. The Secretary obtained the amounts due to the authors, and the matters were settled. In three of the remaining cases no settlement has been made owing to the fact that in two, the publisher or editor lives in the United States, and in one the member of the Society is absent from England: but negotiations are still in progress. The other cases have only just come to hand with a renewal of the autumn business, and there has been no time to obtain a result. The detention of MSS. has produced eight disputes, in six cases the MSS. have been sent to the office and returned to the authors, but one of the remaining two cannot be taken further owing to the fact that the magazine has closed its offices, and the present address of the proprietors or the responsible parties cannot be discovered. There were four disputes which dealt with the interpretation of contracts, all of which have been satisfactorily settled. Of two questions of account one has ended satisfactorily, and the other is in the course of completion. There was one case of infringement of copyright which only came to the office a few days ago. It is impossible to state, at present, what the final result will be. —— July Elections. Collins, J. Churton 57, Norfolk Square, W. Fraser, W. M. New Killcot Yeal Co., Chulsa. Stafford Villa, Paignton. Sandbach, Cheshire. Giles, Miss Edith . : Hampden-Cook, H., M.A. Mills, Miss Rebe . 22, Lancaster Road, Brighton. Keeton, A. E. Lyceum Club, 128, Piccadilly, W. Cambridge Lodge, Wat- ford, Herts. 29, Spruce Hill Road, Walthamstow, N.E. Ray, Rex Ross, Paul Stawell, Mrs. Rodolph . St. Mary’s Court, Shrewsbury. Thorp, Walter Limerick. Wallis, H. M. Ashton Lodge, Reading. Weddell, George The North Cottage, St. George’s, New- castle-on-Tyne. One member alone desires neither his name no his address printed. :  i THE AUTHOR. 3 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. — + (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) ARCHAOLOGY. SanD BURIED RuINS OF KHoTAN. By M. A. STEIN. 8% xX 53. 503 pp. Hurst & Blackett. ART. GREAT Masters. With Descriptive Text. By SrrR MARTIN Conway. Parts XX., XXII, XXII. Heinemann. 5s, each. In OrHyeR PEOPLE’s SHOES. Thirty Humorous Car- toons. By Tom Browne. 8} X 114. Weekly Yelegraph. is. ni. BIOGRAPHY. Harry Furniss At Home. Written and Illustrated by Himself. 93 x 6,271 pp. Unwin. 16s, n. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE PRINCE HEREDITARY. A Romance for Boys. By M. BRAMSTON. 74 X 5,251 pp. Simpkin. 2s. ScHOoLBOYS THREE. By W.P. KELLY. 73% X 5, 320 pp. outledge. 3s. 6d. DRAMA. Lost ANGEL OF A RUINED PARADISE. A Drama of Modern Life. By the VERY Kev. P. A. SHEEHAN, D.D. 8 X 54,168 pp. Longmans, 3s. 6d. EDUCATIONAL. WASHINGTON IRVING'S COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. DEFOERE’s JOURNAL OF THE PLAGUE. RICHARD HAWKINS’ VOYAGE INTO THE SouTH SEAS. (Blackie’s English School Texts.) Edited by W. H. D. Rous, Lirt.D. 64 x 44,128 4+ 1124 128 pp. Blackie. 8d. each. FICTION. Tom Dawson. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 388pp. Chatto& Windus. 6s. THE LIFE WE Live. By Geko. R. SIMS. 239 pp. Chatto & Windus. 1s. A BACHELOR IN ARCADY. By HALLIWELL SUTCLIFFE. 7% x 6,310 pp. Unwin. 6s. HADRIAN THE SEVENTH. By FR. ROLFE. 412 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. Tommy & Co. By JEROME K. 302 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. Lovers AT FAULT. By F. WHISHAW. 7} X 54, 312 pp. White. 6s. LINDLEY KAys. Methuen. 6s. THE EXTRAORDINARY CONFESSIONS OF DIANA PLEASE. By BERNARD CAPES. 7} X 5.301 pp. Methuen. 6s. IDYLLS OF THE SEA. By F. T. BULLEN. (Cheap Edition.) 74 Xx 49, 266 pp. Grant Richards. 1s. n. THE CHALLONERS. By E. F, Benson. 7% X 5, 306 pp. Heinemann. 6s, THe MAKING oF A Man. By E. H. LAcon WATSON. 7% Xx 54,293 pp. Brown, Langham, 6s. 64 X 3%, 7% x 44, JEROME. 7} X 44. By Barry PAIN. 7# X 3, 405 pp. A FooL WITH WOMEN. 295 pp. ACCUSED AND 72 X 5, 328 pp. THE HERBS OF By FRED WHISHAW. John Long. 6s. . ACOUSER. 3y ADELINE SERGEANT. Methuen. 6s. MEDEA. By TEX 5 THEOPHILA NORTH (DoroTHEA HOLLINS). 7 X 43, 121 pp. Elkin Mathews. 2s. 6d. n. A WEAVER OF WEBS. By JOHN OXENHAM, 7} X 5}. 31l pp. Methuen. 6s. THE HONOURABLE BILL. 394 pp. Arrowsmith. 6s. Tue REVEREND JACK. By 72 x 54,455 pp. Drane. 6s. Jupy’s Lovers. By KATHERINE TYNAN. 298 pp. White. 6s. THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 72 x 54,220 pp. Nash. 3s. 6d. DouBLE HARNESS. By ANTHONY 390 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. A LADDER OF Sworps. By SIR GILBERT PARKER, M.P. 74 X 5,286 pp. Heinemann. 6s, Marcus AND Faustina. By F. Carrer. 72 x 5. 331 pp. J. Long. 6s. THrey TWAIN. By Mrs. AUBREY RICHARDSON, 312 pp. Unwin. 6s. 3y Fox RUSSELL. 7% X 5, NAUNTON COVERTSIDE. 2 xX OE, By CosMo HAMILTON. Hope. 72% xX 5, 7% X 5, THE SCARLET CLUE. By Si1LAsS HockING. 8 X 54, 434 pp. EF. Warne. 3s. 6d. THE MARK OF CAIN, By ANDREW LANG. 84 X 54, 122 pp. Arrowsmith. 6d. Nyrra. By Mrs. CAMPBELL PrAgD. T. Fisher Unwin. 6s. Fate's Hanpicap. By Emity PEARSON FINNEMORE, 74 X 5. 320 pp. Digby Long & Co. 6s. A Game of Love. By GERTRUDE WARDEN. Digby Long & Co. 6s. THe YELLOW Hanp. By ALLEN UpwaArp. Digby Long & Co. 6s. Rep Cap TALES. By S. R. CROCKETT. Harts IN EXILE. By JOHN OXENHAM. Stoughton. 6s. GENEVRA, By C. MARRIOTT. 73 X 5. 68. THE GREEN EYE OF GOONA. 73 x 5,310 pp. Nash. 6s. A. & C. Black. 6s. Hodder & 312 pp. Methuen. By ARTHUR MORRISON. THe HAppy VALLEY. By B. M. Croker. 7} X 5, 312 pp. Methuen. 6s. Tue Evin THAT MEN Do. By M. P. SHIBL. 7} X 5, 367 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. MEADOWSWEET AND Rug. By Sizas K. Hockine, Chapman & Hall. 6s. By Marie CoreLii. Methuen. 6s. By W.E. Norris. 7} X 5,305 pp. 72 X 5, 310 pp. Gop's Goop MAN. NIGEL’S VOCATION. Methuen. 6s. THE FLORENTINE CHAIR. Lueas. 74 X 5, 224 pp. Appleton. 3s. 6d. AN LImpossinLe HusBaAnp. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 73 x 5,320 pp. J. Long. 6s. OnE PRETTY MAID AND OTHERS. 73 x 5,314 pp. J. Long. 6s. Mrs. BeLFort’s STRATAGEM. By THOMAS CoBB. 7% X 5, 320 pp. Nash. 65. THe QuUEEN’s ADVOCATE. By A. W. 72 X 5,422 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. Secret History or To-DAy. By ALLEN UPWARD. 74 xX 5, 310 pp. Chapman & Hall. 6s. Tus Jumprnac Frog. By Mark Twain. 66 pp. Harper. 28, n. A Comic Idyll. By St. John By MAy CROMMELIN, MARCHMONT. 8} X 54, HISTORY. Adventures and Perils By Henry CHARLES MOORE. Religious Tract Society. 2s. TrrouGH FLroop AND FLAME. of Protestant Heroes. 8 x 54, 319 pp.  LITERARY. THE MASTERS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. By STEPHEN GWYNN. 7 X 43,424 pp. Macmillan. 3s. 6d. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MAURICE MABTERLINCK, and Other Sketches of Foreign Writers. By W. L. COURTNEY. 7 x 44,174 pp. Grant Richards. 3s. 6d. n. a ALFRED TENNYSON. By ANDREW LANG (Cheap Edition). 84 X 5%, 233 pp. Blackwood. 6d. n. MEDICAL, Goop DiGEsTION. 160 pp. SOME OF MY RECIPES, WITH PRICES AND REASONS. 112 pp. By EUSTACE MILES. 74 x 49. (The Fitness Series.) Routledge. 1s. each. NATURAL HISTORY. BRITISH SALT Water FisHes. By F. G, AFLALO. 10} x 72, 328 pp. Hutchinson. 12s. 6d. PHILOSOPHY. Tue ScIENcE of Lire. By Mrs. CRatcin. 7 X 44; 60 pp. Burns & Oates. 2s. n. POLITICAL. Arrica’s NATIONAL REGENERATION. By E. I’, CHIDELL. Thomas Burleigh. 78 pp. ls. THE CANADIAN ANNUAL REVIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, 1903. By J. CASTELL HopxKins. 595 pp. Toronto : The Annual Review Publishing Company. SCIENCE. HypromEcHANIcs: Part I., Hyprosratics. By W. H. BESANT, Sc.D., F.R.S., Fellow and late Lecturer of St. John’s College, Cambridge ; and A. S. RamsEy, M.A., Fellow cf Magdalen College, Cambridge. G. Bell & Sons. 6s. SPORT. A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH TURF. By T. A. Cook, F.S.A, 3 Vols. 123 x 10,741 pp. Virtue. 32. 3s. TECHNICAL. CoAL CUTTING BY MACHINERY IN AMERICA. By A.S. E. ACKERMANN, A.C.G.S., A.M.L.C.E. 9% x 74, 182 pp. 68 Illustrations. The Colliery Guardian Co., Ltd. 12s, n. HYDRAULICS. With Working Tables. By E. 8. BELLASIS. Demy 8vo. 160 Diagrams. Rivington. 16s. THEOLOGY. SERMONS ON SOCIAL SUBJECTS. Compiled by the REV. W. H. Hunt. 7% X 5, 252 pp. Skeffington. 5s. TRAVEL. A Tramp’s Nore Boor. By 73 x 5,312 pp. White. 6s. FurtTHER INDIA. By HUGH CLIFFORD, C.M.G. Edited by J.Scotr KETIE, LL.D. 9 x 6,378 pp. Lawrence & Bullen. 7s, 6d. MorLEY ROBERTS. oe ie THE AUTHOR. LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. MONG the autumn books is a story for boys and girls entitled “ Father M.P.,” by Miss Theodora Wilson Wilson. Messrs. Nelson & Son are the publishers. “The King’s Coming” is the title of an_his- torical novel by Florence Wynne. The book relates to the State entry of their Majesties, the King and Queen, into Ireland, in 1903, and gives some historical account of the places visited by their Majesties and of the present condition of the country. Skeffington & Co. “Rita” is doing a special series of articles for London Opinion, which are to appear simul- taneously in the New York Herald. The series— twelve in all—are entitled ‘“‘ Confidences of a Beauty Doctor.” ‘« Rita’s” new novel, “‘ The Silent Woman,” is a romance of the Peak district of Derbyshire. It is a story developed somewhat on the lines of “The Sinner,” one of this author’s most popular books. C. Gasquoine Hartley (Mrs. Walter M. Gallichan) is publishing two books upon art during the autumn season. One of the works is “ A Record of Spanish Painting,” with illustrations, which will be pub- lished by the Walter Scott Publishing Co. ; and the other, which will contain reproductions of pictures, will be issued by Seeley & Co., and is entitled ‘‘ Pictures in the Tate Gallery.’’ A novel by the same author, with the title of “ The Weaver's Shuttle,” will appear shortly. Messrs. Greening & Co. are the publishers. Walter M. Gallichan has been engaged for some time upon a novel of Welsh character. The scene of the story is on the south side of the Berwyn Mountains. “ Fishing and Travelling in Spain,” by this writer, was published lately by Robinson & Co., and has been well received by reviewers. Mr. Gallichan is contributing a monograph upon “Cheshire ” to Messrs. Methuen’s “ Little Guides” series. Health and Beauty is the title of a magazine edited by the Rev. J. P. Sandlands. The price of this work —No. 8 of which appears this month— is one penny. The August issue contains a number of articles and paragraphs which cannot fail to interest all those who are concerned in the preservation of health, and the destruction of disease. Miss Mary Rowsell has published a new edition of her work, “ Hymns and Narrative Verses for Children.” Brown, Langham & Co. (47, Great Russell Street, W.C.) are the publishers.  THE AUTHOR. 5 Madame Albanesi’s next novel will run as a serial in the Queen during January, February and March of 1905, and will afterwards be published in book form by Messrs. Methuen & Co. The American serial rights of the same authoress’s novel “ Capricious Caroline ”»—which was published in book form by Messrs. Methuen & Co. in the middle of September—have been purchased by Ainslie’s Magazine. Mrs. Alfred Baldwin will shortly publish a volume of stories, “The Pedlar’s Pack,” illustrated by Mr. Charles Pears, Messrs. R. and C. Chambers being the publishers. ‘The same authoress will also publish, through Mr. Elkin Mathews, ‘‘ A Chaplet of Verse for Children,” illustrated by Mr. John D. Batten. Mr. Michael MacDonagh, who recently wrote a “Life of Daniel O’Connell,” has written another Irish historic work entitled ‘‘ The Viceroy’s Post- bag,” which Mr. John Murray will publish in October. The work consists of two books, one dealing with the Union between Treland and Great Britain, and the other with the insurrection organised by Robert Emmet, in 1803. Messrs. Chapman and Hall are the publishers of Miss Violet Hunt’s latest novel, “Sooner or Later.” The book, which is a study of a primitive society woman and a morbid Bohemian one, is dedicated to Mr. Henry James. “At the Moorings” is the title of a new work by Miss Rosa Nouchette Carey, which Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have published in England, and Messrs. Lippincotts in America. Miss Arabella Kenealy’s new novel, “ The Marriage Yoke,” will be published by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett, on October 10th. Mr. Cutcliffe Hyne is at present engaged on a series of tales on the Buonaparte period, which will appear in Pearson’s Magazine here, and in the States. The same author’s new book, “ Atoms of Empire,” will be published in the United Kingdom by Messrs. Macmillan, and in New York by the Macmillan Co. ‘Translations of this work will appear in France, Germany, and Denmark. “The Chronicles of Baba,” with the sub-title as a “Canine Teetotum,” is a new work edited by Miss M. Montgomery-Campbell, which Messrs. Jarrold & Sons are publishing in October. The price is 3s. 6d. The book will commend itself to all who desire to encourage kindness to animals. The same firm is also publishing, at the price of 1s. 6d., a volume by the same author, entitled “My very, very Own.” Each chapter in the work consists of a ‘straight talk,” in which homely every-day things are used as parables. We understand that Mr. M. H. Speilmann has been appointed to write the authorised biography of the late Mr. G. F. Watts. Mr. Spielmann’s long connection with art and the literature of art renders him peculiarly fitted for the task. Mr. Rider Haggard’s novel, “The Brethren,” which has been running serially through Cassell’s Magazine, was published on September 30th by Messrs. Cassell & Co. Messrs. Cassell & Co., we understand, are pro- ducing a re-issue of “Sports of the World.” There will be no alteration in the text of the work from the former issue, which was edited by Mr. F. G. Aflalo. Early in October Messrs. Bell will publish a poetical drama, entitled “Queen Elizabeth,” by Mr. W. G. Hole, the author of “Procris,” and of a volume of “ Poems, Lyrical and Dramatic.” The play is being published by arrangement with Mrs. Brown Potter, who has acquired the acting rights. Mr. A. Pavitt (“Saxo-Norman’’) has published, with Stevens & Haynes, of Bell Yard, E.C., a volume of 402 pages—“ Droit Anglais Usuel, 1904” —dedicated to the Right Hon. Sir F. H. Jeune, G.C.B. It sums up, in the French language, the history and present state of the General Law of England. The author is assisted by Simon J uquin, of the Paris Bar. An eminent Judge—M. Le Poittevin—has written a preface, containing an eulogy of the Bench of England and our law-abiding people. Both preface and contents will interest those of our readers who seek for a simple arrange- ment of a complicated subject. Price 6s. 6d. Raymond Jacberns’ new books for children and girls this season are “A School Champion” (Chalmers), “ ‘The Girls of Cromer Hall” (Nelson), ‘A Family Grievance ” (Gardner, Darton), “ Home Fetters” (S.P.C.K.). A long school story, ‘ The First Term,” will run serially in Swnshine Magazine during 1905. Mr. T. Werner Laurie is publishing a new novel entitled, “Playing the nave,” by Florence Warden, author of “The House on the Marsh.” The scene is laid in an old English country house and the adjoining chapel, and the motor car plays a prominent part. “ Fruit and Flowers for the Home’’ is the title of a work by Mrs. Richmond, which will be published by Mr. George A. Morton, of Edin- burgh, in October. The price of the publication which has been compiled from papers appearing in “The Queen ”’—is 5s. Mr. J. Eveleigh Nash in England, and Messrs. Page & Co. in the United States, will publish early in February “ Jezebel’s Husband,” by Mark Ashton, author of “She Stands Alone,” ‘“ The Nana’s Talisman,” &c. The book is a Biblical  6 yomance, having Judea for a background, the infamous Jezebel for its central figure, and her intrigues and ambitions for its motive. Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co. announce for October a new issue (the 15th) of “The Collected Works of Sir Lewis Morris,” in one volume. The great success during the past year of their “ Miniature Edition of the Epic of Hades,” and of the “Selec- tions” from the writer’s works, published by Messrs. Routledge, has led to the exhaustion of the last edition, which has been out of print since July. In addition to eight new poems of importance, the new issue will, we believe, contain the writer’s unpublished drama, “ The Life and Death of the Emperor Leo, the Arminian,” derived, like his “Gycia,” from Byzantine history, neither of which has so far secured representation on the stage. The issue will include a new portrait by Mr. Henry Giles, of Carmarthen, the first taken since 1894. “ Chance, the Juggler,” by E. C. Heath Hosken and Coralie Stanton, has just been published by Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. Mr. John Lane has published a new historical novel of Cornwall, by Canon Thynne. The hero of it is Sir Bevill Granville, grandson of the famous Sir Richard. Mr. Stanley J. Weyman will produce a book with the same firm entitled “The Abbess of Vlaye,” and Mr. Wilfrid Ward is producing a memoir of Mr. Aubrey de Vere, who was for long a member of the Society. The memoir is based on. unpublished diaries and correspondence. On August 27th, Mr. Henry Arthur Jones’s new play “The Chevalier,’ was produced at the Garrick Theatre, Mr. Arthur Bourchier taking the réle of “ The Chevalier Mounteagle.” The play is styled “A New and Original Comedy,” and Mr. Bourchier, in an admirable character part, carried out the comedy to perfection. Described as a farce in three acts, “ Beauty and the Barge,” by Mr. W. W. Jacobs and Mr. Louis N. Parker, was produced at the New Theatre, on August 30th. The favourable reception which the play received seems to point to the fact that Mr. Jacob’s humour, always to the fore in his books, in skilful hands is just as suited to the stage. There is, no doubt, a long and successful run in store for the play. The piece was preceded by a curtain-raiser, entitled “ That Brate Simmons,” the result of a collaboration between Mr. Arthur Morrison and Mr. H. C. Sargent. At the St. James’s Theatre, on Saturday, September 3rd, Mr. Alexander produced a play, entitled “The Garden of Lies,” adapted by Mr. Sydney Grundy from Mr. Justice Miles Forman’s story. The: adaptation gives Mr. Alexander an opportunity of acting on lines always acceptable THE AUTHOR. to the audience of the St. James’ Theatre. Miss Lilian Braithwaite could not have played a difficult part with moré characteristic grace. We have to note the production of another play by a member of the Society. Mr. Zangwill’s “Merely Mary Ann” was produced, with success, at the Duke of York’s Theatre, on September 8th. No doubt everyone who has read Zanewill’s story will be glad to see the manner in which it has been adapted for a play. Its simple pathos will surely make it attractive to the London public. The number of new plays produced this autumn speaks well for the condition of the London theatres. No small contribution comes from the pens of members of the Society. —_—+—<—e_______ PARIS NOTES. —-——+ es E Divorce,” by Paul Bourget, is a novel which proves once more the sincerity and deep conviction of thisauthor. M. Bourget evidently considers that the divorce law is a retro- gression rather than a step in advance: “Loi criminelle, loi meurtriere de la vie familiale et de la vie religieuse, loi d’anarchie et de désordre, dont tant de femmes, tentées dans leurs faiblesses, esperent la liberté et le bonheur, et ou elles se trouvent, aprés tant d’autres que servitude et misere!” Beside the chief plot of the story, there is a side-study which in itself would serve as a theme for another novel. It is the case of a young girl who has been brought up to despise the idea of legalised marriage. Her theories, her experiences, and their results would work out as material for a second book, In “ Le Divorce,” as in one or two of the recent books by Paul Bourget, one feels rather that the characters are being manipulated to fit the theories of the author, and the results are therefore not always convincing, The second volume of Madame Adam’s memoirs, “Mes Premiéres Armes politiques et littéraires,’”” is quite as interesting, thouch in another way than the first volume. In the ‘‘ Roman de mon Enfance et de ma Jeunesse” we had the impressions and the ideas of a young provincial girl, while in this new volume we have the Parisienne, interesting herself in all that goes on in the French capital. In art, music, literature, and politics she gives us her experiences and impressions, and draws for us in a few lines faithful portraits of some of the celebrated people she has met. Among these portraits we find those of Thiers, Gambetta, Mérimée, Jules Simon, Jules Ferry, Littré, Floquet, About, Alphonse Karr, Daniel Stern, Girardin, Hippolyte Carnot, and many others.  THE AUTHOR. . “ Expiatrice,” by M. Ernest Daudet, is an inter- esting story constructed on a theme which has no great novelty. Guilberte Simmonet is the daughter of an unscrupulous man, who has amassed wealth by taking advantage of less “clever” men. He is ambitious for his daughter, and endeavours to arrange a marriage for her with a certain marquis who is in his power. Gilberte does not fall in with this arrangement, and the novel has the “happy ending ” so generally approved. “T/Inévitable Amour,” by M. Adolphe Aderer, is a novel with a certain fascination about it, although the plot on which the story turns is distinctly unpleasant and improbable. The strong point of the book is in the exposition of the triumph of race. Jean Jacques, the central figure of the novel, is the natural son of a man who hag held a high position in the world, and of the Marquise de Valperga. The father commits suicide, but the child has been placed with some peasants in Savoy, and is to be educated in every way as one of the family. In spite of his sur- roundings and his education, the boy cannot be converted into a peasant. Later on Jean Jacques is employed as estate agent by the Marquise de Valperga. The dénouement is tragic, and the whole tone of the book is somewhat melancholy, but it is admirably written, and the descriptions of Savoy and Italy are most charming. “Lia Déchéance,” by Léon Daudet, is a novel which paints for us the corrupt side of modern society. Francois Aubryet is a man of weak will, who simply lets himself go, drifting from folly to dishonour, and from dishonour to crime. The author’s own conclusion is: “’Il n’y a plus de morale humaine puisqu ’il n’y a plus de morale divine.” “Le véritable Guillaume II.,” by Henri de Naussane is a study of the character and actions of the German Emperor. In answer to his own question: “Qu’y a-t-il derriére cette facade,” the author tells us, “Il y a un homme agréable et primesautier, mais faible et éneryé. . . C’est un littéraire, un sensitif, un discoureur. II est a sa place dans un salon; il n’y est pas sur un tréne. Par ses réves décousus, ses palinodies et ses cavalcades, ce monarque, par ailleurs séduisant, a haté le redoutable triomphe des ‘social-démocrates’ et ébranlé la Confédéra- tion Germanique au point qu’ on entend craquer Vedifice.” “Etudes de littérature Canadienne Frangaise,” by Charles ab. der Halden, is a volume which has taken many years to write. It is, perhaps, the most complete work that has been compiled on the subject. “La Co-éducation des Sexes,” by F. Meylan, is a study of co-education and its results in America. “La Colonisation pratique et comparée,” by Paul Vibert, is one of the most practical and useful of books for intending emigrants. Hygienic laws, altitudes, colonial produce, means of transport are among the subjects treated. The burning question of native employment takes up some chapters, and the volume is of special value as the first French book treating so practically modern colonial science. A most useful book for collectors and autograph buyers is the new volume by M. Paul Eudel. ‘Le Truquage ” is the title, and the author gives some interesting information with regard to the frauds, alterations and imitations to be avoided when buy- ing old books, manuscripts, autographs, &c. M. Louis Gonse has published an excellent work entitled “Chefs d’ceuvre des musées de France.” Inthe museums of Arles, Aix, Besancon, Lyons, Evreux and Troyes there are many master- pieces of art, and by means of some four hundred engravings M. Gonse is rendering great service in the publication of so important a work. “Les successeurs de Donatello, by Pierre de Bouchand, is a study of Italian sculpture in the second half of the fifteenth century. “L’Art pour tous” is an excellent work by Louis Sumet. Among recent publications are the following :— “VInutile Révolte,” by Henry Guerlin; ‘“ Une Page de Vie,” by Claude Reni ; “ L’Ecarteur,” by M. Delbousquet ; ‘‘ Les Contes del’ Aigue-Marine,” by J. Adam; “Ame d’argile,’ by Mme. Marie Anne de Bovet; “ Zarette,” by Jean Rameau ; ‘“‘ Joie d’aimer,” by the author of Amitic Amou- reuse ;” “ Le Choix de la Vie,” by Mme Georgette Leblanc ; “Un Drame en Livonie,” by Jules Verne ; ‘‘ Pervenche,” by Gyp ; “ Un Vainqueur,” by Edouard Rod ; “ Dames éphémeres,” by Francois de Nion ; ‘‘ Le Journal de Sonia.” The ‘Académie des Science politiques” has awarded the Drouyn de Lhuys prize of 3,000 francs for the following works :—“ Politique Orientale de Napoléon, by M. Edouard Driant ; “ Histoire des ¢établissements et du commerce francais dans l'Afrique barbaresque,” by M. Paul Masson, and “Revue générale de droit Inter- national.” M. A. le Braz has now completed the work on which he has been engaged for some time, the “Celtic Theatre.” He has. presented to the Rennes University twenty-seven Breton manu- scripts, including ‘‘ Le Mystére de Saint-Laurent,” “Saint Jean Baptiste,” and other mystery plays. These manuscripts are of great value, as the only written literature of Brittany isits theatre. There are about seventy-three Breton manuscripts in the “Bibliotheque Nationale,” but they are of much less value than these which M. Le Braz has handed over to Rennes. A certain sum of the Nobel Prize received by 8 THE AUTHOR. M Sully Prudhomme was set aside by him for an annual prize to young poets. It has this year been awarded to Mlle. Marthe Dupuy, daughter of a sculptor of Blois. Zola’s manuscripts, ninety-one in all, have been handed over to the Bibliotheque Nationale, where they can be seen at any time. : M. Antoine proposes to give the following pieces at his theatre during the winter season: “ Cama- rade,” by Aderer; “ Esclaves,” by Bernstein ; “Maison de Juges,” by Gaston Leroux ; « Vieil Heidelberg,” by Meyer-Forster ; “ Asile de Nuit,” by Mauret; ‘ Charlotte,” by Thorel; ‘“ Race supérieure,” by Brugiére; “ Le Miracle de St. Antoine,” by Meterlinck. M. Alfred Capus reads his new play, “ Notre Jeunesse,” on the 1st of October to the artistes of the Comédie Francaise. M. Henri Bataille has read his piece “ Maman Colibri” to M. Porel. It is to be put on at the Vaudeville. Among the new plays in preparation are “ Poli- chinelle,” by Edmond Rostand, a comedy in verse, in five acts, to be played by Réjane and Coquelin ; “ Armande Béjart,” by Maurice Donnay, a drama in verse, in four acts; “Le Coup d’Aile,” by F. de Curel, a comedy in four acts; “ L’Amour de Wanda,” by G. de Porto Riche, a drama in five acts in verse ; “ Monsieur Piéson,” by Alfred Capus, a piece in four acts destined for the Renaissance Theatre. M. Brieux is also writing a new play. Bjérnson’s new drama treats of the struggles constantly going on between the young genera- tion and the one preceding it. Carmen Sylva is at work on the libretto of an opera entitled ‘Giovanna d’Arco.” Von Reuter is to write the music. Some of the new works to be produced this season at the Opéra Comique are “La Cabrera,” by Gabriel Dupont, who was recently awarded the Sonzogno prize at Milan, “Les Chansons de Miarka,” by A. Georges, “ L’Enfant- Roi,” by Bruneau, “ Les Armaillé,” by M. Daret. Atys HALLARD. ———— 9 SPANISH NOTES. — ae O judge from such Spanish newspapers as El Liberal, El Imparcial, and Espana, in Madrid, and Za Vanguardia in Barcelona, the Peninsula is daily more open to foreign influence in literary and educational matters. “ The Simple Life ” of the famous moralist, C. Wagner, has just been translated into Spanish by the learned Cuban, Dr. Gonzalo Arostegui, with a fine prologue by Don Rafael Montoro. The Press is loud in its appreciation of Archer M. Huntington, the wealthy Yankee who has lately come into possession of the valuable library of the Marquis de Ierez de los Caballeros, for he is about to publish et his own risk cheap editions of such Spanish writers as Santillana, Jorge Manrique, Simoneda, Garcilaso, Ercilla, Camoens, and Lope, which is rightly said to be a work as beneficial to Spain as Carnegie’s free library bequest was useful to England. For as these fruits of the early days of printing in Spain are only existent in editions too expensive for the general public, the Peninsula is generally excluded from the enjoyment of these fine classical works. A leading article in the Espaiia draws attention to the truth contained in the opinions published by the Marquis de Palomares de Duero in 1899, that a foreign education was the most efficient equipment for a benefactor of his country. “The famous Spanish Literature was the outcome of George Tickner’s studies at the German Universities,” said the Marquis, and “ education in Spain at the present day would be still more retro- grade than it is had not such men as Luis Vives and Montesino studied the methods of other lands.” “Moreover,” added the writer, ‘would not a better acquaintance with the military, scientific, and industrial life of North America have prevented the fearful fiasco of the Cuban War of 1898?” This article evoked a few days later a practical paper called ‘Necessary Comparisons,” which seeks to stimulate the Spaniards to profit by the admirable tuition to be gained in Switzerland and Germany at the moderate prices quoted. Benedetto Colarossi makes an eloquent appeal to his countrymen in La Vanguardia of August 24th to do their utmost to dispel the ignorance of their country in the science and philosophy which elevate the work of the artizan and inspire the citizen with a true realisation of his rights. Such know- ledge should, says the writer, not be the mere pro- perty of universities, but the heritage of the people. Spain’s sympathy is quickly aroused in what is going on in the rest of the world, and when she seems wanting in this quality, it is mainly due to the lack of her knowledge on the matter in question. For instance, much regret was expressed at Berlin at the recent International Congress of Women, to which nineteen different countries sent the presidents and delegates of their several councils, and over 4,000 women took tickets, that Spain and Portugal were the only unrepresented countries of Europe. But directly Colonel Fignerola. Ferretti, the well-known author of such books as “The Choice of an Education,” “ The Education of a People,” etc., hears from the Countess of Aberdeen how his country might join such a great union of all that is philanthropical and  ay educational, he soon shows the President of the International Council that she has found an able ambassador for the cause. For not only has the illustrious Queen herself been acquainted with the idea, but the Colonel has had a proclamation pub- lished to the ladies of Catalonia, explaining the opportunity which awaits them to join this vast Union which, to quote the Empress of Germany, “affords an incomparable means for women of all lands to learn to know and appreciate each other better.” As Her Majesty Queen Marie Christina is known to be deeply interested in all matters relating to the welfare of her land, hope has been expressed that she will give form to this noble sentiment by becoming the patron of a Council in Spain, which could send its representatives to the next Congress. The facts published by Colonel Ferretti in a recent French review are a cheering picture of his country’s progress, for we read that, thanks to H.R.H. the Infanta Eulalia setting the noble example of taking the chair at the first public meeting on Education, inaugurated by Madame Concepcion Gimeno de Flaguer, a great impetus has been given to the Woman Question in Spain, and the well known Ibero-American Society of Madrid has inaugurated the constitution of a committee of ladies well-known in the literary world, who will do all they can to forward the higher education of women. Conspicuous among these workers for their Spanish sisters is Setiora Carmen de Burgos Segui, well-known as a contributor to the columns of the Herald and Diario of Madrid, and she is striving to forward a scheme for the establishment of an Agricultural School for girls in Spain. She is also active in her efforts to reform Article 23 F. of the Civil Code of her country, which deprives woman of the right of being her children’s guardian as she is classed with ‘the incompetent.” In Arragon and Navarre this point has already been rectified. Sefiora Dofia Alvarez Fiol, in a recent powerful magazine article, contends against the old error of supposing that culture can militate against the proper fulfilment of a woman’s duties in her home. “El Problema Femenista,” a little book by Sefiora Concepcion de Flaquer, gives a most erudite recapitulation of the women of all nations who have materially aided their husbands in their scientific work by their intelligent co-operation, and the research and study shown in the work make it very valuable as a reference book on the subject of Woman’s Culture. Sefiora Pardo de Bazan, Senora Isabel de Solana, and Senora de Macia are also among the eighteen distinguished ladies of the committee. To judge from arecent article of Madame Josefa Pujol to one of the papers of Madrid there seems AUTHOR. 9 to be a very real desire among Spanish women to emancipate themselves from the slavery of a social life, which excludes them from the exhilarating atmosphere of simpler intellectual pleasures. Don Emiliano Guillen’s new volume of poems, “ Risas y Lagrimas” (“* Tears and Smiles’) is a charming exhibition of the taste and sentiment of a Spanish writer whose command of the language is seen in every line of every verse. Don Alejo Garcia Moreno, in the Appendix XV. of the “ Anuario de Legislacion Universal,” gives a com- pendious account of the political and judicial institutions of {North and South America, so desire to learn from the experiences of other countries is evidenced in many quarters. Madame Rodriguez de Serra is a_ striking example of the advance made in Spain in woman’s work, for this lady, the widow of a well-known publisher in Madrid, continues her husband’s work with marked success. The question of infant mortality, due so largely to ignorance, has lately induced many medical works upon the subject, and perhaps the pamphlet ‘< Modern Herods,” distributed gratuitously among mothers, may goad women to claim the education that would obviate the onus of such a title. Moreover, the able doctor Tolosa Latour’s book, called “ La Proteccién de la Infancia en Hspaiia,” shows that this member of the Royal Academy of Medicine is anxious for his compatriots to realise the existence of the laws which have been made for the protection of this helpless community, and perhaps the knowledge of these legal obligations may lead to their enforcement. Medical science seems to have made great strides in Spain, for José Zahonero devotes a whole column in the Espana to the realistic description of the great skill exhibited by the prominent surgeon Cisneros in the successful operation on the throat of the popular poet Francisco Rodriguez Marin, whose fortitude and patience during his sufferings excited the admiration of all present. I cannot close these Spanish notes without referring to the new law which obliges the Sunday Zest. It was never thought that the order would be so summarily enforced, but to all objections Maura returned that no country could advance unless laws were strictly observed. Of course this mandate (which militates so forcibly against all the habits of the Spaniards) which was first brought into action on 11th September, caused countless contradictory cases of enforcement and exceptions. It appears that restaurants are exempt from the edict, but the barbers, confectioners and other trades complain bitterly of the restriction, and the Prime Minister has been besieged with appeals from the proprietors of the Bull Rings, whose chief day for a pecuniary harvest has always been the Sunday 10 THE Of course, say the Spaniards, it would have been all right if the law had been made subject to a regulation, and the regulation modified by particular circumstances, then there would have been nothing to complain of, but this easy way of eluding the Government has not so far been permitted. RACHEL CHALLICE. —_——_—_+—>— LEGAL NOTES. —— What’s in a Name ? HAVE already discussed the possibility of a register of all titles given to literary works such as would enable, or would aim at enabling, an author to see before choosing a name for his book whether such a name had been used before, and when. Some, however, of the recom- mendations which have been made in the pages of The Author upon this subject have gone beyond the official compiling of a mere list of publications. Those who put forward these suggestions seem to have had in their minds the keeping by a govern- ment department of a register analogous to that in which patent rights are recorded, or perhaps it would be better to say a system resembling that adopted for the registration of trade marks. I venture to think that in practice any such system must necessarily be cumbrous, tiresome, and in- effective, and that on the whole the present want of system would be found preferable by a large majority of authors. The plan proposed would, I presume, have as its object the recording of a title as the property of an author, so that its presence upon the register would be proof of his sole right to it, and would enable him to sue for any infringe- ment or imitation of it. No person: who used a title not on the register would be able to dispute the right of the author who claimed the same titleand had duly registered it, and no unregistered claim to use a title would be recognised at all. Two similar titles would not be registered, and a fee would be charged for registration, which it is suggested need be but a trifling one. In considering the possibility of such a scheme we are almost necessarily driven to remember that the registration of trade marks is subject to necessary rules, and to conclude that some rules at all events would have to be devised to limit the registrable quality of the various titles, which the originality, or want of originality, of authors might lead them to adopt. The registration of trade marks is not accorded asa matter of course to any- one who puts forward a sentence or word not already on the register; devices used as trade AUTHOR. marks and other matters not akin to the titles of books I leave out of the discussion. If anyone who has invented a soap or a pill wishes to protect his trade, and distinguish his goods by applying to them a mark consisting of a word or sentence, he will find that the Patent Office will closely scrutinise the phrase that he chooses. Some names he will not be able to register at all, and in some cases he will have to disclaim any exclusive right to certain elements in the combination of words that he desires to make his own. He will not be able to register, for example, as a trade mark such names as the ‘“ Putney Pill” or the “ Superlative Soap,” for names of places and words denoting quality are not to be used as trade marks under regulations designed to prevent the setting up of monopolies in fragments of the English language that others might naturally wish to use. The title which the author would desire to register for his book would in many instances be a word or phrase in common use, and the sanctioning of a monopoly of such a phrase as applied to a book might be a serious matter for all authors. At present a writer can be prevented from selling his book under a name which would lead it to be confused with a book already published by his brother author to the injury of the latter, but I have endeavoured to show that no such right of protection exists when the first book is ‘dead and buried.” The proposed registration, I suppose, would give to the registered title a longer life than this, and would be for the period of copyright or for some other stated time, otherwise but little change would be effected. The register would exist ; persons choosing a title would consult it, and it would give certain rights as already sug- gested, but it is hardly imaginable that it could be kept up-to-date by the constant removal of books not in circulation. However, all I am con- cerned in showing for the moment is that the registration of titles of books and other literary works could not reasonably be expected without restrictive regulations. Otherwise the first person who managed to get inscribed in the register such names as “ The History of England,” “ The Life of Queen Victoria” or ‘Hymns for Children,” would be able to prevent anyone else from using them. It may be said, however, ‘‘ Yes, but these are old titles, and the registrable title would be the original invention of the author, or at all events the first application of the phrase as the name of a book.” In such circumstances I should pity the author. He would register a title, try to prevent its use by another, and be met by a motion to remove his own from the register on the ground that someone fifty years ago had used it for a similar purpose. It must be remembered that the grant of letters patent and the registration of a Jose Eanes THE AUTHOR. : 11 trade mark are alike in implying no guarantee that the invention is a proper subject of a patent, or that the trade mark is registrable. The patent rights may be revoked, and the trade mark may be removed from the register at any time if a rival trader shows that the privileges accorded are not properly possessed by the person registering. It therefore almost necessarily follows that were the legislature to enable the book-titles to be registered for protection purposes, the registration would be upon similar lines. That is to say, as long as the rules were complied with in the opinion of the appointed officials registration would take place, but upon the question being raised in a court of law, the question whether the registration was proper might be raised and. discussed, and possibly “taken to the House of Lords.” It is, however, more than likely that registration at all involving the compliance with rather com- plicated and not very intelligible rules would be found very irksome by authors desiring to procure registration for themselves, and that the fees that would have to be paid would constitute another drawback. The precise amount of the fees now payable on the registration of a trade mark | forget, but they considerably exceed any that have been suggested in The Author for registering names of books. Fees are necessary because a certain number of qualified clerks and officials would have to be maintained to examine the pro- posed titles in order to see that they conformed to the rules, and the legislature is not likely to institute a register entirely at the public expense. I have had some little personal experience of the registration of trade marks, and although in my own case I managed to comply with the regula- tions eventually, it was certainly a matter needing some care and study, and it is one usually entrusted to a solicitor or other agent who has to be paid for his trouble. It may be said that the literary agent or the publisher would see to all this for the author, but presumably he would not do it for nothing, and the person who eventually would bear the cost would be the person who wrote the book. As it is, the author or the literary agent or the publisher can to a great extent obtain safety by combining an effort of memory with the consulting of a “ Reference Catalogue of Current Literature,” and I am personally of the opinion that no more is really necessary in most cases from a legal point of view. I have ventured to question in a previous article whether any considerable number of the attempts to hinder the publication of books could be sustained in the Courts, and to suggest that a firm attitude adopted by the writer and publisher attached would usually result in success for them. I have endeavoured also to show that even by a register such as that proposed they would not be fully protected. At the same time, it is, I admit, very inconvenient on the eve of publishing a literary work to find that the name is claimed by another. Many authors have suffered from it, but, on the other hand, probably many have not, and it is a matter for consideration that an ingenious title bearing upon it the stamp of originality, and devised, perhaps, with a little extra care and inventiveness, may carry two advantages. It may insure the author against any claim that it has been used by another, and may also captivate the ear of the public. A good title is said to go a long way towards attracting readers to a book, not only because they take a fancy to it, but because they find it easy to remember. Therefore, besides the precautions which will show an author that his title is a new one, the exercise of his literary ability will provide him with further protection. In much of this I may find others who disagree with me, and who have a far better right than myself to pronounce an opinion. I venture, how- ever, to assert rather emphatically that the institu- tion of protection for book-titles by means of an official register would be found a cumbrous and inconvenient remedy, worse in many ways than the evil which it would aim at curing, and I feel even more certain that it would be found difficult also to get Parliament to pass the Act without which the official institution of such a register can hardly be possible. Perhaps, however, some of those who disagree with me will draft a bill which can be inserted in 7'he Author, so that members of the Society can see if it is likely to be practicable and also useful to them. After that, its introduction by a private member interested in literature should not be difficult to obtain. E. A. ARMSTRONG. A LETTER IN ANSWER TO ONE OF MANY CORRESPONDENTS. + — Dear Srr,— Your somewhat difficult letter has just come to hand, and although I feel that I ought not to spend so much time as a compre- hensive answer will take me to write, or expect that you will appreciate what I have to say, still it will ease my mind, so here goes. Oh! first of all, I beg to return your MS. I am not an editor, and I hope I know better than to presume upon the friendly relations I have with several editors to offer them your work in the hope that they will accept it for my sake. I know that you say you only want me to read it and comment upon it; but I am also certain taat you want me  12 to place it for you, and I should like you to know that no one can do that better than you can. As to criticising your work, well, your request, assuming as it does that I am fully competent to do what you ask, is very flattering to me, but I must respectfully decline. Some years ago I made two or three rather determined foes by acceding to their requests in this direction, and I have come to the conclusion that life is all too short even for the making of friends. The gratuitous making of enemies savours of lunacy. Please do not think me unsympathetic or callous, for I assure you Tam neither. Now, as to your next point, “the impossibility of any outsider getting any story or article, how- ever good, placed nowadays, owing to the cliques and rings which abound.” I feel really grieved that you should credit this old and often disproved libel. Just think fora moment. The magazine and newspaper arena to-day is the scene of a tremendous struggle to get in front, and no man who has laboriously climbed into an editorial chair can afford to print rubbish (unless it is saleable rubbish), even though written by his nearest and dearest friends. The reputation of a magazine for good readable matter, interesting stuff, is much more ephemeral than the reputation of a tradesman for vending a good article, and by consequence less liable to be played tricks with without serious loss. The editors are ever on the alert to discover in the midst of the heaps of rubbish shot upon them the occasional nugget of gold, and when they do unearth one their elation is, as old 8. P. would say, pretty to see. Of course well-known names will and do recur in popular magazines, but surely you would not take that for a sign of extreme favouritism at the expense of all newcomers. A good editor knows. what will sell his magazine, and his first duty is to his publishers or proprietors. He may, and often does, reject matter that he is greatly taken with, but he knows it is utterly unsuited to his public. Sometimes he can and does insert an article or a story quite unusual for his magazine in the hope of thereby educating his readers, but the experiment is a very risky one. What he does often do and rarely receives any recognition for is to write long and helpful letters to rejected contributors, full of matured advice and most valuable hints. Sometimes these are received as they should be, and the editor gets praised for being so kind, but N.B., it is usually after he is dead. So far I have only dealt with the articles you have been good enough to send me; I must now come to the book. And my first remark must be, that you yourself have handicapped your work by bad writing and spelling. Had it been typed or well written it would have had 50 per cent. more THE AUTHOR. chances of being read, but the spelling (please forgive me for plain speaking) destroys any chance it might have had of being either read or considered. IT hold that an educated man ought to be ashamed to write badly, but I cannot realise the possibility of any literary aspirant being unable to spell. But I will suppose that your MS. was neat, legible, well spelt ; without some advice it would have been a miracle if you had gone to the right publisher with it. You would have needed such expert advice as the Author’s Society are willing to give, or which is given for a small fee in some of our monthly journals. Otherwise you might easily have fallen into the hands of a certain type of publisher who will publish anything so long as he can see a certain profit out of the author. And had you done so, and your book become a success, you would have had the bitterness of knowing that your publisher had taken all the profits, leaving you hungrily, but unsatisfactorily, following after fame. Whereas, had you gone to a reputable firm, they would doubtless have driven a hard bargain with you, but they would at least have dealt honestly by you. And if your book had proved a success they would have given you good terms for another. But you say, with more force than courtesy, “ Publishers’ readers are such asses, must be, or they never could pass the stuff they do for publi- cation.” Excuse me, your remark is absurd upon the face of it. I must refer you to what I said about the magazine editor, Not what he likes, but what will sell is the motive spring of the reader’s action. He, if any man does, realises that a publishing business is not a philanthropic insti- tution, and that he has no right, whatever his personal proclivities may be, to advise his employer to print books that will not sell. He may and often does advise that gentleman to print rubbish from which his very soul revolts, but his experience tells him that it will sell by tens of thousands where his pet book would not reach one. You will doubtless retort that this is a sordid view to take of the matter. I shrug my shoulders and say that is no concern of mine. I merely state facts. If you do not need money and have a message for the world you feel you must deliver, you can always do so: it is merely a matter of cost: to you. In conclusion, pray do not be longer misled by the notion that there is a conspiracy to bar you out from literary circles. Don’t believe that all the authors, whose names recurring in magazines and newspapers give you so much pain, are rolling in wealth and are determined to keep you from a share of it. And do please in future communica- tions enclose stamps for reply and return of MSS. Yours most sincerely, _ Frank T, BULLEN,  THE AUTHOR. INTERNATIONAL PRESS CON- GRESS AT YIENNA. — NINTH HE International movement of the Press has made great strides since the idea of a Central Bureau was brought forward at the Conference of the Institution of Journalists in London in 1894 by M. Heinzmann Savino, of Ant- werp. Then, the idea of uniting pressmen, excitable Latins, calm Scandinavians, stolid Germans, and Britons, under one head seemed quixotic, but a president was found at the first International Congress in Antwerp in 1895, Herr Wilhelm Singer, of Vienna, and this ninth Congress under his diplomatic, suave, yet firm rule, has proved how journalists of fourteen nationalities can work together and enunciate and frame codes and pro- positions for the elevation of journalistic work throughout the world. Some hundred journalists assembled in Vienna, and the debates were well attended. The English delegation was elected from members of the British Association of International Journalists, Mr. D. A. Sims being the representative on the Central Bureau, Mr. Arthur Spurgeon acting as chairman of the delegation, and the writer as hon. secretary. The Congress was opened by an expressive and valuable paper by Herr Singer on “The Dignity of the Press,” dealing with the suggestion to create professional tribunals to deal with Press offences: as one of the speakers neatly put it, “ Punish ourselves and the State will not punish us.” English journalists think they have no restrictions, but are not restrictions being placed more and more on correspondents because of such incidents as those that occurred at the Queen’s funeral, and in the matter of censorship in war, largely because a certain type of journalist ignores all rules of decency of behaviour. The press tribunals will con- sist of Local and National Courts and an Inter- national Court. The International Court would deal with such cases as have arisen in war, when nations have been libelled, or when Sovereigns have been vilified, or when the Yellow Press of one country abuses the press of another country. The National and Local Courts would deal with cases such as the Institute of Journalists already deals with in Great Britain. The twenty-nine articles of the statutes of the tribunal were accepted by the Congress, and the Central Bureau now has to establish the courts. As M. Singer so “ably concluded his paper, “To have interna- tionalised the honour of our profession is nu small affair.” In speaking upon the subject Mr. Arthur Spurgeon accepted the idea, although he could not say if the English journalist would establish courts ; but he was sure that all English- 13 men would heartily accept any action to raise the standing of journalists and to create a better feeling between those of various nations. The subject of the “carte d’indentie,” ze., literally a press passport, whereby a journalist in foreign lands on duty will receive assistance from the pressmen of those lands, M. Taunay introduced, and M. Caponi spoke vigorously against it; but M. Taunay stated many of these cards were already used by members, and had proved of great value. Mr. Burlumi, of the Foreign Press Association, London, proved how helpful the card had been to him when he had lost his passport in Turkey, and in conclusion moved a resolution, ‘ That the foreign correspondents in all lands should receive the same facilities as home correspondents,” whieh was adopted. The ques- tion of reduction of telegraphs and postal tariffs was discussed, and the concessions given by various countries announced, and a point was gained on this day in that the British and Northern groups carried a resolution that reports already printed should not be read at the Congress, only the summing up. At the sitting on Wednesday Mr. Spurgeon pre- sided, and during the debates Mr. Burlumi brought forward the proposition ‘that attacks on persons whose position forbade a reply (7.e., monarchs, etc.), or against the whole press of a country constituted a professional crime,” and it was recognised as neces- sary that this should be embodied in the statutes of the Press Courts. The subject of literary and artistic copyright was reported upon by Dr. Osterrieth, of Berlin, and during an interesting debate the English secretary argued for copyright for literary style in news paragraphs or articles, as he had done in London, Antwerp, and Bordeaux. One of the most exciting and polyglotic debates was on Herr Rothlisberger’s report on the conditions of copy- right. He argued that the deposition of copies and other formalities should be abolished. This the English delegates warmly opposed, and they were supported by the German and American and Northern nations, who held that deposition of copies of publications was necessary for proof of copy- right. M. Lucas, of Portugal, eventually proposed two amendments modifying Herr Rothlisberger’s propositions. His suggestion that simply giving the name of printer or publisher should suffice for a claim of copyright was negatived, but the principle that the copyright belonged to the author accepted. Of course, the question of deposition of copies for censorship, etc., did not affect the English delegates. An amusing incident in this‘ debate proved how easily a wrong vote might arise in so polyglotic an assembly. The English secretary pointed out that M. Lucas’s two amendments were being put in reverse order, No. 1 as No. 2, No. 2 as No. 1, the  14 chairman, Herr Christophersoen, of Christiania, corrected the error amidst laughter. At Thurs- day’s meeting Mr. A. Spurgeon read his paper on «The Personal Note in Journalism,” and, with M. Heinzman Savino in the chair, had a good hearing. His urging that paid-for matter should be kept out of editorial columns was said to hit some foreign journals hard, and the English members knew of cases in England of advertisements appearing as news. The Congress then considered the next place of meeting, invitations coming from Venice and from Liege by M. Heinzmann Savino, but as it would be the tenth year of the Congress initiated by M. Savino the Congress voted for Liege, the Venice invitation being deferred to 1906, New York also inviting the Congress for that year. At the close of the meeting an inter- esting ceremony took place, the presentation to M. Singer of a silver jardiniére filled with choice flowers. The President’s reception was so over- whelming and the speeches so full of cordiality that he was quite overcome, and the three ringing cheers given by the English and Americans overcame all other applause and secured absolute silence at their finish, but M. Singer was unable for tears to say a word in reply. The English section after- wards presented to the Vienna Press, through Dr. Horrowitz, their Syndicws, a handsome silver writing and smoking set, and especially thanked Dr. Pistor, of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, for his kindly aid. I have said nought of the really astounding series of receptions and entertainments in Vienna, brilliant receptions by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, and a welcomein the imposing town hall by Burgermeister Lueger, that the Glasgow delegate, Mr. Walter MacLean, declared beat Glasgow ! The Emperor, who had expressed all good wishes for the Congress, commanded a gala reception at the Opera, and the theatres also gave special performances. At the end came three days of absolutely “ living in opera,” first at the Semmering Hotel, amidst the Alps ; then at Ischl, where the peasants danced and sang and held a wedding in national costume ; lastly, when in the dim twilight two shiploads of Congressites sailed across the lake to Gmunden, between fires on the banks and salvoes of rockets. In the middle of the lake they were met by a small launch lit by lanterns, and in absolute silence the Chief of the Province, there on the still waters, under the shadow of the great Alps, welcomed the journalists from, all lands. Gmunden was a blaze of decorations, and from there in early morning we sailed across the lovely lake, and on to St. Wolfgang, ascending the precipitous Schafberg, some 6,000 feet amidst the snow, to revel in the panorama of lakes and mountains. Then on to Salzburg for a final banquet, although there had THE AUTHOR. been banquets and bouquets everywhere and at all times. At Salzburg the Internationalites said adieu in all tongues, but always with an auf wiedersehen. Surely many corners had been rubbed off and much good done by the meeting. James Baker, F.R.G.S. —_—————_+——+—__—__ MAGAZINE CONTENTS. —— + (Literary, Dramatic, AND MUSICAL.) SEPTEMBER, 1904. THE BOOKMAN. Coleridge. By Thomas Seccombe and Canon Rawnsley. THE CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Theodor Herzl. By Sidney Whitman. The Nature of Literature. By Vernon Lee. Some Recent Books. By “ A Reader.”’ THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. A Note on Mysticism. By Prof. Oliver Elton. Thomas Campbell. By Arthur Symons. Geo. Frederick Watts. By Wm. Knight. Honoré De Balzac. By Mary F. Sandars. Translation from the Fioretti of St. Francis d’ Assisi. By James Rhoades. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW “From High Mountains” (from Nietzsche). by H. O. Meredith. The Author of Erewhon. Italian Novels of To-day. Translated By D. MacCarthy. By Laura Gropallo. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. Is the Orator Born or Made? By Michael MacDonagh. THE MONTH. The Veil of the Temple. By the Rev. Sydney F. Smith. THE MonTHLY REVIEW. Capt. Marryat as a Novelist. By the Earl of Iddesleigh. The Popular Poetry of Spain. By Pepita de San Carlos. Thackeray at Cambridge. By the late Rev. Whitwell Elwin. THE NATIONAL REVIEW. Is Humour Declining? By Miss Ella Macmahon. [THE PALL MALL MAGAZINE, Literary Geography: ‘The Country of Carlyle.” By William Sharp. TEMPLE BAR. Mrs. Thrale. By Mrs. M. L. Croft. THE WORLD'S WORK. The Work of the Book World. XIX. CENTURY AND AFTER. Colly Cibbers’ “ Apology” By H. B, Irving. There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, or Musical subjects in Cornhill (Macmillan’s).  THE AUTHOR. 15 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. — ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if @ proper price can be obtained, But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It isnow possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important-figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :-— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong tothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. a WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. ———— 9 — EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2, It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on eross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadyance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (/.c.. fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (2.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should. not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. : 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced, 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative : that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. Oo WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. me ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He 16 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part. cular consideration the warnings stated above. 6h 0 HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. — 1. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion, All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4, Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements.. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society ; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £4 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. THE READING BRANCH. ——— + — EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical ‘and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, a Ban ee ae NOTICES. 4 HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for Zhe Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, 8.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. i Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —+— The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. : LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. — ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C.  RR Seen THE AUTHOR. Li AUTHORITIES. —_—+.-— T is with much pleasure that we have to chronicle a donation of £20 to the Pension Fund of the Society from the R. D. Blackmore Memorial Committee, the amount being the sur- plus in the hands of that Committee after paying all the expenses of the memorial in Exeter Cathedral. We feel sure that no object would be more likely to commend itself to him whose memory the Com- mittee desired to perpetuate than the one selected. Mr. Blackmore was for many years a member of the Society. We are requested also by the Secretary of the fund to state that the alteration of the word “ with” into “and” in the first line of the inscription on the memorial tablet in Exeter Cathedral has been completed by the sculptor in such a way that the memorial has not been in the least disfigured. Members of the Society will call to mind that “Exeter English” was discussed in some corre- spondence in 7'ke Author before the Vacation. We are glad to hear that this has been set right. Tue Library of Congress in the United States has forwarded to the offices of the Society of Authors a short circular, giving particulars of the work done by the Copyright Office during the past year ending with June 30th. It appears that the amount of fees received in the offices has steadily increased since 1897, and has now reached the large total of 72,629 dollars. These figures show the enormous increase in literary work which is going on in the United States, as well as the large use which other countries are making of the United States Copyright Act. The largest number of entries received at the office on one day was on January 2nd, 1904, when 4,031 titles were registered. Under Class A, Sub-sec- tion (A), which refers to books (volumes) and pamphlets, 12,000 have been deposited during the past year. The office now seems to be in excellent working order. The business is kept well up to date, though some days, owing to extensive regis- tration, acknowledgments have to be delayed a little. The mail-matter dealt with in the office reaches the following extraordinary figures: the number of letters and parcels received totals 80,000, and the number of parcels and letters dispatched, 129,000. We must congratulate the Librarian of Congress, Mr. Herbert Putnam, and the Registrar of Copy- rights, Mr. Thorvald Solberg, on the manner in which they have dealt with their enormous business. In addition to the work of the office, Mr. Put- nam and Mr. Solberg have issued useful pamphlets on the United States Copyright Act. In the September number of Zhe Book Monthly there is a very interesting interview with Mr. A. M.S. Methuen. The subject is headed, “ On being Publisher.” Mr. Methuen does not seem to have any serious objection to the author’s agent. He seems to consider that it is often easier and safer to deal with a business man who knows the actual value of a book, and the conditions of publishing, than with an author who may be ignorant of both. He says: “In five minutes it is possible to settle a matter with an agent, while five hours, or five days, or even five weeks, may not suffice to settle it with the author himself.” Mr. Methuen also takes an optimistic view of the bookselling trade of to-day, and thinks that nett books give the bookseller a fair profit. He is not so optimistic about his own trade. The fact that Messrs. Methuen have risen in fifteen years to be one of the foremost publishing houses in England would seem to argue that there is still money to be made in publishing, or that the partners of Messrs. Methuen & Co, are gentlemen of exceptional skill, tact, and business capacity. We think, from our experience, that there has been a healthy combination of the two. We have been reading with much pleasure the second report of the Committee of Management of The Advanced Historical Teaching Fund. We see among the members of the Committee three members of the Society of Authors—the Right Honourable James Bryce, Mr. G. W. Prothero, and Mr. Sidney Webb. ‘The other mem- bers are Mr. W. A. S. Hewins, Dr. A. W. Ward, and Mr. H. R. Tedder. This Committee is sufficient to confirm in the public mind the importance of the subject with which it has been endeavouring to deal, the en- couragement of the scientific training of historical students. 'The Committee hopes not only to place on a permanent basis the classes already in exis- tence, but gradually to create an Advanced School of History of the most complete kind. It states in its report “that it is a post-graduate school that it desires to found—a school for students who have mastered the elements : such a school as  18 does not at present exist at any University in Great Britain, and the want of which is a blot on our academic system.” Tun French Société des Gens de Lettres have elected a new committee, which has chosen M. Marcel Prevost as president. M. Prevost has given a most interesting lecture on the lapse of copyright a certain number of years after the death of the author. In the course of his lecture M. Prevost pointed out shrewdly that literature is the only property which the authorities in power in all countries permit to be confiscated sooner or later, whilst all other forms of property are respected. a a AN ORIENTALIST. —1~<—+ IS desk in the British Museum Library was | | always piled with innumerable books, and in a chasm or cation between were papers dreadfully mingled, so that none would dare to touch them lest a worse fate should befall. He came to work in the morning and left late at night. But in the intervals of his toil he walked about briskly, either chatting with the officials or with his friends. Occasionally he went into the open, and when beyond the gates lighted his pipe and took a contemplative walk. But he was cheerful and of a social disposition, disliking loneliness. The companionship of the Hastern languages had not reduced him to apathy; he seemed to suck a lively life even out of Sanskrit. And nothing in the way of labour appalled him. He dressed in an ancient but tight-fitting frock coat. His hat was of the high species, and he wore it with an air of assertion, as one who knew his own value. In the gleam of his eye was know- ledge : he almost reeked of a particular wisdom. Yet he had by no means the air of one who despises the present or even the future, and only in his more metaphysical moods did he appear to regard Time as a mere category of the under- standing. For he ate and drank as a live man, not as a ghost. His favourite drink was Scotch whiskey. He smoked strong tobacco. Though his work was in the past and among books, he had the air of an explorer who commands workmen. He had assistants in the library who dug according to his directions. Each day it seemed as if he would at last unearth some buried city. At times excitement touched him visibly : THE AUTHOR. his chest swelled, his hat was worn a little on the side. But next day the city was perhaps only a solitary tomb ; he had to be content with fragments. Yet he never lost hope. His antipathy was for those who knew nothing deeply : for those who were content with an encyclo- peedia. He would rather expose the writers of stupendous monographs. Any pretence or assump- tion touched his nerves with a needle. He could not understand how any should be content with less than all. If he had been asked to write a story of the East, he would have answered grimly that he did not yet know enough. In time, in time perhaps. And he would have smoked many pipes on this reminder of the gaps in his know- ledge. He went for full certainty. What was a fact to him ? Something proved in all ways. He was not content that a thing was or seemed to be. He must deduce it @ priori as well. But deduction without verification made him snort with a logical contempt ; and mere invention in a wild romance pleased him better than a super- structure on an unwise foundation. To take liberties with the Truth, as he conceived it, was immoral. He bit his pipe angrily when he spoke of some men’s books. But it was more than immoral. To him the pursuit of absolute know- ledge was a religion. He grew bitter at times when he relaxed his severer mind and let the con- sideration of certain Western writers anger him. When he dined in a little eating-house not far from the Museum he talked with his friends and spoke freely. I heard him utter this sentence with a strange incredible vehemence: “Sir, sir! Rider Haggard is an impious man. He trifles with knowledge in the abstract !” And in his mind he executed the writer whom he denounced. He bisected him in the shape of a potato, and consumed the divided portions as though the man was done for. In the act and his mental attitude were all the elements of the magic that destroys from afar off. I perceived him in imagination melting a wax romancist at a terrible fire, or planting pins in the effigy of a careless commentator. : He rose and went back to his work in silence. But as I followed I saw that the aspect of the great museum mollified him ; the lines of his face softened ; he walked soberly through the pigeons in the path, And when the glass doors swung behind us he was himself again. He cocked his hat on one side and went briskly towards the East. M. R. <> 6  THE AUTHOR. 19 INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS.* — HE nineteenth century will be regarded by posterity as an epoch of the highest impor- tance in the advance of civilisation. That century represents a splendid epic of ‘human genius, evidenced in the revelation of the truths of science, in the translation of the eternal esthetic ideal into perceptible forms of marble, colour, sound, and speech, in the elaboration in legal shape of the institutions of the modern state, and in the impulse towards those principles of liberty and justice that bind nations together in a conception of moral and economical solidarity. The great workers of that century, its marvellous industries, its commercial enterprises that have united different peoples with one another, its scientific inventions, its master- pieces of art, and its mechanical appliances will inspire future history with an idea of that immense capital of thought, of sensation, and of production which satisfies human aspirations, from the most exalted desires of the intellect to the most refined appetites of sense, from the grandest, impulse to the most playful caprice. This entirely modern efflorescence of intellectual and indastrial civilisa- tion finds its historical expression, more than anywhere else, in the efficacious protection and repressive lines of action which modern law alone has elaborated and cast into form to guarantee, to safeguard, and to discipline in social shape the rights of the author and inventor. That protection of what is called artistic and industrial property may be justly regarded as a conquest made by the civil enactments of this latter age, and is destined to advance with the development of a wider universal consciousness of legal rights, to yet farther and more complete guarantees, and to extend to the broad horizon of a systematic inter- national evolution of all rights of this description. It is only by the certainty that legal protection will be afforded to the fruits of his intellectual labours, or of his economic productions (within the limits imposed by the rights of society) that author or inventor is stimulated to produce his works, the results of long meditated, laborious and often expensive studies, investigations, and experi- ences, which shall ultimately (in consequence of the security of the recompense) augment also the collective patrimony both of universal cultivation and of national glory. The evident trath of this fact will justify the omission of lengthy historical proofs of the above * This translation of a monograph, ‘‘ Le Legge per la tutela dells Proprieta artistica ed industriale”’ (‘The Laws for the Protection of Artistic and Industrial Property aN which appeared in our valuable contemporary, “T Diritti @’ Autore,” is here published by the kind consent of the author, Signor Alfredo Andreotti. statement, and will render sufficient a simply general mention of the actual evolution of intel- lectual property. The real rights of authors, as they are at present understood, had, strictly speak- ing, no protection before the French Revolution. Previous historical indications of them can be adduced only as evidences of an intuition of the possibility of legal enactments on this head, but not as proofs of their having had any distant historical origin. At first the debasement of labour, the system ot slavery that flourished in antiquity, the want of the printing press, and the predominance of a military spirit with its thirst for conquest, and afterwards. the medieval iron regime of corporations of arts and trades (against which a struggle had to be maintained for ages) were such that they rendered impossible not alone legislation, but even develop- ment of any social intuition and consciousness of intellectual property such as could ultimately be defined by any real or lucid legal expression, or could attain to the sanction of positive enactments. And it is in consequence of the absence of any pro- tection of this kind that we meet with the historical phenomenon of the “ patron,” an invention which, though exposed to the peril of favouritism, aimed at a moral and economical recognitton of intellectual activity. Even when the great reform prepared by Colbert and Turgot in France was able to destroy the monopolies and privileges of the corporations of arts and crafts, the Constitutional Assembly, under the influence of a reaction, proclaimed a principle that was too absolute, and not actually true, under the name of “intellectual property,” a property that was the most sacred of all, and claimed rights, trodden under foot for ages, affirmed by the formula “the creating personality.” Let it be said therefore again that it is the boast of our age alone that it has perceived the legal status of the right which belongs to the individual who produces something by the efforts of his own intelligence. At last, first principles of a concept capable of being continually and perpetually per- fected have been defined. From these first prin- ciples, beginning from the recognition of the material advantages to be derived from a man’s intellectual work (the most tangible aspect of the rights of the author and inventor), we advance onwards through further legal elaborations, until we reach a claim for penal enactments to protect the author’s moral rights, that is, reach a regard for the integrity of what the creative intelligence has produced and individualised. ‘These are all modern developments, and completely overshadow any such historical prototypes as might be adduced in the shape of privileges and patents of the kind granted, for example, in England by the sovereign.  20 They mark an acknowledgment of the author’s rights as rights belonging to the man, a human right of a universal character extending beyond the boundaries of individual states, and binding them together in a brotherhood of international protection of an intellectual patrimony. _ These provisions in fact aim at harmonising the legitimate expectations of the author or inventor with the just claims of society’s rights in all such works as either by their origin or their destination belong to the universal social patrimony of thought and civilisation. Before proceeding to a judicial examination of such ‘civil property,” to use the language of Lucchini,* I think that it will be best to explain briefly the general aspect of the matter in its relation to the rights of society. This is an enquiry that is necessary to justify the existing legal system as administered by the penal magistrate ; and that is the aim of the present monograph. The creative activity of human thought (whether occupied in scientific discovery of the laws of nature or those of society, or employed in giving reality and actual form to some esthetic conception, or engaged in some invention or observation that, by perfecting an industrial art, may increase its applicability to human needs) in every case operates through the instrumentality of the intellect whose exceptional and most intense form is human genius. Geniuses are the privileged children of nature. She provides them with perfect organs and a nervous sensibility capable of affording them sensations so exquisite and so precise that they can be afterwards transformed into intellectual master- pieces, or into scientific discoveries and industrial inventions. But if geniuses are few, there are happily many men of abilities who possess observant minds and a great impressionability. The former quality is fitted for scientific discovery, and the latter for artistic creation. It is by the constant and un- wearied activity of observation and impression- ability that advance is effected, constantly rising to new victories of invention, of intelligence, and of industry, by means of which human society pursues its way towards truth and social happiness. These new creations when set forth in the midst of the collective life (by a book, a machine, a picture, a piece of sculpture, or a poem) produce new customs, new ideas, and new social relations, again contain- ing within themselves fresh opportunities of expansion, of intercommunication, of suggestion, and of assimilation. Thus is formed, in the * “Commento alla legge 19 Settembre, 1882, sui diritti spettanti agli autori.” Riy. pen,, vol. 1, sez 1, “ Legislazione speciale Italiana,” p. 3. THE AUTHOR. course of the successive generations, an intellectual patrimony, at once the boast of nations and their care; a treasure the more jealously guarded the more the need of cultivation is felt, and the more deeply the sense and respect of civilisation is rooted. But if creation is the act of an individual, it must not be forgotten that it is also a collective and social act. The phenomena of sensibility and of the penetrative attitude are wholly subjective. But the matter of the conception is outside the ego. We perceive it in consequence of the environ- ment in which we live, in which our psychological activity is developed ; and we feel it through the influence of the environment. Creative thought resembles the prism. The prism refracts things external to its facets, Thought through the energies of an internal psychological process elaborates and transforms a reality ; but it creates only the form, the vesture in which something, that exists in the concrete reality of nature, or of the world of human society, is presented by the poet in verse, by the painter in a balance of colour, by the sculptor in a harmony of lines, by the musician in a combination of sounds, But all these only lend a form to something, involved in them, that exists outside the creator’s ego, and is perceived by him with a more or less sensitive response of personal impressionability and in consequence of more or less intellectual study. But every author in the process of his creative act reproduces the things that experience, psychic force, and collective culture have accumu- lated in the course of ages. Hven the most speculative mental act or formula, if subjected to rigorous analytic criticism, will be found to be an association of ideas already forming a part of the social intellectual patrimony. And hence intellec- tual production has a special character of its own, that distinguishes it clearly from a thing that is the product of ordinary industrial activity ; but it is still the foundation of proprietary rights in intellectual creations. The individual and social factors interpenetrate each other in a continuous action and reaction in such a manner as to differen- tiate widely (even from the legislative point of view) common proprietorship from that which authors and inventors have in the products of their intelligence. In consequence the expression “ literary, artistic, and industrial property” is accepted by the jurist only out of respect to an historical tradi- tion, or, as Manzoni said, in a figurative sense, not in one that corresponds to an exact scientific concept. All writers on the subject are agreed on this point. True jus domini demands as an essential condition an absolute and exclusive sub- jection of the thing to the will of the human being,  THE AUTHOR. whilst, as Klostermann has observed,* “ The intel- ligent products do not exist in space, and conse- quently are not susceptible of being exclusively possessed by appropriation.” Or, as Vidari writes,t with exact logical rigour, “ This expression either refers to the right of publication (or of reproduction), and that only and solely because it is not a right of proprietorship, but a patrimonial right of a par- ticular sort, or refers to the thing by means of which thought is expressed, and then, though the right is here certain and indisputable, that has nothing to do with the present discussion ; or else it refers to thought, and nothing is more false than the assertion that thought is susceptible of proprietorship.” } Hence the productions of the intelligence form a part of the patrimony of their authors by a special right which presents analogies with, but is not identical with, and must not be confounded with, the right of proprietorship. This is the more true because this sum total of the rights of the author and of the inventor (in consequence of their origin and of their special destination in a social state of existence) ought to be protected by civil and penal sanctions that correspond with the actual necessities of those rights of society, which overshadow, if they do not absorb, the personality of the producer. For it is the social right that invests, interpenetrates, and integrates the genesis and finality of the productions of human intelli- gence, in which the whole human species (in con- sequence of its collective collaboration) has, so to say, a right of participation, of enjoyment, and of usufruct. And this effective influence of the whole race (which amounts to a limitation of the individual rights of the author) increases directly with that progress and civilisation which define by legal processes the protection of what is improperly called literary, artistic, and industrial property. In these enactments legislators are bound to recon- cile the just claims of the human personality (when this is individualised in the productive activity that wins new conquests for science, art, and in- vention) with the just counterclaims of the social element that always co-operates more or less evi- dently or forcibly in the production of every intel- lectual work, affording it the support of the multi- plex co-efficients of environment, of culture, of * Schonberg, ‘‘ Manual of Political Economy ;” Kloster- mann, “Protection of the Rights of Authors,’ part iii., xx., p. 460. Turin, 1887. + ‘Corso di Diritto Commerciale,’ 4th ed., Milan, 1895, Vol. III., p. 158, { Manzoni, in his letter addressed to Professor Boceardo, « Intorno ad una questione di cosi detta proprieta litteraria,” (respecting a question of so-called literary property), acutely observed, “This metaphor, like all metaphors, becomes a sophism when it is used as an argument; a sophism that consists in concluding a perfect identity from a partial resemblance,” 21 public opinion, and of social mental attitude. For it may, in fact, be truly said that on arriving at a final analysis, everything that human intelligence produces proves to be rather a collective than an individual product. Thought and sentiment have their existence from social life. Every genius is nourished by this social life, and without its fertilising influence either becomes sterile or, transgressing the bounds of healthy and normal sensation, loses itself and perishes in unwholesome abstractions. And if the mould, the matrix, of this immense material which the human intelligence elaborates and transforms into the shape of a book, a work of art, an industrial invention or a scientific application, is, and ought always to remain individual and inalienable from the author of the work, and, as so being, should be protected by efficacious and even repressive enact- ments against any violation; nevertheless, the destination and the collaboration of the work are, and should be inalienable from the social patrimony, and as so being should have legal representation in positive enactments. As the renovation of the blood in the individual organism secures the constant continuation of the physical functions, so in civil life, and in its con- tinuous progress towards a higher evolution of civilisation, the continuous interchange of ideas, of artistic impressions, and of industrial inven- tions, is the fulcrum on which the dynamic force of social activity reposes. This is what supplies the author with the original material which is to be elaborated by his intelligent thought through a long series of speculations, intuitions, and suggestive experiences, until it is finally transformed into an intellectual work, and comes in turn to take its place and to be absorbed, and to expand in the evolutions of the collective life, there again to encounter new modifications and to play new parts. In consequence of this the creative idea, quickened by the continuous social interplay, generates a stimulant to further inventions and productions, never exhausting itself, inasmuch as this is the natural law that governs social development and human progress. The new century, which has inherited from its predecessor the most difficult legal and social problems, will assuredly bring its contributions to the solution of this great problem, which Picard has happily expressed in the words ‘intellectual rights.” The claims of the rights of intelligence stand side by side with the just claims of the rights of labour. Socially they are equally important, and equally entitled to legislative protection, The “ working man” himself should regard with confi- dence and sympathy the struggle of the human intellect to attain the full recognition of its moral and legislative importance. Intellectual activity 22 by inspiring the community acts as a creative force, and the indispensable collaborator of the man of science and of the artist is the labourer, who assists in a mechanical manner to give the intellectual work a concrete and marketable form. In this wedding together of the creative intelligence and of the labouring hand that (in the book, sculpture or building) renders the idea effectual, there is a perennial symbol of the natural harmony between thought and matter, between ideal and physical energies. The destiny of communal civilisation lies in the sovereign alliance of these forces. Rights of both kinds, trodden under foot for ages, are now pressing for legislative support, and with an awakened social consciousness move _ confidently towards the victory of the future. Rights of both kinds, in their supreme appeal, transcend national bounds. They make their voices heard throughout the universe in an appeal to the workers of all nations; the voice of the artist that cries, “I have created!” and the voice of the labourer that responds, “I have toiled !” Society, in the highest expression of its collective voice, should reply firmly and solemnly, “And I by law guarantee you the fruits of your labours.” The noblest duty of the jurist will be ever that of giving expression to the conscience that is moved by the most sacred of rights, the rights of labour and thought. ALFREDO ANDREOTTI. —___—_. OCCURRENCES. ———+—_ I. arene like poetry, must occur; to make it maliciously is highly offensive. It is a pun upon the idea; it is the garlic of literature, and a very little of it goes a long way. Il. That which yesterday we called “ personality,” we now perceive to be “stupidity.” The theo- logians used to call it “ original sin.” III. Success—V'ailure : what do these words mean ? Probably nothing. The success of a man who is doing his own things, if he deigns to use the word at all, consists in getting his things done. There his success begins and ends. The reception of his deed or work is no concern of his: that is the world’s failure or success. IV. Browning, sitting down daily after breakfast to write so many lines, believing that he was bound to do so, and that it was worth doing! That is a THE AUTHOR. pitiful spectacle : what a grotesque illusion duty can become! Browning is a proper target for criticism, for the wickedest criticism: he was not writing for a livelihood. Think of it! He had an independent income, and yet he wrote, wrote, wrote—what ? “Sordello,” “ Fifine at the Fair,” ‘Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau.” And he hypno- tised a portion of the British public into the idea that there was something in it, until in despair they formed a society with apparatus for cracking these nuts—to find them all empty. Vy. “ How can I become intelligent ?” ‘“‘Tdon’t know. I think you have to be reduced to pu p, to protoplasm.” VI. Poetry should be “simple, sensuous,” &c.— Milton’s phraseology. I forget the third term, nor does it matter. These epithets describe super- ficial qualities. Poetry should be intelligent, material, profound. VII. The great drama in English history is tragic and twofold, namely, the failure of Henry VIII.’s ambition to be Emperor, and the failure of Wolsey’s ambition to be Pope. There is a might- have-been worth considering! What a Europe they would have made of it, the two most inde- pendent minds, the two most absolute people in the world! The only tragic drama comparable to it—not so great, but yet a great one—is the failure of Cesar Borgia to make the Popedom hereditary. VIII. The secret of dissimulation is never to blame what you really dislike ; because what we really dislike is always that of which we are most guilty. IX. It is the gross mental libertine who is seduced by all manner of theories and ideas ; a chaste mind marries and becomes—paterfamilias! Is that the alternative in intellectual matters : a debauchee, or a domestic animal ? XxX. Is it true that success is rooted in meanness ? Is it true that one must be very mean and hateful in one’s private relations if one is to succeed publicly ? Carlyle, Dickens, Byron, Shakespeare, all hateful as husbands. How sweet and beautiful and strong Walter Scott was! Was he? Glad- stone thought him a hard-hearted fellow. XI. Intelligence and goodwill would soon bring the world to an end. Great are stupidity ‘and malignity.  THE AUTHOR. XE. Movements are hateful things. Whenever two or more people make common cause they become rabble, entirely automatic, at the mercy of any passer who drops a penny in the slot. I have observed at close quarters a religious revival, and a Midlothian campaign, and know how hateful movements are. XII. How often it is the eunuch who writes frenzied hymns of love, the rachitic neuropath who addresses a pean to energy, the anemic dwarf who brags of his divinity. XIV. Most men begin as impersonality, but they are generally too feeble for it, the sea is so deep, the tempest so enduring: they buoy themselves up with life-belts, acquire personality by identifying themselves with some set of opinions, some creed, or social prejudice. XV. There is a profound antithesis between Literature and Religion : it closes behind ; but is continually opening up in front. They wanted to burn Mar- lowe ; now they have his bust in Canterbury. The literature of the past is Bible, the literature of to-day is Blasphemy—blasphemy that will become in its turn Bible. Literature is beyond the scope of schoolmen and clerics, and its criticism should lie in the hands of men who realise that the Anglican Church is only a minor branch of Chris- tianity, and that Christianity is only one among other religions. XVI. I have noticed that the moment one states a fact, the ink is promptly slung, “‘ Satirist ! cynic!” I have no objections: satire is pure fact ; cynicism is pure fact. JoHN DAVIDSON. ——__—__+—_>_+__———__- TEMPERAMENT. —_—+— ROBABLY to a greater extent than anyone imagines is the world governed by tempera- ment. The religion which a nation embraces is due to the temperam:nt of that nation. Every man is dyed through and through by his tempera- ment. It imprints itself upon all his actions, determines them, shapes them, to the same extent that the form of a mould governs the metal which is run into it. There can be no kudos gained by the man of philosophical temperament in the mere fact that he is philosophical. It is no cumulative part of righteousness on the part of the woman possessed 23 of an unselfish temperament that all her actions are unselfish. Certain temperaments are a sie qua non, they mean success and are success for the fortunate possessors thereof. A soldier requires a certain temperament in order that he may become a successful leader of men. It is then born in him. He may develop into a French or into a Hunter. Quite another temperament is necessary for a parish priest. Another again for the man of business. So long as the right man finds himself fitted with the right cap, he has a chance of success. There is one temperament which stands out from the rest more or less and of which we often hear ; it is known as the artistic temperament. People are said to be “cursed”—sometimes to be “ blessed ’—in the possession of this tempera- ment. ‘hat is to say, it isa magnificent gift in the hands of the man who possesses besides it genius and opportunity, but a stumbling-block in the path of him whose talents are but mediocre and who must do battle for the sake of daily bread. Or again for her, who, without due consideration, finds herself at the head of a family, rubbed at every turn by conventionalities and ties which a narrow circle forces her to respect. It is well known and yet little understood, this artistic temperament. Very small are the allowances which are made for the men and women whose melancholy and precious heritage it is, by the prac- tical and strenuous individual of somewhat limited vision. That temperament governs men’s lives is no- where better illustrated than in the case of the christian scientist. Hus beliefs are the outcome of his temperament. The tenets of christian science happen to be such which meet with his necessities and provide him with a sanction for his conduct. But had he been endowed with a different temperament, it is doubtful, if not improbable, that he would have become a convert to a religion with which he has just happened to be in sympathy. That temperament has to account for many of life’s difficulties, mistakes and failures, lies in the fact that it seldom fits in with environment. That is to say for example, that circumstances having prevented the man who is born with the tempera- ment which would have assisted him to become a good soldier from going into the Army, he becomes a clergyman or a schoolmaster, with his heart in neither, and the remark is frequently made about him—“ that man was never intended for the church ”—*“ he has missed his vocation.” Temperaments are manifold: there is the sanguine temperament and the morbid tempera- ment, far as the poles apart. That morbid temperament embitters many a woman’s life, and  24 from childhood to old age she sees life through an introspective, melancholy medium which colours both her thought and action. It affects her whole life. from it. Such reflections force the inference that tempera- ment must have a large share in creating and destroying individual success and happiness. His temperament is generally his handicap to every starter in the race of life. It would often scem to give him small chance of success. Take a man of nervous, excitable temperament, thrust by money and position into standing for his county in the next election. With the labourer upon whose vote his seat depends he is entirely out of touch. He loses that seat, where a man of a more practical and solid turn of mind would have won. Yet had his lines fallen to him in a town and among an artisan class, instead of a labouring class, the chances are that his brilliance would have met with understanding and appreciation, and gained him a victory. There is said to be an eternal conflict between duty and passion. Equally there may be said to be an eternal conflict between temperament and circumstance—so seldom does the square peg find itself in the square hole, so illogical would the plans of men’s lives appear to be. Indeed, life would seem to bristle with polarites and contradic- tions, extremes which never meet, wants which are insatiable. Call to mind some individual of roving disposition, with no cat-like affection for home, of tireless energy, to whom “roughing it ” is not an evil but even possesses a certain amount of fascination, an individual born to influence masses rather than units, to range far afield and deal with life not limited by hedges and walls, nor controlled by county councils, nor hampered with social conventions—take such a man, a man of the pioneer temperament, a born pioneer, never more necessary to national prosperity than to-day —and how often is he not found obliged to live a life the exact opposite of the one for which his temperament fits him? And the worst of it is, that possessed of such a temperament an irksome life ends in a failure, and a failure because of his temperament—he is galled; he is shorn; he is spoiled. What has not temperament to answer for? So many human failures, so few human successes. Again and again we blame a man’s bringing-up, and we blame a man’s circumstances when we review the grievous mistake which his life would appear to have been. We even blame what we are pleased to call “himself ””"—it was his own fault, we repeat: whereas if instead we laid the onus upon the temperament with which it had pleased nature to burden him, it might not be the sole She never gets away THE AUTHOR. reason of his pitiful failure, but it would partly account for his non-success. It calls aloud for recognition, in these days of large demands upon nervous vitality—this question of temperament, the fact that the history of the present moment resolves itself again and again into the temperament of a nation, the temperament of an individual. It is almost a truism to assert that every book which is written bears the stamp of the tempera- ment of its author. Copy lies ready to hand on every side all the world over, and from a vast field each writer makes his own selection. That selection depends upon many things, one of which is his own temperament. And having, according to the dictates of that temperament, culled certain material for a plot out of the great garden at hand, the author proceeds to treat that plot, tincturing it through and through in the essence, once more, of his own temperament. It may not come out in each character, in the hero or the heroine, it is in the general tone of the book, a little in its con- ception, a little in its details, that the temperament of the author is to be found, stalking through the pages. From the welcome given to such books as “ The Virginian,” of which it was said, You ought to read that—an absolutely healthy book, much as though a rara avis had been discovered, it is to be inferred that the novels of the present day are not always, so to speak, sanitary. Should there be justice in such an accusation, temperament must share the blame. IsaBEL SAVORY. ee ON MAGIC MIRRORS—A QUERY. BLE SE WAS diving into an old “ Encyclopedia Brit- annica” this morning. The. volume I took down from the library shelf has well turned its eighty-first birthday ; its complexion has become just a little mellow, and it has a fine old-fashioned manner of speech. It is inclined to be more moral and didactic than is the fashion now, and it is pleasantly discursive. It lingers (in the article on “Dreams ”) to beg the reader to “ guard against hopes and fears which may detach him from his proper concerns, and unfit him for the duties of life,” and to warn him solemnly against the evils atten- dant on “a disordered body, and a polluted and disturbed mind.” “From recollecting our dreams we may learn to correct the improprieties of our conduct,” says my old friend, and the long-tailed S’s seem to lend added dignity to the Johnsonian decision of his statement. One dares not be so pert as to  THE AUTHOR. 25 contradict. He is fond of referring with gentle patronage to “the simplicity of the vulgar.” I cannot believe that he would approve his descen- dant’s way of bidding for popularity in the columns of the daily papers ; but in spite, nay rather because, of his little prejudices he is most excellent and human (as well as learned) company. When I set out to consult this kind and well- informed guide on one subject he buttonholes me, so that I find myself caught by the immense amount he has to say on another. It was not “ Dreams ” but dioptrics that I had intended to inquire about, and there is something arresting in the enthusiasm with which he dilates on “ The Magic Lantern.” This very remarkable machine ” which is beheld with “ pleasing admiration ” and astonishment. Now the modern magic lantern has sadly lost its magic; it has become thoroughly instructive. It has taken to throwing carefully accurate photo- graphs on a sheet in order to illustrate popular lectures on astronomy, architecture, botany, geology and what not. It has become the humble handmaid of the exact sciences, and no longer attempts to ‘‘ Produce the appearance of a phantom on a pedestal in the middle of a table,” nor beau- tiful coloured figures on a cloud of smoke, which are “so conspicuous” that the foolish spectator (who evidently partakes of the simplicity of the vulgar) “thinks he may grasp them with the hand.” I own to aslight longing to try to produce that phantom ! (the directions are temptingly explicit), but I suppose Pepper exploited him once and for all, and a spectre ceases to be interesting when you know how he is evolved. Yet still the discourse holds me. Long, long ago people loved “passing pictures.” Britomart saw her knight in a mirror. The magic mirrors of the magicians are a distinct feature, not only of medizeval but of far more ancient lore. Only the other day I heard of a lucky person who picked up an old Venetian mirror at a sale in Italy, which accomplishes a feat the secret of which baffles modern dioptricians. When you walk towards this wonderful old glass, and stretch out your hand towards it, another hand seems to come right ont of the frame to meet yours ! I wish I had some acquaintance with the possessor of that wizard’s trick! I wonder if he is ever seized with a foolish desire to take his mirror out of its setting, and see how the thing is done 2 And this brings me to the question I want to ask. Could not these reflected effects of light and colour which we get from magic lanterns, and of which charlatanism has often made profit, be also used to help in the reading of poetry or the telling of tales ? Of course, I know that the white sheet with its round disk of light plays a part still in children’s parties. It provides a well loved and delightful entertainment ; but surely we might do better than that ! In my mind’s eye I see, not a sheet with a hard round disk, on which is thrown more or less inade- quate representations of the beautiful old fairy stories, but something far more mysterious and suggestive. A mirror set in a frame. Pictures that appear and fade like the pictures in “ Aunt Margaret’s Mirror,” that fateful mirror into which Lady Forester and her sister peeped with such tragic result. I should like to see such a mirror in a private room, where the hostess can read or chant the poems that she loves to guests who have paid no pennies! Our entertainments are apt to be a trifle too impersonal and “shoppy” at present; that is why I want the pictures to be the accom- paniments to especially chosen poems. But then they would have to be especially painted, and I fear that that might cost a small fortune! But just imagine what a charming refreshment for people who love both colour and poetry ! Would you not, some of you, like to see the reflection of Neckan singing to his harp of gold? and of the flowering staff of the hard-hearted priest ? or of but no! if I once begin to make a list of all the images I should like to call up, this silly paper will never be finished. As for the smoke pictures, they are to be partially evolved from an article familiar enough in my encyclopaedia’s youth, but rarer now! You get them out of a chafing dish. I should so very much like to see them tried ona lawn on a hot summet’s night. You have to provide a curiously-made box, and put your chafing dish, filled with glowing coals, inside it. Then you fling incense on the coals, and you throw your lovely pictures on the column of smoke which “ rises in a cloud from the aperture of the box.” My instructor says, “ It is remarkable in this representation that the motion of the smoke does not at all change the figures.” I (who know nothing whatever about dioptrics) am struck with wonder that such should be the case, but I am glad it is so ! The host would have to know the poems by heart at that gathering, for no disturbing light can be allowed by which to read. Perhaps each guest should bring a pinch of imagination, which would help as much as the handful of incense, but the dullest can produce imagination on asummer’s night out of doors ; and what, oh what an ideal party that might be! If any one is inspired to attempt it next summer, I will send him all the directions for making the box, if only he will please invite me to sit on the grass and see the smoke pictures rise up.  26 Seriously, however, I fear that that enchanting bonfire is a little beyond the reach of the amateur’s accomplishment, though I still feel that my magic mirror could and should be managed. If one had a deep frame surrounding a polished dark surface, like enamelled wood, for example, or if one had a tight-stretched transparent surface within the frame, and if the inside measure were the exact size of the disk of light thrown by the lantern, could it be done? And, in the latter case, could the lantern be behind, not in front of the frame, so that the pictures showed through ? It is not for trickery but for beauty that one would like to press into service these visions writ in smoke and water and light. It would be so charming to have a magic mirror that should not pretend to foretell the mercifully veiled future nor be the slave of superstition and charlatanism, but should reflect the white magic of poetry, of pure fancies and beautiful images. I wonder now if any one who reads this has any knowledge of how one is to set about possessing such a mirror. Can any one put foundations to this dream? If so, I hope he will graciously impart his knowledge, and will write a far more interesting and useful létter than mine. F. F. Montresor. i FICTION IN THE MAKING. os [Reprinted from The American Critic, by kind permission of the Editor. ] I. O farther South-west than Communipaw Was it ever my fate to go, Nor Indian nor cowboy I ever saw Except with a Wild West show ; But Pll weave you a tale of the boundless plains, The gulch and the mining camp, The mountain trail and the burro trains, And ranges where wild steers stamp. It is true that I flinch at the sound of a gun— My nerves are deplorably weak ; All quarrelsome persons I carefully shun— My nature is shrinking and meek ; But the Alkali Alecks and Piute Petes Through my powder-grimed chapters shall prance : They shall shoot up the town as they dash through the streets, 2 And make the pale tenderfoot dance. Oh, it’s Whoop for the bronco-buster bold ! And it’s Wow for the fierce bad man ! And there’s always a market for stories told On the strenuous border plan. THE AUTHOR. II. I never have sailed on a gallant ship, And I’ve vowed that I never will, For it only requires a ferry-boat trip To make me unpleasantly ill ; But I’ll spin you a yarn of the salt, salt sea, And the storm-lashed Atlantic’s surge, Of masts by the board, and of surf a-lee That moaneth the sailorman’s dirge. I am not quite sure if the mizzen truck Is a rope or a species of sail, If the flying jib-boom with glue is stuck, Or merely held fast with a nail ; But I’ll prate you of main topgallant stay, Of capstan and crossjack lift, As I tell of a voyage to Far Cathay Or where Arctic icebergs drift. Then it’s Yo-heave-ho! and Avast below ! And Shiver the binnacle light ! For why ever to sea need a landsman go A nautical novel to write ? III. Tn history I was my teacher’s despair At school, and I’ve learned little since ; I forget whether Louis the Debonair Was a German or English prince ; But I'll write a romance of the Georges’ court, Of Virginia under King James, With gallants of the Philip Sidney sort, And powdered Colonial dames. Old fashions in dress I have only seen At an Arion fancy ball ; Nor royalty, saving perhaps a queen Of song in a concert hall ; But my lady shall wear a patch by her nose And a Queen Elizabeth ruff, And my lord shall swagger in peach-coloured hose, With a yard of lace on his cuff. So it’s Marry, come up; and it’s Varlet, what ho ! By my halidom, sire! and Gadzooks ! For of history little we need to know When making historical books. TV. I never have seen a football game, And, judging by common report, I would much rather not, for I hold it a shame To permit such a brutal sport ; But my pen shall depict the chalk-lined field Where straining young giants meet : The stone-wall centre that will not yield, And the quarter-back’s flying feet. My college career was confined to a course In one of the business kind ; For mere exhibitions of physical force, I never had muscle nor mind: ©  ¥ THE AUTHOR. 27 But I'll give you the thunderous cheers for the Blue, Or the shouts for the Orange and Black, When some Chadwick or Poe for a touchdown goes through With a dozen men piled on his back. ‘And it’s Siss—boom—ah—Princeton ! and Rah—rah—rah—Yale ! And Brace on the five-yard line ! For I’ve seldom known ’varsity football to fail In selling a story of mine. Ross LAWRENCE. <_< —__—_—_—_ CORRESPONDENCE. og “ WHat’s In A NAME?” Srr,—Under the heading of “Legal Notes,” in your issues of June and July, Mr. E. A. Armstrong deals with the question of the right (or non-right) of an author to the title of his book. His first letter, discussing “the position of a new book with regard to a title which has been used before by another writer,” seems, when all the pros and cons are considered, to leave an im- pression on the mind that an author’s right to his book-title has about the value of an arithmetical round o, when the o stands alone. When this legal con is deducted from that legal pro, and this pro from that con, the author’s position appears to be more indefinite than the happenings of to-morrow. In the second paragraph of his first letter, Mr. Armstrong asserts :—“ The right to the name ofa book is not copyright.” Why should it not be ? The name of a bdok is the introductory sentence of that book; and why, in reason, should not the introductory sentence share legal protection with any other passage in the work? An author appropriating for his “new book” any portion of another’s registered book is indictable for infringe- ment of copyright. Why should not the law, which holds the literary purloiner liable for incor- porating in his book any passage from another’s, make him equally amenable for stealing the intro- ductory sentence? Every line should be covered by copyright from title to finis. Having asserted, ‘The right to the title of a book is not copyright,” Mr. Armstrong remarks :— “At the same time,-there is in a title a right which is capable of protection” (!). Pray, what is that right if not copyright ? Copyright is the one right known to authors as capable of protecting their works. What would be thought of the man who declared he had a right to his own person as Mr. Penman Dryasdust, but no right whatever to his christian and surname, Penman Dryasdust, Esq.? The law will protect his style and title as well as his person. “Tt is in some cases of importance to an author that it (the title of his book) should be protected. In others . . . a work which is of no value needs no protection.” This is the dictum of Mr. Arm- strong. But, who is to assess finally the value of a work ? How many books have lain dormant upon the shelves of publishers for years, before rising to centuries of fame and millenaries of circulation ? Take, for instance, Hume’s own words anent his “History of England,” before its resurrection to a life of established fame : “The book seemed to sink into oblivion ; Mr. Millar (Hume’s publisher) told me that in a twelvemonth he had sold only forty-five copies of it.” A more modern instance is that of “ Lorna Doone.” The book was quietly settling down for a long rest on its publisher’s shelves, when a happy public event aroused it to a deserved popularity. Every author knows the story of its electric burst into fame. If a book with a prior claim to the title of another book in the market, after having lain dormant for years, is awakened by public appreciation to fame and circulation, what becomes of Mr. Armstrong’s theory of cribbing a title because it was “of no value?” Would “the question have to be decided whether he (the author) is to be treated with contempt or humoured,” as Mr. Armstrong puts it? In a court of law the prior title would be certain to win a verdict upon its resurrection-claimed value. Would B.’s conten- tion that because A.’s book had no circulation when first issued it was “ of no value” be any plea for justification ? Certainly not! Take parallel cases, and judge if Mr. Armstrong’s “no value ” standard is morally or legally correct. Take house-property instead of literary property, or take house utensils. If a certain house-property would not let or sell, and was therefore supposed “of no value” to its owner, would any man have a right to alter it out of all recognition, and then claim the title-deeds 2? What would be thought by common- sense people of the morality of such an assumed right ? Because a house or a book is “of no value” in the eyes of some does that create a right for another to levant with the things of no reputed value? There are many things in one’s house of no reputed value, and if a burglar stole any one of them, he would be tried at the Old Bailey for thefc—proving that justice sets a value upon all things coming under the title of property. Since this “no value” theory cannot hold for a moment with rectitude, then, out on it for a principle of conduct !  28 Let me review “the legal position” of Mr. Armstrong’s A. and B. deductions from the case of the “ Oxford Bibles.” He writes: ‘‘ This, therefore, it is submitted, is the legal position: that A. must not take for his hook the name used by B. so as to have his (A.’s) book mistaken for B.’s.” What else can happen except mistaken identity and confusion when one writer takes another writer’s book-title? If A.’s title failed to sell his book, what warrant have we that the same title will “boom” B.’s work ? Then, in what lies the value of annexing another’s title? Again, has not B. a very meagre inventive faculty, when it is not fertile enough to evolve into blossom an original title for his own work? Whether is better, to brain-sweat honestly for one’s own produce, or to crib another man’s ? The inventive faculty is the fiction author’s prospecting ground, containing the original ore, which, when refined in the critical crucible of other mental faculties, presents to the world that valuable article called a book. Mr. Armstrong would con- done trespass upon this exclusively-staked prospect- ing ground or claim; notwithstanding that the owner pronounces, “ Trespassers will be prosecuted according to law.” To the lay mind the natural sequence of B.’s adopting A.’s title would induce the belief that A. was the more original writer of the two, and that B. levied for his book the ideas of A. Can Mr. Armstrong giveany instance of one author having appropriated the title of another author’s book, and that book having had an extensive sale? If this question can be answered affirmatively, then title-appropriation is of value at the expense of the original inventor, which, to say the least of it, is a very dubious title to fame or honesty. The experi- ment, according to his own admission, was attempted by Mr. Armstrong. He writes: “I have suffered from the nuisance, as I had to change the name of a novel, after it had been announced in advance, because the writer of a short story having the title I had chosen,” etc., etc. Does Mr. Armstrong mean by “suffered from the nuisance” that his book did not sell by consequence of his not having been allowed to adopt the title of another author’s work? Or does he suppose that had he been permitted to take that other’s title his book would have had a sale? This is certainly the inference from his words ; for as his work was prefaced by his own invented title, he declares, “My book is now as dead as a doornail.”’ Paragraph seven in the July letter is wisdom itself, not because it upsets nearly all the pros and cons in both Mr. Armstrong’s June and July letters, but on account of its advice to authors to keep on the safe side of a law court. The Society of Authors will not be a complete THE AUTHOR. organisation until such time as it establishes a “ Titles’ Registration Department.” CHARLES RIcHARD PanTeR. Wickhampton. —1—> + a AUTHOR AND INCoME Tax. Sir,—It would be a matter of great interest to. your readers if Mr. Thring could advise upon the author’s income tax. Should an author count sums received for the sale of copyright and cheques. in advance of royalties as income? The stamp- ing of agreements assigning copyrights should throw a light upon the interpretation of these things as property. Yours sincerely, TAXPAYER. —-—~> + THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR. Sir,—Will you kindly allow me to ask any other author who has suffered from the overcharge of the publisher to write to me and give me details. I would like to say that I purpose to write a book under the title of “The Humour of Books and the Ways of the Publishers,” and shall-be glad to receive anything and everything that will be helpful. Yours, &c., &c., J. P. SANDLANDS. —_—— ELECTIONS AND COPYRIGHT. Srr,—I am no politician, but I am from time to. time made aware that disturbances called elections are taking place. On such occasions unknown people who want to talk call at strange hours, and the letter-box furnishes, in addition to the ordinary flood of touting advertisements, other applications apparently equally veracious, and certainly couched in similar language, informing me that the Empire will go to the dogs if I do not—or do—vote for someone of whose real opinions I know nothing. Amongst this vote-hunting tribe are evidently the gentlemen whom authors have to thank for obstructing the passing of enactments advantageous to the literary profession. Might I suggest that next time an election comes off Zhe Author should print—conspicuously and in heavy type—a black list of the names of these worthies? Votes are evidently the only things they care about ; and though authors’ votes may be few, those who labour to diminish authors’ incomes may just as well go without them. A VoTeR aND AUTHOR. 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. 15 Issue 01 (October 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 01 (October 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-10-01-The-Author-15-1 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/499/1904-11-01-The-Author-15-2.pdf 0932d0a1386b5a31184bc819926686f7 PDF Text Text ������������������������������������ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-11-01 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages Page range in volume 29–60 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19041101 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin The Hutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) “FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 2. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_____—_e—<>—_e_—_—_—_ NOTICES. ——+—~— 4 OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to he the case. Tus Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. — List of Members. Tux List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. — ++. The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present Vou, XV. NovEMBER I1sT, 1904. [Prick SIXPENCE. See ese er standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Oonsols 2h %. 2... cceccscecccnsereseeren es £1000 0 0 Tecal Hoans -.. 6... ssf 500 0 0 Victorian Government 8 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 12 War bon 220 2). et. . 201 3 8 London and North Western 3 % Deben- bare SOCK ie. 250 0 0 Pobal . Gak ce: 62,248 9 2 Subscriptions from April, 1904. £ 8. a. April18, Dixon, W. Scarth . ‘ 1 0 5 8 April18, Bashford, Harry H. E 27010. 6 April19, Bosanquet, Eustace I’. . - O10 6 April23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain . 0 5 O May 6, Shepherd,G. H. . : - 0 5 0 June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., Ge.B. . : : tod 0 July 27, Barnett, P. A. : ‘ . 0 10 0 Donations from April, 1904. May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth .. . 5 0 0 June 23, Kirmse, R. . 5 : <0 720 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. : ; 5 0 July 21, The Blackmore Memorial Committee . : -20 0 6 Aug. 5, Walker, William 8. : - 2.0 6 Oct. 6, Hare, F.W.E., M.D. - 11 1 0 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold - 0.10 0 Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett 010 0 ++ FROM THE COMMITTEE. ee HE first meeting of the Committee after the vacation was held at the Society’s offices on October 8rd. The business of the meeting, as usual, com- menced with the election of members. The Com- mittee are pleased to state that during the vacation Se 30 THE AUTHOR. : over fifty election forms were sent to the office, making the number of elections during the first ten months of the year over 190. The list is printed below. If the same rate of election con- tinues to the end of the year, 1904 will stand out far above the average of the last six or seven years. The Committce welcome this increase as a sign of the growing interest that members of the pro- fession of letters take in the Society, and the real benefit they derive from its work. : Further discussion arose respecting our agent in the United States, and the Chairman reported that Mr. James Bryce was making enquiries on the Society’s behalf in New York. The London County Council have officially ex- pressed their readiness to accept the Society’s offer to provide a replica of the Besant Memorial which was unveiled in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The subscriptions that have been promised and are to hand make tbe total within a few pounds of amount required. Should any members of the Society desire to make further contributions, cheques may be forwarded to the Secretary. Mr. Frampton, the sculptor, has been instructed to cast the replica. Due notice will be given in The Author as soon as the final arrangements have been made. The County Council have proposed, with the approval of those specially interested, to place the bronze on one of the granite pedestals on the Embankment near Waterloo Bridge. A question with regard to the contracts between sundry members of the Society and a Canadian firm of publishers, which has been mentioned under the Committee Notes from time to time, was again considered by the Committee, and the Secretary has been instructed to take further action on behalf of the members involved. Another matter under discussion was the position of Roumania in the matter of International Copy- right. From information which had been received by the Secretary from the Bureau at Berne, it appeared that the present copyright law of Rou- mania would enable that country to enter into a treaty with His Majesty’s Government, and the Secretary was instructed, therefore, to lay this in- formation before the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in the hope that a satisfactory copyright treaty might be negotiated. Several members of the Society have, from time to time, placed before the Secretary questions arising on the payment of Income Tax on literary profits. The subject is full of interest to all aathors, and in view of its importance, a statement will be drawn up and laid before counsel in order that some clear understanding may be arrived at. An application from Mr. Howard Collins that the Society should affix its imprimatur on his forth- coming work, “ Author’s and Printer’s Handbook,” was considered. The Committee, while fully appreciating the merits of Mr. Collins’ work, and the disinterestedness of his labours in producing it, decided that a departure from the practice of declining to give the imprimatur of the Society to works issued by its members was likely to lead to difficulties in the future, and therefore inexpedient. One or two other matters were dealt with by the Committee. —— + Cases. Durine the past month eight cases have been laid before the secretary—four for the return of MSS., three for payment of money, and one for accounts. In three cases the MSS. have been returned, and in the remaining one the Editor has promised to look up the matter and forward the MS. when found. ‘Two of the claims for money have been settled; the third case, taken in hand a few days ago, is still in course of negotiation. The accounts have been duly rendered. The secretary regrets to state that, of those cases before him during the long vacation, there are a considerable number still open, but six of the total—seven in all—refer to American publishers and editors. Publishers, who live out- side Great Britain, are not always so ready to attend to the requests of the secretary as they would be if they lived within the British Isles, and even when ready, letter and answer take some time to cross the water. Sometimes, however, publishers in the United States take advantage of the fact that they live some distance from the author, and not only disregard the demands of the Society but their contracts also. It is hoped that, as soon as the Society has another agent in the United States, it will be possible to obtain prompt satisfaction. The seventh case refers to a demand for money, but is a little complicated as it is difficult to ascer- tain the exact amount until fuller accounts have been rendered. Negotiations are still proceeding, and during the month of November it is hoped that the whole matter will be cleared up. —— + — October Elections. . Broad Park Avenue, Ilfracombe. Balfour, The Right Hon. 10, Downing Street, A. J., M.P- S.W Allen, James . . Ballin, Ada 8. . . 18, Somerset Street, ' Portman Square, W., and 4, Agar Street, Strand. Barrington, Michael hie Bell, Mrs. Hugh Bennett, Miss Etta Buchanan Berrington, the Rev. B. 8. Best, Dr. George Payne . Booth, Mrs. Annie M. Bradley, A. C. Briggs, Lady . Buckland, C. E., C.1.E. Cameron, Mrs. Lovett Carter, Joseph Cook, &. 71. Coward, T. A. de Zuylen de Nyevelt Baronne §. Emanuel, Walter Evans, John William Fletcher, A. Woodroofe “A Foreign Resident ” Fox, J. A. Frankau, Mrs. (“ Frank Danby ” Gouldsbury, Charles E. Hardy, Harold Hare, F. W. E., M.D. Hellyer, Miss M. Maud Herbert, the Hon. Auberon Holt, W. G. Humberstone, Lloyd Kennedy, Bart Koch, Mrs. Mary Maclaverty, Mrs. A. (‘N. Atling ’’) Macquoid, Capt. C., D.S.0. (XX. Deccan Horse) Thomas THE AUTHOR. 31 95, Sloane Street, S.W. Park Mount, Albert Road, Southport. Marnixstraat, Amster- dam. 26, Strawberry Hiil Road, Twickenham. 1, Kingstown Square, Gloucester. 9, Edwardes Square, Kensington, W. 5, Charles Street, St. James’ Square, 8. W. 61, Cornwall Gardens, S. Kensington, S.W. Millbrook House, Shepperton. 260, North End Road, Fulham, 8.W. 1, Gordon Place, W.C. Brentwood, Bowdon, Cheshire. 69, Parkstraad, The Hague, Nether- lands. 89, Ladbroke Grove, W. 75, Craven Park, N.W. St. Anne’s Passage, Manchester. 38, Conduit Street, W. 48, Melrose Avenue, Willesden Green, N.W. 11, Clarges Street, W. Authors’ Club, 3, Whitehall Court, S.W. 1, Dr. Johnson’s Build- ings, Temple, E.C. New Holme, South Hill, Bromley, Kent. Old House, Ringwood. Coton, Tamworth. Toynbee Hall,28,Com- mercial Street, E. Ryemead, Rickmans- worth, 21, Castlenau, Barnes, S.W. Llangattock Manor, Monmouth. c/o Messrs. Thomas Cook & Son, Lon- dow and Bombay, Mason, Frank H.,R.B.A., Lindisfarne, Trinity Road, Scarboro’. Moore, William ; . 84, Fairview Road, S. Tottenham. 29, Beechcroft Road, Oxford. Market Buildings, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, 68, Lower Essex Street, Birmingham. 9, Old Square, Lin- coln’s Inn, W.C. Onions, Charles Talbut Parker, Thomas Plumbe, 8. W. Pocock, Archibald Henry Reinhardt, Charles . 18, Embankment Gardens, Chelsea, S.W. Ricci, Luigi Park House, Ealing, Middlesex. Sandwith, Mrs. Harold Johannesburg, South Alfrica, Speer, Capt. A. E. . Sandown Lodge, Esher, Surrey. Speight, E. E., F.R.G.S. Tomlinson, Miss Ella (* Brown Linnet’’) ter, Sussex. Tracy, Louis . : . c/o Messrs. Sprigg, Pedrick & Co., Ltd., 110, St. Martin’s Lane, W.C. Horsted Keynes, Sus- SeX. 3, Clifton Villas, St. John’s Wood, N.W. 22, Carson Road, West Dulwich, 8.E. Three Members do not desire either their names or addresses to be printed. Shaldon, Teignmouth. Fishbourne, Chiches- Trevor, John . Vredenburg, Hdric . Watson, Aaron <> —__ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. —_-——+— (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) BIOGRAPHY. THE STORY OF AN IRISHMAN. By JusTIN McCARTHY. 9 x 6,411 pp. Chatto and Windus, 12s. CoLerRIDGE. By DR, RICHARD GARNETT, Gh xX. 4 lll pp. Ball. 1s. Lerrers or WILLIAM STUBBS, Bishop of Oxford, 1825— 1901, Edited by the Rev, W. H. Hurron, 9 xX 53, 428 pp. Constable, 17s. 6d, n. i ii 4 4 i 32 By WILFRID WARD. 9} X 6, 14s, n. AUBREY DE VERE. 428 pp. Longmans. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. LITTLE PETERKIN AND His BroTHER. By EH. M. GREEN. ik xX 6,157 pp. S8.P.C. K. Is. 6d. ENDERLEY PARK. By F. BAYFORD-HARRISON. 160 pp. S. P.C. K. 1s. 6d. THE NEw WoRrLD Farry Book. 8 x 6, 354 pp. Dent. 4s. 6d. n. THE BROowN Farry Book. Edited by ANDREW LANG. 74 X 5,350 pp. Longman’s. 6s. Mystery Isuanp. A Tale of the Pacific. : By FRED. WnisHaw. 8} X 54, 316 pp. Shaw. 35s. 6d. For TRIUMPH ORTRUTH. By SYDNEY C. GRIER. 8} X 58, 7k Xx 5, By H, A, KENNEDY. 310 pp. Shaw. 3s, 6d. THE PHANTOM Spy. By Fox Russenn. 7} X 54, 288 pp. Nelson. 2s. 6d. By ERNEST THOMPSON SETON, 6s. 1. Two LITTLE SAVAGES. 8} x 53,552 pp. Grant Richards. “THE DRAMA.” WHICH Is THE LUNATIC (a farce in oneact). By HENRY Francts. Published by Zhe Pioneer, Allahabad Price one rupee. EDUCATIONAL. ITALIAN GRAMMAR FOR ENGLISH STUDENTS. By LUIGI Riccr. 74 xX 5, 129 pp. Walter Scott Publishing Co. 2s. 6d. n. New ScHooL ARITHMETIC. Part Il. By C. PENDLEBURY, 7h x 5, pp. 207—468.. Bell. 2s. 6d. ‘ EXAMPLES IN ARITHMETIC. By C. PENDLEBURY, assisted by F, E. Ropinson. 74 X 5, 223 pp. Bell. 2s. FICTION. Tue EDGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE (a story of the sea). By EDWARD NoBLE. William Blackwood & Sons. A VoICE FROM THE VOID. By HELEN BODDINGTON. 73 x 54,306 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s, TRAFFICS AND DISCOVERIES. By RUDYARD KIPLING. 8 x 54, 393 pp. Macmillan. 6s. THEOPHANO. By FREDERIC HARRISON. 343 pp. Chapman and Hall. 10s. 6d. n. THe Farm oF THE DaGcG@ER. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. 74 x 5, 812 pp. Newnes. 3s. 6d. THp ABBESS OF VLAYE. By STANLEY J. 7% x 53, 391 pp. Longmans. 6s. SEA PurITANS. By F. T. BULLEN. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. Masor Weir. By K. L. MONTGOMERY. Unwin. 6s. Mary Lovisa QUAYNE (or a BELATED LOVE AFFAIR). By EmILy PEARSON FINNEMORE. 73 X 5, 252 pp. 8. P.C. K. 2s. 6d. SCENES OF JEWISH LIFE. By Mrs. ALFRED SIDGWICK. 73% X BZ, 302 pp. Arnold, 6s. THE GAME OF LOVE. By GERTRUDEWARDEN. 73 X 5, 7% X 5, 299 pp. a 68; WEYMAN, 7k X 5, 365 pp. 7% X 5, 398 pp. 320 pp. Digby Long. 6s. THE SILENT WomMAN. By “RITA.” Hurst and Blackett. 6s. SomE LOVES AND A Lirr. By Mrs. CAMPBELL PRAED, 72 x 54,309 pp. White. 6s. THE PROGRESS OF RACHEL. By ADELINE SERGEANT. 7% xX 5,229 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE BRIDGE OF LiFrs (a novel without a purpose). By DoroTHEA GERARD. 7} X 5},309-pp. Methuen. 6s. Captain AMYAS (being the career of D'Arcy Amyas, R.N. R., late Master of the R. M. 8. Princess). By Doty WYLLARDE. 7? X 54,264pp. Heinemann, 6s, THE AUTHOR. THE CHRONICLES OF Don: Q, By K. and HESKETH PRICHARD. 7} X 5,307 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. Tue Kin@’s CoMING. By FLORENCR WYNNE. 7% X 5, 489 pp. Skeffington. 6s, THE Foop OF THE GoDS AND How IT CAME TO EARTH. By H. G. WeLis. 7% X 54, 317 pp. Macmillan. 6s. Kate oF KATE Hau. By ELLEN THORNEYCROFT Fowuer and A.L. FeLKIN. 7% x 5. Hutchinson. 6s. THE BRETHREN. By H. RIDER HAGGARD. 7% x 5, 342 pp. Cassell. 6s. In DEWISLAND. By S. BARING GOULD. Methune. 6s. THE DIVINE FirE, By MAY SINCLAIR. Constable. 6s. THE Lovers OF MIss ANNE, 8 x 5}, 408 pp. Clarke. 6s. MERELY Mary ANN. By I. ZANGWILL (New Edition). _ 74 x 43,160 pp. Heinemann. 1s. n. A BRIDE FROM THE BusH. By E. 8$ x 59,122 pp. Newnes. 6s. HEARTS IN EXILE. By JOHN OXENHAM. 73 300 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. CAPRICIOUS CAROLINE. By MARIA ALBANESI. 7} X 5, 327 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE MERRY-GO-ROUND. By WILLIAM MAUGHAM. 73 X 54. Heinemann. 6s. For HEART 0’ GOLD. By CONSTANCE SMEDLEY. 73 X 5. 303 pp. Harpers. 6s. THE BETRAYAL. By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM. 73 X 5, 316 pp. Ward, Lock. 6s. At THE Moorines. By Rosa 7% x 5,451 pp. Macmillan. 6s. SOONER OR LATER, By VioLEr Hunt. 7} X 5}, £35 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. 7% x 5, 306 pp. 72 x 5, 667 pp. By 8. R. CROCKETT. W. HORNUNG. x 5, SOMERSET NoUCHETTE CAREY. A Great PATIENCE. By L. G. Moperny. 8. W. Partridge. 2s. Tur DREAM OF Peace. By FRANCIS GRIBBLE. 73} X 5, 305 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. THe MarriaGe Yoke, By ARABELLA KENEALY. 72 x 54,348 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s. Smatinou. By J. H. Yoxaut, M.P. 7} x 5, 307 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. HELMSLEY’s PRINCESS. By J.B. ForD. 7 X 4%, 133 pp. Simpkin Marshall. 1s. n. THE HEART OF PENELOPE. By Mrs, BELLoc LOWNDES. 72 x 5. 336 pp. Heinemann. 6s. THE CELESTIAL Sur@eon. By F. F. MONTRESOR. 72 xX 5}, 375 pp. Arnold, 6s. THE RED DERELICT. By BERTRAM MITFORD. 7] X 54, 303 pp. Methuen. 6s. JoHN Riegpon. By C, P. PLANT, Sonnenschien. 6s. Sir RocEr’s Herr. By F, FraNKForT Moore. 7} X 5, 352 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. 74 xX 5, 372 pp. HISTORY. A History OF SCOTLAND, FROM THE ROMAN. OCCUPA- TIoN. By ANDREW LANG. Vol. III, (1625—1689). 9 x 53,424 pp. Blackwood. 15s. n. LAW. Tae LAw or Torts, By Sir F. Pouuock, Bart., LL.D. Seventh edition. 8% x 53,679 pp. Stevens and Sons. 25s, LITERARY, THE Port’s DIARY, Edited by Lamia, 8} X 54, 255 pp. Macmillan. 7s. 6d. By JoHN ‘OLIVER LETTERS FROM A SILENT STUDY. 3s 6d. n. Hoppes. 72 X %#, 235 pp. Appleton.  AN IMPRESSIONIST IN ENGLAND. THER AUTHOR. 33 LETTERS ON LIFE. By CLAupIUS CLEAR (Dr. Robertson Nicoll). 8% x 53,95 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 6d. A Nore Book oF FRENCH LITERATURE. By P. C. YorKE. Vol. IL., Vineteenth Century. 8 x 54, 490 pp. Blackie. 4s. 6d. n. NATURAL HISTORY. CREATURES OF THE SEA (being the life stories of some sea birds, beists, and fishes) By F. T. BULLEN, F. R.G.S. 82 x 52,430 pp. R.T.S. 7s. 6d. PAMPHLETS. ‘REFLECTIONS SUGGESTED BY THE NEW THEORY OF MATTER (being the Presidential Address before the British Association for the Advancement of Science). Cambridge, August 17th, 1904. By THE RicHT Hon. A, J. BALFouR, M.P. Longman’s. ls. n. POETRY. THE TESTAMENT OF A PRIME MINISTER. By JOHN Davipson. 72 X 53,103 pp. 3s. 6d. n. Lost MASTERPIECES AND OTHER VERSES. By St. JOHN HANKIN. 7 x 43,73 pp. Constable. 3s 6d. n. BEAUTIFUL Days. By ADELAIDE L. J. GOSSET. Third edition. Partridge & Co. 1s. QUAINT CHARMS, KNOTS AND VERSES. thousand. Walker. Is.n. BRIGHT EVENING THOUGHTS FOR LITTLE CHILDREN. By ADELAIDE L. J. GossET. 32 pp. 382 illustrations. George Allen. 2s. n. “HEAVEN'S WaAY.”—QUAINT CorDs, CoILs, AND LOVE- Twists. By ADELAIDE L. J. GosseT. Elkin Mathews ls. n. A Harvest oF CHAFF. By OWEN SEAMAN. 147 pp. Constable. 3s. 6d. n. 32 pp. 44 pp. Fifth i x 44, POLITICAL. Russia: WHAT SHE WAS AND WHAT SHE Is. By JAAKOFF PRELOOKER. 7 X 5,148 pp. Simpkin, Mar- shall. 2s. 6d. SCIENCE. Srupies IN Astronomy. By J. ELLaRD_ GORE, F.R. ALS. 73° 5, 336 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. SCIENTIFIC. Sick Nursinc at Home. By L. G. Moperty, Scientific Press. 1s. ELecTROCHEMISTRY. By Proressor R. A. LEHFELDT, Voll. 268 pp. Longmans. 5s, THEOLOGY. SEVEN Year’s Harp. By RicHArD FREE. 8}. x 54 268 pp. Heinemann, 5s. n. TOPOGRAPHY. Living Lonpon. ‘Edited by Gro. R. Sims. Part I. ‘114 x 84, 32 pp. Cassell. 7d. n. TRAVEL. By F. H. Rose. 72 x 54, 305 pp. Dent. 4s. 6d. n. SUNSHINE AND SENTIMENT IN PorRTUGAL. By GILBERT Warson. 9 x 6,295 pp. Arnold, 12s. 6d. n. LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. — € HE Poet’s Diary, edited by Lamia,” is the title of a new prose work, written by the Poet Laureate, and published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. The same firm has issued a new and chearer edition of Lord Avebury’s work on “ The Scenery of England.” The edition contains all the original illustrations. The English Text Society has issued Part 1 of the “ English Fifteenth Century Translation of Etienne de Besancon’s Collection of Tales for Sermons,” by Mrs. M. M. Banks. Part 2 of the same work will appear shortly. Laura Hain Friswell is at present engaged upon her reminiscences, which will contain anecdotes of Dickens, Swinburne, Louis Blanc, Cruikshank, Tennyson, Toole, Irving, and many others. The work will be a girl’s impression of literary people and literary and journalistic society in the last century. The same authoress wrote a serial which ran through the Daily Chronicle at the beginning of last month, under the title of “ His Uncle’s Wife.” Mr. John Davidson’s, “The Testament of a Prime Minister,’ published on October 5th, is the fourth of a series of poems in which Mr. Davidson “ states fact in terms of poetry.” Edith ©. Kenyon’s tale for young people, en- titled, “A Girl‘in a Thousand,” has just been published, with beautiful illustrations by Messrs. S. W. Partridge & Co. It is an up-to-date version of the Cinderella story. Mr. Kipling’s new volume of stories, “ Traffics and Discoveries,” published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., derives inspiration from many sources. “The Captive” reflects the view of an American inventor, unwillingly drawn into the fighting line, on the British methods of conducting the Boer War. “A Sahib’s War” presents the point of view of a Sikh soldier on the same operations ; while a third story, with a South African setting, shows Tommy Atkin’s attitude towards the accusa- tion of “barbarous methods.” Standing out from all the rest of the volume in great contrast both in matter of subject and in treatment is a story of dream children, entitled “ They.” In addition to Mr. Kipling’s volume, Messrs. Macmillan announce the publication of the follow- ing six-shilling novels: “ Whosoever shall Offend,” by E. Marion Crawford ; “The Food of the Gods, and How it came to Earth,” by H. G. Wells; and “Atoms of Empire,” by ©. J. Cutcliffe Hyne. The same publishers are also issuing a new series of English Men of Letters. Among the volumes SS ay 34 contained in the series may be mentioned “Thomas Moore,” by Stephen Gwynn ; “ Andrew Marvell,” by Augustine Birrell; “ Edward FitzGerald,” by A. C. Benson; and “Sir Thomas Browne,” by Edmund Gosse. : Messrs. Seeley & Co. will issue shortly a new work for young children, entitled “ The Crusaders,” by Professor Church. “The Church Universal, Brief Histories of her Continuous Life,” is the title of a new series, in eight volumes, edited by the Rev. W. H. Hutton, which Messrs. Rivingtons are publishing ; and to which, besides the editor, the Rev. Leighton Pullan, Mr. D. J. Medley, Mr. Herbert Bruce, and the Rev. J. P. Whitney contribute. Mrs. Alec Tweedie, whose book, “ Behind the Footlights,” lately ran into a second edition, has another volume in the press. This time she has returned to her old love of travel. The book, which will appear in the autumn in England and America, is entitled, “ Sunny Sicily, its Rustics and its Ruins.” Hutchinson is the English publisher. Mr. Lewis Melville is publishing this month through Messrs. A. & C. Black a volume on “The Thackeray Country.” The book deals with those localities which are of primary interest to those who are acquainted with the life and writing of the novelist. It treats of Thackeray’s London homes, and the salient features and associations of -their neighbourhood, as well as of Thackeray in Paris and in America. Special attention is given to those places that are made the back ground of well-known scenes in the novels. “By Nile and Euphrates: a Record of Dis- covery and Adventure,” post octavo, price 8s. 6d., has been published by Messrs. T. & T. Clark, of Edinburgh. The author is Mr. Valentine Geere, who served on the American Excavations at Nippur, and: assisted Prof. Petrie and Dr. Gren- fell and Dr. Hunt in their work in Egypt. His volume gives an account of his experiences at the mounds and in his journeys in out-of-the-way places. It is amply illustrated by original photo- graphs and plans. John Oliver Hobbes (Mrs. Craigie) will shortly publish, through Mr. T. Werner Laurie, “The Artist’s Life, and other Essays.” In the volume, which is illustrated, are included her lectures before the Dante Society, the Ruskin Society, and the Philosophical Institution of Edinburgh. A new work by Mrs. Fred Reynolds, entitled “The Book of Angelus Drayton,” is published this month by Mr. John Long. The scene is laid in Yorkshire. We have received the fifth edition of Mr. E. A. Reynolds-Ball’s “‘ Mediterranean Winter Resorts,” published by Messrs. Hazell, Watson and Viney, at 8s. 6d. each, in two parts, or combined volume THE AUTHOR. on Indian paper, 6s. It is a complete and practical guide to all the health and pleasure resorts on the shores of the Mediterranean, as, indeed, its title suggests. It contains other interesting matter, and special articles on the principal invalid stations by resident English physicians. The calendars for 1905 are already being issued. Two neat memorandum forms arranged by “Autolycus” have been received at the Society’s office. The price is 1s. net each, and copies can be obtained either from Miss Rossi, of 202, Adelaide Road, Hampstead, N.W., or Mr. G. J. Glaisher, bookseller, 58, High Street, Notting Hill Gate, W. A peculiar feature of the calendar lies in the fact that at the beginning of every week ~ there is a quotation from some well known author. We have received Messrs. George Newnes, Ltd., trade circular for the current month. There are several interesting notes concerning books by members of the Society, which will shortly be before the public. . Mr. W. W. Jacobs’s story, ‘ Dialstone Lane,” which has been running through The Strand, is about to be produced in crown octavo at the price of 6s. The illustrations are by Mr. Will Owen. Mr. Jacobs’s method of dealing with the characteristics of coastwise sailormen is well known to all readers of The Strand Magazine. A fresh book from his pen will be welcome. Mr. Eden Phillpotts, who has for many years written such strong fiction with the west country as background, will publish through the same firm a book entitled “The Farm of the Dagger,” crown octavo, 3s. 6d. The story deals with the adven- tures of an American prisoner in England during the War of Independence (18121815), and is full of incident. Astory from Miss Marie Corelli will be published as a companion to The Strand Magazine Christmas Number. Ii will be issued separately from The Strand, at the price of 1s., and will be illustrated by Mr. H. R. Millar. Mr. R. S. Warren Bell is publishing a work through the same firm, entitled “Jim Mortimer, Surgeon.” The story deals with the Hooligan- infested district of Blackfriars. : E. Nesbit’s pleasant fairy tale, “The Phoenix and the Carpet,” will also appear as a Christmas book. The authoress’s delightful fancy is further exemplified in this new effort of her pen. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are issuing new and revised editions of Mr. Vincent T. Murche’s manuals of object lessons in elementary science. In these new issues several improvements have been ‘made with a view to rendering them even more useful to teachers. : A selection has been made by Canon Beeching  THE AUTHOR. from the sermons of the late Master of the Temple. ‘They will be issued in a volume by Messrs. Macmillan, under the title of ‘The Gospel and ‘Human Life.” Broadly speaking, the editor has omitted from his selection of twenty-four sermons all those dealing especially with the dogmas of the Church. The proof of the suitability of religion to human needs as they are revealed by experience of life is the aspect which is most prominently set forth in this posthumous work, with the result, Canon Beeching hopes, that it will be regarded as thoroughly characteristic of the individual preacher. The November number of Zhe Lady's Realm will contain the opening chapters of a new story entitled “ Starve Crow Farm,” by Stanley Weyman. The scene is laid in the North Country in the year 1819, when the working classes, impoverished by the long struggle against Napoleon, were seething with discontent and latent rebellion. « With a View to Matrimony” is the title of a book of short stories by Mr. James Blyth, author of “Juicy Joe” and ‘“ Celibate Sarah,” which Mr. Grant Richards published towards the end of October. Readers will have the opportunity of renewing their acquaintance with several of the places and people figuring in those two novels. The humorous side of village life predominates. Mr. Grant Richards has also published a new edition of “A Book of Verses for Children,” com- piled by Mr. E. V. Lucas. A military novel entitled “ The Queen’s Scarlet,” was published last month by Messrs. S. C. Brown, Langham & Co., of New Bond Street. The book is from the pen of Mr. Horace Wyndham, and deals in an intimate manner with life in the ranks, at home and abroad, in barracks and camp, in peace and war. The action commences at an Army crammer’s, in South Kensington, and concludes in South Africa. Mr. Wyndham is the author of two other books on military matters, ‘The Queen’s Service,” and “Soldiers of the Queen.” Messrs. Cassell & Co. have just brought out a book by the author of “The Rejuvenation of Miss Semaphore.” The title, ‘‘ Aliens of the West,” was suggested by a line in one of Sliabh Cuillin’s poems, “Ourselves Alone.” The volume deals with certain sides of Irish life, which are practically new in fiction, and which will have interest, not only for the Irish, but for the general reader. It differs widely from the usual Irish novel, both in theme and in treatment. Mr. Norman Alliston wishes to give notice that towards the middle of this month he will issue a small “Edition d’héte” of his new work, “The Rationale of Art.” Owing to what he considers the exorbitance and apathy of publishers in dealing with commissioned business, Mr. Alliston is publishing the book for 35 himself at Kamesburgh, Beckenham, and managing all arrangements—down to shopping the single copies. Mr. Alliston will ask “A crown for his thoughts ”—five shillings net, post free. In the 14th Edition of Chitty on Contracts, by Mr. J. M. Lely (Sweet & Maxwell, 30s.), the editor has, “with reluctance made an exception to the rule that judgments of the House of Lords should be merely recorded and not criticised,” and sub- mitted six reasons why that judgment though right upon authority is wrong in its construction of the 18th Section of the Copyright Act. Attention is called in the preface to various points “ which seem to require remedial legislation,” such as the too little known rules of law, that money at a bank not drawn upon for six years becomes the property of the banker, that the executors of a lessee may be personally liable on his covenants for repair, that if A. undisputedly owes B. £100, and B. agrees to take £90 in full satisfaction, B. can, nevertheless, sue A. for the remaining £10, that the barely intelligible 18th Section of the Copyright Act requires recasting, and that a master is under no obligation in England or Scotland (as he is in Ireland), to give a servant a character, however long and faithful the service may have been. In the Quiver of the current month commences the opening chapters of Mr. John Bloundelle-Burton’s new romance, “ The Sword of Gideon.” The story, which centres round that portion of the War of Succession in Spain which took place in Flanders, will be the serial for the year. In the same month a new romance of Mr. Bloundelle-Burton’s, entitled “The Land of Bond- age,” will be published by F. V. White & Co., Ltd. The scene is laid principally in Virginia, and deals with the kidnapping of redemptioners, and the tragedies that, in many cases, resulted therefrom. Most of the descriptions are taken from MS. papers and letters written by the planters and colonists of the actual period, that of George IL., which were handed to Mr. Bloundelle-Burton by the last survivor of an old Virginian family. “The Temple of Art: A Plea for the Higher Realisation of the Artistic Vocation,” is published by Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., at the price of 3s. 6d. The author—Mr. Ermest Newlandsmith— takes the view that at the present time the greater number of so-ealled works of art are only exhibitions of technical display, failing to infect those who come under their influence with any true or definite emotion. A revised and enlarged edition of “ Printing,” by Chas. T. Jacobi, published by Messrs. George Bell and Sons in their Technological Series, is now in the press and will be ready in November. This is a recognised text-book for the student and useful SS al See ST a ‘86 for all interested in the art of printing. This third edition will possess some new features. Early last month Miss Theodora Wilson Wilson published a novel, entitled ‘Father, M.P.,” with Messrs. Thos. Nelson & Sons. he same author has also made arrangements with Messrs. Harper Bros. for the production of a work next year. The title is “ Langbarrow Hall,” and the novel deals with the North Country, in a district of sand and peat, moss and scaur. Messrs. Blackie and Sons have just issued Vol. 2 of Mr. Philip C. Yorke’s work, “A Note Book of French Literature.” This volume, which deals with authors of the nineteenth century, is worked out on the same plan as that adopted by the author in Vol. 1, and consists of biography, bibliography, critical note, and illustrative extract to each author. The work is preceded by an introductory chapter. Mr. Pinero’s new play was produced on the stage of Sir Charles Wyndham’s Theatre, on the night of October 12th. The title, which gives the key to the piece, is “A Wife without a Smile—a Comedy in Disguise.” It is full of cynical humour, and the characters were excellently played throughout. A new play by Mr. Bernard Shaw, “John Bull’s Other Island,” written for the Irish Literary Society, will be produced in England at the Court Theatre for six matinées, on the Ist, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th, 11th of November. The date of the Irish performance has not, as yet, been fixed. There will be some further performances of Mr. Shaw’s well known play, “Candida,” in December. Another play by the same author, “ How He Lied to Her Husband,” has been pro- duced under the management of Mr. Arnold Daly, with considerable success, in New York. It has been described as a travesty of Candida ; but this isa mistake. It deals with the adventures of a young poet and a fashionable lady who catch the Candida craze, and try to imagine themselves Candida and Eugene in real life, with ridiculous consequences. Mr. Shaw’s play, “ Cesar and Cleopatra,” which was to have been produced at the Berlin Deutscher Theater last spring, will be produced there next year. ————1->o—__—_ PARIS NOTES. Oe 6“ OUVENIRS des vertes Saisons,” by André Theuriet, is a charming sketch of the child- hood, early manhood, and career of this author. He tells us of his early writings and of his first publication in the Revwe des Deua- Slondes. He speaks, too, of his contemporaries, THE AUTHOR. Daudet, Flaubert, the de Goncourts, &c. ; and there is a touching account of the poet André Lemoyne, and of the way in which he wrote his verses. “Te Double Jardin,” by Maurice Meeterlinck, proves that the author is by no means a pessimist. “Nous sommes,” he writes, “au moment ou nais- sent autour de nous mille raisons nouvelles de prendre confiance dans les destinées de notre espéce.” “Le Sillon,” by Resclauze de Bermon, is a story of self-sacrifice. It is both romantic and pathetic, and altogether a novel well worth reading. In “Les Sirénes,” by Jean Reibrach, the chief interest is also the self-sacrifice of the man who, at an advanced age, has fallen in love with the orphan daughter of a fellow officer. She is engaged to him, but before the marriage takes place he dis- covers that he has a rival in the girl’s affections, and not only does he stand aside himself but he facilitates things for the lovers. There are some exquisite passages in the book, and the picture of — provincial life is well drawn. The characters, too, ~ all live and stand out in excellent contrast. “Félicien, souvenir d’un étudiant de 48,” by Charles-Louis Chassin, is an excellent book for giving a picture of the times about which the ~ author writes. ‘There is the proclamation of the Republic, the eventful 13th of June, the manifesta- tion of the students against the closing of Michelet’s — lectures, and an account of the author’s life when in the Mazas Prison. Jules Vallés and Leconte de Lisle are to be found in this story figuring ~ under other names. “Madame de Ferneuse,” by Daniel Lesueur, is the sequel to the ‘“ Marquis de Valcor.” The — interest of the story is well sustained, the characters ~ all live, and the book itself is written admirably. “ Légendes de mort et d’amour,” by M. Gaston- Routier, is a volume of legends and impressions written after a voyage in Spain. The author has written a number of historical and geographical works, and is considered an authority on subjects connected with the early history and literature of Spain. Among other new books are: ‘Le Fils de la Mer,” by Nelly Hager; “La Macédoine et: les puissances,” by M. Gaston-Routier ; “ Le peuple chinois,” by Fernand Farjenel ; “ La Bosnie popu- laire,” by Albert Bordeaux ; ‘‘ Les Giuvres des autres,” by Madame Jeanne France. There is an attempt now being made by French authors to protect their works in Canada. It appears that plays, short stories, and novels are — constantly reproduced in the papers or published in book form without the consent of the writers. The Society of Canadian-French journalists has taken the matter up, and in reply to a question addressed to the Government there, the Honourable  THE AUTHOR. 1M. Scott has replied that he believes the Canadian o'Government adheres to the Convention of Berne. ‘Should this be so French writers have it in their wvown hands to protect their works. One of the ‘most important publishing houses of Canada, Messrs. Beauchemin, is always loyal in dealing ‘-with French anthors ; and M. Heurion, the manager ‘of the ThéAtre des Nouveautés, of Montreal, has been over to Paris and made arrangements about slplaying the “ Retour de Jérusalem”’ and “ La plus i-faible,” but various newspapers and publishing ‘houses are at the present time using works by iesome of the best known French authors with no ssregard whatever to the question of literary property. The matter is now being taken up seriously in France. ‘| Inthe Mercure de France there is an excellent - szarticle on “ Les Racines de l’Idéalisme,” by Remy » ade Gourmont, and a curious study by M. Bélugou, | jgentitled “Le Pouvoir de Imagination chez les / Enfants.” There is also an interesting criticism of ' odthe “ Peintres de la terre belge” by M. Marius-Ary ‘a. Leblond. | In La Revue of October 15th there is an article “yby M. Charles Pagot, “Comment reformer l’enseigne- wment classique,” and another one by M. Georges *Pellissier on “ La Littérature a thése.” The writer simaintains that in the roman a these the personages : @do not live: they are so many puppets whose ‘strings are pulled by the author. When they ‘jspeak we recognise the author’s voice prompting “oitheir role, and all their acting is in support of the ‘theory he wishes to prove. | In a recent article in the Nouvelle Revue M. +o Morel asks what is to be done with all the books ‘which have to be deposited at the Bibliotheque Nationale. He believes that with the present system the catalogue itself cannot be completed until the year 1930, and that it will consist of 136 volumes. In the Quinzaine M. Giraud writes on Chateau- briand and his critics. In the Revue des Deur-Mondes M. Fouillée discusses the moral and social consequences of “{ Darwinism. In the same review Madame Arvede @ Barine gives details with regard to the romance ' Lof “La Grande Mademoiselle,” and M. Edouard 9) Rod writes on Ada Negri’s new book. ty In the Revue de Paris there is an interesting °9¢ account of Count Valentin Esterhazy, and M. Paul “oe Stapfer writes of his acquaintance with Victor 4) Hugo when the poet was at Guernsey. ef At the Comédie Francaise “Les Affaires sont les Affaires” has been put on again. The Odéon is now giving the new play by M. Brieux, “ La Déserteuse.” _ Parle Fer et par le Feu,” the piece now running at the Théatre Sarah Bernhardt, is taken from the 37 celebrated novel by Sienkiewicz. Madame Bern- hardt read the book when on tour in America, and suggested to her son, M. Maurice Bernhardt, the idea of adapting it for the stage. For the last two years he has been at work on it, and in September it. was read to the artistes. While Madame Bern- hardt is away on her tour the new play is being given at her theatre. M. Antoine is still faithful to his bill of short plays, and is at present giving four instead of three: ‘ Petite Femme,” “La Main de Singe,” “Discipline,” and “ Asile de Nuit.” At the Vaudeville “‘ Les Trois Anabaptistes”’ is to be followed by M. Henry Bataille’s new play, “Madame Colibri.” Atys HALLARD. ——_———__+—~<>_ + —_____- SPAIN AND BOOK PRODUCTION. — ++ HE following correspondence has been re- ceived by the Secretary at the Society’s Office :— The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments to the Secretary to the Society of Authors, and is directed by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to transmit to him to be laid before the Society the accompanying paper respecting the exemption from duty of books imported from certain countries into Spain :— SPANISH EMBASSY, July 12th, 1904. My Lorp,—I have the honour to inform your Excellency that the Government of the King, my august Sovereign, animated by the desire to strengthen the bonds of union between Spain and other nations her friends or allies, bonds which are certainly stronger in proportion as the communica- tion of ideas between the different countries is rendered more easy, presented to the Cortes a Bill amending the regulations respecting the present Customs tariff as regards the importation of books, and that this Bill, having been passed by the Chambers and sanctioned by His Majesty, has been promulgated as a law of the kingdom, dated March 4th last. Great Britain being, in view of the fact that her tariffs grant the exemption from duty, included in the terms of Article 2 of this law, Iam instructed by my Government to communicate it to His Majesty’s Government, in order that advantage may be taken of it by any British subjects who may desire to introduce books into Spain, and who shall have complied with the other conditions mentioned in the law. I transmit herewith to your Excellency a copy of  ‘36 for all interested in the art of printing. This third edition will possess some new features. Early last month Miss Theodora Wilson Wilson published a novel, entitled “Father, M.P.,”’ with Messrs. Thos. Nelson & Sons. he same author has also made arrangements with Messrs. Harper Bros. for the production of a work next year. The title is « Langbarrow Hall, and the novel deals with the North Country, in a district of sand and peat, moss and scaur. Messrs. Blackie and Sons have just issued Vol. 2 of Mr. Philip ©. Yorke’s work, “A Note Book of French Literature.” This volume, which deals with authors of the nineteenth century, is worked out on the same plan as that adopted by the author in Vol. 1, and consists of biography, bibliography, critical note, and illustrative extract to each author. The work is preceded by an introductory chapter. Mr. Pinero’s new play was produced on the stage of Sir Charles Wyndham’s Theatre, on the night of October 12th. The title, which gives the key to the piece, is “A Wife without a Smile—a Comedy in Disguise.” It is full of cynical humour, and the characters were excellently played throughout. A new play by Mr. Bernard Shaw, “John Bull’s Other Island,” written for the Irish Literary Society, will be produced in England at the Court Theatre for six matinées, on the Ist, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th, 11th of November. The date of the Irish performance has not, as yet, been fixed. There will be some further performances of Mr. Shaw’s well known play, “Candida,” in December. Another play by the same author, “ How He Lied to Her Husband,” has been_pro- duced under the management of Mr. Arnold Daly, with considerable success, in New York. It has been described asa travesty of Candida ; but this isa mistake. It deals with the adventures of a young poet and a fashionable lady who catch the Candida craze, and try to imagine themselves Candida and Eugene in real life, with ridiculous consequences. Mr. Shaw’s play, “ Caesar and Cleopatra,” which was to have been produced at the Berlin Deutscher Theater last spring, will be produced there next year. —__——_—_—_+—>—_o—_____—_ PARIS NOTES. —1-~— ‘ OUVENIRS des vertes Saisons,” by André Theuriet, is a charming sketch of the child- hood, early manhood, and career of this author. He tells us of his early writings and of his first publication in the Revwe des Deuz- He speaks, too, of his contemporaries, Mondes. THE AUTHOR. Daudet, Flaubert, the de Goncourts, &c. ; and there is a touching account of the poet André Lemoyne, and of the way in which he wrote his verses. “Te Double Jardin,” by Maurice Meeterlinck, proves that the author is by no means a pessimist. “Nous sommes,” he writes, “au moment ou nais- sent autour de nous mille raisons nouvelles de prendre confiance dans les destinées de notre espéce.” “Le Sillon,” by Resclauze de Bermon, is a story of self-sacrifice. It is both romantic and pathetic, and altogether a novel well worth reading. In “Les Sirénes,” by Jean Reibrach, the chief interest is also the self-sacrifice of the man who, at an advanced age, has fallen in love with the orphan daughter of a fellow officer. She is engaged to him, but before the marriage takes place he dis- covers that he has a rival in the girl’s affections, and not only does he stand aside himself but he facilitates things for the lovers. There are some exquisite passages in the book, and the picture of provincial life is well drawn. The characters, too, all live and stand out in excellent contrast. “Félicien, souvenir d’un étudiant de 48,” by Charles-Louis Chassin, is an excellent book for giving a picture of the times about which the author writes. There is the proclamation of the Republic, the eventful 13th of June, the manifesta- tion of the students against the closing of Michelet’s lectures, and an account of the author's life when in the Mazas Prison. Jules Vallés and Leconte de Lisle are to be found in this story figuring under other names. “Madame de Ferneuse,” by Daniel Lesueur, is the sequel to the ‘“ Marquis de Valcor.” The interest of the story is well sustained, the characters all live, and the book itself is written admirably. “Légendes de mort et d’amour,” by M. Gaston- Routier, is a volume of legends and impressions written after a voyage in Spain. The author has written a number of historical and geographical works, and is considered an authority on subjects connected with the early history and literature of ain. ies other new books are: “Le Fils de la Mer,” by Nelly Hager; “La Macédoine et les puissances,” by M. Gaston-Routier ; “ Le peuple chinois,” by Fernand Farjenel ; “ La Bosnie popu- laire,” by Albert Bordeaux; ‘‘ Les Giuvres des autres,” by Madame Jeanne France. There is an attempt now being made by French authors to protect their works in Canada. It appears that plays, short stories, and novels are constantly reproduced in the papers or published in book form without the consent of the writers. The Society of Canadian-French journalists has taken the matter up, and in reply to a question addressed to the Government there, the Honourable THE AUTHOR. 37 M. Scott has replied that he believes the Canadian Government adheres to the Convention of Berne. Should this be so French writers have it in their own hands to protect their works. One of the most important publishing houses of Canada, Messrs. Beauchemin, is always loyal in dealing with French authors ; and M. Heurion, the manager of the Thédtre des Nouveautés, of Montreal, has been over to Paris and made arrangements about playing the “ Retour de Jérusalem”’ and “ La plus faible,” but various newspapers and publishing houses are at the present time using works by some of the best known French authors with no regard whatever to the question of literary property. The matter is now being taken up seriously in France. In the J/ercure de France there is an excellent article on “ Les Racines de l’Idéalisme,” by Remy _ de Gourmont, and a curious study by M. Bélugou, ' entitled “Le Pouvoir de l’Imagination chez les ' Enfants.” There is also an interesting criticism of the “ Peintres de la terre belge” by M. Marius-Ary 1, Leblond. | strings are pulled by the author. In La Revue of October 15th there is an article by M. Charles Pagot, “Comment reformer l’enseigne- | ment classique,” and another one by M. Georges Pellissier on “ La Littératurea these.” The writer maintains that in the roman d these the personages do not live: they are so many puppets whose When they speak we recognise the author’s voice prompting their réle, and all their acting is in support of the theory he wishes to prove. In a recent article in the Nowvelle Revue M. Morel asks what is to be done with all the books which have to be deposited at the Bibliotheque Nationale. He believes that with the present system the catalogue itself cannot be completed until the year 1930, and that it will consist of 136 volumes. In the Quinzaine M. Giraud writes on Chateau- briand and his critics. In the Revwe des Dewr-Mondes M. Fouillée discusses the moral and social consequences of Darwinism. In the same review Madame Arvede Barine gives details with regard to the romance of “La Grande Mademoiselle,” and M. Edouard Rod writes on Ada Negri’s new book. In the Revue de Paris there is an interesting account of Count Valentin Esterhazy, and M. Paul Stapfer writes of his acquaintance with Victor Hugo when the poet was at Guernsey. At the Comédie Francaise “Les Affaires sont les Affaires” has been put on again. The Odéon is now giving the new play by M. Brieux, “ La Déserteuse.” “ Par le Fer et par le Feu,” the piece now running at the Thédtre Sarah Bernhardt, is taken from the celebrated novel by Sienkiewicz. Madame Bern- hardt read the book when on tour in America, and suggested to her son, M. Maurice Bernhardt, the idea of adapting it for the stage. For the last two years he has been at work on it, and in September it was read to the artistes. While Madame Bern- hardt is away on her tour the new play is being given at her theatre. | M. Antoine is still faithful to his bill of short plays, and is at present giving four instead of three: “Petite Femme,” “La Main de Singe,” “Discipline,” and “ Asile de Nuit.” : _ At the Vaudeville “Les Trois Anabaptistes” is to be followed by M. Henry Bataille’s new play, ‘“‘ Madame Colibri.” Auys HALLARD. et SPAIN AND BOOK PRODUCTION. ——+—~—+ HE following correspondence has been re- ceived by the Secretary at the Society’s Office :— : The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign A ffairs presents his compliments to the Secretary to the Society of Authors, and is directed by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to transmit to him to be laid before the Society the accompanying paper respecting the exemption from duty of books imported from certain countries into Spain :— SPANISH EMBASSY, July 12th, 1904. My Lorp,—I have the honour to inform your Excellency that the Government of the King, my august Sovereign, animated by the desire to strengthen the bonds of union between Spain and other nations her friends or allies, bonds which are certainly stronger in proportion as the communica- tion of ideas between the different countries is rendered more easy, presented to the Cortes a Bill amending the regulations respecting the present Customs tariff as regards the importation of books, and that this Bill, having been passed by the Chambers and sanctioned by His Majesty, has been promulgated as a law of the kingdom, dated March 4th last. Great Britain being, in view of the fact that her tariffs grant the exemption from duty, included in the terms of Article 2 of thislaw, Iam instructed by my Government to communicate it to His Majesty’s Government, in order that advantage may be taken of it by any British subjects who may desire to introduce books into Spain, and who shall have complied with the other conditions mentioned in the law. I transmit herewith to your Excellency a copy of  38 the law and a copy of the Royal Order respecting the effects and the forms of its application. T have, &c., (Signed) Manpas. Don Alfonso XIII., by the grace of God, &e., &c. ‘Article 1.—Are exempted from custom duties, from the date of the promulgation of this law, all classes of books imported into Spain provided that they fulfil the following requirements — (1) That they are written in the language of the country whence they come directly or with a direct invoice, and that they are published and printed in the same country ; an - (2) That they are the original works of a citizen of the said country, who has acquired the right of literary property in them. : ‘Article 2.—The exemption referred to in the preceding article shall only apply to nations which have treaties in regard to literary property, and which grant the same exemption to books printed in Spain, as a measure of reciprocity. Article 8.—The Ministry of Finance shall give the necessary orders for the execution of this law. Therefore we give order, &c., &c, Given at the Palace, March 14th, 1904. (Signed) THE Kine. (Signed) Tum MINISTER OF FINANCE, GuILLERMO J. DE OSMA. MINISTRY OF FINANCE. RoyaL ORDER. Srr,—For the due application of the law of the 14th March last, published in the Madrid Gazette of the 15th idem, providing for the exemption from customs duties of books imported from abroad and printed in the language of the country of origin, the King, in view of the information supplied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by your office, has been pleased to order— (1) That the following’ countries, which have treaties with Spain respecting intellectual property, and whose respective tariffs also grant exemption from duties to Spanish books, are henceforth to be considered as included under Article 2 of the above-mentioned law as regards the exemption referred to: Germany, England, Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, Siberia, Luxemburg, Monaco, Tunis, Columbia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, Norway, Paraguay, Argentine Republic, and Salvador ; (2) That until further notice the same treatment ghall be extended to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, in virtue of their having, in the Treaty of Paris, acknowledged the right of intellectual property, and of the fact that Spanish scientific and literary works imported into these countries now enjoy exemption from duties ; (3) That the fulfilment of the requirement of THE AUTHOR. Article 1 of the same law, for the application of the exemption, to the effect that the works must be the original production of a citizen of the country of origin, who must also have acquired the right of literary property in them, must be proved by docu- ments issued by the office which has charge of the registration of intellectual property in the respective countries, certified by the Spanish Consul ; (4) The exemption which applies to books does not extend to their bindings, which in consequence must continue to pay the duties of their class, as determined by Note 49 of the present tariff ; and (5) That consignments of books brought before the Customs without the above-mentioned proof, or which do not comply with the other requirements of Article 1 of the law, or proceed from any other territory than those mentioned, shall pay the duties laid down in the same tariff. (Signed) Osa, Director-General of Customs. Maprip, June 15th, 1904. ————__+—>—_ COPYRIGHT IN GERMANY. —— HE evolution of copyright property in Germany follows in many points the evolu- tion of copyright property in other countries. Shortly after the invention of printing, privileges were conferred on printers to protect them against piracy ; this fact showed that it was the movement of the trade that first secured any defence for literary property. But the German evolution differs to this extent from the evolution of other countries, in that, for a long period, the author’s rights were not looked upon as existing, but only the rights of reproduction when transferred to the printer or publisher. To such an extent has this been carried that even at the present time a law has been passed dealing with publishers’ rights in addition to the copyright law. A German author, writing on this subject, states as follows :— “ As, shortly after the invention of printing, or at any rate in the earliest times, the privileges conferred for pro- tection against piracy were only granted to the publishers, and to them even were often granted for all works in common which appeared in their establishments ; so under these circumstances the question : In what relation the publisher stood to the author, if he received the sanction of the latter to the reproduction of the work concerned or — not, never came to the fore at all; the idea that the right of protection for his productions originates in the personof 70 the author, that this might first have been made over by — the author to another in order to be operative, does not yet : appear in the light of day.’’ Gradually, recognised by statute, and at the end of the o9@ however, the publisher’s rights (it ought to have been the author’s rights) began to be - aN THE AUTHOR. 39 eighteenth century—the period which is full of copyright legislation in all countries—legislation was carried on in the German Confederacy. The most important statute, however, was not passed till well into the nineteenth century. This was, without doubt, the Prussian law of 1837. It formed the basis of most of the subsequent legis- lation. Under it copyright protection was granted for life and thirty vears, and the exclusive right of representation for life and ten years. The fact that a large number of small States, although they might collectively agree to certain broad principles, each legislated for its own benefit, necessarily stood in the way of uniformity. In consequence, the desire for codification became urgent. The German Booksellers’—really Pub- lishers——Guild (Borsen-Verein) was the principal mover in the matter. A committee was appointed, and a comprehensive code partly based on the Prussian law was drawn up. After consideration this was laid before the Diet on May 19th, 1864: but with the dissolution of the German Con- federacy and the creation of the North-German Federacy and the German-Empire, the subject entered on a new stage. Article 4 of the Con- stitution of the North-German Federacy (1867) at once made the protection of intellectual property a matter of Confederate Legislation, and a law was passed in May, 1870, which came into force in 1871. Although this law was to a certain extent satis- factory, in the course of time deficiencies became apparent, and attempts were made, among those interested, to obtain a series of essential alterations. The Imperial offices of justice yielding to ex- ternal pressure, made preparations for the draft of a new law. Introductory consultations with experts—publishers, authors, and musicians—were instituted, and the result was put forward for public discussion in 1899. ‘Ihe draft, as finally settled, was approved by the Imperial Government. In January, 1901, the law was referred to a com- mission of twenty-one members, was passed on May 2nd, 1901, and came into active force on January ist, 1902. One of the great alterations from the former law of 1870 was that the new law was drafted as far as possible to facilitate inter- national legal intercourse. So far the outline of domestic copyright alone has been dealt with. It is necessary to look back some years and notice the evolution of inter- national relations. No doubt the fact that the law of 1901 was drafted along lines which might facili- tate international arrangements was due to the wider protection that was given to authors under the Berne Convention, and to the wider views universally adopted of author's property. The Berne Convention, as all English authors know, was an arrangement between the various countries who were signatories to protect the property of their authors, dramatists, artists, &c. It became binding on those countries that adhered to it in 1886. The idea of an international agreement arose when experts saw the difficulties that were bound to follow in any endeavour to carry out the many divergent treaties existing between the nations. To get simplicity therefore out of the chaos it was essential that these arrangements, often very similar in their clauses and details, should be codified into one Convention. Those willing to adopt this course met together and finally came to the agreement cited above. Germany was among those who signed. She also signed the subsequent Act of Paris in 1896, an amplification of the former Convention. With the United States Germany has a special treaty. The mere proclamation of the President was found to be insufficient, according to the German law, to make the half-hearted reciprocity allowed by the States binding. The treaty gives copyright between the two countries on exactly the same basis as the copyright existing between Great Britain and the United States. The essential difference in its working arises from the fact that the two languages are not the same ; this has been found to be an enormous handicap to German authors. A discussion of this difference does not come into this paper. It has been mentioned in previous numbers of Zhe Author. Finally, Germany entered into a treaty with Austria-Hungary, and the exchange of ratifications took place in Berlin in May, 1901. Now, there- fore, domestic and international copyright legisla- tion in the empire of Germany is as widely ex- tended as in any other country. Before we consider the German law at present in force, it will be interesting to look into the philosophical and ethical view adopted by the Teuton mind. The German philosopher has turned on the moral rights of authors as he has on many other different subjects, his inquisitorial methods. It is true that the first copyright legislation in England was brought about by the publishers with a view to protecting the economic use of their property; in taking this action they recognised that it was the awthor’s property in the first instance ; but this point of view did not hold in Germany, or rather in the German States. The legislature in Prussia did not deem that there was any property in the author, merely because he had been the originator and evolver of the book, but there was property in the economic use ot what the author had originated and evolved, and, in consequence, a resultant monopoly for the author. Therefore, in the first instance the law aimed  40. THE AUTHOR. only at the protection of the economic use of intel- lectual activity, but when the rights of the author became more fully recognised and established in other countries, Germany and her philosophers had to shift their position somewhat in order to come into line, though even at this day two laws have been passed, one dealing with authors’ rights (copyright as understood in other countries) and one with publishers’ contracts (the original basis of copyright property as understood by the German philosopher). : Tt is understood now that an author’s copyright embraces considerably more than the mere right of reproduction of copies. Though this is the definition of copyright given under the English Statute of 1842, yet case law shows the ethical and moral right of an author embraces much more. It embraces the personal interest. The author may desire to keep his mental work from becoming public. He has, therefore, beyond the exclusive right of publishing, the right of withholding from publication or the right of publication to a limited number of individuals or for a limited number of years, or in a fixed form ; but according to the German philosopher this right of withholding from publication is not a proprietary right. The proprietary right is the right of obtaining money out of the reproduction of copies. But although this was the original view of copy- right the present legislature looks at the matter from a different standpoint, for either the concep- tion of proprietary rights has been extended in order to comprise within it author’s rights, or personal rights have been recognised together with proprietary rights as being contained within the author’s rights, or, finally, both have been placed on an entirely new basis, that of moral personal rights. When this important point had been decided, there arose the question of the rights after the death of the author. Authors’ rights, so far as they were personal rights, were considered to perish with the death of the author, and to be inheritable only on account of their proprietary nature, as they always con- tained within them the germ of their economic use. This deduction followed that the exclusive right to make alterations in the work belonged to the heirs as formerly to the author, and that the author’s rights in unpublished works could not become the object of compulsory execution without the consent of the heirs. In order to explain the limitation of the copy- right, Z.e., the lapsing of the proprietary rights after a certain time, the old argument of the claims of the public was brought forward—that an intellectual work may be the possession of the nation—indeed, of the whole world. ‘The most probable argument, however, for the limitation of copyright—which limi- tationis gradually lessening under recent legislation, __ig that in olden times, when the economic value of the production of a man’s brains for many reasons, but chiefly for the reason that printing had not been?invented, was unremunerative, the public deemed it had secured a right which perhaps might be comparable to a right of way. When the economic value suddenly became of importance, the public tried to argue that this right of way in reality existed, and so strong was this inherited feeling that it was many years before authors could obtain any recognition of their property. This, however, they finalty secured for a limited period. In most countries this period grew with the development of the economic value. So much for the German view of the author’s rights—that is the moral rights inherent in the author as against the proprietary rights resulting from the economic use of his property. But as from the German stand- point the two rights have always been separated, so they are still separated, and two laws have been passed, the one dealing with the Copyright Law, the other with the Law of Publishers’ Contracts. Law oF CopyRicHT. The Law of Copyright was passed in June, 1901, and came into force in January, 1902. It is divided into five parts :—1. Those who obtain protection. 2. The limitations of the privileges secured by those who obtain protection. 3. The time limitation of those privileges. 4. How and to what extent those privileges can be infringed. 5. Final decrees : points not included in the other divisions. Those who obtain protection include the authors of writings, lectures, speeches, musical works, and the whole list of producers and their assigns ex- haustively defined. In the second division follow the definitions of the author’s privileges—that is, the rights an author has with regard to his own property, such as translation rights, dramatic rights, musical rights, &e. ; and in the same divi- sion is set forth those classes of property which, generally included in this law, are for special reasons of public policy not subject to protection, for instance, the reprinting of laws, &e., &e. OF these exceptions there appears to be a long list. ‘hen follows, in the third division, the duration of the protection accorded, practically the life of the author and thirty years. clauses under this heading which deal with joint works, works published after death, and other matters connected with the duration of the term. The fourth division deals with the infringement of the rights, which have already been fully defined under the second division; the methods of the There are various.  THE AUTHOR. 4} proceedings to be taken by those mentioned ‘in the first division whose rights are infringed in order to protect their property ; and what actions amount to infringement, together with the penal- ties accruing. All these matters are dealt with in considerable detail, in fact the law seems to be crowded up with detail, and somewhat diificult of interpretation in consequence. The final division deals with registration and other matters connected with the property not included under any of the previous headings. Law RESPECTING PUBLISHERS’ CONTRACTS. Finally comes the law that deals with publishers’ rights, or, as we term them in England, rights existing under a licence to publish. This law is a most curious example of meticulous legislation. It deals with the form of contract between author and publisher, a matter generally left to be settled by the parties themselves; it may be a careful exposition of the case law embodied in_ the form of a statute. It is most interesting reading, as it practically sets out in detail what, in the absence of special arrangement, the German legis- . lature would consider a reasonable contract, and unfortunately, as so often happens, the party with the money has obtained the advantage over the party with the intellect. This was likely to be the case in a country where the publishing and bookselling combination has been so strong as almost to strangle the free development of literary talent. It is impossible to go through the Act section by section, though in some subsequent issue it may be published in full. It will suffice at the present to deal generally with the tendency of the law, and in particular with individual sections. It would appear (section 1) that where an author transfers his rights, without limitation, to the pub- lisher, publication is an inherent part of the con- tract. This point is settled by law. In England there has been no statutory enactment or case law on the subject. It would be interesting to see what line would be taken if the English Courts were asked to decide the question where the pub- lisker who had purchased the copyright refused to produce. Owing to the unreasonable delay of one or two publishers the Society has on occasions threatened to take action, but has never been actually forced into doing so owing, under pressure, to she final production of the books. The author (section 2) is forbidden during the continuation of the contract to reproduce in Germany, but still holds a great many of his original rights, such as translation, dramatic rights, elaboration of musical work, and, curiously enough, to reproduce in a collective edition if twenty years have elapsed since the first year in which the work was pub- lished. The publisher (section 5) is restrained in his right of publication of the work in various editions during the term of copyright, and is only entitled to produce one edition of one thousand copies. If, however, he has the right of producing other editions, then they are supposed to be pro- duced under the same agreement that holds good for the first edition. Section 10 is an example of the minute legislation dealing with the subject, as the author is bound to deliver the copy fit for publication. He is bound (section 11), if the work is not already written, to write it within a certain time ; he is allowed (section 12) to make ordinary corrections, but if his corrections exceed the ordi- nary usage he is bound to defray the expense. The publisher is bound to publish as soon as possible ‘(section 18) after he has received the completed work, and is bound to produce the number of copies that he is entitled to. The publisher (sec- tion 20) is bound to provide proofs tor correction. (Section 21.) He is allowed to fix the price of the work, and may lower the price as long as the just interests of the author are not injured. If there is no arrangement as to terms (section 22) it is tacitly implied that the publisher pays a fair remuneration. (Section 23.) The remuneration must be made on the delivery of the work. When it depends upon the sale (section 24) the publisher must render annual accounts, and his books are to be open to investigation if necessary. (Section 27.) The publisher is bound to restore the MS. to the author. Under section 28 the publisher’s rights are trans- ferable. This is contrary to the case law on the same subject in England. If the publisher's agreement (section 29) is confined to a definite number of editions or copies, the contract ceases when the edition or copies areexhausted. It iscurious that such a point as this should have demanded legislation. ‘The publisher may repudiate the con- tract (section 30) under certain conditions, owing to delay on the author’s part, and the same arrangement for the repudiation of a contract or for a claim for damages is applicable in favour of the author. Then follows (sections 36, 37, 38) reference to the bankruptcy of publishers and the rights of the author, and the right of cancellation under certain circumstances, Section 45 gives the author a right, if his work has not been published within a year from the delivery to the Editor, to cancel the contract, but his right to remuneration remains intact. This is a most useful regulation, as the delay of editors of some English reviews has become proverbial. The law is complete in 50 sections, and as already stated is a most entertaining example of minute legis!ation on points most of which could easily, and without difficulty, be settled by private  42, contract, and the rest by judicial interpretation of doubtful contracts. Most of the sections are com- mon-sense interpretations of possible contracting difficulties ; some are more in favour of the publisher than the author, but on the whole the author has not much to grumble at, and is always able to contract out, should he so desire, It remains to be seen whether this attention to minutiz in the law may not render disputes more difficult of settlement. It will be interesting to follow its working during the years which will elapse before another statute on the same subject is passed. Whether the two laws are all that could be desired is doubtful; the Germans, however, must be congratulated on taking the subject of copy- right in hand and dealing with it exhaustively, The authors of Great Britain have not been so fortunate in the matter of legislation. GH, 1. —————_+— A PUBLISHER’S PRACTICE. ——— STATEMENT. TATEMENT of a publisher’s practice in making up accounts to authors for works of which the profits are divided between author and publisher. A. The publisher bears the entire cost and risk of printing and publication. Except only in the event of the cost of correc- tions in proofs exceeding 25 per cent. of the cost of composition, when such excess is borne by the author. The entire proceeds of sales are in the first instance devoted to the repayment of the cost of production ; if after meeting this liability they yield a surplus, all such surplus is treated as profit and is divided between author and publisher in the proportion agreed upon. In cases where the cost is never covered by the yield, the publisher bears the loss. B. The cost is reckoned at the invoiced cost— which is almost invariably 5 per cent. more than net cost. It includes only direct expenditure—no charge is made for office expenses, rent, bad debts, insurance, travellers’ expenses, or for the work of any employé of the publisher. C. The proceeds of sales are accounted for as nearly as possible at the actual sums received by the publisher from the bookseller, after making all trade discounts and allowances—this is to say copies are reckoned at two thirds of the published price (thirteen copies as twelve if the published price be 10s. 6d. or less, or twenty-five as twenty- four if more than 10s. 62.) less 10 per cent. THE AUTHOR. The yield from books published at a net price is reckoned in the same way as the above, except that instead of two-thirds of the published price, five-sixths is reckoned. The yield for educational books proper is also reckoned in the same way (on the net or non-net basis respectively, as may be the case), except that only 74 per cent. is deducted instead of 10 per cent. The above terms do not apply to special sales (ie. special quotations made for large numbers in special cases), or to ‘remainder,’ Colonial or American sales, or to sales of plates or rights, These are not averaged, but are all made a particular note of and accounted for at exactly what each yields, D. Twelve free copies are presented to the author, and he may purchase further copies at two-thirds of the published price, or five-sixths in the case of net books. BE. Accounts are made up to Midsummer, and vouchers for all payments and receipts can be seen on request. F. The copyright of the work remains the - property of the author, but the rights of publica- tion are vested in the publisher so long as he faithfully acts up to this understanding. CoMMENT. The agreement or method of making up accounts that we have printed was submitted by one of the London publishing houses to an author, and puts forward proposals for publishing on the basis of profit-sharing. The agreement, as is usual, deals with the subject from the publisher’s view. This article will put forward the author’s standpoint. In clause A., it will be noted that the publisher bears the entire cost of printing and publication, and the entire proceeds of the sales are in the first instance devoted to the repayment of the cost of production. To the uninitiated, the word “entire” would lead one to suppose that the exact price of printing and publication was charged neither more nor less, and the exact proceeds of the sales credited neither more nor less. In clause B., however, it is shown that the “entire” cost does not agree with this definition, “the invoiced cost, which is almost invariably 5 per cent. more than the net cost,” is charged. This is certainly an open state- ment on the part of the publisher, but by no means, satisfactory. It is almost invariably—so the publisher states—5 per cent. more than the net cost, but there is nothing in this method of render- ing accounts to prevent it being 10 per cent. more than the net cost, or even a higher figure still. It is not for a moment hinted that such a charge would be made if the author was dealing with one of the first class publishing houses, but still it is necessary to draw the author's attention to a point  THE AUTHOR. which is indeterminate, and therefore faulty. If exactly 5 per cent. more is to be charged then this should be stated, but the figure should not be left indefinite. Finality is essential not only to enable the author to calculate his liabilities but in order that he should not subsequently have a cause for dissatis- faction, but whether the percentage is 74 5, or 3, it is certainly an advantage to have the plain state- ment that some percentage is taken. But is there any justice in making this charge ? Surely not. It is always as well that the exact cost of production should be settled before the agreement is entered into—that is, the exact price per sheet for composi- tion, print, and paper, and per 100 copies for binding. Then the author has definite figures and can reckon, if he has studied arithmetic at school, his probable return. The publisher must be con- gratulated on the fact that no charge is made for office expenses, etc. This is a great advance. Generally a fixed percentage on the cost of produc- tion is calculated, and so far only that it is fixed is satisfactory, but the real question is whether any charge at all should be made. This item is covered by the publisher’s share of the profit, other- wise the author ought to have a similar allowance. We next come to clause C. Here again it is evident that the word “entire” in clause A. will not bear the construction that it suggests, as the books are to be charged in the account at a certain fixed rate. Now all who know anything of the book trade know very well that there is no fixed trade price. Many books are sold at one figure, and many at another, and some across the pub- lisher’s counter at the full price. It is sometimes more convenient for both author and publisher to charge a fixed price, then the author should see that the price is a fair average and not the lowest price charged to the trade. It is unfair to take as the average the price after deducting “all trade discounts and allowances,” and the words “as nearly as possible at the actual sums received, etc.,” are misleading. But the end of the clause puts the matter in its proper light, and gives a definite though unsatisfactory state- ment as to the calculation that will appear in the accounts. The results of this calculation will be instructive to those who want to see their possible returns, and are as follows :— Price of Discount Book at 12s. 6d. 1. For a book costing more than 10s. 6d., and published subject to the usual discounts, author receives— oe 7? |. . : -3*%55~%19 7 i957 2'° of the published price. If the published price is 12s. 6d.=150d., ‘576 x 150=86'4. A little more than 7s. 24d. 43 Price of Discount Book at 6s. 2. For a book costing less than 10s. 6d., and published subject to the usual discounts, the author receives— = 2 ey of the published pri 3% 13% i065 published price. If the published price is 6s. =72d., ‘554 x 72=39°88. A little more than 8s. 33d. Price of Nett Book at 12s. 6d. 8. For the “nett” book costing more than 10s. 6d., author receives— 524, 9 18 6 20710 254 If the published price is 12s. 6d.=150d., ‘72 x 150 =108 = 9s. ‘72 of the published price. Price of Nett Book at 6s. 4, For the “nett” book costing less than 10s. 6d., author receives— oo ‘692 of the published price G18 10 ls S i If the published price is 6s.=72d., 692 x 72 =49°824. A little more than 4s. 12d. Price of Educational Books. The educational book may be “ non-nett” or “nett,” and cost either more or less than 10s. 6d. Four cases are consequently possible, in all of which 7°5 per cent. is deducted instead of 10 per cent. For the four cases the author receives the following proportions of the published price :— (a) “ Non-nett ” over 10s. 6d. : 2 24 92.5 3 * 25" 100 (0) “ Non-nett”’ under 10s. 6d. : 2 17 825 3 x 13 x = — ‘569, (c) “ Nett” over 10s. 6d. : 52h 92°5 6 25. 100. (d) “Nett” under 10s. 6d. : 5.12 9:25 a 19 100 aa 711, (a) If the price be 12s. 6d.= 150d., -592°x 150 =88'8. A little more than 7s. 43d. = 002; ‘74,  44 THE (b) If the price be 6s.= 72d., -569 x 72 =40°968. Very nearly 3s. 5d. (c) If the price be 12s. 6d. = 1504d., -74x150=111. Exactly 9s. 3d. (d) If the price be 6s.= 72d., ‘711 x72=51'192, A little more than 4s. 3d. It seems interesting to note how rapidly quantities are diminished when multiplied by fractions whose denominators but slightly exceed their numerators. Thus the thirteenth copy, which gives the author only twelve-thirteenths of his two-thirds, and the 10 per cent. discount, which gives him only nine- tenths of that, reduces his two-thirds to but little more than half. 2 260 , 36 : : 916 1.195 2” which author receives = :.= 3 390° 65 390. 2 390° That is to say, that against each £100, the author does not receive £61 13s. 4d., but £55 7s. 8d. With these figures before him the author can reckon out his gross takings on what he may think a fair sale. Clause D is the usual clause. need be raised. Annual accounts (clause E) are not satisfactory. It is always better to have semi-annual accounts, and the amount due on the accounts should be paid within a month of their rendering ; but the readiness of the Publisher to produce vouchers is to be highly commended. Clause F, again, is much too indefinite. If the rights of publi- cation are to be vested in the publisher, they should be limited to a certain form and a certain price. As the agreement is at present worded the publisher would have serial rights as well as book rights, and might produce in any form and in any country he thought fit. There should be an arrange- ment by which, when the sale of the book has ended, the agreement should be cancelled and the right of republication should revert to the author. We do not desire to draw attention to the other omissions, which are many, as the document does not purport to’ be a formal agreement, although there is no doubt that the acceptance by an author of this form would constitute a legal and binding contract. As it is printed it is not sufficiently definite and therefore unsatisfactory. If it is To it no objection meant to be a definite agreement then it is bad in substance, on account of the errors of com- mission explained and the errors of ommission left unexplained. If it is not meant to be a definite agreement then the publisher should state that a proper contract would be submitted. G. H. T. AUTHOR. MAGAZINE CONTENTS. oe (LireraRy, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL.) OCTOBER, 1904. BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, An Ambassador of the Republic of Letters. Gregory Smith. Crities and Criticism. THE BOOKMAN. The Bronté Fascination. By Angus M. Mackay. THE CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. By E. Wake Cook, By W. E. Keeton. THE CORNHILL MAGAZINE. Historical Mysteries :—The Case of Captain Green. By Andrew Lang. THe EDINBURGH REVIEW. Some Recent French and English Plays. The Intellectual Condition of Roman Catholics in Germany. Prosper Merimee. By 8. Progress or Decadence in Art. Tshaikovski as a Ballet Composer. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Three Sketches by Stijn Streuvels, By Alexander de Teixeira Mattos. The Origins of the Alphabet. French Life and The French Stage. donald. Graszia Deledda and ‘‘ Cenere.” By Andrew Lang. By John F. Mae- By May Bateman. Tar INDEPENDENT REVIEW. First Aid to the Critic. By C. F. Keary. Modern Languages in Public Schools. By G. Winthorp Young. “ The Dynasts.”’ By John Pollock. LoNGMAN’S MAGAZINE. The Wren-Bush. By Maud EK. Sargent. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. By W. Beach Thomas, THE MONTH, The Oldest Life of St. Gregory. Thurston. Subjective Idealism. By the Rev. Thomas Rigby. The Song of Birds. By the Rev. Herbert THE NATIONAL REVIEW. Scottish Letters. By ‘‘ Glasgow.”' An Old Almanac. By the Hon. Maud Lyttleton. THE PALL MALL MAGAZINE. A Royal Painter and His Friends. By Georg Brochner. About Our Fiction. John Oliver Hobbes, H. G. Wells, Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse,W. L. Courtney, and Walter Frewen Lord. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. The “ Advocatus Diaboli’’ on the Divina Commedia. The Influence of Cant on Modern Thought. By the Master of Baliol. Thomas Treherne and the Religious Poets of the 17th Century. By Professor W. Lewis Jones. TEMPLE BAR. The Progress of English Criticism. By Walter Lewin. There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, or a subjects in Chambers’s Journal or the World's Tork, THE AUTHOR. 45 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. ee ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for ‘“ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! IlI. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ee WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. — 9 — EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This 1s unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills, (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (¢e.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (3.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time, This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. ‘The legal distinction is of great importance, 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he. runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. —____—_—_-—<>—_o___<_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. 1 ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. ‘The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal, with—performing right and copyright. He  46 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part.cular consideration the warnings stated above. eo = HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. SO 1 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. | The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, put if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. : 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeayour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. pe annum, or £10 10s for life membership. : THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. 1 HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ——_———_1 > +>—__—_ THE READING BRANCH. - EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. —_____+ >_> NOTICES. So HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, 8.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —+ The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. —_—_—_—___o << o_____ LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. ———— ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. a Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C.  THE AUTHOR. 47 AUTHORITIES. —-—— + E should like once again to call the atten- tion of musical composers and song writers to the fact that the Society undertakes to stamp, in accordance with the custom in the music trade, the copies of the works of its members. For this the Society charges the ordinary fee of sixpence per one hundred or part of one hundred. Every member for whom the Society undertakes this duty is thus saved a great deal of trouble and worry, He sends a notice to the publisher, who, when there is any music to be stamped, notifies the secretary direct. On receipt of the notice the music is stamped at once and the voucher forwarded. Members’ stamps are kept in the safe, and cannot be handled by anyone except the secretary or his duly appointed agent. At the end of each half year an account giving full details of the amount due is forwarded to the member, which is easily checked from the vouchers he has received, As this work is undertaken for the benefit of members and without any profit to the Society, it is hoped that it will be patronised by all those connected with the musical profession. Members of the Society will callto mind certain articles printed in 7’he Author dealing with the question of the sale of American magazines and newspapers in Canada, and the amount of postage charged by the authorities. These articles appear to have been widely read, and gave rise to certain questions in the House of Commons. There was a note on the subject in the October number. The answers to the questions put in the House of Commons were, unfortunately, unsatisfactory, but the committee endeavoured to pursue the matter further, and instructed the Secretary to write to the Postmaster-General, in the hope that it would be possible to raise the question at the next meeting of the Postal Union, and to the Canadian Authors’ Society, with a view to obtaining their support. The reply of the Postmaster-General is printed below. The Secretary of the Society has not as yet heard from the Canadian Society of Authors, GENERAL Post OFFICE, LONDON. Srz,—In reply to your letter of the 12th instant, Iam directed by the Postmaster-General to inform you that the next Postal Union Congress is to be held at Rome in April, 1905, With regard to your inquiry whether it would be possible to consider at that congress the question of the postage charged on printed matter sent from the United Kingdom to Canada, I am to observe that it is already open to the Postmaster-General to arrange special terms with the Canadian Post Office should he desire to do so, But, as stated in the House of Commons in reply toa question put a short time ago, a reduction of the present rate would necessarily have to be of a general character, and the Postmaster-General, in view of the serious loss of revenue which would be involved, is not prepared to recommend it, I an, Sir, Your obedient servant, (Signed) E. Crass, For the Secretary. G, HERBERT THRING, Esq. WE see from the United States Publishers’ Weekly that at the annual meeting of the German Publishers’ Association at Leipzig a very strong group of delegates was in favour of renewing the memorial previously presented to the Reichstag for the repeal of the present Copyright Convention with the United States, and that the Authors’ Association of Germany was quoted as being also in favour of renewing this application. The Publishers’ Weekly proceeds to state: “ It need hardly be pointed out that such a step on the part of Germany would not only constitute a decided misfortune to the cause of copyright throughout the world, but would also constitute a very serious additional difficulty in the way of securing favourable attention from Congress in the fall for the pending amendment.” It is the old story that it is easy to point to “the mote ” in your brother’s eye, but it is difficult to realise “the beam” that is in your own eye. No doubt such a step on the part of the Fatherland would be retrogression so far as International Copyright is concerned. Do the authorities in the United States, however, fully realise the fact that if Germany did withdraw from the Treaty they would still be far ahead of the United States in their position with regard to the ideal International Copyright, and that the sooner the United States grasp the fact the better will it be for the fulfilment of that ideal ? Much better than lament overa possible German retrogression, let the United States of America show some signs of progression. In the April number of 7'he Author the subject of agents was dealt with at some length, and the difficulties that might arise between author and agent were fully set forth. It is necessary from time to time to write articles dealing with points of vital interest to members, in order that they should be fully cognisant of the dangers which they may encounter. : Although there is no need within so short a time to repeat the full tale of difficulties, yet owing to the fact that the notice of the Society has been called again to one or two cases where agents have acted outside their legitimate agency work, it is  48 essential once more for the protection of members to place before them the following points :— First, the case of those authors who have proposals submitted to them from publishers or editors, through agents. Here it often happens that the agents are really acting for the publishers or the editors rather than for the author. If the editor or the publisher is anxious > obtain the author he should pay the agent for the work done, and it should be fully understood that the agent is acting for the publisher. The line of demarca- tion, however, may be difficult to ascertain when an offer is submitted to an author who is already on the agent’s books. In the case of those authors who are not on the agent’s books the matter seems to be quite clear. ‘As a matter of fact some agents rint on their paper the names of magazines and ublishers with whom they are in connection, thus openly proclaiming themselves not to be the agents of the author. The author should then approach with diffidence, and not blindly give that confidence which ought to exist between the author and his agent. The second point is the danger of dealing -with those agents who sometimes act as principals. This is no uncommon danger, and not infrequently arises from the importunity of the author who is desirous of obtaining the wherewithal to buy his daily bread. For this, he has no hesitation in selling his birth- right—or his copyright. If the act is done openly very little can be said except to advise the author that such a transaction must necessarily be unsatis- factory. The sale itself may be bond fide from the agent’s point of view, yet, as has been frequently pointed out in Zhe Author, is dangerous in the extreme. The same transaction, however, is tinged with fraud when the agent acts as principal without disclosing the fact. When such a case is discovered it should be ruthlessly exposed. Tur following cutting from the Daily Chronicle will, no doubt, prove interesting to many of the readers of The Author now that the address of the ao offices lies within the precincts of Storey’s ate :— « The announcement of the closing for repairs of the road- way by Storey’s Gate must have set a few people wondering who Storey was that a gate should be named after him. Edward Storey was employed by Charles II. to carry out those improvements in St, James's Park which converted the neglected pleasaunce of Tudor times into something like the park as we know it. It was owing to his having a house on this site that the name arose. In the Daily Courant of September 5th, 1705, is the following advertise- ment :—‘ Dropt in St. James’s Park, September the 3rd, 1705, betwixt Mr. Story’s and the Duke of Buckingham’s House, a Gold Minuit Pendulum Watch, &c. ; if offered to be Sold or pawn’d, you are desired to stop the same and: THE AUTHOR. give notice to Mr. Padington at his house in Princes Court near Mr. Story’s.? From that we may see how ‘ Mr. Story’s’ nad become, as it were, a postal address ; and so: it came to pass that a mere contractor shared the eponymous honour given to an Emperor, a Prince, or a Queen.” Ir is with much regret that we lave to chronicle: the death of Lady Besant, which occurred in Devonshire on Friday, October 7th. Lady Besant had been a member of the Society since its foundation, and was always in warm sym- athy with her husband’s work. It is the irony of fate that she did not live to see the permanent memorial to her husband, which the County Council have consented to set up on the Embank- ment, as a gift from members of the Society and others. 0 HINTS ON DIALOGUE. ——_-——+—_ HESE hints are intended solely for beginners, and can only bore or madden the practised writer. I hope he will accept this warning. Many beginners say to me, “ I cannot find a good plot.” They never say, “ I cannot write good dialogue.” Yet sometimes they cannot write good dialogue. Of the two dialogue is the more important. You must first of all get a person, before you tell us what he does. If you cannot make him seem to be a real person, it will not matter in the least what he does. If he is absolutely unreal, it will not matter though he hypnotises a dead ostrich in a cavern full of hidden treasure thousands of feet beneath the bed of the Atlantic. That is to say, it will not matter except to the uneducated novelette people whom you should not wish to attract. From the point of view of the story writer words speak louder than deeds. If every word that your invented person speaks is convincing evidence that he is real and living, he may do almost anything. The reader may find his action incomprehensible, and yet be convinced. In real life a man’s actions are often incomprehensible. The indirect method is always better than the direct method in story telling. If you wish your reader to gather a certain fact which we will call “ B,” it is better to tell him another fact which we will call “A,” and let him deduce “‘B” from it. Tf, for instance, you wish to describe a perfectly charming woman, you may describe the general adoration which she receives rather than analyse. in what her charm consists. So, too, it is better that your reader shall deduce the exact kind of person you have invented from what he says than  THE AUTHOR. that yon should give a long and cumbrous descrip- tion of him. It is apt to make very tiresome reading, and in any case carries less conviction with it. Let me suppose, for instance, that I wrote as follows : ‘‘ He was weak rather than bad-natured. He tried to cover an inextinguishable brag with slabs of humility. He was without tact or taste, and had the kind of mind that remembers and enjoys out of date phrases. He had no sense of humour.” That may possibly give you some idea of the man; but now turn to “ Sandra. Belloni,” and read these words which Mr. Meredith puts into the mouth of Mr. Pole, addressing a “ courtly poor man” :— “ Giving a semi-circular sweep of his arm : ‘ Here you see my little estate, sir,’ he said. ‘ You’ve seen plenty bigger in Germany, and England too. We can’t get more than this handful in our tight little island. Unless born to it, of course. Well! We must be grateful that all our nobility don’t go to the dogs. We must preserve our great names. I speak against my own interest.’ ” All that I have said in my flat description can be gathered from that piece of dialogue, and it can be gathered in a much more interesting and much more convincing manner. Your aim is to make your reader know things, but not to let him know how he knowsthem. You can do this with dialogue. Granted, therefore, that in the making of real persons the words that you give them to speak are of the first importance, we now come to the difficulty of getting these words right. Real life must be studied exactly : it must not be copied exactly. You must transmute : you must not report. Your aim is not to put down real life on paper : your aim is to produce the effect of real life by what you put down on paper. And it is exactly in its relation to real life that dialogue becomes so difficult./Spoken dialogue and written dialogue are judged quite differently. Spoken conversations are judged rapidly through the ear alone, with the critical faculty more or less in abeyance, without the inclination or, as a rule, the opportunity for further examination. Written conversations are judged through the eye that may dwell, if it will, on the written words, with the critical faculty wide awake, and with every oppor- tunity of exercising it. If you read a good play, where the dialogue is made to be spoken, you will find it very different from the kind of dialogue you get in a good novel where it is made to be read. Take, for instance, the following passage from the second Act of ‘‘ The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith ” :— “ Lucas: Why, what has brought about this change in you? “ Agnes: What ? 49 * Lucas : What ? “ Agnes: I know. Lucas: You know ? : pie 2 Exactly how you regard me. Lucas: I don’t understand you.” _And probably the reader does not understand either, but Mr. Pinero has made no mistake. He was writing words that were to be spoken, and it was all perfectly intelligible and seemed even inevitable when spoken by Mr. Robertson and Mrs. Campbell at the Garrick Theatre. oe The writer of stories must, therefore, allow for the difference in the conditions. Here are a few instances of allowances that must be made : (1) Cold print has more strength than the spoken word. What seems merely flippant or a little slangy when one hears it spoken, will seem posi- tively vulgar when it is read in print. If an exact shorthand report of all that he had said during the day could be given to a man of average refinement and sensibility, he would go away and commit suicide. The exaggerations that we all commonly use with no idea that they are exaggerations stand up and shout their futility when they are written. (2) The wit and humour of real life are generally wretched, and are welcomed or forgiven because they have no pretensions. Print has an ineradic- able pretension, and the kind of dialogue which seems amusing enough in real life must be made more amusing before it will produce the same effect upon a printed page. But this improvement must not be overdone, as it frequently has been even by capable writers. At the twentieth successive. epigram your reader will be extremely likely to pull up and say to himself: “This is all very funny, but nobody ever did or could talk like this.” And the moment a reader says that about your story, your story is lost. (3) Spoken conversation generally contains many unfinished and broken sentences. In print these must be far fewer, or an unpleasant jerky effect will be produced which would have been absent from the conversation if spoken. (4) In spoken conversation there is much more than the mere words. ‘There are expression of face, tone of voice, and sometimes gesture, all of which have a modifying effect on those words. You must allow for this in one way or another ; you can record the expression, tone, or gesture (this becomes tiresome if it is done too frequently), or you can alter the words to the effect. But as a rule the beginner is not likely to copy real life too exactly. He is more likely to get too far away from it and to copy what he has seen in books. Originality is very much a matter of practice, and at first the young writer tends to use the observation of others rather than his own. If he has been influenced by the old-fashioned  50 ‘storical fiction, he will be likely to. make his fats talk “essays. His -hero will express noble and generous sentiments for two pages and a half without a break, and yet be permitted to survive by his audience. ‘These things are too improbable. Or the author may make characters his own mouthpiece ; that is to say, he may make them speak to propagate his own opinions. This is all wrong, and is particularly common In the novel with a purpose. ‘he words that your characters speak must primarily illuminate these characters to make it clearer to the reader exactly what kind of people they are. But there may be another purpose as well. It may be necessary for a character to tell a story and give the reader information. In this case there must be a double melody. He may tell the story, but he must tell it in character, and he must be showing what he himself is throughout and concurrently. This point is very often missed, and the narration is given in terms which the narrator would not have used, It is worth while to turn back to “ Sandra Belloni,” to the sixth chapter, where Emilia recounts her history. That is perfect ; there is at no point any possibility of forgetting that it is Emilia speaking. She happens to be telling her own story, but it is perhaps her manner of telling it which throws most light upon her. Look, too, at Laura Tinsley’s description of the Brookfield tragedy, towards the end of the book. She is speaking of others, but she is also illuminating Laura Tinsley for the reader. Speak your dialogue aloud as you write it. You will find that a fair, rough test, whether you are slipping out of the conversational into the literary style, and whether the words are in keeping with the character who speaks them. Also it will often suggest what alteration, if any, you must make in transferring the words from speech into writing. Very frequently, of course, no alteration is required. Never attempt to remember all these hints while you are writing your dialogue, There must _be absolute concentration for the creative effort. Use them afterwards, when you are correcting and improving what you have written, and never correct until twenty-four hours after writing. After that interval it will be easier to place yourself in the position of your reader. Naturally, as time goes on, you may employ these hints at the time of writing, but you will employ them unconsciously. For instance, you will not con- sciously remember that it is a good test to speak your dialogue aloud as you write it, but you will find yourself speaking it. BaRry PAIN, ———_+ THE AUTHOR. “THE EDITOR REGRETS——” se T’ isn’t a mere euphemism, either. He really I does regret—though the literary aspirant, murmuring bitterly over his cherished and rejected article, “I don’t believe he ever looked at: it,” will not readily credit such an assertion. He thinks, poor author, being for the moment a pessimist of the deepest dye, that the editor has forgotten his own apprenticeship and has grown hard and unsympathetic in his prosperity. Nota bit of it. On the contrary, he often wonders, as curly sheets of paper twine themselves round his fingers and absolutely refuse to be coaxed into flatness, how he, who had a weakness for rolling his manuscripts, ever came to the front at all. He would dearly like to give the unconscious offender a hint, but Well, the fact is, he did do it once, in the early and enthusiastic days of his first editorial work, and the avalanche of corres- pondence that, as a result, he brought down on his devoted head, cured him altogether of the desire to make excursions outside his own domain. It hasn’t the ghost of a chance—that frivolously curly creation—for when its first page is released all the others rush in over the distracted reader like breakers on the seashore, and a great deal of work having to be compressed into a very short space of time, he puts it back carefully into its neat little cardboard mausoleum, and “regrets ””— its demise. The soiled manuscript, too, thumbed, marked, dog’s-eared, bearing obvious signs of having passed through many hands—all, presumably, unapprecia- tive—may just as well stay at home. The editor is human, and doesn’t want the leavings of his confréres, and so, if the writer is convinced—and he usually is—that by withholding his contribution he would be depriving the said editor of the chance of a lifetime let him, at least, revise and re-write it. It will seldom lose anything by the process. It should be superfluous—but, unfortunately, is not—to say that every MS., every time it is returned, should be re-examined before being sent out again, clean and smart, on its new venture. The pages should be numbered and have the title on each of them, and the wrapper, stamped and addressed, should be large enough to contain the packet without making fresh folds in the latter, and sufficiently strong for the contents. It is labour in vain to inflict a long letter on the editor, but a slip stating the title and number of words is distinctly useful to a busy man or woman. A brief—it must be very brief—resumé of the subject-matter is also, in the case of lengthy MSS., advisable, Granted, then, that the “copy,” properly  THE AUTHOR. equipped, lies ready for despatch, the next question that arises is, “ Where is it likely to meet with acceptance ?” It is simply inviting disaster to post it off, hap- hazard, to the first magazine or newspaper that suggests itself. Politics and religion play a lerge part in the Press—even in that portion of it devoted to fiction—and the length of an article is a powerful factor in its fate. A great deal of information, supplied by editors themselves, is con- tained in the “ Literary Year-book”’; and the Press Directories, to be seen at any public library, supple- ment it most usefully by classifying the whole output of the Press as “fiction,” ‘* science,” “humorous,” and the like, and it is therefore significant of a very careless writer to forward his efforts to manifestly unsuitable journals. Literary persons not infrequently deserve their unenviable reputation for lack of method, but I once saw an extremely workmanlike register kept by an author. A large book of the exercise type was ruled off into spaces, headed respectively, “Date despatched and postage required. Title of MS. and number of words. Offices where sent. Accepted. Declined. Remarks.” The remarks— the others speak for themselves—contained such memoranda as the following :— “Exceptionally courteous refusal —written. (The Treasury, The Gentleman’s Magazine, The Girls Realm.)” “ Offices of the magazine changed.” “Printed form of refusal—unsigned and un- dated. (Very usual.)” “Very prompt in reading all contributions. (Quiver, Pearson’s, Sketch, and most of the weekly illustrateds.)” “¢ Commended—too long—invited to send some- thing shorter.” “Has two forms of refusal—one of which intimates that the editor would like to see more of the author’s work. (Windsor.)” “Encloses a form of subscription, with the statement, ‘Articles, short stories, and sketches can only be accepted from subscribers.’ (Judy.)” “Various reasons for refusal tabulated with much elaboration, and the specific one, or ones, indicated by a cross. (Pearson’s.)” “Cheque on acceptance. (Most of the weeklies.)” “Payment after publication. (Many of the monthlies.)”’ “Retains manuscripts from a week to ten days. (Quiver, Idler, Treasury, Longman’s, Windsor.)” “Specially encouraging to new writers. (All Messrs. Harmsworth’s publications.)” The value of such a record is evident, and shows, at least, a desire to neglect no trifle that may con- tribute to success—a desire most editors are quick to recognise and appreciate, It is seldom, indeed, 51 that a scrupulously clean manuscript is not returned 80, and if a faint odour of excellent tobacco some- times creeps out from its pages, it is, after all, pretty plain proof that the hard-hearted autocrat to whom it was consigned has—looked at it ! ‘All contributions must be in type-script,” is the legend appearing now-a-days in most editorial notices, but I feel sure some of those who issue it would infinitely rather consider neat handwriting than the work executed by illiterate clerks in cheap offices. I have seen such work—ill-spelt, uneven, a curiosity in punctuation—sent out without a qualm. Being “typed” it conforms with the regulations, but—is it very surprising ?—it invari- ably returns to its owner. Don’t, then, dear reader—if, in conclusion, I may strike a personal note—waste your own time and editors’ unless you can attend to these trifles. Don’t write to know whether the article has been received—it is like pulling up a plant to see whether it is growing. Do not, above all things, send your uninvited article to the editor’s private address—an Englishman’s house is his castle. Besides, if he can’t see it from your point of view when he has any number of worse ones around him, he certainly won’t when it invites comparison with the latest achievement of his favourite author,. between which and him it has presumed to thrust. itself, ANNIE Q. CARTER. ——o——__o-__—_ A LITERARY CRISIS. —_—+ N the career literary of novelists may some- times be observed a notable and regrettable feature—I do not presume to consider this in a spirit of cold criticism, but with that instinct of the physician which makes for a remedy. An author having written a number of books of gradually increasing merit (although perhaps of varying interest) produces one which is pre- eminently an advance upon all previous work, either in artistic excellence or in human interestp— it may be in both, The book is straightway a success. It is praised by the critics, it is praised and discussed by the reading public. New editions are called for. America reads it. The Colonies read it. Tauchnitz. seeks permission to include it in his list. It sells in numbers. ‘The writer awakes to find laurels on his pillow. Then comes the surprising sequel. The reading public and the critics have looked forward with keenness to the now noted writer’s next book. All the faults the reviewers had been able to find in  52 the last were mainly venial faults, faults which needed but for their correction that timely prick of criticism which the critics with their accustomed geniality had supplied. They saw no lack of promise. Their part being done, they prophesied great things of the writer. : What then is their astonishment and the dis- appointment of readers to find in their protege s succeeding book a distinct and undeniable falling off! The promise of its predecessor 1s stultified. The reviewer's prophecies have come to nought. Readers (and publishers) are disappointed. The book is, it may be, the poorest thing the author has produced. At all events it is markedly inferior to the book which brought him into notice. This thing has happened so frequently as almost to establish a rule. One may not cite names, of course, albeit a number, and these including some of our foremost writers, present themselves. The fact being indisputable, it is interesting and it may be helpful, to seek the reason. Is it due to exhaustion following upon supreme effort? Is it due to some noxious miasma exhaling in the tropic heats of success? Is it the pernicious influence of teas, of dinners and of other smiling functions whereto Mrs. Leo-Hunter bids the last-discovered Beast in order that he may roar for the eritertain- iment of her guests ? Or is it merely that Messrs. Mammon (the author’s publishers) having tasted the savour of successful editions, unduly spur him to repeat his efforts, and spoil his work by haste ? Personally, 1 doubt that the explanation lies in any of these factors. For the phenomenon is found in those who refuse to have their pace of produc- tion set by Messrs. Mammon, in those who are proof against social miasmata, in those who con- sign Mrs. Leo-Hunter actually to the fire-grate, or mentally (provided they are privileged by sex) to flames less temperate. I cannot help thinking that the explanation is more profound. I venture to offer the following suggestions toward it: That the productive methods of the novelist differ materially from those of any other form of brain work. While the historian, philosopher, or journalist evolves ideas, constructs theories, or narrates facts, the novelist creates persons, entities with individualities, wills, emo- tions, destinies, over which, when once created, he in many cases has little more control, perhaps even less, than a parent has over the development and destinies of his sons and daughters. That while the journalist, for example, remembers what he sees and describes it in language which presents it more or less clearly before his readers, the creative writer does not write from memory at all. His is the faculty to absorb and assimilate scenes and THE AUTHOR: circumstances and emotions and to compound them into a new substance, a substance which spon- taneously evolves itself into drama and story, as clouds may be seen to evolve themselves perpetually into new shape. That while the story itself is worked out by sub-conscious faculties of mind (the subliminal consciousness as it has been styled) the more purely intellectual faculties are employed mainly in re- cording these sub-conscious and spontaneous operations. The true creative power, the inspira- tion which gives life, lies in the sub-consciousness, and is only hampered and hindered when the active, intelligence interferes and attempts to control the persons and developments of the drama. If I may cite my own case (and doubtless the psychological processes of the humblest are some- what as those of the highest) I am able frequently to perceive this dual action of my brain, the more actively intellectual portion standing apart (like a spectator with a note-book) watching the spon- taneous developments of another portion and rapidly clothing these in language which my pen sets down. I am able even to see in this sub- conscious stratum of my brain tiny moving figures which seem intensely alive and seldom pause for word or action, but play out their play like actors who know their parts perfectly. When I take up my pen in the morning I experience the utmost interest to know what they are going todo. For if I know, it is because they have subtly informed me, not because I have consciously decided for them. When, from fatigue (from having roared the previous evening, it may be, for Mrs. Leo- Hunter) my actors on some mornings are inert, experience has taught me not to jerk them into action, or they will merely play their parts like puppets moved by wires. I wait till they begin to move again spontaneously. The methods of all writers are not of course similar. With some the persons and course of a story are consciously and carefully fabricated and elaborated by the active intellectual faculties, in order to illustrate some theory or problem or to adorn some ingenious plot. But in these cases, in order to vitalise such a plot and to give life and reality to the persons of the story, the writer must first cast his notions into his sub-consciousness, to be there clothed with flesh and made to live aud breathe. Otherwise they will be no more than automata, pegs whereon the plot or problem hangs. Now I venture to offer as an explanation of the oftentimes injurious influence of success the sug- gestion that the self-consciousness to which it may give rise, hampers the normal working methods. The author is over-anxious to be worthy of the praise accorded him, to surpass himself. His  THE AUTHOR. 53 natural methods of production are disturbed. The delicate balance between active consciousness and brooding consciousness (so to term it) is lost. In his striving to do well, he is afraid to trust enough to his less determined mental faculties. He plots and re-plots, constructs and re-constructs. Like a boy or a girl who has planted a seed in the ground, he interferes with its natural processes of erowth by perpetually examining and over-hauling it, in order to be sure that it is sprouting. The book is the child ef his intellect, instead of being the child of his nature. Everyone is disap- pointed. He himself, having devoted so many pains and so much attention to it, perhaps regards it as his best work. Those more qualified to judge find it artificial, unconvincing, full of notions it may be, and of “situations,” but lacking the life and health and harmonious perfection of a spontaneous natural growth. ARABELLA KENEALY. —_—__—_—_—_—_+—>__+____—_—_- LITERATURE AND LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. So [FIRST ARTICLE. | E, here in England, complain of our copy- right lav—and American authors complain of theirs ! Turn to the preface of any standard English work on copyright, and you will find the bitter complaint reiterated in every edition. Turn to the introduction of Mr. Arthur S. Hamlin’s admirable compilation of ‘‘ American Cases and Decisions ”’* (just published by Messrs. Putnam’s Sons), to read of— “| |. The unnecessary complexity of the provisions of the existing statute, the difficulty, and, in some cases, the impracticability, of fulfilling the obligations imposed by it.” It has quite a home-like familiar sound! It might have been written in England of English Copyright law. But the curious—shall I say, the amusing ?— part of Mr, Hamlin’s complaint is not here. We are all complaining animals. For us, the amusing part of Mr. Hamlin’s introduction will be his _* Copyright Cases: A Summary of Leading American Decisions on the Law of Copyright and on Literary Property, from 1891 to 1903; together with the Text of the United States Copyright Statute, and a Selection of Recent Copyright Decisions of the Courts of Great Britain and Canada, Compiled by Arthur S. Hamlin. Published for the American Publishers’ Copyright League by G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1904. $2. splendid eulogy of the copyright laws of other countries—in which he doubtless includes our own —and his finding in their perfeetions his strongest argument for damning the imperfections of his own. That is the unkindest cut of all! We break out periodically into ravines against our law. Listen to Mr. Hamlin on it :— “All the existing copyright statutes of the world, excepting that of the United States, have been the work of commissions of experts. The members of these com- missions have had authority to summon witnesses, and to take testimony, and, after having devoted sufticient time to. the mastery of the details of a subject which is of necessity complex, and which certainly calls for expert training, and for expert experience, they have presented their conclusions in the form of a report containing the specifications of the legislation recommended .. .. ” and so forth, Having read which, one turns in amazement to. the English law, involuntarily exclaiming: And tas is what we get! After all that noble work by those expert and experienced persons described by Mr. Hamlin—we take his account of it just as it stands—/his is the net result :— “ Numerous and ill-drafted Acts,” says Mr. Scrutton. ‘* Nothing has been done to ameliorate the lamentable condition in which the Commissioners found the law,” says Mr. MacGillivray. These are the opinions of our distinguished experts. If we turn to the “opinions” of those who are not experts—well, | that way madness lies! “The bull in the net” is the only suitable metaphor. So, Mr. Hamlin is, to say the least, a little puzzling. And, reading this excellent and most useful compilation of his, as I have read it, from cover to cover, I have tried, during the last few days, to puzzle it all out. All laws are imperfect in this imperfect yet progressive world. I cannot for the life of me see that this work—a record and condensation of United States cases from 1891 to 1903—takes up in its drag-net any considerable body of cases pointing directly at the “ complexities,” “ difficulties,” ‘ impracticabilities,” of which Mr. Hamlin complains. With the heartiest will in the world to confound American copyright law, I find myself unable to be any more kind to Mr. Hamlin than at least he is to us. I will not actually go so far as to praise his law. Nil aamirari should be our motto when we are con- fronted by the comfortable optimist who points out to us the excellent time authors are now having compared with the old days of “ patronage.” We will not forget so quickly as all that ‘the shambles where they died.” But I must ask him why, at least, he did not nail down some specific cases in this book in which these “complexities” were  52 the last were mainly venial faults, faults which needed but for their correction that timely prick of criticism which the critics with their accustomed geniality had supplied. They saw no lack of promise. Their part being done, they prophesied great things of the writer. ; What then is their astonishment and the dis- appointment of readers to find in their proteges succeeding book a distinct and undeniable falling off! ‘The promise of its predecessor 1s stultified. The reviewer’s prophecies have come to nought. Readers (and publishers) are disappointed. The book is, it may be, the poorest thing the author has produced. At all events it is markedly inferior to the book which brought him into notice. This thing has happened so frequently as almost to establish arule. One may not cite names, of course, albeit a number, and these including some of our foremost writers, present themselves. The fact being indisputable, it is interesting and it may be helpful, to seek the reason. Is it due to exhaustion following upon supreme effort? Is it due to some noxious miasma exhaling in the tropic heats of suecess ? Is it the pernicious influence of teas, of dinners and of other smiling functions whereto Mrs. Leo-Hunter bids the last-discovered Beast in order that he may roar for the eritertain- inent of her guests ? Or is it merely that Messrs. Mammon (the author’s publishers) having tasted the savour of successful editions, unduly spur him to repeat his efforts, and spoil his work by haste ? Personally, I doubt that the explanation lies in any of these factors. For the phenomenon is found in those who refuse to have their pace of produc- tion set by Messrs. Mammon, in those who are proof against social miasmata, in those who con- sign Mrs. Leo-Hunter actually to the fire-grate, or mentally (provided they are privileged by sex) to flames less temperate. I cannot help thinking that the explanation is more profound. I venture to offer the following suggestions toward it: That the productive methods of the novelist differ materially from those of any other form of brain work. While the historian, philosopher, or journalist evolves ideas, constructs theories, or narrates facts, the novelist creates persons, entities with individualities, wills, emo- tions, destinies, over which, when once created, he in many cases has little more control, perhaps even less, than a parent has over the development and destinies of his sons and daughters. That while the journalist, for example, remembers what he sees and describes it in language which presents it more or less clearly before his readers, the creative writer does not write from memory at all. His is the faculty to absorb and assimilate scenes and THE AUTHOR: circumstances and emotions and to compound them into a new substance, a substance which spon- taneously evolves itself into drama and story, as clouds may be seen to evolve themselves perpetually into new shape. That while the story itself is worked out by sub-conscious faculties of mind (the subliminal consciousness as it has been styled) the more purely intellectual faculties are employed mainly in re- cording these sub-conscious and spontaneous operations. The true creative power, the inspira- tion which gives life, lies in the sub-consciousness, and is only hampered and hindered when the active, intelligence interferes and attempts to control the persons and developments of the drama. If I may cite my own case (and doubtless the psychological processes of the humblest are some- what as those of the highest) 1 am able frequently to perceive this dual action of my brain, the more actively intellectual portion standing apart (like a spectator with a note-book) watching the spon- taneous developments of another portion and rapidly clothing these in language which my pen sets down. I am able even to see in this sub- conscious stratum of my brain tiny moving figures which seem intensely alive and seldom pause for word or action, but play out their play like actors who know their parts perfectly. When I take up my pen in the morning I experience the utmost interest to know what they are going todo. For if I know, it is because they have subtly informed me, not because I have consciously decided for them. When, from fatigue (from having roared the previous evening, it may be, for Mrs. Leo- Hunter) my actors on some mornings are inert, experience has taught me not to jerk them into action, or they will merely play their parts like puppets moved by wires. I wait till they begin to move again spontaneously. The methods of all writers are not of course similar. With some the persons and course of a story are consciously and carefully fabricated and elaborated by the active intellectual faculties, in order to illustrate some theory or problem or to adorn some ingenious plot. But in these cases, in order to vitalise such a plot and to give life and reality to the persons of the story, the writer must first cast his notions into his sub-consciousness, to be there clothed with flesh and made to live and breathe. Otherwise they will be no more than automata, pegs whereon the plot or problem hangs. Now I venture to offer as an explanation of the oftentimes injurious influence of success the sug- gestion that the self-consciousness to which it may give rise, hampers the normal working methods. The author is over-anxious to be worthy of the praise accorded him, to surpass himself. His  THE AUTHOR. natural methods of production are disturbed. The delicate balance between active consciousness and brooding consciousness (so to term it) is lost. In his striving to do well, he is afraid to trust enough to his less determined mental faculties. He plots and re-plots, constructs and re-constructs. Like a boy or a girl who has planted a seed in the ground, he interferes with its natural processes of growth by perpetually examining and over-hauling it, in order to be sure that it is sprouting. The book is the child ef his intellect, instead of being the child of his nature. Everyone is disap- pointed. He himself, having devoted so many pains and so much attention to it, perhaps regards it as his best work. Those more qualified to judge find it artificial, unconvincing, full of notions it may be, and of “situations,” but lacking the life and health and harmonious perfection of a spontaneous natural growth. ARABELLA KENEALY. ——____+—}_+-____—_—_- LITERATURE AND LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. [FIRST ARTICLE. ] E, here in England, complain of our copy- right law—and American authors complain of theirs ! Turn to the preface of any standard English work on copyright, and you will find the bitter complaint reiterated in every edition. Turn to the introduction of Mr. Arthur 8. Hamlin’s admirable compilation of ‘ American Cases and Decisions ”’* (just published by Messrs. Putnam’s Sons), to read of— “|, The unnecessary complexity of the provisions of the existing statute, the difficulty, and, in some cases, the impracticability, of fulfilling the obligations imposed Dy i.” It has quite a home-like familiar sound! It might have been written in England of English Copyright law. But the curious—shall I say, the amusing ?— part of Mr. Hamlin’s complaint is not here. We are all complaining animals. For us, the amusing part of Mr. Hamlin’s introduction will be his _* Copyright Cases: A Summary of Leading American Decisions on the Law of Copyright and on Literary Property, from 1891 to 1903; together with the Text of the United States Copyright Statute, and a Selection of Recent Copyright Decisions of the Courts of Great Britain and Canada. Compiled by Arthur 8. Hamlin. Published for the American Publishers’ Copyright League by G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1904, $2. 58 splendid eulogy of the copyright laws of other countries—in which he doubtless includes our own —and his finding in their perfections his strongest argument for damning the imperfections of his own. That is the unkindest cut of all! -We break out periodically into ravings against our law. Listen to Mr. Hamlin on it :-— “All the existing copyright. statutes of the world, excepting that of the United States, have been the work of commissions of experts. The members of these com- missions have had authority to summon witnesses, and to take testimony, and, after having devoted sufficient time to the mastery of the details of a subject which is of necessity complex, and which certainly calls for expert training, and for expert experience, they have presented their conclusions in the form of a report containing the specifications of the legislation recommended .... ” and so forth. Having read which, one turns in amazement to the English law, involuntarily exclaiming: And this is what we get! After all that noble work by those expert and experienced persons described by Mr. Hamlin—we take his account of it just as it stands—/his is the net result :— “ Numerous and ill-drafted Acts,” says Mr. Serutton. “ Nothing has been done to ameliorate the lamentable condition in which the Commissioners found the law,” says Mr. MacGillivray. These are the opinions of our distinguished experts. If we turn to the “opinions” of those who are not experts—well, that way madness lies! ‘The bull in the net” is the only suitable metaphor. So, Mr. Hamlin is, to say the least, a little puzzling. And, reading this excellent and most useful compilation of his, as I have read it, from cover to cover, I have tried, during the last few days, to puzzle it all out. All laws are imperfect in this imperfect yet progressive world. I cannot for the life of me see that this work—a record and condensation of United States cases from 1891 to 1903—takes up in its drag-net any considerable body of cases pointing directly at the “ complexities,” “ difficulties,” ‘‘ impracticabilities,” of which Mr. Hamlin complains. With the heartiest will in the world to confound American copyright law, I find myself unable to be any more kind to Mr. Hamlin than at least he is to us. I will not actually go so far as to praise his law. Wal admirari should be our motto when we are con- fronted by the comfortable optimist who points out to us the excellent time authors are now having compared with the old days of “ patronage.” We will not forget so quickly as all that “the shambles where they died.” But I must ask him why, at least, he did not nail down some specific cases in this book in which these “complexities” were  54 particularly marked. His rare, and admirable foot- notes are given in the mildest and most scholarly spirit of humility, after his learned United States Courts Judges have done their worst on the evidence. So I seek in vain for some justification of his extreme if indirect praise of “all existing statutes of the world,” and his brisk condemnation of his’ own. I could easily find him, amongst English copyright decisions, a few hard cases to better anything in his bag. So much for single instances. On the general question: Has he not over there the most remarkable system ever devised for “keeping the money in the family” and bleeding strangers ? He may retort (though, of course, he won't): ‘ Yes, it’s all very well for printers and publishers!” Well then, has he not over there something that pretends to bring literary and artistic property into one protecting fold ; some- thing that at least pretends to a codification ? Again one’s thoughts revert to the English law, and one involuntarily asks—in perfect serious- ness: Is it, after all, only that this great nation of the West, so young, so eager for reform, is im- patient of the restraint to which we old fogeys have long grown accustomed, that in reality the “complexities” at which he hints are as nothing compared with our own? We have an Act for books, Acts for drama and music, many Acts for engravings, paintings, drawings and photographs ; an Act for sculpture ; International Acts ; the Conventions ; the Colonial Acts! We are im- patient of them, of course ; and we sigh for a better time and for the passage of Lord Thring’s Bill. But we jog along somehow, realising, perhaps, the small part after all that books and art make even now in our national affairs, and the wonderful way things have of adjusting themselves to our needs. Certainly our Acts, such as they are, have grown—slowly indeed—with our own growth, yielding to extreme pressure only, but allowing us, so long as we have no need to invoke them, a wonderfully free hand outside of them. “ Outside of them”! Just there, I think, is to be fixed Mr. Hamlin’s grievance. He cannot get outside of his Statute law. A citizen of the United States cannot, like us, acquire copyright by merely publishing a book. If he attempt it, down comes the guillotine—his head is off, his work is public property. In other words he must register before publication. We, with our strangely free and elastic methods, need not register. Every Englishman (and every friendly alien) from the moment he publishes his book, enjoys the blessing of statu- tory copyright in that book without fulfilling any other condition whatever. He has merely to pub- lish. It is true he must register if his book become the subject of copyright litigation. But how often THE AUTHOR. does that happen? Say we publish over here 5,000 books a year: do fifteen annually become the subject of copyright litigation? So, if we avoid litigation we have « tolerably lazy time ; and the one objection to the Authors’ Society is that it fosters our laziness, An author has only to send his guinea a year to the Society to be entirely relieved of the necessity of complaining about “ complexities,” “intricacies,” and so forth. And thus the Authors’ Society (curious malevolence of things !) prevents our getting better laws. Now, of the half dozen important differences between our law and United States law the chief, for practical purposes, is this one of registration. In the United States not only does an author fail to get protection unless he register, but, even after he has registered, unless he has done so in the correct manner : (1.) Deposit of title and copies. (2.) In due time. (3.) Made in the United States. (4.) Bearing, when published, the proper notice, —he may at any moment have some claimant starting up to contest his right to his property on the mere technical form of his registration. For example, the renowned Augustin Daly (who appears to have been a somewhat lively litigant) deposited a title of a play as “ Under the Gaslight : A Romantic Panorama of the Streets and Homes of New York.” He published it under the title (evi- dently a second thought): “Under the Gaslight: A Totally Original Picturesque Drama of Life and Love inthese Times.” It may be said that the man who could be guilty of a title like that deserved any fate ; andshortly there started up one, Webster, who calmly appropriated the important scene in the play and dragged Daly through three trials, from the Circuit Court to the Supreme Court, before he was beaten. In like manner Howard Patterson deposited a title, “The Captain of the Rajah,” with a couple of lines of sub-title. This sub-title he cut down on publication. The book was promptly infringed on that ground. Injunction for him at first trial, certainly ; but he had to go to Court to protect his work. Mrs. Osgood was not so fortunate. She wrote an excellent hook on the application of glaze and colours to china, but unfortunately forgot that her two copies must be deposited not later than the date of publication, and that the notice (otherwise correct) must bear her name. Her suit was dis- missed on these grounds, and the defendant profited. Carr painted a picture and deposited the title and a photograph, but forgot the “description.” It took two trials to prove to him that Mr. Bennett, the millionaire proprietor of the New York Herald, could reprint his work without asking leave. ‘Three trials was the result of the famous American’sport- ing magazine, Outing, reprinting, without leave, ct ORES DIRE CST ARIE a  THE AUTHOR. ' the picture of the yacht Vigilant, which one Bolles had registered as “ Copyright by Bollesof Brooklyn.” “ Bolles of Brooklyn” was regarded as not pro- viding adequate means of identifying the photo- grapher, though he won in the end. Heertel took an action for penalties against Raphael Tuck & Sons for printing a false notice of copyright on fancy cards. Judge Lacombe held that it was not a false notice, because it was no notice at all—the date was omitted. Heertel lost. Raphael Tuck & Sons again came off best as against McLaughlin. They printed books with a false copyright notice— but in Germany. They only sold them in the United States, and they sold them prior to the passage of the Act prohibiting-such sale. Though the name Raphael Tuck appears rather frequently in cases of false notice, it must be remembered that our free English law gives copyright in books without any registration at all, and so any respectable firm may easily fall into the practice of putting the word “copyright” on everything it turns out. Cases could be multiplied indefinitely. It is curious the shifts to which people will go to evade the law in this respect, or to redress, after the guillotine has dropped, some fatal initial blunder. Mrs. Snow published a photograph without registering it. Thereafter, seeing her blunder, she had etched into the negative a cane in the hand of one of the figures. This negative she then “ copy- righted.’ Held that she had merely made an attempt to reclaim what she had already abandoned to the public, and that in any case her action was wrong. She claimed copyright in a “ photo.” But the only thing that could be the subject of it was not a “photo” but an etching—namely, the cane! Of course she lost. After this gallery of failures it is interesting to find the great Edison winning a case. He claimed copyright in a celluloid sheet of 4,500 kinetoscope photographs of the launching of the yacht Jeteor (infringed by one Lubin). It took two trials to decide that, for the purposes of registration, the 4,500 pictures constituted but one subject. Now, if we are inclined to condemn the Ameri- can law on the evidence of complexities afforded by the above cases, we have not only to remember that the law itself is of somewhat recent date, but also that for large commercial purposes American arts and letters were born but yesterday. Yet no species of property takes so long to establish its rights, to become truly adjusted to the life of those great communities in which alone it can flourish, or requires greater precision and intelligence for its proper management. And of the cases quoted, several resulted from just this lack of precision, which only such exemplary cases can ultimately cure. I have written elsewhere in this number of 55 the advantages of our method of letting books fight their own battles and take their chances in the struggle for existence. Let me say here that I am not acquainted with one detail in the system of registration at the Library of Congress. I do not know whether the librarian would decline to accept for registration one of two books bearing the same title. Yet I can see that such a system would also have its advantages in excluding late comers from the field, in putting a premium on, at least, originality combined with a quick despatch in literary affairs, and in providing a permanent record of titles. This is the A B C of American copyright law— proper registration. It does not seem to be unduly complex, nor to require any hard thinking, any- thing more than absolute accuracy (in other words, good advice by your man of business) for its successful working. ‘There is much to be said for it. It is, in any case, the gateway to American copyright ; and, good or bad, it strikes the mere outsider as a straight and simple way in, leaving little to chance. We have scarcely anything over here that exactly resembles it—the “ reservation ” notice on music, perhaps, and the necessity of registering paintings, drawings, and photographs before an alleged infringement ; but these do not provide us with much litigation. Next month I hope to go deeper into American law, illustrating, as far as possible, from Mr. Hamlin’s book, its working in more difficult cases as compared with our own. CHARLES WEEKES. —_————_1—_>_+—____—_- AFTER WORK.* — T is the prerogative of all men, after arriving at a certain age, to have reminiscences, and the privilege of some to record them. ‘To the latter category belongs Mr. Edward Marston, one of the oldest members of the publishing trade. His long connection with the trade has brought him into intimate touch with a number of interest- ing people for whom he published. In a_book entitled “ After Work: Fragments from the Work- shop of an old Publisher,” he has modestly sunk his own identity and given to the public some entertaining particulars of those with whom he has come into personal contact :—such as Bulwer Lytton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Wilkie Collins, ee ee eee * ‘After Work: Fragments from the Workshop of an Old Publisher.’ William Heinemann. 10s. net.  56 R. D. Blackmore, Sir Henry Morton Stauley, William Black, and many others. But, beyond these notes, there are matters which are of interest to members of the Society. Mr. Marston explains how The Publishers’ Circular—that useful trade organ—was originally started, and gives many details concerning the business side of literature. He quotes, at length, the agreement entered into between his firm and Bulwer Lytton for the publication of that fascinating romance, “A Strange Story,” for which the firm paid £1,500 for a licence to publish for two years. It would be a good thing if nowadays more authors made similar contracts, assigning merely a licence to publish for a limited period. ‘The amount received by Lord Lytton was, without doubt, large, if the position of authors and publishers at that time 1s taken into consideration, but the payment was justified by the result. Later in the book, Mr. Marston, with a little bitterness, proclaims the price that Mr. Wilkie Collins received for “No Name.” He points out that that gentleman had a perfect knowledge of his own value, and that he stood in no need of a literary agent to make a ‘bargain for him. The price paid by Messrs. Sampson Low was £3,000. Apparently, from Mr. Marston’s statement, the book resulted in no loss, though he asserts that the risk, from his point of view, was great, and forced upon his firm by a very vigorous competition. Many of the letters quoted by Mr. Marston from his authors, standing outside busi- ness, draw out their special characteristics. Mr. Blackmore writes about his vines and fruit trees. Sir H. M. Stanley writes about his trials and perils. It would be unfair to the book to make any large quotations, but the letters should not be missed by any who care for a knowledge of the personalities of their favourite authors. There are, besides, one or two points with which the reviewer is forced to deal, as they touch the work and reputation of the Society of Authors. The last chapter of the book Mr. Marston entitles “Dealings with Authors.” He makes the astound- ing pronouncement that Sir Walter Besant and others in the early days of the Society stated that publishers could not make any losses. This kind of rash generality, when Besant was alive, was con- stantly put forward and as strenuously denied. Perhaps Mr. Marston will refer to the exact page in 7'he Author or the publications of the Society where this statement occurs. Again, he says that the Society began its operations by making sweeping and ungenerous attacks upon all publishers, assuming that all alike were robbers, and proving by balance sheets drawn from its Imagination that publishers could not, by any possibility, make a loss. In the proverbial phrase, Mr. Marston has ‘drawn upon his imagination ’ THE AUTHOR. for his facts,” and it is a pity that an otherwise admirable book should, to a certain extent, have been spoilt by the misstatements and biassed, un- generous comments contained in the last chapter. With this exception the book is one which should appeal to all those who, in their fondness for literature, care to make themselves better “acquaint ” with the individualities of the writers. o—~- IS POETRY READ AS IT USED TO BE? he R. W. D. HOWELLS, in Harper's Magazine, VI has lately made a futile endeavour to ascertain by the votes of its readers the present popularity of poetry in the United States. The subject awaking no interest or curiosity there, has for the present fizzled out. Perhaps the times were not ripe for the computation of poetical readers in such+an enormous area of land, or the clash and clang of more practical serious interests may have silenced the inquiry. However, the subject having a definite sugges- tiveness to literature and a relative value to thought, is worth attention. Of course, the curious and interesting question can never be brought under the range of statistics. Whether or not the readers of poetry in the United Kingdom are more numerous to-day than formerly is'a problem which cannot be easily solved, but one can endeavour to glance at the probabilities one way or the other. ‘To pierce the heart of the subject is an impossibility: but in wandering around its skirts a few gleams of the truth may be visible. The first query that naturally arises is: Who are the readers of poetry ? They consist, I should imagine, of two classes. One suggestive word comprises the first: Youth ! whose password is hope, whose look-out on life is fresh and wonderful ; whose lot, as yet, has not been soured and chilled by relentless circumstance and experience. Those who predominate in this class, by reason of their emotions, susceptibilities and sensitiveness, are young women; the band of light-hearted, dream-haunted, romance-loving girls, who find in poetry a response to their ,vague questionings and an interpretation of their mysterious imaginings. The second class comprises all those who make a hobby and study of poetry, and whose lives are imbued with what must always be the highest and truest expression of literature. Neither age,  ‘ 2 £ = THE AUTHOR. 57 fashion, nor change can ever stale or wither the vivid joys of this eager pursuit. In Palgrave’s apt words :-— : «The magic of this art can confer on early years, Experience; on maturity, Calm ; on age, Youthfulness.” A small portion of this class, the scouts of the army, is that numerous throng who, over-burdened with poetic lore and fancy, must record it all in their own fashion and words: and thus there is always an immense legion of pseudo-poets, versi- fiers, minor minstrels who indite and publish their volumes of musical verse., Sometimes these appeal to unheeding ears ; often imperfection and weak- ness spell failure, and very occasionally the appre- ciation of a thoughtful reviewer may encourage the new versifier to further and worthier efforts. Having now set forth the classes who read ‘poetry, the following queries assert themselves :— Has the interest in poetry waned? Have poetical votaries diminished ? Have readers fallen off ? In answering these questions in a decisive, strong affirmative, I. shall endeavour to deduce reasons for my own opinion. The enormous production and circulation of novels in late years have lessened and almost destroyed the love of poetry amongst the very class to which it appeals the most. ‘The grades of fiction, from the garish covered penny horror to a novel like “he Cardinal’s Snutf Box,” or “The Column,” in their number and diversity, are somewhat appalling to consider; but in every novel which is literature as well as fiction, there are elements and constituents of poetry to minister and satisfy the subtle, romantic instincts of the young. In them are found the pictured scene ; the sweetness of exquisite words ; the vivid portrai- ture; the play of thought; the illumination of life’s truths or pathos—all the glints and glows of unfettered verse woven into a story of humanity ! Thus, the enthralling influence of novels which - paint and depict ideals in life and human nature has weakened the hold of poetry upon the imagi- nation of youth. ‘The novel has supplanted the poem, and perhaps for a while, till the output of fiction brings the weariness of satiety, the youthful readers of poetry will continue to dwindle. There is also another potent reason. The health- ful love of open air pursuits and pleasures in. our day has spoilt the zest for indoor, poetic musings. The gladdening impulses and ardours of youth find anatural vent in the freedom of country games, exercises and sports. ‘The spiritual glow of rhythmic verse is exchanged for the living glow of physical well-being. The meditative maiden is no longer sad or happy in unison with delicate phrasings of thought, or with the brilliant surprise of trope or metaphor ; instead, her poetry exists amidst the “pomp of woodland and resounding shore,” with perhaps an interlude for an innocent flirtation. And thus, her already exuberant life is intensified by vigorous open air enjoyment. But the reasons which are creating a distaste of poetry amongst youthful readers have no signi- ficance.amongst the students and lovers of poetry of all ages. The causes of their callousness are deeper and stronger. ‘The burdens and the influences of the times and the period have affected their allegiance to the divine art. The efforts which are giving living wonders for the usefulness and weal of the nations and mankind are weaning them from their delight in the glamours of modulated thought. The spell of contrivance ; the marvel of being able to annihilate time and space ; the magic of discovery to baffle disease ; the power of being able to rule the fairy realms of science ; every thing that makes for progress and tends to enlightenment ; the animating ardour that inspires the leaders of men to combat error and inculcate truths for the nation’s weal: all these things drive the man “ Housed in a dream at a distance from his kind,” to a field of broader issues and more strenuous purposes. And it is because no “ bard sublime ” has arisen to translate and enshrine these undertakings and discoveries, and no creative voice is heard to inter- pret the struggle or herald the victory, that poetry is becoming decadent to its most earnest votary. It may be said in extenuation of this, that the verses of Rudyard Kipling respond to the nation’s poetic cravings. It is affirmed with laudatory emphasis that the spell of this wonderful era has been truly invoked in poetry by this successful author. And to a certain extent he has interpreted many of the age’s aspirations, perplexities, doubts, struggles ; but, to my mind, there is scope still for the larger vision, wider outlook, and deeper insight in some great poet of the future. In the meantime, whether due to the causes briefly touched upon, or to others which I cannot fathom, readers of poetry are gradually falling off ; the creative art itself is languishing, and no. one wonders. When the hope of a true poetic revival will resolve itself into a certainty, and another masterpiece like ‘Childe Harold” or the “ Idylls of the King” staitle a waiting world, then, per- haps, the vivifying influence of the art will again illuminate a land so opulent in its poetic treasures bequeathed by the past. Tstporr G. ASCHER. oO =  58 THE GRAND GUIGNOL. oa A Quire Imaginary CONVERSATION. WHY do people talk of the extraordinary A . brilliancy of the French and German theatres of the present day ? B. Because the French and German theatres of the present day are extraordinarily brilliant. A. That sounds a very unlikely reason. B. The truth is always wildly improbable. ‘A. L seem to have heard a good deal about the Italian theatre of late. Can you account for that in the same way? B. The Italian Renaissance has, at all events, drawn the most famous of living poets to the theatre. A. Oh—I take it that the Norwegian theatre is resting on its past ? B. Possibly ; but that past is very recent and very glorious. A. Does anybody talk of the extraordinary brilliancy of the British theatre of the present day ? B. Certainly. Mr. William Archer. A. How very interesting. Can you account for that ? B. I can try. A. Would you mind making the effort ? B. Mr. Archer has been watching the British theatre very closely for the last twenty years, and has seen, during that time, a good deal of very remarkable work. A, And he thinks that our drama is at last waking from the sleep of centuries ? B. “Centuries” is a big word; and “ waking” much too small a one. A. The drama has waked from its sleep ? B. I am sure of it. A. But don’t you think that there is any danger of its dropping off again ? B. Ah A. I think I follow you. Do youagree with the - method proposed for keeping it awake ? B. You mean the building of a fine roomy theatre, for it to take exercise in ? A. Yes; they say there is nothing like compul- sory exercise for the sleeping sickness. Have you faith in a grand National British Theatre ? B. I have more faith in the National Irish Theatre. A. Why ? B. Because it isn’t grand. “Things comes by degrees,” as the little Dublin boy said to Dickens. _A. I suppose there would be difficulties about a big new theatre. Money, to begin with. England seems to be too poor to support art as the conti- nental nations support it. THE AUTHOR. B. Money is the least of difficulties, always. The right man with the right scheme could pretty certainly get together the few thousands needed —assuming that the man exists and the scheme is possible. A. You assume too much. But assuming a good deal more—assuming that a successful start were made—don’t you think that there would still be difficulties in the way ? B. I do. A. Then you are hopeless ? B. I may be, but I didn’t say so. A. Do you think a more modest undertaking would do any good ? B. It might do much more good, if it is all we are ready for at present. Among other things, it might pave the way for the larger scheme. A. Personally, I don’t believe in these’ self- conscious efforts to improve the arts, little or big. I agree with Tony Lumpkin and Mr, Sydney Grundy, “If P’'m to have any good let it come of itself, and don’t keep ding-dinging it into my ears.” B. The Gospel of Silence. but history is against it. A. Has anybody ever regenerated the drama intentionally ? B. Certainly. A. Euripides, I suppose—or Victor Hugo. Can you give me any more modern example ? B. The most modern. The brilliant French comedy of Augier and Dumas had had its day, and everyone was talking of the decadence to come, when Antoine spoke—and in half a generation a school far more brilliant had arisen. A. Do you put Rostand, and Donnay, and the rest of them, all down to Antoine ? B. One man by himself could have done nothing, of course ; but Antoine had the Third Republic at his back, like all that is greatest in modern France, Still, he showed the way—and on a small scale. Forgive the mixture of the metaphor. A. All really great metaphors are mixed. Then what you want, I take it, is an experimental theatre ? B. You have put it in two words. A, Antoine has outgrown the experimental stage. Is there anything in Paris now which more nearly meets our want ? B. There is the Grand Guignol. A. And what is a Grand Guignol ? _ B. It is almost exactly the thing we need. A. Thank you; but I had rather you explained. B. The Grand Guignol was a shabby little lecture-hall up a backyard not far from the Moulin Rouge ; but with its success it has been recon- structed, and it is now quite a pleasant little— theatre-hall. It sounds tempting,  4 i THE AUTHOR. 59 A. What do they act there ? B. Five one-act plays every evening. A. Good gracious ! B. Four would be enough in England. A. I think so. B. The expenses are microscopic. Actors of very little experience can carry through a one-act play—clever authors of no stage-experience can write one; and in this work young authors and young actors may learn their business, as they have little chance of learning it under the long-run Jong-play system. A. And there is a public for them ? B. There is undoubtedly a public for them. The Grand Guignol is such a success that it has imitators all over the place—the Capucines, the Mathurins, half-a-dozen others. A. I suppose the prices are low ? B. Not very. The stalls are about half the price of those at the fashionable theatres ; but the second seats are, I think, not cheaper than the pit. And there are no third seats. A. People can drop in at any time, of course. B. Then there is something to suit all tastes. Realism, sensation, comedy, poetry A. And—h’m. Sensational realism, eh ? Do they go a little far that way ? B. It is quite true that they have owed part of their success to their powers of shocking even a Parisian audience; but this is by no means the beginning and end of their story. A: I should think that such a little theatre could easily be carried on as an adjunct to a big one—His Majesty’s or the St. James’s. The little company could consist largely of the understudies and minor actors of the large one, with occasionally a first-rate man glad to fill up an interval “on easy terms.” Such a company would quite well bear the burden of a one-act play—it’s not like sustaining heavy parts throughout an evening of three hours. And many aclever writer of dialogue could give us such a piece, and at the same time be learning how to write a longer one B. Rem acu tetigisti. You have touched the spot. Epwarp Ross. —_—_—__+—_>_+—_____- CORRESPONDENCE. —_+—~<—+ — “ Wuat’s in A NAME?” Srr,—I do not wish to answer the letter of Mr. Charles Richard Panter in The Author of last October at too great length or too seriously, but I am a little puzzled to know why he should treat the opinions which I put forward in a tone at once so aggrieved and so aggressive. He says “In the second paragraph of his first letter, Mr. Armstrong asserts the right to the name of a book is not copyright. Why should it not be.” The answer might be given to this conundrum, “ Because it is not,” or “ Because it is a right of another description,” but perhaps Mr. Panter had better consult some work on copyright, or read the case of Dick y. Yates,in which the Court of Appeal laid down the law on the subject in 1881. I can assure Mr. Panter that I had nothing to do with it. I was not a member of the Court of Appeal of that day, nor do I expect to take part in the deliberations of that tribunal at any future period of my modest career. I only “asserted”? what I believed to be the law, because I entertained a not ill-founded opinion upon the subject, which Mr. Panter may show to be wrong if he can do so. Mr. Panter’s allusions to “cribbing” a title, and his not very courteous suggestion that my “ book did not sell” because of my not being “ allowed to adopt the title of another author’s work,” show that he does not fully grasp the nature of the difficulty from which authors suffer. They do not desire, nor do they complain, of not being permitted inten- tionally to take other men’s titles, but they do find it tiresome to fix upon a title and then to be informed, with threats of legal proceedings, that it has already been used for a work of which they never before heard. In my own case, as I explained, a lady desired to prevent me from using for a novel a name which she had once given to a short story, and which she intended thereafter to use as the title of a volume of short stories, and I gave way, although part of my book was already in page. | will give the title, as it affords a good instance of want of originality on the author’s part and its result. I had chosen the simple and inoffensive, but not very dis- tinguished or striking participle “ Drifting.” I don’t know whether the lady referred to ever pro- duced her book under the name which [ resigned to her, but I know that a clever and successful book came out some years afterwards under the same title, and if she attempted to stop its circula- tion Iam not aware that she succeeded. I hope, however, that whether they agree with me or not, I made my meaning clearer to other readers of The Author than to Mr. Panter. Yours, &c., : E. A. ARMSTRONG. ———+ Trrues AND Mr. C. R. PANTER. Srr,— Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge ?” . : Mr. Panter asks: “Pray, what is that right  60 [of an author to the title of his book] if not copyright ?”” I reply : Common law right. “ (opyright,” says he, “ is the one right known to authors as capable of protecting their works. I reply : Not at all. : «« What would be thought,” he proceeds energetic- ally to ask, “of the man who declared he had a right to his own person as Mr. Penman Dryasdust, but no right whatever to his Christian and sur- name?” The reply is: Most people would think him an idiot. But let us examine Mr. Panter’s analogy, and see whither it will lead us. Here are the four feet, so to speak, on which his analogy stands :— According to Mr. Panter— 1. Mr. Dryasdust ...... Has a right to his own person which thecom- mon law will recog- nise. True. 12. A Book. (... ies Has a right against infringers which the common law will recognise. alse. ; 8. Mr. Dryasdust ...... Has a right to his own name asname. alse. (He has no more right to it than anyone who has had the misfortune to be born with it. The law will protect only the property and rights for which the name stands.) AoA Withee 5 Has no right atcommon law (or Mr. Panter evidently thinks so). L false. That is Mr. Panter’s analogy. One true state- ment to three false. I am tempted. to enquire whether he understands the nature and uses of analogical reasoning. Of law and copyright law he appears to have no knowledge. For, taking the analogy the other way, let us begin with statement No. 2, and say: “A book has a right against infringers which the copyright law will recognise.” This is true, but here the analogy, of a book to Mr. Dryasdust, suddenly undergoes complete extinction, since the copyright law has nothing in the world to do with Mr. Dryasdust’s defence of his person or name. But I should be filling up your November issue if I went any deeper into the energetic Mr. Panter’s fallacies. i shall drop them, and try to clear up this confusion of words about the rights in titles of books. Copyright, Mr. Panter should learn, is not a THE AUTHOR. natural right like a man’s right to his own person, his tables, chairs, and “ house utensils.’” Tt is a temporary monopoly, created by statute, analo- gous to the right in a patent or trade mark. So, therefore, it is conditioned by the Statute. Its duration is only for the statutory period —forty-two years (or life and seven years). It gives pro+ tection to a species of property which otherwise would have none—books. Now of the books published each year which are so protected, about seven-eighths are valueless. They sink into oblivion before forty-two days have expired. Nevertheless, if the wisdom of the framers of the Act (including the great Macaulay) was not brilliantly shown in thus giving a protective monopoly for so long a time to rubbish, it was shown in this : it gave no monopoly in titles. If a book have a value (possibly the framers argued) the chances are about ten to one that it will shortly become a valuable article of commerce. In this state it can protect its own title quite adequately at common law. But if.on the other hand it have no value, the chances are about ten to one that it will shortly sink into oblivion. Now, in this state was it to be allowed to exclude other books of more value from the market by monopolising the exclusive right to its title? Does Mr. Panter see the point ? Let me enlarge for a moment on the ambiguous word “ value,” so that I may make myself quite clear to him. The “ value” referred to is not literary, nor artistic, nor scientific, nor theological value. it issimply—commercial. Why? Because we all agree as to money value ; and we all differ as to literary, artistic, and similar values. In process of law, indeed, you may hear counsel and even the Bench discuss literary and artistic values; but legislators (though they may state in their preamble that the Act is for “ the greater encouragement of” learning) cannot take direct cognisance of these things. Nor can legislators take cognisance of unhappy exceptions to general averages, like the case of “Lorna Doone,” “ Omar Khayydm,” etc. A bill framed to cover all possible exceptions, and to satisfy everybody’s nice opinions as to literary and artistic values, would never get to the Lords. So far our law is doubtless imperfect. But let Mr. Panter be consoled ; its neglect to protect titles is not one of its shortcomings. One wonders if such an idealist as Mr. Panter can come down from the heights of his burning. eloquence at all. He seems to think that plagiarism is an indictable offence. We are a very advanced nation, doubtless, but we have not yet advanced quite so far as that. I wish we had. CHARLES WEEKES. 36, Southampton Street, Strand, W.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 15 Issue 02 (November 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 02 (November 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-11-01-The-Author-15-2 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/500/1904-12-01-The-Author-15-3.pdf 005bb695928415344e0e431b5a541a00 PDF Text Text ������������������������������������ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-12-01 Volume 15 Issue 3 Pages Page range in volume 61–92 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19041201 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Mutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 3. Cecmrsnk in 1904. [Paror SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_—_—_——*——e— NOTICES. eg OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tux Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. — ~~ + List of Members. TueE List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —— The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Vor. XV. Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present standing in the names of the ‘l'rustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market : COnsOlS OF 9 £1000 0 0 Tiogal Wioans, (5 500, 0) 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated: Inseribed Stock: ......3...2.... 991 19 AL Wanli0al (6026 20h 9233 London and North Western 3 % Deben- HUE SOCK 4 oo a. 250. 0. 0 AMON eek £2,243 9 2 Subscriptions from April, 1904. & Ss. a. April18, Dixon, W. Scarth . : - 0 2 0 April18, Bashford, Harry H. 010 6 April19, Bosanquet, Hustace F. . . 0 1076 April23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain . 0 5 O May 6,Shepherd,G. H. . 705. 0 June 24, epee Sir Horace, ‘Bart., G.C.B : : : oe 1 0 July 27, Barnett, P ; £0 107.0 Nov. g. eat, Charles 010 0 Donations from April, 1904. May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth. 7) June 23, Kirmse, R. . : od) 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. : - 0 5.0 July 21, The Blackmore Memorial Committee : 20.50.00 Aug. 5, Walker, William S : y 2 020 Oct. 6, Hare, i. W. EMD... _ 1 1 0 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold : : ; 010 0 Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett . --0 10.0 Nov. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida . : ~ 1 1.0 Nov. 11, Thomas, Mrs. Haig ; 2 2.0  FROM THE COMMITTEE. — +> HE Managing Committee held their November meeting at 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Jate, 8.W., on Monday, the 7th. The list of Members elected appears on another page. The Society’s United States Agent sent in his resignation, which was accepted by the Committee. ‘As stated in our last number, Mr. James Bryce is making inquiries on the Society’s behalf in New York, and the Committee hope very soon to be in a position to arrange for the appointment of a fresh Agent. The Secretary laid before the Committee a letter which he had received from Mr. Frampton, R.A., stating that the replica of the Besant Memorial was completed. He was instructed to notify the London County Council of the fact, in order that they might make the necessary arrangements to set up the memorial in the allotted position on the Thames Embankment. On the proposal of the Chairman, it was resolved to address to the family of the late Sir Walter Besant a letter of sympathy on the loss they had sustained by the death of their mother, Lady Besant. It was decided, with reference to the Society’s dinner in 1905, that the list of stewards should not be advertised as in former years. ‘The expense of the advertisement is considerable, and now that the lists of the Society are regularly published there iS less need for it. There were one or two other matters before the Committee, but no contentious business involving the expenditure of any of the Society’s funds. There were the usual number of cases, which are set out in another column. Sy gee Cases. Wire the autumn season the number of cases before the Secretary are gradually increasing. In the November issue of Ze Author 1t was stated that only eight cases had been dealt with in the former month. During the past month eighteen cases have passed through the Secretary’s hands. Five referred to claims for money. In three of these the money has been paid and forwarded to the members. The fourth has been placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors. In the last case the Secretary has not had time to receive an answer to his letter. In seven cases MSS. have been detained, and the authors have been unable to get any reply to their letters. So far only one has been successful. ‘These cases are difficult to deal with, as members of the Society do not always hold acknowledgments from editors. As a general rule, however, editors are THE AUTHOR. most courteous and obliging when they receive letters from the Secretary, and are willing to take ereat pains in order, if possible, to discover MSS. which have been overlooked. It is hoped, there- fore, that the other MSS. will be returned in due course. here is one case where money and accounts were due. The money has been paid, the accounts rendered, and the matter closed. One case for accounts only in which the accounts have been rendered ; and four other matters which cannot be classed under any special heading. One of these dealing with a United States house has been satis- factorily negotiated, and one with an English publisher has also come to a satisfactory conclusion. Of the other two, the one dealing with an English publisher, cannot at present be terminated, and the other, dealing with a publisher in Canada, needs time for settlement. Of the disputes quoted in last month’s Author five are still unsettled, three deal with publishers outside Great Britain, two with United States publishers, the latter may be looked upon as parti- ally settled, for a portion of the money due has been paid and the balance promised. ‘The third, dealing with an agent in Germany, is still in the course of negotiation, but the matter is somewhat difficult and complicated. One of the other cases refers to an English magazine, and the neglect of the editor to answer any of the Secretary’s letters may neces- sitate the matter being placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors. The other deals with a publisher from whom the Society has constantly received dis- courteous and unbusinesslike treatment. The former treatment the Society is unable to correct. The latler, however, it is sometimes possible to set straight, but only by legal proceedings. Unfortu- nately, in the present Case, the member of the Society happens to be abroad, and the publisher has knowledge of the fact. We should not like to state that this is the reason why he refuses to forward the accounts, but although they have been due for over six months, and although the Secretary has. written for them on several occasions, the publisher, although replying on other points, has refused to deliver what the author has a right to demand. — November Elections. 26, Mount Street, Gros- venor Square, Lon-: don, W. Ainslie, Douglas Ball, Mrs. Mary B. (Elyria Kirby). Barclay, Sir Thomas 17, Rue Pasquier, Paris. Bracher, Mrs. L. E. Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand.  THE AUTHOR. 63 Hampden Club, Phoenix Broom, J. 8. : Street, N.W. Crofton, Miss Marian Kirkside, St. John’s Park, Blackheath, S.E. Daw, E. M. Beaumont House, Llanelly. 1, Rue Michelet, Paris. Finch, Madame : 2, Woodville Terrace, Freeman, Richard Austin Gravesend. Gostling, Miss Frances Barmingham, Worth- Marion : ing. Hollingsworth, Charles 28, Barry Road, S.E. Laing, Janet : Lisaghmore, Kirk- caldy, Fife, N.B. Laurence-Hamilton, J. . 30, Sussex Square, Brighton. Allahabad, India. Villino, Masini, Settig- nano, Florence, Italy. McCarthy, Justin Hunt- Herdholt, Westgate-on- ley - : : é Sea. Newcombe, Alfred C. 39, Warrington Cres- cent, W. 72, Albert Hall Man- sions, Kensington Gore, W. care of James Millar, Esq.,13, King’s Arms Yard, London, E.C. 19, Arlington Street, London, S.W. Cos Cob, Connecticut, Lewis, T. C. Maquarie, Arthur Paget, Mrs. Gerald Parkinson, William Ronaldshay, The Right Hon. the Earl of Seton, Ernest Thompson U.S.A. Simpson, H. F. Morland 80, Hamilton Place, Aberdeen. Steedman, Miss Christine Heyne Hall, Fillongley, Joventry. Tuite, Hugh. Wilson-Barrett, Alfred . 43, Lower Belgrave Street, Haton Square, S.W. Two members do not desire either their names or addresses printed. ope — = BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. cereals a (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) ART, A RecorD Or SPANISH PAINTING. By C. GASQUOINE HARTLEY. 9} x 6%, 366 pp. Walter Scott Publishing Co. 10s. 6d. n, THE LIFE AND ART OF SANDRO Borriceny1. By Junta. CARTWRIGHT. 124 x 94,205pp. Duckworth: 21s.n. THE TUSCAN AND VENETIAN ARTISTS : THEIR THOUGHT AND WorK. By Hope Rwa. 7% x 5, 182 pp. Dent. PICTURES IN THE TATE GALLERY. By C. GAsQuorInr Harruey. 114 x 9, 208 pp. Seeley. ENGLISH EARTHENWARE MADE DURING THE 177TH AND 18TH CENTURIES. 132 pp. 78 plates ; AND ENGLISH PORCELAIN MADE DURING THE 18TH CENTURY. 113 pp. 59 plate. By A. H. CHurcu, F.R.S. 7% X Ba. Wyman. z BIOGRAPHY. GREAT ENGLISHMEN OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. By SIDNEY LEE. 82 x 53, 333 pp. Constable. 7s. 6d. n. THe Live or FaTHer IGNatius. By THE BARONESS DE BERTOUCH. 9 x 52, 439 pp. Methuen. 10s. 6d. n. Firty YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE. By Mason ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. 9% x 63, 426 pp. Cassell. 18s. n. ROBERT Burns, By Sir G. DouGuasand W. S. CROCKETT. 9 X 63, 40 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 1s, BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. IN THE CLOSED Room. By FRANCES HopGSon BURNETT 84 x 53,130 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 3s. 6d. n. PH@NIX AND THE CARPET. By E. NusBit. 82 xX 54, 236 pp. Newnes. 6s. A ScHOOL CHAMPION. By R. JAcBERNS. 74 X 54, 356 pp. Chambers. 3s. 6d. THE GIRLS OF CroMER HALL. 240 pp. Nelson. 2s. Home Letters. By RAYMOND JACBERNS. . BeC Ks. A FAMILY GRIEVANCE, By RAYMOND JACBERNS. 182 pp. Gardner Darton. Ils, 6d. MARCHING TO AVA. A story of the first Burmese War. By HENRY CHARLES Moore. 73 X 54, 318 pp. zall, 25, 3y RAYMOND JACBERNS. 224 pp. BOYS’ BOOKS. By A SCHOOLBOY’s HAND. By ANDREW HOME. 7} x 54, 302 pp. Black. 3s. 64d. CHILDREN. THE PEDLAR’s Pack. By Mrs. ALFRED BALDWIN. 8 x 53,397 pp. Chambers. 6s. DRAMA. PHILIP OF Macrepon. A Tragedy. By FREDERICK WINBOLT. Alexander Moring. TRAGIC DRAMA IN ASSCHYLUS, SOPHOCLES AND SHAKE- SPEARE. By LEWIS CAMPBELL. 8} X 53, 280 pp. Smith Elder. 7s. 6d. AGLAVAINE AND SELYSETTER. LINcK. ‘Translated by A. SuTRO. Allen. 1s. n. By MAurice MAETER- 74 x 5, 104 pp. FICTION. PorPpE JACYNTH, AND OTHER FANTASTIC TALES. By VERNON Len. 7X 5,200 pp. Grant Richards. 3s. 6d. n. PLAYING THE GAME, A Story of Japan. By DouGgias SLADEN. 72 X 5,319 pp. White. 6s. A Book or Guosts. By 8. BARING GOULD. 383 pp. Methuen. 6s. A DUEL. By R. MARSH. 7? x 5,324 pp. Methuen. 6s. With A Virw TO MATRIMONY, AND OTHER STORIES. By JAMES BuyTH. 7} X 5. Grant-Richards. 6s. ONE or THE Few. By SARAH DoupNny. 7% X 5, 347 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. ("4 : THE IsLES OF SUNSET. By A. C. BENSON. 73 X 5, 307 pp. Isbister. 6s, THE MARRYING OF SARAH GARLAND. By Mrs. FINNE- MORE, 72 X 5}, 326 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s, 1h xX 5, I ; } 64 THE AUTHOR. DIALSTON LANE. By W.W. Jacops. 74 X 43 326 pp- NEWNE 6s. . : Miss Brent or Muap. By CHRISTABEL B, COLERIDGE, 73 x 5,243 pp. Isbister. 6s. ‘He SpectALIST. By A. M. IRVINE. 7} X 52; 317 pp. Lane. 6s. Jim MORTIMER, SURGEON. By R. S. WARREN 280 pp. Newnes. Bs. 6d. A Lapy in WarTine. By the Hon. Mrs. ANSTRUTHER. 7% X 5, 300 pp. Smith Elder. 65. oS A MorGanatic WIFE. 3y Louis Tracy. 7% X 9, 307 pp. White. 6s. g A JAPANESE ROMANCE. By CLivE HOLLAND. TX 5, 329 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. Tui AMBASSADOR’S GLOVE. By R. MACHRAY. 316 pp. J. Long. 6s. LAMMAS GROVE. 3y CARLTON DAWE, 331 pp. Brown, Langham & Co. 6s. In Deep AByss. By GEORGES Onner. Translated by Frep RoTHWELL, B.A. 327 pp. Greening. 6s. RonaLD AND I. By ALFRED Pretor. London: Geo. Bell & Sons. Cambridge : Deighton, Bell & Co. Ss. 6d. a. THE CHAPEL ON THE HILL. London: Geo. Bell & Sons. Bell & Co. 3s. 6d. n. Tu WIDOWHOOD OF GABRIELLE Grant. By EGLANTON THORNE. 72 X 54, 309 pp. Hodder and Stoughton, 6s. THE PRISONER OF CARISBROOKE. War. By SIDNEY HERBERT BURCHELL. 486 pp. Gay and Bird. 6s. Sanny. A Study, and other Tales of the Outskirts. By Hucu Cuirrorp. 7? X 5, 299 pp. Blackwood. 6s. Baccarat. By FRANK DANBY. {a x 0; 280" pp- Heinemann. 6s. Curiosities. By Barry PAIN. 6 x 49, 184. pp. Unwin. Is. Tus TIGER or Muscovy. By Frep WHISHAW. 72 x 54, 332 pp. Longmans. 6s. Lessons. By EVELYN SHARP. ley Johnson. 2s. 6d. n. Aroms OF EMPIRE. By CUTCLIFFE Fyne. 73 X 54, 311 pp. Macmillan. 6s. Men oF THE NorTH SEA. 7k x 5, 367 pp. Nash. 6s. HISTORY. SomE CONSEQUENCES OF THE NORMAN Conquest. By the Rev. GEOrFREY Hinu. 9 X 53, 251 pp. Stock 7s. Gd. Nn. 3ELL. 7% Xx 5, 12 x08, 3y ALFRED PRETOR. Cambridge : Deighton, A Tale of the Civil 7% x5, 176 pp. Brim- By WALTER W. Woop. LAW. A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF CONTRACTS. By J. CHITTY, Juxr. Fourteenth Edition. By J.M. Lenty. 10 x 64, 805 pp. Sweet & Maxwell. 30s, LITERARY. STUDIES IN ProsE AND VERSE. By ARTHUR SYMONS. 84 x 54,291 pp. Dent. 7s. 6d. n. TH FEMININE Note rN Fiction. By W.L. COURTNEY. 7h X 5}, 276 pp. Chapman and Hall. 5s. n. THE ARTIST'S Lire. By JOHN OLIVER HOBBES. Tk x 54, 138 pp. T. Werner Laurie. 2s. 6d. n. MISCELLANEOUS, THE SEA FISHING INDUSTRY OF ENGLAND AND WALES. By F.G. AFLALO. 8} X 54, 386 pp. Stanford. 16s. n. MUSIC. Tne Music oF THE MAstERS. Wagner. By HE. NEw- MAN. 64 X 4}, 208 pp. Wellby. 2s. 6d, n. NATURAL HISTORY. Tue MAMMALS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. By J. G. Mruuais, F.Z.8. 3 Vols. Vol. I. 363 pp. Long- mans. £6 6s. n. HousE, GARDEN AND Freup. A Collection of Short Nature Studies. By L. C. MrauL, F.R.S. 7% X 54, 316 pp. Arnold. 6s. POETRY. 300K OF REMEMBRANCE: BEING LYRICAL SELECTIONS ror Every DAY IN THE YEAR. Arranged by ELIZA- BETH GopFREY. 7 X 4, 415 pp. Methuen. 2s. 6d. n. SeLectED Poems. By JOHN DAVIDSON. 7 X 44, 204 pp. Lane. 3s. 6d, n. A DARK Niau?’s WoRK. A North Country Ballad witha few other Poems. By SiR Go. Doveias. 7 X 4, 30 pp. Cottingham, Yorks. Tutin, 6d. n. For GREATER BRITAIN. By C. WHitworth WYNNE. 8h x 53, 39 pp. Gay and Bird. > SCIENCE. Frrst REPORT OF THE WELLCOME RESEARCH LABORA- TORIES AT GORDON MEMORIAL COLLEGE, KHARTUM. 3y the Director, A. BALFouR. 11 x 7%, 83 pp. Department of Education, Sudan Government, Khartum. THEOLOGICAL. SprrITUAL FORESHADOWING. Anonymous. Messrs. Gay and Bird, 2s. 6d. VAUGHAN’S UNIVERSITY AND OTHER SERMONS. Edited by an Old Pupil (ALFRED Preror). Macmillan, 6s. TOPOGRAPHY. BONNIE SCOTLAND. Painted by SUTTON PALMER : Described by A. R. HopEH MONCRIEFP. 9 x 64, 255 pp. Black. 20s. n. RAIDERLAND. All about Grey Galloway, its Stories, Traditions, Characters, and Humours. By 5. & CRocKETT. 8 x 54, 3827 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. TRAVEL. THROUGH TOWN AND JUNGLE. MAN and Fanny BuLLock WORKMAN. 380 pp. Unwin. 21s, n. 3y Wa. HUNTER WORK- 10 x 6%, ge LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. + NOTICE of the ninth annual issue of the “ Literary Year Book” has been forwarded to the office. As the publication is in fresh hands, it may be of interest to our readers to learn its contents. The work will be published by Messrs. George Routledge & Sons, no doubt early in the year, and is divided into two parts. The first part, with red edges, contains a catalogue of books published in ~ 1904, a Directory of Authors, an Obituary for 1904 with Bibliographies, an Index of Titles, and a list of Secretarial and Research workers. The second part, with blue edges, will contain new articles on Copyright and Agreements.  THE AUTHOR. The circular states that the article on Copyright has been written by a lawyer familiar with the legal bearings of this intricate subject, and the article on Agreements is written by an authority who combines in his own person the function of author and publisher, and attempts to hold the balance fairly between the interests of the author and the publisher, and deals impartially with the question of the literary agent. This part of the “Literary Year Book” was done exceedingly well in former years. It seems a great pity to have gone to the expense of providing other articles on a very difficult subject. It remains to be seen how far they cover the points put forward and what may be the view of one who, as an author and a publisher, stands as a judge to balance between the interests of the two. The same part of the volume will contain a Directory of Publishers and Agents (British and foreign), a List of Periodical Publications, with a Contributor’s Guide, Royalty Tables, a List of Libraries, and a Directory of Societies, Booksellers, Bookbinders, etc. We have set out in full the statement of what is claimed for the new issue of the “ Literary Year Book.” It should prove of valuable assistance to all who are interested in the writing and production of books. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are publishing early this month, “Great Lawn Tennis Players— their Methods Illustrated,” by G. W. Beldam, and P. A. Vaile. Messrs. E. G. Meers and A. Claridia both contribute chapters to the work, the former on advanced tactics, and the latter on the half volley. The price of the book, which contains over 200 illustrations, is 10s. net. A book of verses written, illustrated, and deco- rated with specially designed end-papers, initials, headings, etc., by Sidney Lewis-Ransom, will be privately printed early in the new year. The edition will be strictly limited to 500 numbered and signed copies at a guinea. Intending sub- Scribers can see the original copy by appointment with Mr. S. Lewis-Ransom, Messrs. Bemrose & Sons, Ltd., 4, Snow Hill, E.C. Mr. Hall Caine’s new novel, “The Prodigal Son,” was published early in November by William Heinemann in England, and Messrs. Appleton & Co. in the United States. Translations of the work also appeared in France (“ Le Fils Prodigue”) ; in Germany (“Der Verlorene Sohn”); Italy (‘Tl Figliol Prodigo”) ; Sweden (“Den Forlorade Sonen”); Holland (“De Verlooren Zoon Uys Denmark (“Den Forlorne Son”); Finland (“ Tublaaja Poika ”). Weunderstand that transla- tions into six other languages are in the course of preparation. The first number of The Albany Magazine, 65 the keynote of which is Literature, was published on November 21st by Messrs. 8. (. Brown, Langham & Co. Among the contributors may be mentioned Eden Phillpotts, Morley Roberts, Richard White- ing, Francis Gribble, Edward Morton, and Henry Cresswell. : The second edition of “Round the World through Japan,” in four volumes, demy octavo, with fifty full page illustrations by Walter Del Mar, has been published by Messrs. A. & C. Black at the price of 12s. 6d. net. The book deals mostly with Japan, but it contains four chapters on China, three on Ceylon, and chapters dealing with the other spots through which Mr. Del Mar travelled, In view of the frequent appearance of advertise- ments of ‘ Elizabeth ” books, Messrs. Macmillan & Co. desire it to be known that the author of “ Eliza- beth and Her German Garden ” publishes her books through their firm only. The latest addition to Messrs. Macmillan & Co.’s “English Men of Action” series is Sir Rennell Rodd’s monograph on Sir Walter Raleigh. The lives of few public men have offered more scope for con- troversy than has the career of the great Eliza- bethan, and this study of the complex character of the famous statesman, soldier, and sailor, by a modern writer who is identified with broad imperial views on national questions, will, no doubt, contain much interesting reading. “The First Men in the Moon,” by Mr. H. G. Wells, has been transferred to Messrs. Macmillan & Co., and is now issued by them in the uniform three and sixpenny edition of this author’s works, A new edition of “The Liars” has just been published by the same firm, uniform with the other dramatic works of Mr. H. A. Jones. Miss J. 8. Wolff’s new book, “ Les Francais du dix-huitieme Siecle” (Edward Arnold, 1s. 6d.) is the story of the French Revolution simply and graphically told in French, with notes, ete., in English. Mr. Rolfe has gone into the country to finish his second work upon Hadrian the Seventh, the story which Messrs. Chatto & Windus published last July. “The Ambassador’s Glove,” by Robert Mach- ray, has been published by Mr. John Long at the price of 6s. It is a story of a daring diamond robbery at a large hotel, and is full of incident. Mrs. Aylmer Gowing has been honoured with the Queen’s acceptance of a copy of her last book, “ A King’s Desire.” The Book Selection Committee of the National Home Reading Union have included the two historical novels, ‘The Gleaming Dawn” and 66 “The Cardinal’s Page,” by James Baker, as books recommended to be read by the readers who are taking up the subject, “The England of Chaucer and Wyclif.” As this committee includes several well-known historians, the compliment of their choice confirms the numerous reviews of the books. Mr. Anthony Hope, lecturing at the Working Men’s College on Saturday, November 12th, referred to the modern novel, and stated that it was too often a vehicle to convey the author’s view of the world, or was written in order to solve a problem propounded by the author. He stated, further, that whereas with the old story the great question was, “ What happened?” with the present day story the chief question was, “Why did it happen ?” or “ Ought it to have happened ?” Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have published the first volume of their reprint of the ‘‘ Diary and Letters of Madame D’Arblay (1778-1840), with a preface and notes by Austin Dobson. ‘The new issue is based on the edition of 1842 to 1846, edited by Mrs. Charlotte Francis Barrett, and will consist of six volumes. «“ Around a Distant Star,” by Jean Delaire, author of “ A Dream of Fame,” etc., is published by Mr. John Long, of 13 and 14, Norris Street, Hay- market. It is astoryofa journey intospace, embody- ing a new and interesting central idea. The book is published at the price of 6s. Messrs. Longman will publish shortly a story by Mr. Walter Herries Pollock, and his son, Mr. Guy C. Pollock, called “‘ Hay Fever.” It is concerned with the strange adventures of a highly and justly respected stockbroker, and is founded on the known actions of a drug, sometimes prescribed for hay fever, though the authors have not aimed at scientific accuracy. The story will appear first in the pages of Longman’s Magazine. A large second edition has just been issued of Mr. Walter Emanuel’s, ‘‘ The Snob,” the companion volume to the same authow’s, “ A Dog Day,” which is now in its twentieth thousand. Lord Burghclere’s translation of the Georgics of Virgil into English verse, which was privately circulated amongst his friends last year, and a few extracts from which appeared in the Néneteenth Century, was published by Mr. John Murray towards the end of last month. Dr. Richard Garnett’s comedy in blank verse, to which we referred in the May number of Zhe Author, was published by Mr. John Lane on the 23rd of last month. The title of the comedy is “William Shakespeare, Pedagogue and Poacher,” and among the characters introduced, in addition to William and Ann Shakespeare, are Sir Thomas and Lady Lucy, and the Earl of Leicester. THE AUTHOR. Miss Rosa Nouchette Carey’s book, “At the Moorings,” which Messrs. Macmillan & Co. published recently at the price of 6s., has been included by Baron Tauchnitz in his continental series. We understand also that Messrs. Macmillan have published a new and cheaper edition of Miss Carey’s works at the price of 3s. 6d. Mr. H. V. Esmond’s new play, “‘ Love and The Man,” will be produced in New York in January by Mr. Forbes Robertson, but will not appear in London till September, 1905. The play is a serious one, in five acts, and deals with love and politics. Mr. Alfred Sutro’s play, “The Walls of Jericho,” described by the critics as a satire of “The Smart Set,” was produced at the Garrick Theatre on the 31st. of October, and has met with favourable reviews. Mr. Arthur Bourchier and Miss Violet Vanbrugh, in a careful study, contributed largely to the success. On Saturday, November 12th, Miss Olga Nether- sole produced Mrs. Craigie’s latest play, entitled ‘“‘The Flute of Pan,” at the Shaftesbury Theatre. The play deals with an imaginary kingdom entitled “Siguria.” The plot lies round a man outside the kingdom who falls in love and marries the Princess. His position turns out not altogether satisfactory. PARIS NOTES. ——-—— + OW that books on Russia and Japan are in demand, “ Promenades en Russie,’ by Madame Blanc-Bentzon, is an excellent one for giving an idea of the every-day life of the people. Among the most interesting chapters are those which treat of the experiment tried by a wealthy Russian woman for the welfare and education of her tenants. After staying for some time at one of her own estates in Russia, she was struck by the contrast between her own gay, happy life and the wretched existence of the people around her. We are told that le mal de la pitie la prit, un mal dont on ne guertt pas. She had inherited a certain estate where she had about a hundred peasant families as tenants. For over eighteen years she has worked amongst these people educating and humanising them. At her death she intends to leave her property to be divided amongst them. It was to this little model village that Madame Blanc Bentzon first went on arriving in Russia. She gives us an account of all she saw, of the country itself, its people, their habits and customs, their traditions and their religion.  THE AUTHOR. 67 After this we have an account of her visit to Tolstoi and of his criticisms of modern literature and thought. The last chapters on ‘ Russian Women” and “ Village Industries ” are as instruc- tive as they are interesting, and the whole volume is written in that clear, natural style which is one of the great charms of this authoress. Another book on Russia which is extremely up- to-date is entitled “ Roubles et Roublards,” by Pierre Giffard. The writer of this volume has only recently returned from a sojourn of several months in Manchuria. The book is divided into three parts, the first a series of short graphic chapters, forty-seven in all, in which we have some amazing accounts of the bribery and corruption prevalent in the various administrations. The second part of the volume is devoted to L’Guvre géante, or the “Transasiatic.” In thirty more short chapters we have some Russo-Chinese pictures. The whole volume is a book well worth reading, as it gives an excellent idea of the interior of the country it describes. Everything is told in a concise, bright way, and one sees that the author knows his subject thoroughly. Another series of ‘‘ Impressions of Japan,” by Pierre Loti, will be published shortly in the Revwe des Deur-Mondes. To students of history, particularly of the period of the French Revolution, the book of letters from a volunteer (1733-1796) will be of great interest. The volume is entitled “Joliclerc,” and a long introduction of more than eighty pages is con- tributed by M. Frantz Funck-Brentano, the well- known author of “L’Affaire du Collier,’ and of many other historical works. These letters are written by Francois-Xavier. Joliclerc to his mother, and they give an excellent idea of the soldier of the Revolution. It appears that M. Taine often regretted the absence of any documents enabling us to know the thoughts and ideas of the volunteers who enlisted in the army of the Reyo- lution. This Joliclere was a humble peasant of the Jura, but as M. Funck-Brentano says with reason, in his preface, “ Ces lettres sont des chefs dceuvre. . Nous ne croyons pas que la littérature posséde aucun document ou se montre Yame d’un homme avec plus de force, de clarté et de simplicité.” The third volume of M. Gilbert Stenger’s excel- lent work on the “ Histoire de la Société francaise pendant le Consulat ” is now published, and is still more interesting than the preceding ones. This third volume is on “ Bonaparte—Sa Famille—Le Monde et les Salons,” and it would certainly be difficult to find a subject about which there is so much to say. It seems as though there must be an endless fund of information and details about those times, for every historian finds some- thing new to tell us. In this book by M. Stenger, of over five hundred pages, the interest is kept up from the first chapter to the last. M. Charles Foley’s “Vendée” is a collection of short stories founded on episodes belonging to the tragic times during the Vendean struggles. M. Foley is one of the greatest authorities on the events of this epoch, as he has made a special study of it, and is well versed in the archives of that period. There are about twenty stories in this volume, illustrated by reproductions of en- gravings of the times. Most of the episodes are dramatic, and many of them heroic. It is in stories of this kind that M. Foley excels, as he writes with great delicacy, gives us the atmosphere of the times evoked, and describes equally well the exquisite refinements, the heroic sacrifices, and brutalities of the aristocrats, the peasants, the soldiers, and the mob. Several of the stories in this volume are masterpieces of sentiment and style. “La Fugitive,’ by J.-H. Rosny, is the title of a volume of short stories, all of which are told in acharming way. There are between forty and fifty of these stories, humorous, sad, tragic, realistic or romantic. Among those which are the most delicately told are “Le Retour du Passé,” “Le Chien,” ‘‘Le Retour,” and “Ie Cadeau Inattendu.” ‘“‘Le Dernier Mammouth” is another novel by M. Auzias Turenne, the author of “Cow Boy.” The author is a French Canadian, and his books are vigorous with the refreshing atmosphere of out-door life. They are no drawing-room novels, but stories of hardy pioneers, adventurers and explorers. “Te Village endormi,” by M. Georges Riat, gives an excellent picture of provincial life in France. It is the story of the rivalry between two villages in the Franche-Comté, one an agricultural district, the inhabitants of which are extremely conservative, and the other an industrial town of staunch Republicans, proud of their energy and progress. A romance runs through the book, as the son of the mayor of the one village is in love with the mayor’s daughter of the other village, and thanks to the political ideas of their respective parents, and the antagonism between the two villages, the course of true love does not run smoothly in this particular case. “Les Centaures,” by M. André Lichtenberger, is a curious novel telling of the last days and struggles of the race of Centaurs. M. Henri Davignon publishes a book entitled “ Moliére et la Vie,” which should certainly be read by all students or admirers of French classics. The author of this book compares many of the modern plays, which after an immense success are soon heard of no more, with those of Molicre. It  68 ig more than two hundred years since the ‘ Bour- geois Gentilhomme ” was put on the stage, but the piece lives to-day, and never gets old or out of date. The chapters of this work are headed, ‘‘ Moliere et les Femmes,” ‘‘Moliere et la Bourgeoisie, “ Moliere et les Petites Gens,” and ‘ Le drame dans Moliére,” and all of them are weil worth reading. In the recent reviews there are several excellent articles. In the Revue des Deux Mondes Count Charles de Mouy writes on the “Congres de Berlin,’ and M. Robert de la Sizeranne on “T/Esthétique des Tombeaux.” In the Revue de Paris, M. Louis Aubert writes on the subject of future rivalry between the Americans and the Japanese. M. Finot, in La Revue has been giving us some interesting articles entitled “ Le Roman de la Race francaise,” and M. Ular in the same paper has an article on “La Militarisation de la Chine.” On the 4th of November M. Paul de Cassagnac died at the age of sixty-two. For the last forty years he had written in various news- papers, and in 1886 he founded the well-known paper L’Autorite. In the dramatic world this season promises to be a most brilliant one. At the Frangais “‘ Notre Jeunesse,” by M. Alfred Capus, is pronounced a success. ‘At the Renaissance “L’Escalade,” by M. Maurice Donnay, is the story of a savant thoroughly versed in psychology, who, after writing a ponderous book on “La Therapeutique des Passions,” falls in love himself as easily as any unsophisticated youth. “Maman Colibri,” by M. Henry Bataille, is being played at the Vaudeville, so that just at present there are plenty of interesting pieces running. The first International Congress of L’Art Dramatique, a society of authors and composers, took place at Nancy at the beginning of this season under the presidency of M. Alfred Capus. The object of this society is to put on the stage plays by authors who are unknown to the public. The cost of pro- duction is covered by the subscription of members and by a certain percentage given to the society by aathors whose plays have been put on, thanks to the help of this association. The society now has representatives in the French provinces and in many of the European countries. A monthly report is issued, “ L’Avant-Scéne,” and this paper is sent to all the managers. Some very interesting questions were discussed at this Congress, and it was proposed that every effort should be made to establish more popular theatres in the provinces and to encourage decentralisation as much as possible. The idea is that dramatic authors living in the provinces should have an THE AUTHOR. opportunity of producing their plays in their own part of the country without having to wait for 4 verdict from Paris. Spain, Belgium, and Germany were represented by their delegates at this Congress. Anys HALLARD. —___—_—<>—_ SPANISH NOTES. + PAIN is still plunged in distress at the loss of the Princess of Asturias, and the Press is eloquent in its plaints of the raid made by the arch enemy into the realm of youth, beauty, and royalty. The eldest little boy, Alfonzo Maria, just three years old, is appointed successor to his mother, Princess Mercedes, as heir to the throne, pending one in direct succession. The new infant is doing well in spite of her early initiation into the dignity of her position, for the little princess was not half-an-hour old before she was clad in rich robes and presented on a silver salver to the Pope’s Nuncio, the Prime Minister, Senor Sanchez de Tora, the Queen’s lawyer, several grandees of importance, a few generals, and the Prince’s royal suite. The sympathy of the whole country has been aroused for H.M. Queen Maria Cristina, who is still overwhelmed with grief. To turn to our notes of literary interest, the book list commenced last month by the striking philo- sophical-historical study of medizeval feudalism as seen in Gallicia. The title of the work “ El Cas- tello del Marques de Mos en Sotomayor,” gives the scene which the Marquesa de Ayerbe has taken as the subject of the book, and, inspired by her love for the place which saw her birth and where so much of her life has been spent, the authoress has spared herself no time and trouble in the research which has enabled her to imbue with living interest the characters who ruled over this district in what she is pleased to term ‘ the sublime epoch of the middle ages.” Madruga, the King of Gallicia, who took prisoner the Archbishop of Tuy, his virtuous successor, Don Alvaro, the parricide, Don Pedro, and poor Dofia Enriquez, who was assassi- nated by her own son, all are powerfully described by the pen of the learned lady, and the record gains in interest by descending as far as the establish- ment of the rights by the law court of Valladolid of Don Pelayo Antonio Correa Sotomayor, the great grandfather of the present duke, whose influential name is a household word in Madrid as the chief of the Royal Palace. : The history of the families of Spanish grandees is always rife with interest. That of Colonel Luis de Figuerola Ferrette can be traced back  THE AUTHOR. 69 for sixteen generations, and his mother having been sister to Pope Pius IX. adds a sort of sacer- dotal dignity to a man so distinguished for his devotion to his king and his country. A review in Paris has given a very laudatory notice of his new historical drama, ‘‘ Love, Honour, and Duty.” The new play by Manuel Linares Rivas Astray, called “ Aire de Fuera,” published by the Society of Spanish Authors, bids fair to ventilate the opinions on divorce which are now surging to the surface in Spain. The book is dedicated to the well-known actor Fernando Diaz de Mendoza, who takes the chief man’s part in the representation of the piece on the boards. The plot treats of a wife’s terror at having to return to her villainous husband at the end of the five years separation granted after untold humiliating legal proceedings, which seems at present to be the nearest approach to divorce known in Spain. The unhappy woman’s suicide is the solution of the difficulty. The other married couple show the opposite side of the picture as the husband suggests divorce in Belgium as the salve to his deception by his trusted wife. The dialogue is bright and trenchant, bristling with such sentiments as “ Men make the laws without think- ing that woman’s body contains a dreaming suffering soul.” The subject of divorce is being well aired just now, for Madame Carmen Burgos de Segui, the well-known writer, under the name of “ Colum- bine” in the Diario de Madrid, &c., has just published a book called “ El Divorcio en Espana,” which is a collection of opinions she solicited on divorce from many of the leading people of the day. The interest of the work naturally lies in the diversity of the ideas expressed, and it forms a valuable study in Spanish thought on the question. The indefatigable editress publishes, moreover, in the Diario Universal of November 2nd, a long inter- view she had on the subject of divorce with Alfred Naquet, the well-known French reformist, in this direction. ‘Do you think that Spain will ulti- mately succeed in its efforts in this matter ?” asked the lady ; and the deputy replied, “ I believe it will be a long time hence, for success involves the necessity of a few members of the Congress being strong in the belief of liberty of thought.” And must not the vox populi be heard at the Parlia- mentary elections for such politicians to represent he people ? Consuelo de Alvarez also writes a powerful article in the daily Press on the question of divorce. Edmundo Gonzalez has just published a work called “ El Feminismo en las Sociedades Modernas,” which puts the question on a better platform in Spain—for when Consuelo del Rey says in her article on “ Woman and War,” that Spain would only care to be affiliated with the International Council of Women if such a council interested itself in the extermination of war, she is evidently ignorant of the great propaganda for peace in- augurated by the Council under such well-known women as Bertha V. Siittner, of Germany (author of the book, ‘‘ Arms Down,” which was commended by the Emperor William IT.), Jessie Ackermann (President of the Universal Alliance for Peace in America), Fru Blehr (President of the Universal Alliance for Peace by Education in Norway), and other ladies spoke powerfully on the subject at the recent International Congress for Women at Berlin. Several works of Prince Kropotkin, Harnack, and William James have been recently translated into Spanish, and “ Le Jardon d’Hpicure,” trans- lated by Ciges Aparicio, has created quite a sensa- tion, for it is declared to give food for a year’s thought, although it can be perused in a hour and a half. The well-known name of Galdos is now again before the public, as the author of the much required history of Spain during the nineteenth century. Itis to be called “ Episodias Nacionales,” and the pages just published in the Liberal on the late Queen Isabella II. promise well for the work of the famous novelist and dramatist. The Atheneum of Madrid was the scene last week of a lecture from the lips of the late Prime Minister, Senor Silvela, which marks Spain as the land par excellence for oratory. The distinguished audience numbered such well-known names as Sefior Moret (the minister who recently spoke so eloquently of our educational efforts in White- chapel), Canalejas, Echegaray, Dato, the Marques de Portago, &c., &e. Seiior Silvela commenced his speech with an interesting personal remark with regard to his retirement from Parliamentary life. “I was van- quished,” he said, “ not vanquished by my enemies or my friends, whose opinions certainly add to the cares of government, but I was vanquished by the sense of my inability to realise the ideals which impelled me to Parliamentary activity. But albeit vanquished in the arena of politics, I can never be called a deserter from realms of ideals for my country, and I gladly take my place in this Athenzeum, which has always been the scene of the great intellectual movements of our land.” Then, after an erudite reference to the leading minds of Christianity and philosophy, the orator proceeded to show that as truly as matter has its three dimensions, so is it undeniable that the human mind is subject to the measure of the true, the good, and the beautifal. RACHEL CHALLICE.  COPYRIGHT IN SWEDEN. — S Sweden joined the Berne Convention on August 1st, 1904, information as to the law of copyright prevailing in that country will be of interest, and may at any time be of use to members of the Society of Authors. The following notes have been contributed by the courtesy of a Swedish correspondent, Herr Harald Thornberg, whose translation with a few necessary alterations of idiom and phraseology we lay before our readers. The rights of Swedish subjects are governed by laws which bear the dates August 10th, 1877, May 28th, 1897, and April, 1904. The declaration of His Majesty the King of Sweden, which extended to his country the benefits of the Berne Convention, is dated July 8th, 1904. The provisions of the Swedish laws referred to are as follows : the sections or paragraphs are num- bered for the purpose of reference. General Provisions. (1) By the law of 1897 the author enjoys the exclusive right to print and multiply his works already published or unpublished, and the works thus protected include, besides literary compo- sitions, musical compositions, recorded by the ordinary or other forms of notation, maps, charts, architectural and other drawings, and reproductions of these, provided that they are not primarily produced for artistic purposes only. (2) By the law of 1897 an author enjoys the exclusive right to translate his work from one dialect to another of the same language. Tor the purposes of this section Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are deemed to be different dialects of the same language. (3) By the law of 1904 an author who, simul- taneously with his Swedish publication, publishes his book in another language or languages, and gives notice on his title page or at the commencement of his work that he is so doing, is deemed to have produced it in the language or languages specified. He enjoys the copyright in such translation for ten years, during which period he can restrain others from producing any other translation in the language or languages in question. (4) By the law of 1897 the translator of an author’s work into another language (provided that it be one the translation of which the author cannot restrain) enjoys the rights in his translation which are conferred upon an author by Section 1 above. Hisrights, however, do not preclude others from making translations of the same work. (5) By the law of 1877 the publisher of any periodicals or books compiled from independent THE AUTHOR. contributions by various authors is deemed to be the author of the compilation, but acquires no right to publish any of the articles appearing in such periodical or book separately. ‘Ihe author may republish the articles which he has contributed to such periodical or compiled books at the end of one year from the date of their first publication. (6) By the law of 1877 the author may transfer his copyright to one or more persons either uncon- ditionally or with reservations. If he has not done so his rights will pass at his death to his heirs.* Unless expressly permitted to do so by the author the transferee of literary rights may not publish more than one edition, which may not consist of more than 1,000 copies. (7) By the law of 1877 copyright continues. during the author’s life-time and for fifty years after his death. Where two or more have collabo- rated as joint authors, not as independent con- tributors to a compilation, the said fifty years are to be reckoned from the death of the last deceased. (8) By the law of 1897 literary matter published by a scientific or other society which does not recognise the personal authorship of the work, and literary matter first published after the death of the author, are protected for fifty years from the date of their first publication. Fifty years is also the period of copyright for literary matter published anonymously or under a pseudonym, provided that, if the author before the end of the fiftieth year from the date of its first publication complies with certain prescribed con- ditions, he shall enjoy the copyright conferred by Section 7. These conditions are that he shall make known his identity either on the title page of a new edition, or by notice to the department of justice, followed by public advertisement repeated three times in the public press. Until the author has made himself known in one of the foregoing ways, the publisher shall represent him as the owner of the copyright. (9) By the law of 1897, when a literary compo- sition is published in a series of parts, the period of copyright is deemed to commence after the publi- cation of the last part. Should any part, however, have been published more than two years after the publication of the next preceding part, the period of protection for such next preceding part, as well as for any earlier parts, will be deemed to commence at the date of the publication of the part next preceding the interval of two years. (10) By the law of 1877, except in cases as to which it is expressly otherwise provided by. law,. no one may reprint that which is the subject of * This word is used here and in paragraph 22 by Mr. Thornberg. It may mean personal representatives or descendants; it is not likely to mean “ heirs’ in the technical Hnglish meaning of the word.  THE AUTHOR. | 71 copyright during the continuance of the prescribed period without the permission of the owner of the copyright for the time being. No right to reprint what is otherwise protected is obtained by altering, abridging, or expanding the original matter. Re- printing under this section includes the publication of any unauthorised translation of the unpublished work of another, and of translations not pub- lished, as provided by Section 2, as well as publica- tion by any publisher, or by any person who has acquired a limited right to publish, when such pub- lication is not in accordance with the terms of his contract or licence to publish. (11) By the law of 1877 the prohibition of the unauthorised reprinting of the work of another does not apply to literary compositions which are in substance new and independent, and in which extracts from other works are introduced, either verbatim or in an abridged form, should such extracts be quoted as authorities, or for the purpose of criticising them, or as examples, or for the pur- pose of amplifying the topics treated of. Nor does such prohibition apply to the reprinting of passages, or of entire works of small dimensions, in compila- tions made for use in religious services, or in elementary instruction in reading, music, or draw- ing, or for the purpose of historical illustration, or when words are reprinted as the motive for a musical composition. In such cases, however, the name of the author must be given, should his name be attached to the original. (12) By the law of 1897 the prohibition of reprinting does not apply to quotations in periodical publications from articles which have appeared in publications of a similar character, provided that full acknowledgment is made, indicating the source from which the quotation is taken. Scientific treatises, literary compositions, and other works of greater length must not be reprinted in periodical publications, if the right to reprint has been expressly reserved at the beginning of the treatise or work in question, or at the beginning of the periodical volume, or volumes, in which it has appeared. The Swedish law of copyright so far as it affects dramatic and musical compositions. (13) By thelaw of 1897 dramatic and musical com- positions, the right of reproducing which by printing is protected by law, cannot be performed in public without the consent of the author or of the assignee of the author’s rights. Public performance of dramatic works, even without stage accessories, and of musical works, is subject to this restriction, both when the work in question has not been pub- lished in printed form, and when reservation of the right of public performance has been made upon the title page of the first printed edition. In the case of translations of published works for which the permission of the author is not required, the translator obtains the same right in his translation which he would have obtained as an author in an original work. In the absence of a special agreement to the contrary, the license or permission given by the author or the owner of the author’s rights to perform or present a dramatic or musical work, does not limit the number of per- formances and presentations, and is not assignable to a third party. The owner of the author’s rights, in the absence of any special agreement to the con- trary, may give such permission or licence to more than one person. Where the sole right of perform- ance or presentation has been assigned by the owner of the author’s rights, and the assignee during the five years next ensuing makes no use of such sole right, the owner of the author’s rights is at liberty to issue his licence or permission to another person or persons. (14) By the law of 1904 the right of an author or translator, as set out above with reference to musical and dramatic compositions, prevails during his lifetime and for thirty years after his death. In the case of works produced anonymously, any- one is at liberty to perform or present these after five years have elapsed from the date of their first publication or presentation. Legal remedies for the infringement of copyright m Sweden. (15) By the law of 1897 any person who infringes the copyright of another is liable to a fine of from twenty to one thousand crowns, to for- feiture of the edition published in contravention of such copyright, and to the payment of compensation in respect of copies sold at the full price of the authorised edition. This liability in respect of publications which are partially and to an ascer- tainable extent infringements of copyright, is proportionate to the extent of the infringement. Any person who by any unauthorised performance or presentation of dramatic or musical works (or of works both dramatic and musical) infringes the copyright of another is liable to a fine of from ten to one thousand crowns, and to pay by way of indemnity, to the owner of the copyright, the gross amount received by him at the time of such per- formance or presentation without deduction for any expenses incurred. When the performance which is the subject of legal proceedings has included the production of another work or other works, the indemnity thus payable shall be adjusted on a proportionate scale. Ifthe indemnity to be paid cannot be assessed upon the basis thus laid down, it shall be assessed upon such a scale as shall be found reasonable in the circumstances of the case, but so that the  COPYRIGHT IN SWEDEN. — S Sweden joined the Berne Convention on August Ist, 1904, information as to the law of copyright prevailing in that country will be of interest, and may at any time be of use to members of the Society of Authors. The following notes have been contributed by the courtesy of a Swedish correspondent, Herr Harald Thornberg, whose translation with a few necessary alterations of idiom and phraseology we lay before our readers. The rights of Swedish subjects are governed by laws which bear the dates August 10th, 1877, May 28th, 1897, and April, 1904. The declaration of His Majesty the King of Sweden, which extended to his country the benefits of the Berne Convention, is dated July 8th, 1904. The provisions of the Swedish laws referred to are as follows: the sections or paragraphs are num- bered for the purpose of reference. General Provisions. (1) By the law of 1897 the author enjoys the exclusive right to print and multiply his works already published or unpublished, and the works thus protected include, besides literary compo- sitions, musical compositions, recorded by the ordinary or other forms of notation, maps, charts, architectural and other drawings, and reproductions of these, provided that they are not primarily produced for artistic purposes only. (2) By the law of 1897 an author enjoys the exclusive right to translate his work from one dialect to another of the same language. For the purposes of this section Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are deemed to be different dialects of the same language. (3) By the law of 1904 an author who, simul- taneously with his Swedish publication, publishes his book in another language or languages, and gives notice on his title page or at the commencement of his work that he is so doing, is deemed to have produced it in the language or languages specified. He enjoys the copyright in such translation for ten years, during which period he can restrain others from producing any other translation in the language or languages in question. (4) By the law of 1897 the translator of an author’s work into another language (provided that it be one the translation of which the author cannot restrain) enjoys the rights in his translation which are conferred upon an author by Section 1 above. Hisrights, however, do not preclude others from making translations of the same work. (5) By the law of 1877 the publisher of any periodicals or books compiled from independent THE AUTHOR. contributions by various authors is deemed to be the author of the compilation, but acquires no right to publish any of the articles appearing in such periodical or book separately. ‘Ihe author may republish the articles which he has contributed to such periodical or compiled books at the end of one year from the date of their first publication. (6) By the law of 1877 the author may transfer his copyright to one or more persons either uncon- ditionally or with reservations. If he has not done so his rights will pass at his death to his heirs.* Unless expressly permitted to do so by the author the transferee of literary rights may not publish more than one edition, which may not consist of more than 1,000 copies. (7) By the law of 1877 copyright continues during the author’s life-time and for fifty years after his death. Where two or more have collabo- rated as joint authors, not as independent con- tributors to a compilation, the said fifty years are to be reckoned from the death of the last deceased. (8) By the law of 1897 literary matter published by a scientific or other society which does not recognise the personal authorship of the work, and literary matter first published after the death of the author, are protected for fifty years from the date of their first publication. Fifty years is also the period of copyright for literary matter published anonymously or under a pseudonym, provided that, if the author before the end of the fiftieth year from the date of its first, publication complies with certain prescribed con- ditions, he shall enjoy the copyright conferred by Section 7. These conditions are that he shall make known his identity either on the title page of a new edition, or by notice to the department of justice, followed by public advertisement repeated three times in the public press. Until the author has made himself known in one of the foregoing ways, the publisher shall represent him as the owner of the copyright. (9) By the law of 1897, when a literary compo- sition is published in a series of parts, the period of copyright is deemed to commence after the publi- cation of the last part. Should any part, however, have been published more than two years after the publication of the next preceding part, the period of protection for such next preceding part, as well as for any earlier parts, will be deemed to commence at the date of the publication of the part next preceding the interval of two years. (10) By the law of 1877, except in cases as to which it is expressly otherwise provided by, law,. no one may reprint that which is the subject of * This word is used here and in paragraph 22 by Mr. Thornberg. It may mean personal representatives or descendants; it is not likely to mean “heirs” in the technical English meaning of the word.  THE AUTHOR. . 71 copyright during the continuance of the prescribed period without the permission of the owner of the copyright for the time being. No right to reprint what is otherwise protected is obtained by altering, abridging, or expanding the original matter. Re- printing under this section includes the publication of any unauthorised translation of the unpublished work of another, and of translations not pub- lished, as provided by Section 2, as well as publica- tion by any publisher, or by any person who has acquired a limited right to publish, when such pub- lication is not in accordance with the terms of his contract or licence to publish. (11) By the law of 1877 the prohibition of the unauthorised reprinting of the work of another does not apply to literary compositions which are in substance new and independent, and in which extracts from other works are introduced, either verbatim or in an abridged form, should such extracts be quoted as authorities, or for the purpose of criticising them, or as examples, or for the pur- pose of amplifying the topics treated of. Nor does such prohibition apply to the reprinting of passages, or of entire works of small dimensions, in compila- tions made for use in religious services, or in elementary instruction in reading, music, or draw- ing, or for the purpose of historical illustration, or when words are reprinted as the motive for a musical composition. In such cases, however, the name of the author must be given, should his name be attached to the original. (12) By the law of 1897 the prohibition of reprinting does not apply to quotations in periodical publications from articles which have appeared in publications of a similar character, provided that full acknowledgment is made, indicating the source from which the quotation is taken. Scientific treatises, literary compositions, and other works of greater length must not be reprinted in periodical publications, if the right to reprint has been expressly reserved at the beginning of the treatise or work in question, or at the beginning of the periodical volume, or volumes, in which it has appeared. The Swedish law of copyright so far as it affects dramatic and musical compositions. (13) By the law of 1897 dramatic and musical com- positions, the right of reproducing which by printing is protected by law, cannot be performed in public’ without the consent of the author or of the assignee of the author’s rights. Public performance of dramatic works, even without stage accessories, and of musical works, is subject to this restriction, both when the work in question has not been pub- lished in printed form, and when reservation of the right of public performance has been made upon the title page of the first printed edition. In the case of translations of published works for which the permission of the author is not required, the translator obtains the same right in his translation which he would have obtained as an author in an original work. In the absence of a special agreement to the contrary, the license or permission given by the author or the owner of the author’s rights to perform or present a dramatic or musical work, does not limit the number of per- formances and presentations, and is not assignable to a third party. The owner of the author’s rights, in the absence of any special agreement to the con- trary, may give such permission or licence to more than one person. Where the sole right of perform- ance or presentation has been assigned by the owner of the author’s rights, and the assignee during the five years next ensuing makes no use of such sole right, the owner of the author's rights is at liberty to issue his licence or permission to another person or persons. (14) By the law of 1904 the right of an author or translator, as set out above with reference to musical and dramatic compositions, prevails during his lifetime and for thirty years after his death. In the case of works produced anonymously, any- one is at liberty to perform or present these after five years have elapsed from the date of their first publication or presentation. Legal remedies for the infringement of copyright m Sweden. (15) By the law of 1897 any person who infringes the copyright of another is liable to a fine of from twenty to one thousand crowns, to for- feiture of the edition published in contravention of such copyright, and to the payment of compensation in respect of copies sold at the full price of the authorised edition. This liability in respect of publications which are partially and to an ascer- tainable extent infringements of copyright, is proportionate to the extent of the infringement. Any person who by any unauthorised performance or presentation of dramatic or musical works (or of works both dramatic and musical) infringes the copyright of another is liable to a fine of from ten to one thousand crowns, and to pay by way of indemnity, to the owner of the copyright, the gross amount received by him at the time of such per- formance or presentation without deduction for any expenses incurred. When the performance which is the subject of legal proceedings has included the production of another work or other works, the indemnity thus payable shall be adjusted on a proportionate scale. If the indemnity to be paid cannot be assessed upon the basis thus laid down, it shall be assessed upon such a scale as shall be found reasonable in the circumstances of the case, but so that the  72 amount payable shall not be less than twenty-five crowns. : (16) By the law of 1897, all materials such as stereotype plates, blocks and formes, the only use of which can be the multiplying of copies of a work in infringement of the author’s rights, as well as all copies of a work made with a view to musical or dramatic infringements, shall be seized, and unless the parties otherwise agree, shall be destroyed. (17) By the law of 1877, the failure to mention the name of the author or the title of the periodical publication as set out in Sections 11 and 12, renders the offending party liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred crowns. (18) By the law of 1877, the penalties and indemnities ordered to be paid by those who publish works in infringement of the author’s rights are payable also, in proportion to the extent of the infringement, by those who knowingly offer such works for sale or import them into the kingdom. The Law affectiny foreigners, the consent of goint owners of copyright, the calculation of time, etc. (19) By the law of 1897, the Swedish law of copyright applies to all works of Swedish subjects and to works of foreigners first published in Sweden. Where reciprocal advantages are afforded by any other country, the king may by proclamation enable the subjects of that country to enjoy wholly or in part the advantages conferred by Swedish law in respect of works first published in that country. (20) By the law of 1897, when a work has been so produced that the cunsent of more than one person is necessary for its publication, performance or presentation, the consent of each such person must be obtained. In the case, however, of the pro- duction of work which is both musical and drama- tic, where the work is principally musical or principally dramatic, there the consent of the author of the preponderating element is sufficient. (21) By the law of 1877, in calculating the periods of time mentioned in Sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, the calendar year is not counted in which the incident occurs from which the prescribed period is reckoned. (22.) By the law of 1877, when a work is unprinted and is in the possession of the author’s widow or heirs, the copyright may not be seized for debt, nor does it pass to creditors in case of bankruptcy. (23) By the law of 1877 legal proceedings in respect of the law of copyright can only be taken by the owner of the right alleged to be infringed. (24) The law of 1904 came into force on July 1st, 1904, and applies retrospectively . to literary work published before that date, provided, however, that translations lawfully made before that date without the author’s consent may THER AUTHOR. continue to be published, and provided also that any one who has lawfully performed or presented dramatical or musical works before that date may continue to do so. —_____+——+ —____—_. MR. GEORGE RUSSELL AND “THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW.” —<>—+—— JE have taken the letter printed below \\ from the Zimes of November 18th. It seems an extraordinary thing that a magazine of the position of the North American Review should have taken the course set forth in Mr. Russell’s letter, and it is the more extraordinary as we understand that the editor had notice of the writer’s objection. No doubt in the daily papers a certain latitude is allowed to an editor in altering and correcting articles of ephemeral interest, as there are pressing events which necessitate the editor taking this responsibility. In many cases he has not time to apply to the author. This reason, however, cannot apply to the editor of a big monthly review, and the question of a time limiit cannot possible arise. Certainly in this case it did not arise, as the editor had had the article by him for at least three years. That he should have made the alterations without the consent of the author, and have altered the present tenses into preterites, is carrying the editorial power beyond all reason. It is bad enough for the editor of a big review to retain an article for three years without publication, though we must mention with regret that editors of some of the big reviews in England are not guiltless on this point—they sometimes. keep their authors waiting for publication and payment beyond the limits of all justice—but it has never come to our notice, except in the instance quoted above, that alterations have been made without the author’s sanction, and we must confess that Mr. G. W. E. Russell seems amply justified in the protest he has made by the letter to the Times. To THE EDITOR OF THE Times. S1r,—Pray give me space for a personal grievance. When Sir William Harcourt died several editors asked me to give some account of him. ll these invitations I declined, on the ground that I had strongly dissented from some parts of Sir William’s public conduct, and that I was unwilling, at such a moment, to revive former discords, Great is my consternation, on opening the North Ameri- can Review for November 15, to see an article on Sir William Harcourt signed by myself. This article must, I think, be three years old. It was written at the request of the editor, as a candid criticism of a living and active politician. The editor seems to have kept it by him all these years, and has now published it with alterations. All the present tenses have been altered into preterites ; and the article has thus been made to wear the semblance of an Obituary Notice.  TAE AU THOR. I deeply regret this exercise of editorial discretion ; for it must cause pain to some for whom I feel the most sincere respect and regard. Your obedient servant, GEORGE W. E. RUSSELL. November 17th. a ee HINTS ON PRODUCTION. —1—~<>— » — I. MANUSCRIPTS. N the preparation of manuscript for publication | it is hardly necessary to say that a neatly written one is likely to receive greater con- sideration from an editor or publisher, especially if the author is a beginner. An untidy manuscript, full of alterations or emendations, is tiresome to read, and is sometimes rejected on that score. Even if there is some literary merit in the production, its slovenliness is apt to warn the publisher of possible author’s corrections in the proofs, the charges for which are often a bone of contention between the publisher, author and printer. Although the printer may have no preference for typewritten as against ordinary and clearly written copy, it may save some expense if the author corrects his manuscript and then has it carefully typewritten. This plan is certainly best, and would find favour with those who have to express an opinion on its literary merits. Again, as this reproduction is practically a proof, it can, of course, be corrected again before it is actually placed in the printer’s hands. If this is done it will obviate extra charges, and possibly avoid a deal of friction and, perhaps, unpleasant correspondence. It is not every author who appreciates the difficulty or expense of making alterations in the type when once set up, because a simple insertion or deletion of a passage may necessitate alterations alfecting lines or even pages of type. If some correction is needful, it is a wise precaution to substitute or cut out a word or words for anything actually required to be inserted or expunged from the proof. A given size of page set up in a certain type may be estimated to a nicety, but the precise cost of making alterations in type is not easily calculated or checked. The following table will give the approximate number of words contained in a square inch of various types (a) with one ordinary lead, and (b) matter set solid, z.e., without leads. Leaded. Solid. Pica oe 12 ee 15 small Pies... 16 Ae 23 Long Primer ... 20 a 27 Bourgeois a. 24 a. 82 Brevier = 29 38 Nonpareil . 40 ie 59 73 These figures are based on an average kind of work written in the English language. Boox Founts. There are many kinds to be chosen from, but the first thing is to select the size. Small types should not be used unless there is some real neces- sity to do so, for most can read an average one, but a small face is trying and hurtful to the eyes, and to some a physical impossibility. For ordinary work there is some sort of unwritten law governing the size of type to be employed for a volume of a certain size, and this average, roughly, is pica for demy 8vo, 82 in. x 5§ in., small pica for crown 8vo, 74 in. x 5 in., and long primer for foolscap 8vo, larger and smaller volumes taking proportionate sizes. If we were to take a consensus of opinion on what might be considered a fairly comfortable size of type for reading purposes, we probably would find both long primer and small pica as being the ideals. It is in one or other of these founts that nearly all one volume novels are printed, the detail of leading or non-leading being determined by the precise length of the manuscript, and the number of pages the book is to make when in print. With regard to the design or character of the type face, this is also an important matter. As the cost of printing from a well-designed type is no more than that of printing from an ill-formed one, care should be taken in the selection of a good character. This may be to some extent a matter of taste, but if a good many books are examined it will be found that by far the larger number are printed in the so-called “old style” character, which for books is certainly the best kind, whereas the ‘“ modern face,” such as Zhe Author is printed in, is best adapted for magazine or newspaper printing. The format of a page and the placing of that page on the paper, so as to give the proper propor- tion of margin when printed, are two very important elements if a well-designed volume is desired. ‘To arrive at this result requires a good deal of judg- ment, for a full or crowded page placed on the leaf at random at once condemns any pretence to an artistic book. A handsome type page would be one which would occupy about one-half of the total area of the leaf of paper; that page must not be placed in the centre of the page, but somewhat cornered as it were, so that the inner and head margins should be respectively about one-third to two-thirds of the margin on tail and on fore-edge. By these means the two open pages of any volume, not a single page, would form the unit—the two being linked together, as it were. If, on the other hand, the margins of each page were centralized all round, the effect of the open two pages would be that the facing pages were distressingly far apart  74 and, although the head and tail margins were equal, they would appear to have slipped or dropped down below the centre, this being an optical illusion. : ; The question of cost in setting up various sizes ig a complicated one, and if we take the London scale of charges as our basis we find that wages here are higher as compared with the provinces. In printing generally the difference of cost is chiefly in regard to composition, and press work charges are not much affected by the locality. In some respects the higher charges prevailing in town are counterbalanced by the convenience of having the printer nearer at hand. The exact prices for composition are regulated according to whether the “copy” is to be seb up from manuscript or from printed copy, technically termed “ reprint,” which must be an absolute fac- simile as regards type, both in size and width— that is, it must be line for line and page for page with the original. There is also an intermediate charge for “copy” which is printed but yet not a facsimile, or it may be it is a facsimile with altera- tions in manuscript, both of which fall under this intermediate head. Further. the question of the matter being leaded or non-leaded affects the price in all the foregoing instances, that which is set with- out leads carrying the higher price, for the obvious reason that any pages set solid would contain more lines in a page, and thus necessitate more labour to the compositor. From this it will be seen that the scale of charges for composition is a very intricate one, and the difficulties are still more increased by the introduction of other nominal charges made as extras on each sheet, such as the introduction of other sizes of type for extract matter or footnotes, besides other details too numerous to mention. All these remarks apply to works printed in the vernacular—books printed in foreign languages are provided for under a different scale, and the frequent use of foreign words sometimes involves an extra charge. As some rough and ready idea of cost, taking an ordinary volume, such as a novel, printed in the English language without any of the extras indicated above, the approximate charges for composing a volume set with leads from manuscript or reprint set without leads, may be taken as— 1d. per square inch ifset in Pica. 14d. % - Small Pica. 13d. ” ¥ Long Primer. These prices are the average London ones. Manuscript copy if set solid would be rather higher. On the other hand, reprint leaded would be some- what cheaper. Cuas. T. JACOBI. (To be continued.) THE AUTHOR. UNITED STATES, GREAT BRITAIN.— COMPARATIVE COSTS OF PRODUCTION.— COMPARATIVE PROFITS. — 47 E have much pleasure in submitting to members of the Society some costs of production from the United States, which we have obtained through the diligence of the Secretary of the United States Authors’ Society. The estimates are reckoned in dollars and in pounds, taking for convenience a dollar to equal 4s. 2d., and are compared with the English costs of production of a similar type of book. The first estimate reters to a book of 272 pp. crown octavo, 29 lines, and 253 words to a page. One thousand copies are printed, and the type is small pica. Unitep Srates Cost or PRODUCTION. I. Dollars. £8. d. Composition and _ electro typing plates, 272 pages at 50 cents=2s. 1d. per page; or 17 sheets of 16 pages, at £1 14s. 8d. per sheet. . 136 26 6 8 Printing, say ten sheets at $3=12s. 6d. per sheet of 32 pages. : : . 380 6 5 0 Paper, ten reams of 100 pounds, at $6=£1 5s. per ream. : : 60 12 10 0 Binding, at 12 cents=6d. . 120 25 0 0 Binding stamp. 10 2 473 Five boxes at 75 cents= 3s. 14d. . 3°75 16 oF $359°75 £74 18 115 Say £74 19s. British Cost oF PRODUCTION. I. Composition, 17 sheets of 16 pages, at £1 5s. . ‘ : : ; 4 Moulds and stereos, at 12s. per sheet. 10 4 0 Printing, 17 sheets of 16 pages, say 10 sheets of 32 pages, in order to bring the estimate into uniformity with that from U.S.A., at 15s. per sheet of 32 pages. ; 5 ; «2410 0 Paper, 84 reams, say 10 sheets of 32 pages, at £1 per sheet of 32 pages. 10 0 0 Binding, at 5d., or (say) 42s. per 100 copies. . : : : : ~ 21 0 0 £69 19 0  THE AUTHOR. 75 From these two costs, giving a very full value to the dollar, we see that the United States cost is £5 in excess of the English cost. So far, then, the difference between the two costs of pro- duction is immaterial, but this point has to be considered, that English books are, as a rule, printed from type, and, therefore, if the edition was for one thousand copies only, the item for moulds and stereos (12s. per sheet of 16 pages, £10 4s.) would have to be deducted, making the difference between the two costs of production, £15 4s. In addition, the United States publisher seems to pay for boxes for the moulds, the charge, as appears on the cost, being 15s. 6d., and credits his account with the surplus paper as sold for pulping. From this estimate have been omitted three items that will have to be taken into considera- tion before it will be possible to state what profit there is to the author, and what to the publisher. Firstly,—Corrections. Secondly,— Advertising. Thirdly,—Circularising. (i.e. expenses of the publisher's office). The corrections would roughly work out between 10 and 15 per cent. of the cost of composition. The advertising in the United States, according to information received, is very nearly double the amount spent in England, out it is almost im- possible to gange this point satisfactorily, and it is doubtful whether absolute reliance can be placed on this statement. For circulars—that is, ordinary publishers’ expenses, and postages—the United States publisher reckons a sum of thirty dollars per edition of one thousand copies, or £6 5s. on £74 19s. This works out at less than the 10 per cent. which publishers in England are very fond of stating must be reckoned to cover office expenses, &c. This item, however, the Society has always repudiated, when working out the profits, unless the publisher shows himself willing to grant the same charges in the author’s account. In addition to the tabulated cost must be reckoned :— UNITED STATES. Dollars. Corrections (15 per cent. of the cost of composition and stereos) ‘ 20.40 Advertising an edition of 1,000 copies 240 $260.40 BritisH Cost. os oO: Corrections (15 per cent. of the cost of composition and stereos) . 414 4 Advertising an edition of 1,000 copies of Finglish edition . : : 2s 30. 0 0 £34 14 4 Toran Cost oF Propuction. United States. $359°75 + $2604 = $620°15 = £129 3s. 114d. (say £129 4s.) ‘ British. £69 19s. + £34 14s. 4d. = £104 18s. 4d. Against this it must be remembered that, as a rule, the United States publisher gets more for his book than the English publisher. For instance, a 5s. nett book sells in the United States at $1°50= 6s. 3d., and, therefore, instead of reckoning as has been customary in the costs of production men- tioned on former occasions in Zhe Author, the 6s. book, subject to discount as the unit of calculation, it is easier to take the 5s. nett book, and the $1°50 = 6s. 3d., and this would be a fair price for the book whose estimate is quoted. Taking it, therefore, that 100 books are circu- lated free, for review and other purposes, the receipts may be reckoned as follows :— Unitrep Sratres Book ReruRN FROM SALES. 900 copies at $150. $1350°0 ... (less 25 per cent. to retailer) 337°) $1012°5 ... (less 10 per cent. to the wholesale jobber) 101°25 $911:25 = £189 16s. 104d. British Book RETURN FROM SALES. 900 copies of 5s. nett book. Five-sixths of 5s., 13 copies as 12, less 10 per cent. = 692 X 5s. : = 3:46s. for each copy =a fraction above 3s. 5dd. per copy. 3°46 x 900 = 3114s. = £155 14s. We have made the returns of sales in the United States from reliable figures supplied to the office. The above is therefore a fair statement. The returns from the British Book, however, are, according to the publisher’s statement, the lowest received from the bookseller and distributor, wholesale or retail. It is probable, therefore, that the real returns are somewhat higher. Carrying the calculation a little further, the  76 profit on the first edition of 1,000 of the United States book is— £189 16 10 129 4 90 £60 12 10 On the British book is— £155 14 0 104138 4 £51 0 8 Unirep Srares SALES AND PERCENTAGE. If the author, therefore, took in the one case £30 6s. for his profit, that is about half, what percentage would he be receiving on the published rice of the book ? This problem is then presented : Nine hundred copies sold at $1°50 (75 pence) realise £30 6s. to the author. What, then, is the percentage on each copy ? Working the sum out £809 _ £908 _ £10886 900 9 = 8°08 pence for every copy at $1°50 (75 pence). The author receiving 8°08 per copy would receive the following per cent. :— 752 8'08..: 100; 8:08 e 100 oe 2 10-7, (9 i) or just over 103 per cent. British SALES AND P&SRCENTAGE. If the same calculation is made in the case of a British book, the author will, in the same way, take half profits, that is to say, £25 10s. = £25°5. If nine hundred copies sold at 5s. nett bring £25-5 to the author, the author receives for each copy B25 _ £25) _. £-0988 = 68d, 900 9 just over 63d. If the author receives 6:8d. per copy of a book that sells for 5s., his share per cent. of the selling price of the book is shown by 68 x 100 68 0:68::100: —2—_=, =11%, As 6 6°8 0 60 6 oO exactly 114 per cent. Here one or two points deserve to be noticed. First, the author receives only half-profits. ‘This is not necessarily a fair division. Next, the publisher—taking also half-profits— THE AUTHOR. the same sum as the author, receives interest on his investment thus, omitting the pence :— In the United States— As £129 3s. : £30 6s. :: 100: 2% As 2583 : 606 :: 100; = ave «1 2583 ae 60000 93°46. 2583 not quite 234 per cent. In England— As £104 13s. : £25 10s.;: 100: 2% As 2098 :510 -:400; = ee 2093 51000. =a a little over 24 per cent. These returns of 23 and 24 per cent. respectively represent the publisher’s interest upon his capital invested, supposing that the sale of the 1,000 copies takes place, as it generally does, in twelve months. If the sale is accomplished only in two years, the interest upon the investments become 114 and 12 per cent. respectively ; not at all bad interest. If the 1,000 copies are sold in six months the interest rises to 46 and 48 per cent. per annum respectively. It will be seen that whilst the United States pub- lisher receives actually more from sales than the British publisher (£189 16s. against £155 14s.),and also has a larger profit (£60 12s. against £51), his greater expenses make his gain per cent. per annum on his investment smaller (23 per cent. against 24). The examples which we have taken are those of a fair cost of production and a small sale. Where approximate figures have been taken, the calculations show the publisher’s profits to be slightly smaller than they actually are. G. H. T. ——_——_—_—_1—<— UNITED STATES. “The Author’s Year Book and Guide to 600 Places to Sell MSS.” * HIS publication comes from the United States. If any author, guided by the title, should be inclined to purchase the book, seeking for information, it is as well to state that the work, a however useful in other respects to the author in 30 * « Author’s Year Book and Guide to 600 Places to Seli po! MSS.” W. E. Price, 24—26, East Twenty-first Street, a New York, U.S.A.  THE AUTHOR. 77 the United States or in Great Britain, does not justify the label which is attached to it. The work opens with a list of papers and maga- zines to which MSS. can be sent, and with a list of publishers, but there is no information as to the style of article, story, or composition that the ‘editors are willing to accept or the publishers willing to produce. So far, therefore, the book fails entirely as a guide to the 600 places which it enumerates and to the individualities of the different publishing houses. The remainder of the book is filled with articles on literary subjects, such as “ Authors and Busi- ness” (reprinted from the New York Times Saturday Review), which contains a few useful hints, readily picked up in any of the books published for the guidance of authors. Then follow some views promulgated by the editors of magazines, scrappy, and of little assistance. After these comes an interesting article on the nett price system and its relation to authors, interesting to the student of the economics of book-selling and book-writing rather than bene- ficial to the unfortunate trying to dispose of a MS. Ever since Sir Walter Besant founded the Society of Authors one of its aims has been to show the close relation between the bookseller and the author, and to point out that the prosperity of the former is closely allied with the prosperity of the latter, and that the bookseller’s profits must assist, In some way, the author’s profits. The writer states, very wisely: ‘‘ Does anyone like to pay 1 dollar 50 cents for a book and see it offered a few days later on dry goods counters for 85 cents ? In making investments people are slow to buy on a falling market.” The next article, “A Word to Authors,” must bave been written by a publisher, and is therefore dangerous as guide to the author. A few quota- tions will make this self-evident:—“ As a rule, authors imagine publishers to be their natural foes, preying upon them as sharks do upon the lesser finny tribes of the deep. A little thought would dissipate this impression. Authors have no idea of the costs which are incidental to the production of a book.” Here is the key to the publishing note. In the United States, unfor- tunately, authors have very little idea of the cost of production of a book. The Society has for years endeavoured to obtain trustworthy state- inents of the cost of printing, paper, binding, advertising, in the United States, and so far but meagre information has come to the office. In consequence, it is difficult to gauge the profits to which the author is entitled, and the publisher, from his point of view, is wise to keep the secret as long as possible. Another sentence also betrays the cloven hoof: “ When all these costs have been paid, there remains a comparatively small margin of profit. Hence, whatever royalties publishers may agree to pay, authors may consider that they are having a fair return for their labour.” A more ingenuous statement was never made, nor one which could make it clearer that the taint of the publisher runs through the whole article. If aman desired to buy a horse, he would naturally buy in the cheapest market, and if the man who was selling the horse happened to be ignorant of its value, the buyer would make as good a bargain for himself as he possibly could. It is not likely, therefore, that a tradesman desiring to purchase an article would pay the seller £2u for it if he could get it for £10. There is no reason why the author should consider the publisher different from other tradesmen, and therefore—that what the publisher agreed to pay would necessarily be a fair return for his labour. “What we have just said is emphasised by the fact that the larger number of books never pay expenses.” This again is a fault of the publishing trade which has often been exposed in 7’he Author. The musical publishers in London state that hardly 5 per cent. of the songs published cover their expenses. The fact that tne publisher chooses to gamble with the books of some authors is no argu- ment why the successful author should pay the publisher’s gambling debts, and must not affect any author in his negotiations for the sale of his works. There is an interesting article by Mr. Page Fox on * Books Waiting to be Written,” but it is interesting from the originality of the ideas set forth rather than from the point of view of prac- tical advice to the author. Among the books referred to is ‘A Town History,” and his advice for writing a work of this description would, no doubt, appeal to the United States dollar-catcher rather than co the select and cultured compilers of literature. He says, *‘ Publish the portraits and residences or places of business of the leading townsmen. Mention in the book everybody in the town whom you can. Even for the most humble can be found a place in a work of genealogy. The wealthy will give you large sums for the illustrations, and the vanity of the poor will cause them to buy a book in which their name appears.” Then follows a rough statement of the cost and the probable profit : “(Oost of issue of book, $1,000 ; one thousand subscribers at $2 apiece, $2,000. One hundred of the wealthy class will pay you $10 apiece for their portraits, $1,000. Profits, $2,000. If you are satisfied with the result, go on to the next town, and so on ad infinitum.” After perusal of this paragraph, the remark  78 THE AUTHOR. made by R. I. Stevenson would not be at all inappropriate : ‘‘ Golly ! What a book !” This article is by far the longest in the book, and carries with it much amusing reading on the commerce of book-making. a In another contribution on short story writing it would appear that the same difficulty exists in the United States as in Great Britaiu—namely, the fact that publishers are convinced that books of short stories do not sell. The writer gives some probable reasons for this conclusion, which, however, do not appear to be very sound. There are other articles interesting to authors from different points of view, such as “ How to Succeed as a Novelist,” ‘‘ The Preparation of the MS.,” “In the Literary Market,” the last by Mr. Albert Bigelow Paine. He makes a very sensible remark, which many authors should bear in mind: “There is no royal road to authorship. It is fight, fight, and go on fighting to the end.” Lastly come some short notes about English periodicals and their contributors, which contain chiefly notes of the editors dealing with the con- tributions published in their different papers, and finally come “The General Memoranda,” “ Warnings to Dramatic Authors,” and an interest- ing article from Mr. G. Bernard Shaw : “ How to make Plays Readable.” These last three have been taken from the pages of Ze Author, but having read the book carefully, we have failed to find any acknowledgment of their source. Even though no copyright is claimed for them—unless, indeed, Mr. Shaw claims copyright—still, as a matter of courtesy, a formal acknowledgment might have been made. To sum up, the book fails on its main points if its title is any guide to the desires of its com- piler, A book on the lines of some books that are produced in England, giving not only the names of the magazines and papers in the United States, but also the kind of articles and stories which they will take, the length of the articles and stories, the prices they will pay for them, and other details of information, would, no doubt, be interesting and useful to many writers this side of the water ; or, again, a practical guide for authors, on lines similar to some of the books which have been pub- lished in England, might be very useful to the budding United States author ; but this book fails to deal with either point exhaustively. It is neither a practical guide for the author, nor is ita guide to the 600 places in which to sell MSS. From the first title, “The Author’s Year Book,” the book seems destined to appear from year to year. If this is the case, with greater care and with greater knowledge bestowed upon the essential details, the work may prove satisfactory in the course of time. MAGAZINE CONTENTS. —~?--+ DECEMBER, 1904. BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE. “Madam”: A Lady of the Morland. Skrine. Musings Oxford. By Mary J. H. without Method. The Rhodes Scholars at THE BOOKMAN. The Writings of Theodore Watts Dunton. By Ernest Rhys. Book MONTHLY. The Popular Novelist: His Art, Mission and Influence. 3y Hall Caine. CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL, Patmos: Its Monastery and Passion Play. William Whittall. THE CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. The Nature of Literature. By Vernon Lee. Nitshevo. By Edwin Emerson. Maeterlinck as a Reformer of the Drama. By Count 8. C. de Soissons. Some Recent Books. By Sir PAP By “A Reader.” CORNHILL. Tn the Throes of Composition. By Michael MacDonagh. Historical Mysteries.—Saint Germain the Deathless. By Andrew Lang. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. In the Footsteps of Rousseau. By Havelock Ellis. Mozart as a Dramatic Composer. By Dr. John Tod- hunter. The Novels of Disraeli. By Lewis Melville. The National Art Collections Fund. By H. M. Paull. The Mother of Navies. By T. Andrea Cook. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW The Work of Mr. Henry James. By Sydney Waterlow. The Myth of Magna Carta. By Edward Jenks. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. Izaak Walton at Droxford. By John Vaughan. At the Sign of the Ship. The State of British® Fiction. By Andrew Lang. The Beautiful Sheridans. By Alfred Beaver, MACMILLAN’s MAGAZINE. Rome before 1870. Anonymous. THe MoNTHLY REVIEW. The Revival of Gaelic in Ireland. By F.O. Russell. Evil. By Norman Pearson. THE NATIONAL REVIEW. Some Children’s Essays. By Miss K. Bathurst, The Spokesman of Despair. By Jane Findlater. XIX, CENTURY AND AFTER, Free Thought in the Church of England. By The Rev. Prebendary Whitworth. Mr. Mallock and the Bishop of Worcester. H. Maynard Smith. : : The Literature of Finland. By Hermione Ramsden. = ah Women in Chinese Literature. By Herbert A. Giles. : TEMPLE BAR. By M. Kirkby Hill. By the Rev. Kit Smart. A Diary of the 17th Century. By Constance Spender. x There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic or * Musical subjects in Zhe Month or The World's Work.  THB AUTHOR. WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. + ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: C1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental cights. (.) 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 ! II. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things nece ry to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth, From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong 'o the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. PE Ciel ie oe WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. se EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- _ petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, 19 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract f in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills, (%.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (¢.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (7.¢., fixed nightly fees). his method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect, The other safeguards set out under heading (@.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. ‘he legal distinction is of great importance. 7, Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. or plays o—p—« WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_-———— ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He 80 fore when entering into should be especially careful there r nt art. cular consideration an agreement,and should take intop the warnings stated above. ee HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —<-+ i VERY member has a right toask for and to receive K advicé upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. — The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. | Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. — All this without any cost to the member. 2, Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. ‘Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. he Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) ‘lo stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (8) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. — HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. es THE READING BRANCH. ——— + — EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this VI branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. . 2 — > NOTICES. — MYNHE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of [' the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. LEvery effort will he made to return articles which cannot be accepted. ee The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ee ee LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE : SOCIETY. eae ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. a Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C.  THE AUTHOR. 81 AUTHORITIES. — oo 7% see a complaint in the Publishers’ Circular W that the energetic trader of the United States is endeavouring to rob English publishers of their book trade in the Colonies, by flooding the Colonies with American editions.: If this is, in reality, the case, there must be something radically wrong. Nearly all English authors include in their licence to publish given to the English publisher the markets of Great Britain, her Colonies, and dependencies. Some- times, however, this licence is altered, by excepting Canada, which country is, therefore, either included in the agreement with the American publisher, or is under a separate agreement with a Canadian publisher. It follows, therefore, that if United States publishers are sending editions into Australia, South Africa, and other Colonies, they are infringing the copyright law, and it is time for those publishers whose business is touched to take the matter in hand, or for those authors, whose books are pirated, to take action for infringement of copyright. However, if we study the book exports from the United States during the last eight months, the statement contained in the Publishers’ Circular does not seem to be corroborated. The exports from the United States to British North America have certainly increased enormously in value, from $1,055,000 in the first eight months of the year 1903, to $1,126,000 in 1904 during the same period. ‘There are various reasons which may account for this. Primarily, as already stated, the Canadian market is very often excepted from the contract with the British publisher, and is assigned to the United States publisher. Secon- darily, the Canadian publisher sometimes contracts direct with the British author and proceeds to buy from the United States, and, lastly, the enormous extent of the boundary between the United States and Canada often makes it impossible to keep out pirated editions. If the United States publisher gets the contract, it is really the fault of the Canadian publisher, who, if he does not choose to bestir himself and come and claim his contract from the English author, must expect to have it taken away from him by those who are more energetic. In British Australasia during the first eight months of 1903 the exports were 130,000 dollars, during the same period of 1904, 132,000 dollars. Here it cannot be said that there is an enormous increase. It is clear, therefore, that the complaint of the Publishers’ Circular cannot be substantiated. In British South Africa there is a decrease from 38,000 to 25,000 dollars. If, however, it is possible to obtain a concrete case against the United States, it is essential that the British author or the British publisher should take the matter in hand, and see that the copyright treaties, as far as they regard book property, are carried out energetically and effectually. : The simplest solution of the difficulty seems to lie in stirring up the Government customs officials to look after their duties more closely, and this is the course that has been adopted in Canada. Ir is most important that an author or a dramatist should have control over the use of his own name, This may seem a platitude, but difficulties are not infrequently arising owing to the fact that neither in the dramatic contract nor in the contract for literary publication, has the author made it sufficiently clear under what name or under what pseudonym he desires the work to be produced. It might possibly occur, especially with a dramatic piece, that the manager, even though he had merely a licence to perform, would not give a fair show to the author’s name on the play bills ; and if he had purchased all the performing rights no action on the part of an author could force him to publish the name unless there was a clause in the contract binding him to do so. The same remark holds good by analogy when applied to a licence to publish or to the sale of copyright of a literary work ; but there are other points arising which make it necessary for the author and dramatist to be exceedingly careful. It is not infrequently the case that youthful efforts are sold outright under a nom de plume. If the author or dramatist should subsequently become famous, it is possible that his imma- ture work might be placed on the market with his name attached by a publisher who purposely ignores the pseudonym. As the book would come fresh before the public out of its early grave, the majority of people, forgetful of the burial, would not recognise that a resurrection had taken place, and an immature work would be treated with all the seriousness of maturity. The most strenuous efforts of the author or dramatist would be unable to prevent the action taken by the publisher or manager, for the work had actually been written by the person, and although the author might suffer damage, the case would not be such as would be legally actionable. Firstly, then, the author or dramatist should never transfer the copyright or performing rights absolutely, but should only grant a licence to publish or a licence to perform. Secondly, if the author or dramatist does transfer the copyright or the performing right, and it is of importance that his pseudonym alone should be attached or that his name alone should be attached, or that the work  82 should be published anonymously, such a clause should be inserted in the agreement. It has been necessary to point out what might otherwise appear self-evident, as on two or three occasions examples have been put forward, and have come to the notice of the Society, in which great inconvenience, annoyance, and sometimes not inconsiderable damage, has been caused in matters of this kind to the author or dramatist. _—_—_—_—___—_—_¢—<_>—_____- OBITUARY NOTE. 1-1 Herpert Wintiam ALLINGHAM, F.R.C.S., Suntor ASSISTANT SURGHON TO Sr. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL. ] ERBERT WILLIAM ALLINGHAM, Sur- geon to the Household of the King and Surgeon-in-Ordinary to the Prince of Wales, whose brilliant career was terminated in so tragic a manner at Marseilles at the beginning of last month, was a member of our Society for no less than seventeen years, and took many opportunities of expressing his interest in our work. His introduc- tion to higher professional status when a very young man came partly through the editing of a medical classic written by his father, and the business in connection with that publication was arranged by the office of the Society of Authors. Herbert Allingham’s career as an operating surgeon was one of great brilliancy, his knowledge, courage and technical skill bringing him repeated successes in seemingly desperate conditions. As will have been gathered from the many obituary notices published of him, he may be regarded in no indirect manner as a martyr to science, for in the course of his work he inoculated himself with a particularly insidious and obstinate disease. This undoubtedly preyed upon his mind, even to an unnecessary extent, and on the top of this misfortune came the sad illness and death of a beloved wife. His domestic loss at the very time when he most needed consolation plunged him into a state of deep depression. He had no resources out of his daily routine—a man who rises to the very top of an arduous and learned profession while still in his thirties does not find much time for the cultiva- tion of other branches of learning—and when his life-work became distasteful to him he fell a prey to an abiding fear that he had not the necessary self control to do justice to the tremendous responsi- bilities exacted of him by the public. Those of our members who knew Herbert Allingham will recall him as a remarkably bright, keen, courteous, self- possessed young man, the very ideal of the surgeon who, in the intent to save life or give relief, will spare no pains and will accept all risks. It is, indeed, a THE AUTHOR. tragedy that a life, so replete with valuable promise and so distinguished by great performance, should thus have been cut off. We tender our marked sympathies to Mr. William Allingham, Herbert Allingham’s father, who also is a member of our Society, and who, although he has now retired some years from actual practice, is well remembered in the scientific world both as author and practical surgeon. Se II. Lady Besant. Ir has been mentioned elsewhere how Sir Walter Besant drew his story of ‘Dorothy Forster” from the history of his wife’s ancestors, the Fosters of Northumberland. But it is not so generally known that Lady Besant was connected with literature in another way through her forefathers, the Foster-Barhams, of Cornwall and Devon. ‘Lhe “Dictionary of National Biography ” shows in the last two centuries five Foster-Barhams who were distinguished as scholars, poets, musicians, authors, and religious and social reformers. From this ancestry Lady Besant inherited that keen sense of appreciation for music and poetry, and especially that love of musical and lyrical verse which was a marked characteristic of her literary taste. From her father, Mr. Eustace Foster-Barham, she imbibed. her love of the classics and of classical English poetry, and from him also she inherited some of that love and knowledge of nature and bird-life which was another of Lady Besant’s characteristics. Familiarity with the notes and flight of birds is a rare talent; it may be transmitted from one generation to another, but it needs also an inherited capacity to receive it—a capacity which seems in danger of dying out with the increasing noise aud hurry of life. Lady Besant would wander even on Hampstead Heath in the early summer to listen for “the warblers,” and try to make their notes distinguishable to ears less keen than her own. And she was always ready to associate a poetic thought with her nature study, leading her friends by her quotations to a quickened perception of natural life, and, by her nature lore, opening up to them fresh fields of literature. She did not, like her ancestors, write books and poetry, but she loved them, and she inspired those who wrote. Many touches of the life and nature in Sir Walter Besant’s books are due to her observation and insight. While warmly sympathising with her husband’s literary interests, she was also’ a worthy helpmate of “one who loved his fellow-men.” All who have had the privilege of meeting Lady Besant can testify to the gracious refinement of thought and manner and the genuine hospitality of spirit which added a peculiar charm and inspiration to  THE AUTHOR. 83 her household. Those who knew her intimately can tell that this hospitality of spirit was due to a large-heartedness that thought and spoke the best of everyone, and sought to draw from everyone their best. She leaves behind her influence and memory in very many lives, humble and simple, as well as learned and literary, enriched by her friendship, or even by a mere passing acquaintance with her gentle thoughts and unfailing sympathy. ONE OF HER MANY FRIENDS. o—~> SECRET COMMISSIONS. —> T is sometimes alleged that laws are ineffectual I unless they are in accordance with, and sup- ported by, the standard morality of the time. This statement requires qualification. Laws in ad- vance of the general morality of the average middle- class man can—if they are not too farin advance, and have the sympathy of the more intelligent portion of the community—do much to raise the general standard of morals, honesty, or manners. Con- spicuous examples may be found in the success of the laws against duelling, and against bribery at elections. Our grandfathers preserved without the slightest shame lists of the voters who were to be bought for 5/. or 10/. a head. The Parliamentary candidates of to-day will leave behind them nothing worse than lists of subscriptions paid within the limits of their constituencies. The matter of secret commissions seems to have now reached a point at which the intervention of the law may have a wholesome effect in checking a system which is universally deplored, and almost as universally practised. Such, at any rate, was the opinion of the late Lord Russell of Killowen, who introduced a bill in the House of Lords with this object. The measure, unfortunately, did not receive the sanction of the Legislature, but we may hope that before many years have elapsed some similar enactment may pass both Houses. What is wanted in order to convince many worthy and, in their own opinion, honourable men that what they are doing every day is immoral is to declare that it is illegal. At present it is commonly held in commercial circles that trade custom covers and justifies dealings, which, in the absence of such custom, would be admitted to be flagrantly dis- honest. Agents, purporting to render accounts of “out of pocket expenses,” put in their own pockets considerable discounts, or tradesmen, acting nomin- ally in partnership with persons not in trade, as, for instance, authors and publishers, render accounts which do not correctly represent their actual disbursements, Though not always easy of direct proof, owing to the various ways in which this discount is allowed by the printer or the engraver to the publisher, it is a matter of common knowledge, and will hardly be denied, that such discounts are in many cases allowed, received, and not accounted for to the author. We may quote a few instances. In one case the Secretary of the Society, on checking an author’s advertising account, discovered that the publisher had added 10 per cent. to the amount. At first the publisher was unwilling to withdraw the sum claimed, alleging that it was a custom of the trade; that all publishers did it, and that it would be impossible for a publisher’s business to prosper unless he took these commissions ; but on our Secretary insisting, the amount was reluctantly given up. In another case, a publisher, acting as agent, charged the author a higher price than he had himself paid for illustrations to a book, and in a third instance the publisher granted the recision of an agreement on condition that vouchers for the accounts were not demanded. But the instances capable of proof are, as has been stated, few, and must necessarily be so, owing to the fact that the commission is secret. Publishers have recently produced forms of agreement, in which, for the first time, the state- ment appears that the publisher charges a commis- sion on the cost of production in cases where he undertakes to get the printing done on behalf of the author at the author’s expense. In an agree- ment set forth in the November number of 7'he Author such a clause will be found; it runs as follows :— “The amount is reckoned at the invoiced cost, which is almost invariably 5 per cent. more than the net cost.” This charge, of course, is no longer a secret commission, though in the subsequent clauses no definite percentage is stated. But there is danger that in addition to the publicly declared commission which the publishers in their agree- ments now express their intention of retaining, there may still be some publishers who will take, in addition, a secret commission, so that the last state of the author may become worse than the first. When a secret commission was taken, the author could always, by taking the advice of the Society, find out, approximately, whether the price he was paying for printing was fair or not, and in this way knew whether he was paying 5 or 10 per cent. above the market price. Now he may have to pay 5 or 10 per cent. above the market price and pay the declared commission as well. We have been led to these remarks by the report of a very interesting case, lately tried on appeal, where an agent, who employed a printer, took a secret commission, The agent and defendant in this case was not a publisher, but an auctioneer, 84 who undertook to sell certain goods for the plaintiff, and was, in addition to his commission, to be paid out of pocket expenses, including adver- tising, publishing bills, and printing catalogues. "he auctioneer received and did not bring into account arebate on the bills from the tradesmen employed. In the County Court the action went against the plaintiff, but on appeal the unanimous judgment of a Court, consisting of the Lord Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Kennedy, and Mr, Justice Ridley, was given in favour of the appellant. The summary of the facts of the case and extracts from the judgments delivered, which follow, are quoted from the report in the Zimes of November 4th :— “ The defendants called evidence to prove, and did prove to the satisfaction of the learned judge, that there was a long established usage or practice amongst auctioneers to act as the defendants had acted with regard to the discounts on the accounts, and that it was the usual practice for the printers to deal with the auctioneers as principals, and to allow them as trade customers the trade discount off the retail price, the whole of the retail price being charged by the auctioneers against the vendors. It was admitted that no mention of the discount was made by the defendants to the plaintiff ; and the plaintiff swore that he did not know of any usage or practice under which the defendants might claim such discount, though he admitted that he knew there was such a practice with regard to the bills sent in by news- papers for advertising. The County Court Judge was of opinion that the defendants had acted honestly, and that, inasmuch as they took no secret commission from any person with whom they were negotiating a contract to be made between that person and the plaintiff, and inasmuch as the plaintiff was not in fact damnified, the plaintiff's claim failed, and that he was not entitled to recover from the defendants the amount of the trade discount allowed to the defendants, nor the amount of the commission earned by the defendants on the sale of the plaintiff's goods.” The Lord Chief Justice in delivering judgment for the plaintiff said, he must say, so far as he was concerned, he was satisfied that there was no fraud on the part of the respondent in taking and retaining the discounts allowed by the printer and others. In his opinion it was a mistake which arose from a wrong idea of what they were entitled to under their contract, and a wrong idea as to what they were entitled to by virtue of this so-called usage, as to which evidence was produced at the trial. The circum- stances of this case were, apart from explanations, a little unfortunate, and in his opinion the fact that the discounts were not disclosed did require some explanation. He was satisfied, however, that the explanation given by the respondents sufficiently explained their conduct in the matter. He must say that he thought that the law which had been applied in the cases referred to should be applied in all cases where an agent employed to do certain work received a secret commission in relation to the performance of his duty to his employer from any other than his employer. He only wished to add that he thought it was highly pro- bable that there did prevail, unfortunately, in commercial circles in which perfectly honourable men played a per- fectly honourable part, a most extraordinary laxity in the view which was placed on these proceedings. Ifa principal employed an agent for a given remuneration to do work for him, and employed him upon these terms, that agent was not allowed to make a secret profit for himself out of that transaction. The-sooner that was recognised, and the THE AUTHOR. sooner these secret commissions were made to be dis- approved of by men in an honourable profession, the better it would be for trade and commerce in all its branches. He said that not because for one moment he thought that these gentlemen were acting otherwise than in what they believed to be in accordance with their rights, but the argument of Mr. Duke had led the Court—indeed it had invited them— to say that the Court should allow these commissions to these gentlemen as against their principal because the principal knew, or ought to have known, that something of the kind was going on. Of course, if iv was brought to the knowledge of the principal that such things were being paid, it ceased to be secret, and then, of course, the question did not arise ; but when there was no knowledge the agent ought to account, and it was only honest that he should carry on his business on the principle that he should account. For the reasons which he had stated, the appellant was entitled to judgment for the two sums which the respon- dents had received by way of discount, but was not entitled to recover the commission which he had paid to them. Mr. Justice Kennedy said that on the general question he was of the same opinion. He thought that with regard to the discount the appellant was, as a matter of contract, entitled to receive the sums which the respondents had retained. By the terms of the agreement under which the respondents were em ployed they were entitled to claim beyond this commission out of pocket expenses only. What they now sought to retain was not out of pocket expenses. It had been suggested that “out of pocket expenses & might be qualified by a knowledge that in some portion of contracts which the auctioneers would necessarily enter into they might possibly be allowed a discount. It appeared to him quite impossible, as it would be unjust, to act upon such suggestions, because presumably the auctioneers ought to be treated, and they certainly claimed to be treated as men of honour; and if he said he would charge only out of pocket expenses, he (his Lordship) would think that any one who dealt with him, if so addressed, would expect to have the benefit of any discounts, if there were any, in that particular case. Further, he wished to say, without adding to what the Lord Chief Justice had said, because he had expressed it better than he (Mr. Justice Kennedy) could if he attempted to do it over again, he did think it was sad to find the extent to which in these days persons of apparent honour, and no doubt respectability, seemed to be willing to justify or to connive at secret commissions. The whole gist of the evil was in the word * Secret,” not in the word “ Commission.” If the employer was told, as he ought to be told, that the agent was going to make certain profits out of the transaction beyond the remuneration the principal was paying, there would be no possible harm ; but unless that was brought to the knowledge of the principal, if a person took the commission, or if he con- nived at another person receiving a secret commission, he was doing a thing which went far to bring a rot into the honesty of commercial transactions. He quite agreed with the Lord Chief Justice that it was only just to say that the respondents were acting perfectly honestly in doing what they imagined was right under an established practice. He would, however, be sorry to say that the practice was an honest one, unless the fact was brought to the knowledge of persons employing the agent. Mr, Justice Ridley said he concurred with the judgment: of the Lord Chief Justice. The remarks of the learned judges, at once trenchant as regards the practice condemned, and charitable to the particular offenders, leave little to be added. We trust that so clear a judicial exposition of THE AUTHOR. the moral law, and so emphatic a decision, that on this matter of secret commissions the law of England is identical with it, may do something to touch the unawakened consciences of men “of apparent honour, and, no doubt, respectability,” and to prevent them in future from following a course of action which the Court of Appeal has decided to be dishonest in itself and likely “ to bring a rot into the honesty of commercial transactions.” —————_+—>—_____—_—__ SWORD AND PEN. —_-——>—- —_ OLDIERS seem ever to have displayed a strong predilection for the pen. After the sword, indeed, it is the weapon that has had the first place in their affections. From Julius Czesar to ‘ Linesman”’ they have shone as historians, the first named being perhaps the best war corre- spondent on record. His “ Veni, Vidi, Vici,” still remains unequalled and unsurpassed. In three words he contrived to say what his fellow craftsmen of the present day would want three volumes for. If there are no Cwesars at the present day, and if the Napiers and Hamleys of the nineteenth century have no place in the twentieth one, the age is none the less barren of good military authors. Thus, in addition to the Commander-in-Chief himself, the soldier-writers still with us include Field-Marshals Viscount Wolseley and Sir Evelyn Wood, V.-C., Generals Sir William Butler, Sir Francis Clery, Frederick Maurice, and R. 8. Baden- Powell; while two of the most successful play- wrights—Robert Marshall and Basil Hood are ex-captains of line regiments. Besides these, there are a host of others, ranking from subalterns upwards, who have conclusively shown that their prowess with the pen is no mean one. Among military historians, pure and simple, the first place was (until his lamented death last year), easily occupied by Colonel G. IF. R. Henderson, C.B. Of his completed works, the ‘Battle of Spicheren’”’ and “Campaign of I’redericksburg”’ are the best known. By the way, Colonel Henderson also translated Count Sternberg’s ** Experience of the Boer War.” At the head of the long list of present-day military authors will be found two field-marshals. These are respectively Lord Wolseley and Earl Roberts. Lord Wolseley’s first contribution to the publishers’ lists was a “ Narrative of the War with China.” Eight years later, in 1869, appeared his well-known “ Soldier’s Pocket Book.” In 1873 he wrote a companion volume for the auxiliary forces. As a historian, his preliminary essay was made with a “Life of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough.” 85 He followed this in 1895, with the “ Decline and Fall of Napoleon,” a volume which Inaugu- rated “The Pall Mall Magazine Library.” Lord Wolseley has also written numerous prefaces and introductions to books by his comrades in arms, while his contributions to magazines and reviews would in themselves make another volume. Like his distinguished predecessor in the office of Commander-in-Chief, Lord Roberts has tre- quently acted as a literary godfather, while he has also inspired a shelf full of biographies. None of these, however, have had a fraction of the well- deserved success accorded to his own “Forty-one Years in India.” Of this, some thirty editions have been issued since its original appearance in 1897. Two years earlier he wrote the “ Rise of Wellington.” The literary beginnings of Sir Evelyn Wood, V.-C., were of a modest nature. They took the form of the publication of a series of lectures, delivered before the members of the Royal United Service Institution, in 1876 and 1877. Nearly two decades elapsed before he wrote anything else. This was a volume on the Crimea. In 1897 appeared his ‘ Achievements of Cavalry,” followed shortly afterwards by ‘‘ Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign.” Perhaps, of all military authors of the present day, the most prolific and versatile is Lieut.-General Sir William Butler. Novels, biographies, and histories have all been born of his industry. He commenced in 1872 with the ‘‘ Great Lone Land,” and in 1899 appeared his last book, the “ Life of Sir George Pomeroy Colley.” ‘This is generally admitted to be one of the best biographies yet written. ‘lhe same author also contributed lives of General Gordon and Sir Charles Napier to the “English Men of Action” series. Altogether, General Butler’s name appears on the title page of nine separate books. The total of Major-General Frederick Maurice’s literary industry is ten. Included among these are biographies of his father, Frederick Denison Maurice, Sir H. B. Hamley, and Stonewall Jackson, histories of the Kgyptian (1882) and Ashanti Campaigns, and a recondite treatise on “ Hostilities without Declaration of War,” to the last edition of the ‘‘ Encyclopedia Britannica.” Long before the appearance of his famous pam- phlet on “ Scouting,” Major-General R. 8. Baden- Powell wrote books on professional matters. ‘The best known among these dealt with the important subject of ‘ Reconnaissance.” In 1889 he was responsible for a work on ‘ Pigsticking.” ‘This was succeeded by the ‘ Downfall of Prempeh” (1896) and the “ Matabele Campaign” (1897). Like Lord Roberts, “ B.-P.” has been the subject of at least half-a-dozen biographies, the majority of which are as fatuous examples of mere book-making as it would be possible to conceive. 86 “The Manual of Infantry Drill” is undoubtedly the most widely circulated volume in camp and barracks. Although anonymity shrouds its author- ship, General Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke (the newly appointed Governor of Malta) is commonly credited with being responsible for it. The strict anonymity which at one time veiled the personality of “ Linesman ” (the author of “ Words by an Eye Witness”) has now been brushed aside. ‘The adopter of this nom de yuerre is Captain Maurice Grant, of the Devonshire Regiment, at present a Deputy-Assistant-Adjutant-General at the War Office, and more concerned with the preparation of “Blue Books” than any other form of literature. None of the Peeping Toms of Modern Grub Street, however, have as yet succeeded in identifying “ Intelligence Officer ” (who wrote “ On the Heels of De Wet”) with anyone whose name is contained in the current Army List. At first sight the connection between Mars and the Muse does not perhaps seem very evident. That such a one exists, however, is conclusively proved by the fact that several volumes of verse have emanated from military authors. One of the best known among these is from the pen of that distinguished soldier, Sir Ian Hamilton, and was published by John Lane. Of novelists who wield the sword, the number is rather larger. It includes Colonel Newnham Davis, Major Drury, Captain Haggard, D).S.0., and Captain Peacock. Horace WYNDHAM. —_——__—_——_—__¢___—__ BOOK ADVYERTISING.* —-——+ — NOR anything more tame or more unsatisfactory than the book advertising that goes on we should have to look a long way. It seems to me there is almost no advertising at all in the book trade, but merely “announcing.” Elsewhere T am apt to meet with advertisements at once striking and speaking, but never in the pub- lishers’ columns. Indeed, it would be hard for print to make a more dreary impression than it does in precisely these announcements. I do not know how it is with the bibliomaniac, but when I see a hatch of publishers’ lists in a paper, I experience nothing but aversion—a nausea partly that so much writing should be produced, and partly that it should have so dismal an introduc- tion. The only effect such pages have is to make one turn over as quickly as possible ; and one says to oneself, “ If these books are half as sleepy as the _ * OF course, this does not quite apply to publications of information and reference. THE AUTHOR. way in which their publishers announce them, what a terribly dry lot they must be, how depressing, how lifeless, stagnant, andinert !” It would be interesting, if only for the experiment, to see a book advertised as soap is, as pills are—with go and ingenuity, and that persuasiveness which, when attention has once been arrested, then steps in to make one want the article. But there are difficulties. I need hardly say here how materially this sub- ject touches a certain pocket whose depletion our society is at much pains to prevent—the author’s, I mean. But it requires especial attention for this reason, that while for the cost of getting up a book, be that ever so exorbitant, a commissioning author does at least receive some guid pro quo in the shape of paper, print, and binding, the cost of advertising may be so much money just thrown away. I say “may be,” but suspect thav. in perhaps a majority of instances it positively is so, judging this, however, more from the impotence and indistinction of the average book announce- ment than from any familiarity with authors’ accounts; for such experience as I have of the latter is more illuminating than extensive. Perhaps, under these circumstances, I may be permitted to refer to a case of my own for example. In this instance £15 was the sum spent for adver- tising, which, under the publishers’ direction, procured me forty odd insertions in various periodicals of an announcement in the usual style, viz., three or four lines in small type, sandwiched between a mass of other titles, press notices, and so on—as bald, forlorn, and pitiable an arrangement as could be devised. Though I had no exact means of checking the efficacy of these advertise- ments, I know for certain they did not bring me over six additional customers, if as many. From each of these I received the payment of roundly half a crown. Result :—Expenditure, £15; re- ceipts, 15s.; net loss, or charitable bequest to newspaper proprietors, £14 5s. Tt is no use saying now that the merchandise was bad, because we know very well that the most worthless nostrums can be profitably advertised, and even entirely bogus schemes be so urged to success. The point is that this dry and mechanical way of cataloguing books that publishers have got into does not give the author a run for his money, though, to be sure, the negligence is on both sides, and partly necessitated into the bargain. But say that, instead of leaving this £15 to be frittered- away in so many paltry obscurities, I had concen- trated it in ten distinct, alertly written “ads.,” and carefully placed these, should I not have received — at least ten times as many inquiries—yes, had it been but. a load of bricks at 3s. 6d. apiece net ? It is not so much any wild and sweeping reforms  I advocate in this matter ; but where feasible I do call for more enterprise, more attention, more vivacity. A good advertisement speaks to you: it carries its point, and fixes that on the mind ; its action is a positive one. But what are we to say of the featureless inventories which in the book- trade still pass for advertisement ? What is there individual about these? Are they lucid, crisp, emphatic, intelligent ? Do they assert anything in aconvincing manner? [ say it is all as miserably lame as could be ; and I should like to know how it is some author or other does not at last wake up to crow out, like a cock on a frosty morning, that his book is “the best.” Alas for our self-satisfac- tion ! In this market “the best” are already there, and underselling us, too, at that. In truth (to mention a few of the difficulties now) a book isa poor thing to advertise, the good ones so valuable as to be beyond recommendation, the bad ones so superfluous that nobody really can find the heart to insist upon them. The limited extent of the appeal is indeed a very serious im- pediment here. And it is not so much that books are luxuries, for so in the very nature of the case are all other advertised articles. Itis the fact that these goods, before satisfying the purchaser, have to command a certain amount of his sympathy, and shape themselves, not simply to his convenience, but to the spirit of him. This is the reason why, strictly speaking, it is impossible to treat books— other than those of a merely formal class—as proper articles of commerce. With commodities the mental and moral order of the purchaser does not come in question, but with books it does, and this complication will always more or less prevent us from advertising them as true branded commo- dities are—that is to say, with decision, assurance, and pertinacity. Could any writer, I ask, were it Shakespeare himself, give so much as your tailor’s guarantee, and claim in his announcement, “ We fit you” ? Decidedly no. The author’s stock is all of a size; and it is only the few and the scat- tered others of about that calibre that he can attempt to cater for. Nay, were some of us to speak for ourselves, we should have to affirm that those to whom we wish to be recommended are a public whose very existence is essentially no more than phantasmal. Precisely of this audience we have never met a single member, but can trust only that they lurk somewhere. Of great writers it might be said that time is their advertisement (and there is no medium yield- ing better results). What more eloquent advocate, indeed, can an author desire than his writing ? what fairer testimonial? Unfortunately, however, it is exactly this distribution of sample-pieces that presents so much difficulty. It is not everyone who has the knack of just that style requisite to gain THE AUTHOR. 87 signed admission to the standing periodicals, nor everyone who has something purely topical to say. Even when this is the case, the probability is that the specimens so circulated are of a specially adapted character—of a character, in other words, not properly representative. From this sort of advertisement a man gains enumeration at the ex- pense of reputation. In the alternative event, the author, making of his books or, it may be, manu- scripts, his personal journal and propaganda, must simply wait for the word to percolate of its own gravity to congenial company, in this sometimes forwarded, sometimes thrust back, by the deputa- tion of official “tasters.” And those who have ever found themselves in the predicament will hardly need any reminder from me what an excru- ciatingly slow process this generally is. How many purveyors are there in any case who, had they but fifty customers, would have five hundred ? Advertisement, like an usher, calls out our names, but not the personalities or capacities attached to them. Where the name itself implies nothing, consequently, the announcement is sure not to go for much ; and unknown authors ought to bear the fact in mind, if they do not want to waste money. No doubt, if the advertiser could only be sure he were informing THE READER, his recommendation would not lack for point and effectiveness. Besides, a word, a sign even, would be sufficient here. Stood up, however, in front of the book-buying public — this foreign, heteroge- neous, preoccupied assembly—enthusiasm too often dies wretchedly away, the tongue falters, and what was to have been a brag is uttered a feeble gasp. The speaker looks round. Instead of the fanfare, a toy trumpet has heralded his approach. Norman ALLISTON. o~<e& ¢ A GUIDE TO GRUB STREET. ++ rHVHERE is an alarming rumour current in Fleet Street to the effect that in the near future all newspaper articles will be written by machinery. Until such time, however, the older fashioned methods will doubtless prevail. What these methods are, and the best way of acquiring them, Mr. Arthur Lawrence essays to set forth in this manual.* At any rate, in the first two lines of the opening chapter he describes it as “a work intended to serve as a guide to journalism.” Unfortunately its achievement falls very short of * «Journalism as a Profession,” by Arthur Lawrence (Hodder & Stoughton).  88 its intention, and the literary aspirant may read the volume from cover to cover twice over without being any nearer the editorship of either the Times or Comic Cuts than when he started. The book, however, will make him think that he is. It will also have the effect of imbuing the minds of numbers of ambitious journalistic amateurs with the idea that newspaper pro- prietors are aching to pay them large sums of money. This is a matter for regret. Every young woman in the kingdom thinks she can write a story, and some of them are quite positive about it. Our instructor tells them airily that “there are several writers of serial stories in the popular weeklies who earn £1,500 a year.” He puts the average rate of remuneration at a guinea a thousand words. Mary Ann reads this, and her mouth waters. If she perceived, however, that between her and the acquisition of £1,500 stretched the composition of approximately a million and a half words, her transports would subside in marked degree. Of journalism, too, in general we are told, “The beginner of not more than average ability may reasonably hope to be self-supporting—in somewhat meagre fashion, perhaps—at the start.” Well, “hope” is cheap. As a beginner himself Mr. Lawrence seems to have met with better fortune than most people. “The number of MSS. returned to me,” he writes naively, “during six years of free-lance contribu- tions was not more than 1 per cent.” He omits to mention, however, the number that were accepted. Mr. Lawrence’s opinion that “it is less the sub- ject than the treatment which counts” is not shared by editors as a class. Indeed, when the subject is all right—from their point of view— nothing else is of any great importance. No amount of literary skill will make them look with eyes of favour on a contribution that does not deal primarily with a topic that will appeal to their readers. This is why our “popular” magazines print so many ill-written articles on interesting subjects. A second view expressed by the author of “ Journalism as a Profession” is also unlikely to meet with general approval. It occurs in his chapter on interviewing, in the course of which he states in effect that it is undesirable to submit to the person referred to the biographical and critical portions of the article. These, he argues, should be printed without inquiring beforehand whether they are approved of or not. Among most people this sort of thing would be regarded as bad manners. It is a little curious, therefore, to find Mr. Lawrence including “ good taste” among the necessary qualifications of an interviewer. Several pages in this enlightening manual are devoted to the subject of short story writing. Aspirants will turn to these eagerly, for no descrip- THE AUTHOR. tion of literary work is more attractive to the would- be author. In dealing with the subject our guide invokes the aid of a brother-writer. Meredith and Kipling being unavailable, he gives them the wise © words of the next best expert on hand. This is no less an authority than the editor of Forget-me-Not ! “ Here’s richness !’’ as Mr. Squeers once observed. The mentor thus called in takes himself very seriously, and insists upon simplicity, directness, condensation, development, and “ form,” together with any number of other desirable attributes, before the high standard of Home Chat and similar organs can be reached. He advises the beginner to turn his attention to serials, opening up a golden vista in this direction. ‘‘ At present,’’ he declares, “there are nearly five hundred serials running in London periodicals, and editors value the capable serial-writer above rubies.” Perhaps this is why they pay them from fifteen shillings per thousand words, which is the market price for beginners in Carmelite Street. Even at a guinea per thousand (the scale here stated as being usual) it seems unduly optimistic to say that ‘a young man who has once got a start can comfortably earn £1,000 a year.” At any rate, he has got to write a million words—that is, the contents of ten long novels— to do it. On this delicate matter of the journalist’s earning powers Mr. Lawrence holds a no less cheery view. “‘T have frequently,” he remarks, “had ocular demonstration of the fact that thirty, forty, and even fifty guineas can be obtained for a well-illus- trated and popular article,” and then goes on to speak of a writer—“ quite unknown to the public ” —who received £480 for a series of twelve contri- butions. After this it seems a little strange to find him saying, ‘‘In most periodicals money is not scattered about. Newspapers, magazines, and reviews are conducted on the same principle as any other form of trade enterprise.” But Mr. Lawrence says many strange things. One of them (on p. 74) is “ different — to.” The final chapter in Mr. Lawrence’s book is written by Sir Alfred Harmsworth. It deals with “The Making of a Newspaper,” and is worth more than all the others put together. H. W. a THE FEMININE NOTE IN FICTION. — ee T the introduction to his volume of essays on certain women writers of the present time, Mr. W. L. Courtney starts with the assump- tion that women who write novels introduce a particular point of view of their own, that there is, in short, a distinctive feminine style in fiction.  THE AUTHOR. He is not unmindful, however, of the painful truth that if there is a distinct feminine standpoint there is a distinct masculine standpoint also, and that the latter is as likely to lead to misapprehension as the former. It must be confessed that study of Mr. Courtney’s essays fails, in the case of the present writer, to give a clear notion of what this distinctively feminine note is. At times one has the impression that a note of ponderous solemnity, a prophetic hollowness of voice that hints the gas and tripod of the Sibyl herself, is the common quality of literary women ; but, after all, distinctly masculine persons utter oracles by the furlong. At other moments a passion for paradox, and for the epigrams that the editor of the Fortnightly despises so wrongly, seems to be the typical vice of the female novelist. One serious defect, com- mon to all women writers except Sappho and Charlotte Bronté, appears to be an insane passion for detail, and this is generally combined with self-consciousness and didacticism. The diary which some pretty women daren’t keep and all plain ones keep so religiously is the cause of the self-consciousness: the didacticism is the Old Eve that lurks even in the pious bosom of the deaconess and the novelist with a Purpose. Mr. Courtney sat down to write a book—or rather, I should say that he has collected a book from those reviews of his whose style is a refreshing and sober contrast with the somewhat flamboyant periods of the other columns of the Daily T'elegraph—a book which professes to deal with one note in fiction peculiar to women. He has written essays on eight distinguished ladies (the Muses themselves only attained to the mystic number nine), and, as a conse- quence, has given us an interesting volume on eight feminine notes in fiction. I suggest that he publish an additional volume on the same subjegt every year. Variwn etmutabile sniper fanina 7 The only common qualities in feminine fiction that I have ever detected are, first, a tendency to say, like the Duchess in “* Lady Windermere’s Fan,” that all men are monsters, or to draw angels with moustaches and clerical trousers; and secondly, to call them- selves ugly names if they do not already possess them. John Oliver Hobbes, Amalie Skram, Madame Edgrems-Leffler, Zack, Gyp,—why do the brilliant creatures all choose, or possess lawfully, these terribly aggressive appellations ?,“ By the Ilyssus, as Matthew Arnold would havé said, there was no Skram. By the Thames, howevei, there are plenty of names just as formidable. Why should our feminine fictionists rejoice in adding such a truly ugly discord to the Strauss-like cacophonies of modern life? The masculine note in criticism of it should ever be the loud and natural D of denunciation. sr, J. Li. 89 IN A PUBLISHER’S WAITING-ROOM. 3Y THE JUNIOR PARTNER. 1 HE “front clerk ”—as he is called—(whose business it is to “ squeeze ” visitors and make them yield up the truth about themselves, whether they be “authors,” “advertising,” or “accounts,” and these, too, bond fide, and no humbug) knocks at my door. On the card, which he places before me without comment, is the name of a man of some distinction in our Civil Service ; and, glancing at the “ requisi- tion’ slip which accompanies it, upon which a caller is required to mention his business, I see that the section is not filled up, so the slip adds nothing to my knowledge of his business. When, five minutes later, I open the door of the waiting-room and ask him to be seated, my mind is (I like to think) a blank. Iam without prejudice. But as soon as the light catches his face I see that he is probably an author, one who has, perhaps, never published anything before. Men will go to a strange doctor, lawyer, clergy- man, and speak unblushingly, sometimes of strange discreditable things. There is a tacit understanding. The object of the visit is approximately known. No preliminaries are necessary: digestion or conscience is giving trouble ; a “settlement ” or a ‘ divorce” is to be arranged: nothing is so strange or so commonplace but the profession will support it, and the client shortly feel at ease. Something of this kindly aid to human nature, which the pro- fessional man derives from his office, the publisher himself strives after, and, in a large “ practice,” sometimes attains to. The author rarely. The author is either an unpublished author, a failure, or a success. If either of the former, his most common fault is shyness. If the latter, sheepish- ness is not exactly his failing. No, he is not sheepish. He is usually the sovereign lord of heaven and earth, sometimes the true Olympian, but sometimes the bully and the fool. It is not altogether their fault; they are perhaps building, somewhere out of sight, their own idea of the City of God. And one must make allowances; one must allow for birth, parentage, training ; and lastly, for this strange unique thing that at length happens to them—they have a desire, strange to all animals and to most men, to express themselves in words ; to make it their business in life to live in an imaginary world. And so they come to us busi- ness men, made sad and sober by many mistakes, and explain themselves as best they may ; and we in our turn try to meet them half way by surround- ing ourselves with cautious and civil assistants armed with all the latest books of biographical  90 reference ; and by keeping an open unprejudiced mind. My caller is of medium height, squarely built, but small headed. His hair is thin and of the colour of straw—a yellow that just misses that colour. But the notable thing about him are his eyes: small, common, grey-blue eyes, you would say, at a first glance. It is when he begins to speak, when he is sure of the person with whom he is speaking, that they light up and say more than the man himself can say. Indeed, this much- travelled man, with all those letters after his name, and the years and honours upon him, can say but little, and say it very badly. As he speaks he leans forward towards his listener and bends his head low. “J have come—I am sorry to trespass on your time—I wish to have a book—published, you see ? Not to pay for it. [Abruptly.] I do not wish to do that.” He smiles engagingly, uncertain of his ground. Reassured, he proceeds : “JT might be called—you would think me perhaps in a position to pay for it. Solam ; but— the fact is, I am not literary : all my friends are— the reverse. Well—unless you could see your way to publish it, I should—you see—be deeper in ignorance as to its true value. I should have no guarantee. I want to get at its true value. If it is not valuable enough to publish—for you—I shall not publish it.” I asked him to tell me what the book is about. “Ah; it is along story.” He sits up, relieved that the dreadful secret is at length out; that the preliminaries are even over ; approaching the explanation now with a kind of vigour born of confidence begotten in his hearer. Yet he is very nervous, and I try to put him at ease. * You say ‘a long story’: how many words ?” and we both laugh. The ice is broken. After the mutual understanding, he begins. “You know, I have travelled a good deal—here and there—a matter of necessity—working pretty hard, ‘serving my country’ [the winning smile again |—and—but like the man in Kipling, I’ve always had a thought behind—‘ back of all,’ as the Americans say—which—which—I scarcely know how to express it—which continually urged upon me that ‘his was not the real thing, the real pur- pose of my life. Thirty years of it I’ve done, nevertheless—absorbed in my work, going here and there, and sometimes forgetting, but never completely; especially of late. In fact, of late, though I might call myself a busy man still, I’ve felt this desire more insistent than ever ”’— “What desire ?” “Ah, yes, of course: the desire to record my experiences in a book.” “Then, a book of travels ?” THE AUTHOR. “Well, no, not exactly ; it is really imaginary ; in fact, a purely imaginary work—I mean, a work of the imagination. And yet it deals only with facts.” 1 smile at his hesitation and point out: “In that case I have to warn you that the facts will be used against you at the trial.” The suggestion missed him. He was not literary. “ How so?” abruptly. “Tn this way: if an author allege of his work that it is a record of fact, or is founded on fact, as fact, he must expect it to be judged. Fiction does not gain anything by being founded on fact; and the literary crime of writing poor fiction is not extenuated but rather aggravated by alleging of it that it is a record of fact, for in that case it is neither the one thing nor the other.” “ Quite so—of course.” Dubiously. “At least, that, I believe, is the profess‘onal reader’s view.” “‘ But may there not be exceptions ?” “ Surely.” “T do not say I am the—the heaven-sent exception. But—you must forgive me—this book of mine will, I think, astonish you. It has cost me years of thought—years: I have put all of myself —the best I have—into it. You must admit that ‘the very best, the most truthful part, of even the most ordinary man’s thoughts may be really worth something.” “To himself, to his friends, yes; but, as litera- ture, not necessarily.” “ How ?—what do you mean by literature ?” My face involuntarily expressed deprecation. I made a movement which his nervousness wrongly interpreted, and he rose. “ May I send it, then, if you please? You will take care of it? You have my name and address. And—will you, will you, please, (in a whisper full of anxiety)—read it yourself?” “That I fear I cannot promise.” “Well, never mind. Thank you very much. I am afraid I have been trespassing. Thank you. Ti send it at once. Thank you. Good-bye.” The pleading eyes of this ‘‘ man of action” were with me for days. A busy man, he had evidently suffered much from some mental worry, and had thus been driven back upon the world of thought where he found himself at sea. A pathetic figure, with that invincible belief which so many would- be authors have in common: that the success and happy ease with which they carry out the practical work of their lives must qualify them at length for success in a totally different sphere—that it is a guarantee of it. The manuscript arrived the next day. It was not anovel. It was a twelve-canto poem in blank verse, for the model of which ‘‘ Paradise Lost” had  evidently served, recounting the author’s birth, bringing up, experiences, activities, and, in the last canto, the loss of his earthly paradise when his wife left him for someone else—not literature ; indeed, quite worthless. —_______+ > ____ CORRESPONDENCE. ass Srr,— What is our literature coming to ? I take the following choice extracts at random from ‘The Storm of London,” which I am told is the rage of the season : 1. ‘ Amphibrion” or “ Amphytrion ” (the author favours both forms, but never by accident the right one). 2. “The London Hetaires.” 3. “ Preferable ¢han social decomposition.” 4, “ Awaiting for.” 5. “ Let me pour you (sic) a cup of tea.” 6 7 8 ). “An mfalliable guide.” . “They are having you on” (elegant). . “The lady: ‘So funny to give orders to a F229: person who stands just as naked as you are (choice). 9. ‘The corruption of a Louis XV. with the casuist of a Loyola.” 10. “ The poor diaphanous lady.” 11. “ A silver candelabra.” 12. “ Out of humour against the performance.” And so on ad nauseam ; while, for the punctua- tion (good heavens ! )—a pepper pot must have been used. How did it ever pass muster with the publisher’s reader ? oP ——+—<— “WHAT'S IN A NAME?” Sir,—Mr. Armstrong’s letter does not refute my proposition that no man, under any pretext what- ever, has a right to use another man’s property in book-titles. ‘This subject of title-taking I have treated more upon moral than legal grounds. If he thinks that my remarks upon his letters in 7'he Author have passed the bounds of fair comment, I tender him, in all sincerity, a full and frank apology. Mr. Charles Weekes prefaces his raw reply to my proposition with the complimentary question, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge ?” With equal grace I demand, “ Who is this that offereth sophistry for reasoning ?” Besides copyright, he tells us, an author has “common law right.” This, in part, is a flagrant sophism. Common law is unwritten law, and where is the right in that which is unwritten ? THE AUTHOR. | 9] Mr. Weekes means, I suppose, that the common law gives one man a right to appeal against another’s appropriating his property in book-titles, Just so. But that does not constitute a right moral or legal, to the book-title, any more than the purloining of title-deeds gives a right to possession of the property of which they are the evidence. Take a title-deed, as book-titles are purloined, and the act is criminal. To save space I shall not handle his fallacious analogy between book-titles and trade-marks as he did my correct one concerning Mr. Penman Dryas- dust and a book-title. I shall merely point out his contradictions of himself, and his sophistry, He writes :— “A book has a right against infringers which the common law will recognise. alse.” This he calls taking the analogy the other way. ‘Twist it whatever way he will, it is a contradiction. He complains of my want of analogical reasoning ; but what about his own unconscious lack of it as shown in the following passage? In plenitude of words he writes :—“ Copyright, Mr. Panter should learn, ... is not like a man’s right to ‘house utensils,’ It is analogous to the right in a patent or trade-mark.” Above Mr. Weekes, in the cock- sure vein, declares for an author’s “common law right.” And here he eliminates the cocksure by stating it is only an analogous one! Book-titles and trade marks are not analogous; and until it can be shown that an author gives the same title to every work he writes as a publisher stamps his trade-mark upon every book he produces, there can be no analogy between book-titles and trade-marks. ‘lo use Mr. Weekes’ own phrasing against himself : ‘“« Here the analogy of” book-titles to trade-marks “undergoes complete extinction. I am tempted to inquire whether he understands the nature and uses of analogical reasoning.” A book-title and a trade mark possess as much analogy as do the marks upon the bodies of Smith and Beck, and yet this ‘analogy ” gave the innocent man seven years of penal servitude. What says the Copyright Act (5 and 6 Vict. c. 42), 8. 3, with respect to the word “book.” ‘A book shall be construed to mean and include every volume, and part or division of a volume, &e., &e., of original composition published.” Is the title not a part of the volume ? Why, then, should the title, or first sentence of the volume, be wrenched from its fellow sentences in order to make //, and noother sentence, a question of contention in a law court ? To make it such belies the pronouncement of the Copyright Act, that a part as well as the whole of a volume is under its protection. “A book has a right against infringers which the copyright law will recognise. This is true.” 90 THE AUTHOR. reference ; and by keeping an open unprejudiced mind. My caller is of medium height, squarely built, but small headed. His hair is thin and of the colour of straw—a yellow that just misses that colour. But the notable thing about him are his eyes: small, common, grey-blue eyes, you would say, at a first glance. It is when he begins to speak, when he is sure of the person with whom he is speaking, that they light up and say more than the man himself can say. Indeed, this much- travelled man, with all those letters after his name, and the years and honours upon him, can say but little, and say it very badly. As he speaks he leans forward towards his listener and bends his head low. “JT have come—I am sorry to trespass on your time—I wish to have a book—published, you see ? Not to pay for it. [Abruptly.] Ido not wish to do that.” He smiles engagingly, uncertain of his ground. Reassured, he proceeds : “T might be called—you would think me perhaps in a position to pay for it. SoIam ; but— the fact is, I am not literary : all my friends are— the reverse. Well—unless you could see your way to publish it, I should—you see—be deeper in ignorance as to its true value. I should have no guarantee. I want to get at its true value. If it is not valuable enough to publish—for you—I shall not publish it.” I asked him to tell me what the book is about. “Ah; it isa long story.” He sits up, relieved that the dreadful secret is at length out; that the preliminaries are even over ; approaching the explanation now with a kind of vigour born of confidence begotten in his hearer. Yet he is very nervous, and I try to put him at ease. “You say ‘a long story’: how many words ?” and we both laugh. The ice is broken. After the mutual understanding, he begins. “You know, I have travelled a good deal—here and there—a matter of necessity—working pretty hard, ‘serving my country’ [the winning smile again |—and—but like the man in Kipling, I’ve always had a thought behind—‘ back of all,’ as the Americans say—which—which—I scarcely know how to express it—which continually urged upon me that ‘his was not the real thing, the real pur- pose of my life. Thirty years of it I’ve done, nevertheless—absorbed in my work, going here and there, and sometimes forgetting, but never completely; especially of late. In fact, of late, though I might call myself a busy man still, I’ve felt this desire more insistent than ever ’— “What desire ?” “Ah, yes, of course: the desire to record my experiences in a book.” “Then, a book of travels ? ” “Well, no, not exactly ; it is really imaginary ; in fact, a purely imaginary work—I mean, a work of the imagination. And yet it deals only with facts.” I smile at his hesitation and point out: “In that case I have to warn you that the facts will be used against you at the trial.” The suggestion missed him. He was not literary. “ How so ?” abruptly. “In this way : if an author allege of his work that it is a record of fact, or is founded on fact, as fact, he must expect it to be judged. Fiction does not gain anything by being founded on fact; and the literary crime of writing poor fiction is not extenuated but rather aggravated by alleging of it that it is a record of fact, for in that case it is neither the one thing nor the other.” “Quite so—of course.” Dubiously. ““At least, that, I believe, is the professional reader’s view.” ‘‘ But may there not be exceptions ?” “ Surely.” “T do not say I am the—the heaven-sent exception. But—you must forgive me—this book of mine will, I think, astonish you. It has cost me years of thought—years: I have put all of myself —the best I have—into it. You must admit that ‘the very best, the most truthful part, of even the most ordinary man’s thoughts may be really worth something.” “To himself, to his friends, yes ; but, as litera- ture, not necessarily.” ‘* How ?—what do you mean by literature ?” My face involuntarily expressed deprecation. I made a movement which his nervousness wrongly interpreted, and he rose. “May I send it, then, if you please? You will take care of it? You have my name and address. And—will you, will you, please, (in a whisper full of anxiety)—read it yourself ?” “That I fear I cannot promise.” “Well, never mind. Thank you very much. I am afraid I have been trespassing. Thank you. I'll send it at once. Thank you. Good-bye.” The pleading eyes of this “man of action” were with me for days. A busy man, he had evidently suffered much from some mental worry, and had thus been driven back upon the world of thought where he found himself at sea. A pathetic figure, with that invincible belief which so many would- be authors have in common: that the success and happy ease with which they carry out the practical work of their lives must qualify them at length for success in a totally different sphere—that it is a guarantee of it. The manuscript arrived the next day. It was not anovel. It was a twelve-canto poem in blank verse, for the model of which ‘‘ Paradise Lost”? had  THE AUTHOR. | 91 evidently served, recounting the author’s birth, bringing up, experiences, activities, and, in the last canto, the loss of his earthly paradise when his wife left him for someone else—not literature ; indeed, quite worthless. —~>— + CORRESPONDENCE. Be Str,— What zs our literature coming to ? I take the following choice extracts at random from ‘The Storm of London,” which I am told is the rage of the season :— 1. *‘ Amphibrion” or “ Amphytrion ” (the author favours both forms, but never by accident the right one). 2. “The London Hetaires.” 3. “ Preferable than social decomposition.” 4, “ Awaiting for.” 5. “ Let me pour you (sic) a cup of tea.” 6. “An infalliable guide.” 7. “They are having you on” (elegant). 8. “The lady: ‘So funny to give orders to a person who stands just as naked as you are’” (choice). 9. “The corruption of a Louis XY. with the casuist of a Loyola.” 10. “ The poor diaphanous lady.” 11. “A silver candelabra.” 12. “ Out of humour against the performance.” And so on ad nauseam ; while, for the punctua- tion (good heavens ! )—a pepper pot must have been used. How did it ever pass muster with the publisher’s reader ? © Ap — + —— ““WHAT’s IN A NaME?”’ Sir,—Mr. Armstrong’s letter does not refute my proposition that no man, under any pretext what- ever, has a right to use another man’s property in book-titles. ‘This subject of title-taking I have treated more upon moral than legal grounds. If he thinks that my remarks upon his letters in Zhe Author have passed the bounds of fair comment, I tender him, in all sincerity, a full and frank apology. Mr. Charles Weekes prefaces his raw reply to my proposition with the complimentary question, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge ?” With equal grace I demand, “ Whois this that offereth sophistry for reasoning ?” Besides copyright, he tells us, an author has “common law right.” This, in part, is a flagrant sophism. Common law is unwritten law, and where is the right in that which is unwritten ? Mr. Weekes means, I suppose, that the common law gives one man a right to appeal against another’s appropriating his property in book-titles, Just so. But that does not constitute a right moral or legal, to the book-title, any more than the purloining of title-deeds gives a right to possession of the property of which they are the evidence, Take a title-deed, as book-titles are purloined, and the act is criminal. To save space I shall not handle his fallacious analogy between book-titles and trade-marks as he did my correct one concerning Mr. Penman Dryas- dust and a book-title. I shall merely point out his contradictions of himself, and his sophistry. He writes :— “A book has a right ‘A be “ A book has a right against infringers which against infringers which the common law will the copyright law will recognise. False.” recognise. This is true.” This he calls taking the analogy the other way. Twist it whatever way he will, it is a contradiction. He complains of my want of analogical reasoning ; but what about his own unconscious lack of it as shown in the following passage? In plenitude of words he writes :—* Copyright, Mr. Panter should learn, ... is not like a man’s right to ‘house utensils.” It is analogous to the right in a patent or trade-mark.” Above Mr. Weekes, in the cock- sure vein, declares for an author’s “common law right.” And here he eliminates the cocksure by stating it is only an analogous one! Book-titles and trade marks are not analogous; and until it can be shown that an author gives the same title to every work he writes as a publisher stamps his trade-mark upon every book he produces, there can be no analogy between book-titles and trade-marks. To use Mr. Weekes’ own phrasing against himself : ‘Here the analogy of” book-titles to trade-marks “undergoes complete extinction. I am tempted to inquire whether he understands the nature and uses of analogical reasoning.” A book-title and a trade mark possess as much analogy as do the marks upon the bodies of Smith and Beck, and yet this ‘analogy ” gave the innocent man seven years of penal servitude. What says the Copyright Act (5 and 6 Vict. c. 42), 8. 3, with respect to the word “book.” “A book shall be construed to mean and include every volume, and part or division of a volume, &¢., &c., of original composition published.” Is the title not a part of the volume ? Why, then, should the title, or first sentence of the volume, be wrenched from its fellow sentences in order to make /¢, and noother sentence, a question of contention in a law court ? To make it such belies the pronouncement of the Copyright Act, that a part as well as the whole of a volume is under its protection. 92 Next Mr. Weekes asks, “ Does Mr. Panter see the point” of a book being allowed to exclude other books of more value from the market monopolising the exclusive right to its title ? I answer, Yes, if it be not wrong to take and use another man’s title ; and No, if the contrary be held right. To say that because a book is of more value than another, it, therefore, has a right to that other’s title, is dishonest. And no man outside the precincts of Colney Hatch, if he respected public opinion con- cerning his mental health, would dare to say otherwise. Other remarks of Mr. Weekes I cannot notice, as they are wide of the point at issue with respect to the game of title-cribbage. He adds a like cypher to Mr. Armstrong’s arithmetical naught. For a perfect definition and able verdict I would recom- mend their study of Cowper’s “ Eyes v. Nose.” CHARLES RICHARD PANTER. Wickhampton. Seis FY LE DEAR Srr,—The question of copyright in titles, opened by Miss Mary Cholmondeley’s letter, is one that must be of interest to every writer. May I add my experiences to the sum of knowledge on the subject, for in my case what was sauce for the goose does not seem to me to have been quite sauce for the gander. Four years ago a story of mine ran serially in The Argosy. In deciding upon a title I took every step I could think of to satisfy myself that I was not infringing rights belonging to others, and Mr. George Allen, my publisher, and myself exchanged more than one letter on the subject. As, however, the firm assured me they could after “careful enquiry” find no trace of the names having been used, the story was called “ Outrageous Fortune,” and so began its course. In April, after three instalments had been printed, came an intima- tion from another publisher that a book under the same title had been brought out by him some little time before. He protested against my use of it. I gave way and the name was changed to “ Malicious Fortune.” So far I have no cause of complaint. I had poached, however innocently, on another’s manor, and the only course open was apology and withdrawal. But the incident was hardly closed before I experienced very much the same thing myself. A story of mine, “ Between the Devil and the Deep Sea,” was still in some demand, but another, called “oT wixt Devil and Deep Sea,” a title, I contend, substantially the same, was put upon the market. Instances at once occurred of friends wishful to purchase or read my book being given my THE AUTHOR. successor’s in its place, and through my publishers, Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co., I wrote to the pub- lishers of the second story and protested. I was met by a decided unwillingness to relinquish what, after my recent experience, I looked upon as my property, and the passing of letters waxed fast though not furious. At length a compromise was suggested. Would it meet the case, | was asked, if a slip drawing attention to the similarity of title and dis-similarity of contents were sent to all the literary papers? I replied that such a slip in the form of an advertisement and duly paid for as such, would content me. The notice was sent, but not in the form of an advertisement, neither, presum- ably, was it duly paid for: The only paper, as far asmy knowledge goes, that took any notice of it was The Academy, and that printed it, omitting the names of both books and authors, in the shape of a hilarious little paragraph pointing out the depths to which writers will descend to secure a cheap notoriety. I was far from considering that this met the case, but, being mindful of the delightful uncer- tainty of the law on such matters, I shrank from litigation. There was therefore nothing left me but to sit down, by no means resignedly, under what I still regard as an infringement of my rights. I am now at work on a third novel, for which T have chosen what appears to me to be the one and only suitable title that exists. From the bot- tom of my heart do I echo Miss Cholmondeley’s account of her own state of mind in similar cir- cumstances. I have no possible means of satisfying myself as to whether or not that title has been used before. Far from inviting the assistance of others, of courting the publicity which alone could set my mind at rest on the matter, I dare not breathe that title to my dearest friend lest some unscrupulous somebody hear of it and run off with my treasure. How joyfully should I welcome the advent of the register suggested more than once in the pages of Zhe Author, wherein upon payment of a guinea my title might be duly entered and so sate-guarded to me, not perhaps for ever, but for a reasonable length of time. Surely I should not rejoice alone. Much has been made of the difficulties in the way of such a register, but are not those difficulties a little exaggerated? ‘Those to whom a title is of value could at once take advantage of it. In — cases where a title has ceased to be of value to. anyone, I venture to submit that no one would be aggrieved should it be used again. I am, Sir, very truly yours, Srecta M. Durine. The Writers’ Club, 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. 15 Issue 03 (December 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 03 (December 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-12-01-The-Author-15-3 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/501/1905-01-01-The-Author-15-4.pdf e37116b4d099545aab354384071506eb PDF Text Text �������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-01-01 Volume 15 Issue 4 Pages Page range in volume 93–120 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050101 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 4. TELEPHONE NuMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ——S—_ -—>—_2 —_____ NOTICES. ——>— signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. : ee the opinions expressed in papers that are Tux Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. ——>—+—__ List of Members. THE List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —_*+—>—+—_ The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Vou, XV. JANUARY IsT, 1905. ——e ee [Prick SIxpEncr. Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present standing in the names of the Trustees are ag follows. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— ee £1000 0 0 FaCn) COANE 200 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 Wea ie 201 9 8 London and North Western 3 % Deben- EEG DUOC es 250 0 0 Wotal 22... £2,243 9 2 ee Subscriptions from April, 1904. ooo £8. a: April18, Dixon, W. Scarth . : 7 0. 5 0 April18, Bashford, Harry H. ; » O10 6 April19, Bosanquet, Eustace F. . O10 6 April23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain 0 b 0 May 6, Shepherd, G. H. .. : 0 3 0 June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., G.C.B. : . ol A July 27, Barnett, P. A. : : - 0:10 Nov. 9, Hollingsworth, Charles . 0 10 Donations from April, 1904. May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth 5 0. 0 June 28, Kirmse, R. . : : : : June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. July 21, The Blackmore Memorial Committee é 20 0 0 Aug. 5, Walker, William 8, 200 Oct. 6, Hare, F. W. E., M.D. 1 1.0 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold 010 0 Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett 010 0 Noy. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida. 1 1 0 Nov. 11, Thomas, Mrs. Haig : 2 , 5 Noy. 24, Egbert, Henry : 94 FROM THE COMMITTEE. ———+ — rTVHE last Committee meeting of the year was held on Monday, the 5th of December, when Mr. Douglas Freshfield was in the chair. There was a further election of members, bringing the total for the past year up to 233. This is the largest election which the Society has had in any one year during the past ten years. It is satisfac- tory to the Managing Committee to obtain this evidence of the appreciation of the advantages obtained from the Society’s work by writers engaged in the various branches of literature. One or two matters of importance were con- sidered by the Committee, concerning which it would be impolitic at the present stage to give detailed information. One matter, unfortunately, is likely to involve from twenty to thirty members of the Society. It is desirable to state only that the Committee, with the help of the secretary and the Society’s solicitors, are watching the issues with great care on behalf of the members... Some time ago, it may be remembered, the Committee decided to take counsel’s opinion on the question of the payment of Income Tax by authors. The opinion has now been obtained and was laid before the Committee. It is printed in this number of The Author. During the month of November the Chairman sanctioned the placing in the hands of the Society’s solicitors three County Court cases and two High Court cases. This was reported to and confirmed by the Committee. In the three County Court cases the amounts due have heen paid and the costs recovered. In one case, how- ever, there is a question of account which may need some further settlement. In the two High Court cases writs have been issued, and in one judgment under Order 14 has been obtained. It is hoped that the Society’s solicitors will be able to obtain judgment in the other by the same process. The negotiations carried on by the Committee for the purpose of obtaining a fresh agent in the United States are being pushed forward. The recommendation of Mr. James Bryce, who has just returned from the United States, was laid before the Committee, and the secretary was instructed to write to the gentleman, whose name was submitted, and enquire whether he would be willing to take up the duties involved. —— + — Cases. Since the last publication of The Author only six matters have been placed in the Seerctary’s hands for settlement, three for money due to members and three for the return of MSS. Intwo of the cases in which the Secretary has applied for the return of MSS. he has obtained the return for THE AUTHOR. the authors concerned. Sufficient time has not yet passed to enable the third case to be settled. The cases for money due are still in course of negotiation, but the editor of one of the papers has promised to send a cheque on the next pay day. In another case against a foreign publisher, the author had been unable to obtain any reply for overayear. ‘The Secretary, however, has obtained an answer and a promise to look into the matter, and there is every reason to hope that the Society will be able to bring the matter to an issue. 2 It may be necessary to take number three into Court, as the principal from whom the money is due denies liability, although from the letters and information in the Secretary’s hands his indebted- ness seems to be quite clear. — oa December Elections. 37, Egerton ‘Terrace, Knightsbridge, 8.W. 8, Fairholm Road, West. Kensington, W. 10, Gilston Road, S.W. 10, Idmiston Gardens, West Norwood, 8.E. 17, Kensington Gore, Coffin, Mrs. Frere, Latham Irving, Laurence . Kentish - Rankin, M.A. ; F.R.G.S. Knowles, Miss Margaret 1, S.W. MacLiesh, Mrs. Wiston Lodge, Leaming- ton, N.B. Martin, Miss Eva M. St. Kilda, Carrington, (“Sydney Hessel- Nottingham. rigge ”) Miller, Mrs. Mary . 11, Woburn Place, W.C. Roberts, Miss Ethel Oak Hill Lodge, Frog- Adair . nal, N.W. Robinson, Major Gen. C. W., C.B. Scouller, John Snushall, Miss E. . Turton, Mrs. Williams, Archibald Beverley House, Katon Rise, Ealing, W. 774, Grove Lane, Den- mark Hill, S.E. ~ Emneth, Wisbech, Cambs. The Nook, 138, Bruns- wick Hill, Reading. Uplands, Stoke Poges, Bucks. $$$ —__— BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. ——_-—— + (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope ‘ Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) \ ART. THE RATIONALE OF ART. Published by the Author at Kames- 5s. n. . 7k x 5, 148 pp. burgh, Beckenham, Kent. and purpose of the work. By NorRMAN ALLISTON  THE AUTHOR. 95 THE HIGHTEENTH CENTURY IN ENGLISH CARICATURE, By SELWYN BRINTON. 63 x 5, 96 pp. Siegle. Is. 6d. n. BIOGRAPHY. MEMOIRS OF THE MARTYR KING. Beinga Detailed Record of the Last Two Years of the Reign of His Most Sacred Majesty King CharlesI, 1646-48-49, By ALLAN Fra. 134 X 104, 278 pp. Lane. £5 5s. n. RUPERT, PRINCE PALATINE. By Eva Scort, 8} x 54, 384 pp. Constable. 3s. 6d. n. MEMORIES. By Constancy F. GorDoN CumMMING. 83 X 53, 487 pp. Blackwoods. 20s. n. tHE LIFE OF EDWARD LorD HAWKE. By MonTaGur Burrows. (rd. and Revised Edition), ik G45, 333 pp. Keliher. 6s. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. NEW TREASURE SEEKERS. By E. NESBIT. 8 x 43. 328 pp. Unwin. 6s. THE DESIRE OF THE NATIONS. By M. A. Mocarra, 10 X 7, 246pp. Mowbray. 3s. 6d. A FAMILY GRIEVANCE. By RAYMOND JACBERNS. 14X65, 182 pp. Wells Gardner. 1s. 6d. ELSIE’s MAGICIAN. By FRED WHISHAW. 7} xX 5,191 pp. Chambers. 1s. 6d. ENGLAND'S SEA SrorIEs. A Popular Record of the Doings of the English Navy from the Earliest Days. By ALBERT LEE. 8 x 5,336 pp. Melrose. 5s, A SUMMERFUL OF CHILDREN. By ELLA and AGNES TOMLINSON. With 65 pictures of some Sussex Children. 82 X 6%, 87 pp. Dent, 10s. 6d. n. THE DREAM GARDEN. A CHILDREN’S ANNUAL, 1905. Edited by Nerra SyrerT. 10} x 7}, 237 pp. Baillie. 5s. D. Puss IN Boots. By Louis WAIN. 1} X 6. Treherne. 1s. 6d. BOYS’ BOOKS. OUT OF THE RUNNING. A School Story. By HARroLp AVERY. 74 X 5,279 pp. Collins. 2s. 6d. CHILDREN’S BOOKS. A CHAPLET OF VERSE FOR CHILDREN, By Mrs. ALFRED BALDWIN. 74 X 5,110 pp. Mathews. 3s. 6d. Fairy STORIES FROM THE LITTLE MOUNTAIN. By JOHN FINNEMORE. 74 X 5,111 pp. Sunday School Union. 1s. THe TALE oF SQuEAKY Mouvsz, 54 X 43,135 pp. 3y A. 8S. GIBSON, Grant Richards. 2s. CHRONOLOGY. A PRACTICAL DAILY CALENDAR FOR ALL YEARS—Past, PRESENT, AND FUTURE—FRoM SATURDAY, JANUARY Ist, A.D. 1, By Rev. J. J. GRaTrex. 33 x 24, (celluloid card), The Author, Brandiscorner, R.S.O% 6d. DRAMA. Wm. SHAKESPEARE. PEDAGOGUE AND POACHER. By RiCHARD GARNETT. 74 x 5, 111 pp. Lane. 3s. 6d. n. A LEsson IN Harmony. By ALFRED AUSTIN, Poet Laureate. 7 x 42, 35 pp. French. 1s. Lerry. By A. W. PIneEro, 62 X 5, 247 pp. Heine- mann. Ils, 6d. EDUCATIONAL. ERasmus’s PRAISE or Fouzy. English School Texts, Edited by W. H. D. Roussg, Litt. D. 63 X 64. 126 pp. Blackie. 8d. FICTION, A SPOILED PRIEST AND OTHER STORIES. By P. A, S4EEHAN, D.D, 7% X 5,213 pp. Burns & Oates. 5s, THE LAND oF BonDAGn. A Romance. By Joun BLOUNDELLE BuRTON. 7} x 5, 318 pp. — White. 6s. THE QUEEN’s KNIGHT ERRANT, A Story of the Days of Sin WALTER RALEIGH. By BEATRICE MARSHALL, 72 X 54, 322 pp. Seeley. 5s. THE FALKNERS OF GREENHURsT. By JEAN MIDDLEMAss. 73 X 5,308 pp. Digby Long & Co. 6s. THE MINISTER’s GUEST. By Mrs. IsaBen SMITH. 73 X 5,400 pp. T. Fisher Unwin. 6s. THE Book OF ANGELUS DRAYTON. By Mrs. Frep REYNOLDS. 7% x 44, 400 pp. J. Long. 6s. JULIA. By KATHERINE TYNAN. 7% X 5, 322 pp. Smith Elder. 6s. THE EDGE or CIRCUMSTANCE, By E.NoBir. 72 x 5, 348 pp. Blackwood. 6s. SIEGFRIED. By S. BARING GouLD. 8 x 54, 351 pp. Dean. 6s. THE OTHER Worzp. By F. FRANK¥oRT Moorr, 1? x_6, 274 pp. Nash. 6s, A FALLEN IDoL, By F. ANSTEY, 83 xX 53, 204 pp. Newnes. 6d. A PRINCE OF THE PEOPLE, A Romance of modern Royalty. By Mason Puri TREVOR. 7% x 43, 299 pp. Isbister. 6s. HISTORY. THE VicERoy’s Post Bac. Correspondence hitherto un- published of the Earn or HARDWICKE, First Lord Lieutenant of Ireland after the Union. By MIcHAEL MACDONAGH. 8 xX 534, 466 pp. Murray. 12s. n. THE Hoty RomMAN Empire. By JAMES BRYCE. 7? x 54, 571 pp. Macmillan. 7s, 6d. HisToricaL Mysterizs. By ANDREW LANG. 8 x 53, 304 pp. Smith Elder. 9s. n. (Paper-bound reprint). LITERARY, THE ENCHANTED WooD AND OTHER ESSAYS ON THE GENIUS OF PLACES, By VERNON LEE, le. x 8, 321 pp. Lane. 3s. 6d. n, MEDICAL. CASSELL’S PHYSICAL Epucator. By EusTAcE MILES, 94 X 64. 756 pp. Cassell. 9s. MILITARY. STRATEGY ILLUSTRATED BY BRITISH CAMPAIGNS. By Capt. C. H, K. Macquorp. 9} x 64, 252 pp. Cassell. 10s. 6d. PAMPHLETS. A PLEA FOR THE HISTORICAL TEACHING orf HIsToRy, By C. H. FirruH. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1s. n. POETRY. Musa VERTICORDIA. By FRANcIS Courts. 72 X 5 Lane, 3s. 6d. n. Porms. By Giacomo LEopaRpI. Translated by SIR THEODORE MARTIN, 7} X 5, 123 pp. Blackwood, 5s. n. SOUNDS AND SWEET AIRS. By JOHN ToODHUNTER. 64 x 5, 96 pp. Mathews. Is. n, 2 THE GEORGICS OF VIRGIL. Translated into English Verse by the Right Hon. tHp LorD BURGHCLERE, 8% x 74, 195 pp. Murray. 10s. 6d. n. REPRINTS. THE PRiogESS’s TALE AND OTHER TALES. By GEOFFREY CHAUCER. Done into Modern English by Prof. SKEAT. 158 pp. (Introductory matter and notes at the end). Morinvg. 1s. 6d, n. each,  96 SOCIOLOGY. Tian PROBLEM OF THE UNEMPLOYED. An Enquiry and Economic Policy. By J. A. HoBson. 2nd Edition Methuen. 2s. 6d. Revised. 74 X 42, 160 + 40, pp. TECHNOLOGY. Printing. A Practical Handbook on the Art of Typo- graphy. Third (revised and enlarged) Edition. By C.F. Jacosi. 74 x 44, 409 pp. Bell. 7s. 6d, THEOLOGY. How To USE THE PRAYER BOOK. (Guides to Religious Knowledge Series). Longmans. 2s. CHRISTUS IN ECCLESIA. By Mrs. E. ROMANES, 159 pp. SERMONS ON THE CHURCH By Hastines RAsHALL, AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. D.Litt., D.C.L. 8} X 53, 364 pp. Edinburgh : Clark. 4s. 6d. n. Tue CHRIst HAS Come. THE SECOND ADVENT OF THE past. By B. HAMPDEN COOK. 8rd Edition, with important additions and changes. 8} x 54, 195 pp. Simpkin, Marshall. 2s. 6d. n. ‘HE CANONS OF ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA. The ‘Arabic and Coptic Versions Edited and Translated by W. RiepeL and W. E. Crum. 9 X 5%, 153 pp. (issued by the Text and ‘Translation Society). Williams and Norgate. TOPOGRAPHY. SECRET CHAMBERS AND HIDING PLACES. Fea. 82 x 53,317 pp. Bousfield. 5s, n. TRAVEL. Op FLORENCE AND MoperN Tuscany, By JANET Ross. 7k x 5,229 pp. Dent. 4s. 6d. n. THe ALPS FRoM END To END. By Sir W. MARTIN Conway. 84 X 53,300 pp. Constable. 3s. 6d, CITIES AND SIGHTS OF SPAIN. A Handbook for Tourists. By ALLAN By Mrs. AUBREY LE Buonp. 7 x 5, 214 pp. Bell. Sunny SrciILy. Irs RusTICS AND ITS RUINS. By Mrs. ALEC TWEEDIE. 9 X 54, 392 pp. Hutchinson. 18s, n. —_—_——_+—__+—___—__ LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. oo at HE Incorrigible Twins,” is a story of two children. The scene is laid in South Africa and in England. The subject is dealt with sympathetically by D’Esterre, author of “Gerald and Dolly.” The book is published by Messrs. H. G. Skinner & Co., of Camberwell. “The Compact,” by May Evans (“A Welsh Spinster”’) is issned by the Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd., with five illustrations, at the price of 6s. The author, in her Preface, states that ‘‘ The Com- pact” is not primarily intended as a story, nor a mere medium for a moral truth. It is a mental study of the following idea: “ Would any woman give her soul to save the soul of the man she loved ? . An edition, limited to 400 copies, of Mr. Allan Fea’s work, “ Memoirs of the Martyr King,” has been issued by Mr. John Lane at the price of £5 5s. net. he book is printed on hand-made paper, is bound in leather, and contains upwards of one THE AUTHOR. hundred photogravure portraits and other illus- trations. Mr. Douglas Sladen’s new work, “ More Queer Things about Japan,” which is described as a sequel to the same author’s former book, “ Queer things about Japan,” has been published by Messrs. Treherne & Co. at the price of 21s. net. A second edition of “ Marie-Eve,” by Miss Marian Bower, author of “The Guests of Mine Host ” and “The Puppet-Show,” has just been issued. K. L. Montgomery, the author of the romances, «The Cardinal’s Pawn” and “ Major Weir,” has completed a new story entitled ‘ Stringer the Unconventional,” which the author hopes to serialise before publication. The scene is laid in Chateau d’Oex. No. 5 of Messrs. Egerton & Co.’s series of “Little Plays for Little Players’ is an acting ver- sion of “Little Red Riding Hood.” The book is by Gladys Davidson, the lyrics by Louise Egerton, and the music by Stephen R. Philpot. The libretto is published at the price of 3d., and the music at the price of 1s. Mr. John Long is about to publish on behalf of Miss Jean Middlemass, a novel entitled ‘Count Reming.” Messrs. Macmillan announce the second edition of Sir Frederick Pollock’s First Book of Jurispru- dence for Students of the Common Law, containing amplifications and new references. His Majesty the King has been pleased to accept a copy of a new historical work entitled, “‘ Eng- land’s Sea Story,” by the Rev. Albert Lee. The work, which claims to be a Popular Record of the Doings of the English Navy from the Earliest Days, is published by Mr. Andrew Melrose at the rice of 5s. “Dolly’s Governess” is the title of a humorous story written by Mr. George Somers Layard and published by Messrs. Isbister & Co. at the price of 1s. net. We have received from Messrs. A. & CO. Black (4, Soho Square, W.C.) “ Who’s Who,” for 1905 (7s. 6d.), “ Who's Who” Year Book (1s.), and “The Englishwoman’s Year Book ” for 1905. “ Who's Who,” the first issue of which appeared in 1849, increases in bulk year by year, the present issue containing 1,796 pages. It is undoubtedly a useful annual. “ Who’s Who” Year Book, which was first pub- lished last year as a supplement to “ Who’s Who,” contains a fairly exhaustive list of periodicals, magazines, and newspapers. It also contains a list of civil servants, together with a list of clubs, societies, &c., &c. “The Englishwoman’s Year Book” for 1905, edited by Miss Emily Janes, contains a number of articles dealing with the different professions open  THE AUTHOR. 97 Also a mass of information of use to It appears to be a very handy to women. women generally. book of reference. The Statutes of Practical Utility passed in 1904, with a Selection of Statutory Rules, made during the same period (Sweet & Maxwell, Stevens & Sons, 7s. 6d.), have just been brought out in the tenth annual continuation of “Chitty’s Statutes.” The 19 Statutes annotated include the Licensing Act, the Shop Hours Act, the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, the Savings Banks Act, and the Weights and Measures Act. The new Education Code, with its striking introduction as to moral training, is printed in its entirety, and so is the Religious Instructions Circular, known as “Circular 512.” The reader will also find the Motor-Cars (Use and Construction) Order, and the Poor Prisoners’ Defence Regulations and Rules, which are subsidiary to the two Acts of 1903 on those subjects. The Witchcraft Act of 1735, and the Manufactured Tobacco Act of 1863 are added in an appendix. The preface contains various sugges- tions for the improvement of the legislative machine by the substitution of adjournments for prorogations and other methods. ‘‘ How to Use the Prayer Book,” by Mrs. G. T. Romanes, is not intended to be a history of the Prayer Book, but rather as an aid to understanding the ideal of faith and conduct contained in the English Prayer Book. The book is published by Messrs. Longmans at the price of 2s. net. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. published at the end of December a work on “Shakespearean Tragedy,” by Prof. A. C. Bradley, of Oxford. In it the author takes the four principal tragedies — “ Hamlet,” “Othello,” “King Lear,’ and “Macbeth ’’—and considers them from a single point of view. Pro- fessor Bradley endeavours, in short, to excite a more intense apprehension of the action and the per- sonages of each play, in order that his readers may be brought into closer imaginative association with the genius of their creator, and for the attainment of this object it has been no part of his plan to discuss such questions as Shakespeare’s place in English literature, the development of his genius, or questions regarding his life and character. Mr. Austin Dobson has written an interesting introduction to the new edition of Locker-Lamp- son’s “ London Lyrics,” which will shortly come out in “ The Golden Treasury Series.” Mr, Dobson has also written many new notes for this edition which throw light on the sources of the poems. “Torn Lace,” by Miss Charlotte Mansfield, published by the Walter Scott Publishing Co., at the price of 8s. 6d., is the simple story of an Italian peasant girl, who, passing through many tempta- tions, in the final scene sacrifices her life for another. Mr. John Long will shortly publish Mrs. Aylmer Gowing’s new novel, “Lord of Himself,” which describes how the heir to a peerage, an under- graduate at Oxford, wins the Newdigate Prize, is cast upon the world, and fights his Way against all odds. A young Princess is his guardian angel. The pictures of Oxford life will make the story interesting to many. “A Boy’s Control and Self-expression ” (pub- lished at the price of 6s.), is the title of a new work from the pen of Mr. Eustace Miles. In his preface, the author states that his object is to make a boy more independent, and to enable him to learn the habit of self-control, self-expression, and self- respect by apparently alien things, including physical exercises. Copies of the book may be obtained from the author at 10, St. Paul’s Road, Cambridge. ‘ Mrs. Alec Tweedie’s book, “Sunny Sicily,” is now on the market, published by Messrs. Hutchin- son & Co. The author says that Sicily teems with interest for the historian, the archeologist, the builder, for the painter, and for the lover of folk- lore, that probably no spot on earth of equal size holds such varied or such ceaseless charm. The book (published at the price of 18s.), is a descrip- tion of those features of the island which will appeal to the classes mentioned, as well as to the general body of readers. Messrs. Newnes have included in their sixpenny copyright novels, Mr. Eden Phillpott’s amusing story, “‘ A Deal with the Devil,” which some ofour readers may remember. The story, which describes the career of a modern Faust, has been illustrated by Mr. H. M. Brock. Messrs. Williams & Norgate will issue shortly a third part of Dr. A. H. Church’s work, “On the Relation of Phyllotaxis to Mechanical Laws,” which will be devoted to “Secondary Growth Phenomena,” and will also contain mathematical notes by Mr. EK. H. Hayes and the author. It will be illustrated with a number of figures. ‘‘A Summerful of Children,” by Ella and Agnes Tomlinson, has been published by Messrs. J. M. Dent & Co. at the price of 10s. 6d. net. The old nursery rhymes have been illustrated by photo- graphs from life, and the result has been amply justified, owing to the skill and judgment of the photographers. Mr. Frederick Winbolt’s new book, “Philip of Macedon, a Tragedy,” has recently been issued by the De la More Press. A full description of the play will be found in the “ Era” of November 26th. “On Life’s Journey” is the title of a collection of poems, by Mary Gorges, which has been published by Messrs. Walter G. Wheeler & Co. The poems, which are of a varied character, deal with homely incident, scripture type and symbol, the songs of birds and the scent of flowers. 98 An informative article on the remarkable railway bridge across the Zambesi River below the Victoria Falls, illustrated from original photographs, appears in this month’s “ World’s Work and Play ” from the pen of Mr. Eustace Reynolds-Ball. Messrs. A. & C. Black published early last month the 4th edition of ‘Cairo of To-Day,” by the same author. The work, which has been revised and brought up to date, and in part rewritten, is intended to meet the demand among English and American visitors for a cheap and practical guide, Whilst mainly appealing to -tourists who are only able to spend a few weeks in Egypt, it does not neglect the interests of winter residents and invalids. The price of the work is 2s. 6d. “ Rita’s” successful novel, ‘‘ The Jesters,” is being translated into Swedish through the “ Bureau Scandinavian ”’ agency. Mr. Brimley Johnson announces for publication in the spring a small book of light verse, entitled “Tea Table Rhymes,” by M. P. Guimaraens. A successful copyright performance of “The Cowslip Ball” (cantata-playette), by Ellen Collett, to music by George S. Aspinall, took place at the West Hampstead Town Hall on December 17th, before a crowded audience. The performance was ably given by the pupils of the Misses Barnett, sisters of Mr. John Francis Barnett, who presented prizes afterwards. —\_\_o——_e—__——_ PARIS NOTES. — HE annual prizes of the Société des Gens de Lettres were awarded in December. The Chauchard prize of 3,000 francs fell to Madame Séverine, the Balzac prize of 1,500 francs to M. Maurice Montegut, and the President’s prize to M. Albert Boissiere. The Petit Bourg prize was awarded to M. de Braisne ; two Chau- chard prizes of 1,000 francs each were given to M. Allais and M. Pierre Giffard. M. Guillanmin and M. Quentin-Bauchart both received a medal. The annual prize of 5,000 francs of the de Gon- court Academy has been awarded to M. Léon Frapié for his book entitled “a Maternelle.” It is a novel written with a purpose, and is the story of a young girl who has studied hard and taken her degrees, but who finds it difficult to obtain a good post and so enters a “ maternal school ” in a very poor part of Paris. She is at first impressed by the organisation of this institution, but as time goes on she is struck by the fact that the education given to the children is on an entirely wrong system. She comes to the conclusion that the education they receive is not what they will need in the hard struggle for life which will undoubtedly THE AUTHOR. be their fate. The author has succeeded in writing an interesting novel, and at the same time treating one of the most important social questions of the day. The Nobel Prize for poetry is to be divided this year between Frédéric Mistral and the Spanish poet, Echegaray. Mistral intends using his share of the prize in buying an old palace at Arles for the famous ethnological museum, the “ Muséon Arlaten.” He will restore the palace, and some literary fétes will probably be given there. In “Vies Intimes” M. Henry Bordeaux gives us a series of studies from life of romances that have been lived. ‘The titles of the various chapters will serve to show that the subjects chosen are some of the most interesting of the kind of the last three centuries :—* Petites méditations sur des Correspondances Amoureuses,” “ Mme. de Warens @apres de nouveaux documents,” “ Le roman d’une princesse,”” ‘ L’amour dans les ruines,” ‘“ Adélaide de Bellegarde,” “La Tour du Lépreux,” “ Rosalie de Constant,’ “ Uneamiede Chateaubriand,” “ Balzac at Mme. de Hanska,” “ Victor Hugo fiancé,” “ Miche- let amoureux,” “La Vie de Georges Sand,” “ Le premier amour de George Sand,” “ Le premier et le dernier amour de Berlioz,” “ La correspondance de Beethoven,” ‘La correspondance de Wagner,” “ Elizabeth d’Autriche et Louis de Baviére,” “ Une amie du poéte Aubanel,” “ Vie singuliére d’une Sainte moderne.” With the clearness and sincerity which are the characteristics of this author’s work, M. Bordeaux draws for us some admirable sketches of the women he has selected to illustrate his subject. His reflections und observations, which are most per- tinent and just, add greatly to the value of the book. “ Ay-dessus de |’Abime,’? by Madame Blanc Bentzon, is an extremely up-to-date sketch of a certain phase of social life in modern France. It shows the difficulties of the transition stage through which the country is now passing. The idea of separation between Church and State has divided the people more or less into various camps—those who adhere to their faith in ecclesiastical authority, those who approve of the separation between Church and State, those who would shake off all possible fetters, and those who are indifferent and only ask to be left in peace. In this story, Francoise Desprez, the most in- teresting character in the volume, is a girl who has received an education superior to her true rank in life. Her troubles begin when she has passed her examinations, taken her degrees, and has to earn — her own living. She has been educated at the secular college, and is consequently looked upon with disdain by the fervent Roman Catholics. She — is by birth a country girl, and feels imprisoned in a city. college life are distasteful to her. « En. cing ans,” she writes, “ jai traversé tous — The routine, monotony, and strict rules of THE AUTHOR. 99 les cercles de l’enfer pédagogique ; j’ai aidé a attiser ces abominables fours ou l’on chanffe les examens a grand renfort de manuels, sans dévelop- per chez les éléves l’initiative ni la réflexion.” She has arrived at an age when she longs to see something of life outside the walls of a schoolroom, and she applies to a wealthy woman who has taken great interest in her to find her a situation in a private family. By following Francoise in her travels we are introduced to various typical mem- bers of present day society in France. We have the well-to-do family, consisting of husband and wife, with a daughter married suitably according to the old way of thinking, and an unmarried daughter, Colette, who is being educated according to the new system. She goes in for all kinds of sport, and is for a French girl decidedly emanci- pated. Then there is a financier, greatly respected on account of his vast wealth, until the tide of speculation turns for him, and he escapes reproach by suicide. His son has lived the life of a mil. lionaire, and is engaged to Colette at the time of his father’s ruin. With great tact and worldly wisdom Colette’s parents, while expressing their sympathy with the young man, break off their daughter’s engagement. ‘There is also the inevit- able American woman who has climbed, by means of her dollars, into a certain position in French society. She has bartered her money fora husband ten years her junior, with some kind of a title, and she gathers around her in her new home all kinds of antiquities more or less authentic, Frangoise and the son of the ruined speculator are the most interesting personages of the story. The great charm of this novelette consists in the faithful portrait it gives of this transition period in French life. The new woman problem is by no means solved yet in France. Several novelists have attempted to deal with it, but the attempts so far have not been very satisfactory. In this apparently slight story by Madame Blane Bentzon there is much more depth than one at first realises. The authoress is a keen observer and has handled her subject. most delicately. She gives us several types of women of this transition period, and one of the most true to life is Marthe Granger, a daughter of the people, who devotes her whole existence to caring for the children of one of the poorest districts of Paris. Within the last ten years she has rescued over three thousand children. Such work is going on quietly and surely in Paris, and it is very evident that the authoress of « Au- dessus de l’Abime,” when drawing her pictures of the new woman in France, has studied her subject more thoroughly than most of her confreres. A curious book has just been published by M. Emile Dard. It is a volume compiled from hitherto unknown documents giving an account of General Choderlos de Laclos, the author of that famous book ** Liaisons Dangereuses,” which Paul Bourget mentions as “ the masterpiece perhaps of analytical novels.” Laclos was a captain in the army under Louis XVI. He wasa most ambitious man, and when he found he did not advance in his career he wrote his celebrated book as a pamphlet against the Court. M. Dard describes Laclos as “un auteur caché du Drame revolutionnaire.” Hig influence was certainly felt in many different spheres, and his career was a most adventurous one. Among the new books are “Les Chevaliers de PAu-delai,” by Jean Rameau, a novel which treats of the trickery practised on a very wealthy widow by charlatans, who traded on her superstitions ; “a Cruche cassée,” by Gabrielle Réval, a some- what dramatic novel, in which we have an excellent picture of provincial life in France ; “ La Seconde Faute,” by Henri d’Hennezel; “La Nef,” by Eléimir Bourges, a kind of epic poem in prose, in which the author evokes the tortures and the visions of Prometheus. The style is admirable, and the whole book in every way worthy of the author of “ Le Orépuscule des Dieux.” “Roman. ciers et viveurs du XIXe. Siecle,” by Philibert Audebrand, is a book of memoirs in which the author evokes for us many of the well-known personages of the last century. “Un Homme libre,”’ by Maurice Barrés ; “ L’Ombre de la Maison,” by Ivan Strannik; “L’Aventure d’Huguette,” by Guy de Chantepleure ; “Le Tumulte,” by Georges d’Esparbés. The literary rights of French authors in Canada appear to be proved now satisfactorily. It appears that as Great Britain has accepted the terms of the Berne Convention, Canada through Grea Britain has also accepted them. The publication of French works which are unauthorised by the author is therefore illicit, and the question of authors’ rights is to be brought into the Canadian law courts, so that’ French authors may be legally protected in future. The Council of the Cercle de la Lnbrairie in Paris is of opinion that steps should be taken at once in this matter. In the first place the French Société des Gens de Lettres should bring an action against the Canadian papers which are publishing French literature unauthorised by the author. Then a French publisher should make a claim on any Canadian publisher who has brought out French books that are not authorised by the author, and a law suit should be brought in cases where a French book that has been printed in New York is introduced into Canada. It is hoped that the Society of Dramatic Authors will also take up this matter, so that there should bea general protest against the present state of things. In the Revue des Dewa-Mondes there is an article 100 by M. Henry Houssaye on “Ta Retourdu Roi en 1815.” M. Schuré gives some interesting details with regard to Wagner's correspondenve with Mathilde Wesendonk. M. Filon writes an article on H. G. Wells as novelist, prophet, and reformer. In La Revue Stéfane Pol discusses the question «“ Gomment combattre VYalcolisme.” M. Claude Anet writes on “Les chevaliers du vol aux Etats Unis,” and M. Garofolo on “Ta Orimonologie Moderne.” In La Quinzaine the Vicomte @ Adhémar writes on ‘Science eb Philosophie ” (a propos du radium), and M. de Contenson an interesting article on “ Le Devoir social de Vacheteur.” In the Jercure de France there is an article by Alexandra Myrial on “ Le Pouvoir religieux au Thibet,” and some hitherto unpublished letters of Chateaubriand. The great theatrical event of the month has been the staging of “ King Lear” at the Théatre Antoine. The translation is by MM. Pierre Loti and Vedel. The play is admirably put on and seems likely to prove a great success. “Notre Jeunesse,” by Alfred Capus, is a most brilliant play, in which the working out of the thesis and the dialogue are excellent. It is dis- tinctly a piece a these. Lucien Briant, who is very happily married, has an illegitimate daughter whom he has never seen. He is a good-natured, kind- hearted man, but with no will of his own. His old father is a veritable tyrant and a cynic. He lives with his son and his daughter-in-law, and in the first act it is very evident that Madame Briant has come to the end of her patience as regards submission to the caprices of her husband’s father, Her husband is absorbed in business affairs ; she finds her country life dull and monotonous, and in desperation commences a flirtation with a man whose love adventures have made him famous in social circles. Just at this dangerous moment in Madame Briant’s life the sister of one of her husband’s oldest friends tells her the story of Lucien’s daughter. Madame Briant sees the young girl, and, longing as she does, for some serious object in life, she determines to adopt her. The two women arrange the whole affair, and Lucien, to his horror, is confronted by his daughter. To explain everything to his old father is no easy task, and he is finally in despair at the turn matters are taking. His father will not hear of the adoption of the new found daughter and his wife treats him as a coward for not listen- ing to the voice of his own conscience. Inthe end the women prevail and Lucien, for the first time in his life opposes his father, who remains obdurate. The whole play is a brilliant satire on many phases of social life, but it is the satire of an optimist, and not that of a cynic. THE AUTHOR. M. Jules Lemaitre has read his new comedy, “Ta Massiére” at the Renaissance Theatre. M. Antoine has accepted a piece by M. Antoine Bibesco, entitled “ Guet Apens.” Atys HALLARD. ——_—_——_1— > —__———_ UNITED STATES NOTES. ee: OLITICAL distractions seem to have produced little or no effect upon the literary world of America; and though exact statistics are not as yet to hand, it may- be stated without fear of contradiction that 1904 has been by no means a bad year for those interested in book-production, Some signs of a tendency to redress the balance between fiction and other literature have shown themselv4s, apart from such temporary influences as the war in the Far East and the Presidential election. An anonymous publisher, who has been printing his “ Confessions ” in the “ Boston Transcript,” has much to say on the subject of the commercialisa- tion of literature. He admits the fact, but denies the degradation which has been considered a necessary corollary to it. “There is much less reason to fear the commercial degradation of many other callings than the publishers,” he concludes cheerfully. But the most piquant part of the “ Confessions ” is supplied by certain admissions which constitute a considerable deduction from this conclusion. While admitting that ‘the very best traditions of publishing are yet a part of the practice of the best American publishing houses,” we are told that there are others who keep “ Literary drummers 4 to look up popular authors and solicit books, instead of respecting each other’s clientéle. ‘* There are two men in the United States who have gone about making commercial calls on practically every man and woman who has ever written a successful book ”—says our authority. This, he concedes, is “demoralisation and commercialisation with a vengeance.” But, it seems, “ it is the sin of the authors.” Here we must interpose a word. Whilst far from standing forth as a partisan of the afore- said “ Literary drummer,” or any such person, the contention urged in favour of the old system of each house respecting the other’s authors seems to us to be pressed unduly when it is argued that the relation between author and able to that between patient and physician. And even if the analogy holds, it may sometimes be expedient for an author to change his publisher, as it is for a patient to have fresh advice. In connection with the abuses of fiction adver- tising, our anonymous publisher lets himself go in publisher is compar-—  THE AUTHOR. a healthy way and is justly severe upon “ Sapon- aceous publishers,” “Soap - novelists,” and the “ Wabash method.” But he assures us that these things are not so successfulas they seem. “ There is, I think, not a single soap-novelist who has put forth a subsequent novel of as great popularity as his “record breaker,” and he has even sometimes brought ultimate ruin upon his publisher. Good books to begin with, and personal sincerity on the part of the publisher, these are laid down, and we think rightly, as the prime requisites of good publishing. Whether the retailing of “personal and com- mercial gossip” by magazines and literary journals is So serious an evil as is represented we take leave to doubt ; and we are not so sure as the anonymous censor that “the one thing that is certain is that the critical crew and the academic faculty ” are sure not to recognise good literature when they see it. One has heard this before, but is loth to believe it. And now to take a survey of the crop. The list of fall announcements totalled some twelve hundred books, but these include a fair proportion of works by British writers. Poetry is as scant in bulk and import as usual, but history and biography are proportionately well represented. Literary criti- cism shows some vitality, whilst fiction displays its perennial luxuriance, and writers on politics and economics have something substantial to offer. Theology and ethics will, of course, always flourish in a nation the basis of whose civilisation is Teutonic. Once more we have to confess that there is no single volume which can claim the attribute “great,” though there are not a few of considerable interest and some of abiding merit. No new writer of anything like first rank has arisen, and no one of the old favourites has to any great extent advanced his position. A good average level has been maintained in original work, and there has been a noticeably increasing demand for reprints of English classics. Thackeray in particular seems to be called for at present : an editorial in the Dial speaks of four yards of him standing on the writer’s desk! This must, we think, be noted as a sign of literary health, though some might deem it a symptom of decay. The late Mr. Lafcadio Hearn’s “Japan: an attempt at Interpretation,” is possibly the most remarkable work emanating from an American- trained author. It has a literary quality which scarcely distinguishes such scholarly excursions into the same subject as Professor George W. Knox’s “ Japanese Life in Town and Country ” or Mr. Alfred Stead’s compilation, “ Japan by the Japanese.”’ Two biographical works which call for special comment are Captain Robert E. Lee’s “ Recollec- 101 tions and Letters” of his father, the Confederate General, and Moncure D. Conway’s “ Autobio- graphy.” The memoir of General Lee is founded upon his letters to his wife, a descendant of Martha Washington, and upon his son’s reminiscences which begin with the father’s return from the Mexican war, in which he won his spurs as a soldier. Lee comes ont well, both as man and general, in his son’s book, and shines little less in peace than in war. The mutual appreciation of himself and Stonewall Jackson is especially touching, and his conduct towards the future biographer, who served some time under him as a private, has quite a Roman touch, Mr. Conway’s book will be more familiar to English readers, but the part of his life anterior to 1864, when he settled in London, describes a notable phase of American development which will appeal chiefly to those who live in the land of his birth. The influence of Emerson is very marked. Another book has been written upon the Con- cord sage. It comes from the pen of Elizabeth Luther Cary, who is an experienced hand in literary biography. It is a well-balanced and capable study, erring only in an undue appreciation of the philosopher’s poetic gifts. Another autobiography, that of Rear-Admiral Schley, treats of quite another world and breathes a very different air. It is interesting to hear that it was Captain Marryat who first sent Schley to the sea, and also that Farragut used the expression, “JT want none of this Nelson business in my squadron about not seeing signals,” when Lieutenant Schley in an action with the Con- federates misinterpreted a signal to withdraw from action. The story of the Greely relief expedition is also highly interesting reading; the later and more contemporary parts of the book are im- portant but, of course, controversial. General James Grant Wilson’s “Thackeray in the United States” will be too well known already to readers of these Notes to call for further com- ment. Its publication may be partially responsible for the present large American demand for the works of the author it treats of. Other biographies which can only be named here are Augustus C. Buell’s “ History of Andrew Jackson,” Joseph M. Roger’s “The True Henry Clay,” and “The Life, Letters, and Travels of Father De Smet,” four volumes compiled by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden and A. T. Richard- gon. In_ historical literature Dr. Reuben Gold Thwaites has been indefatigable as ever; Messrs. William Estabrook Chancellor and Fletcher Willis Hewes have brought out the first two parts of their “History of the United States ;” and the initial  102 volumes of Rufus Rockwell Wilson’s ‘Source Books of American History” have been issued. “The Evolution of the U.S. Constitution and History of the Monroe Doctrine,” by Dr. John A. Kasson, is an important item in Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin and Co.’s list ; and Cyrus Townsend Brady’s ten years’ story of “ Indian Fights and Fighters,” is worthy of mention. “The Historian’s History of the World,” a little work in 25 vols. is now reported as ‘ complete.” Charles Eliot Norton’s publication of the letters written to him by John Ruskin is a matter of moment to both continents, as also perhaps are Thackeray’s letters to the Baxter family. In fiction there have been new works by Henry James, W. D. Howells, and Marion Crawford. The first and third scarcely rank nowadays as American authors; but Mr. Howells will always be a true American. His latest novel, “ The Son of Royal Langbrith,” is one of his very best New England problem stories, the problem in this case being concerned with the treatment, of an unworthy father’s memory. Among younger masters of the craft, Mr. Stewart White has followed up “The Blazed Trail”? and “The Forest,” by a worthy successor, “The Mountains”; George Barr McCutcheon, has written a sequel to “ Graustark ” (‘ Beverley of Graustark”) which has recently been at the top of the “best sellers” ; and the author of the celebrated Self-made Merchant’s Letters has pro- duced in “Old Gorgon Graham” a new series which do not show the usual falling-off of a sequel. Another “best seller,” “The Affair at the Inn,” was inspired and directed by Kate Douglas Wiggin, but, as readers of the AUTHOR _will be aware, was written in England in collabo- ration with two English ladies and a gentleman. Mr. Robert Grant has written in “The Under- current” a novel which discusses the divorce ques- tion in a candid and interesting manner. The authorship of the clever “ Jessica Letters” has been revealed. It belongs to Mrs. Lundy Howard Harris and Mr. Paul Elmer. Mr. Jack London has again delighted his admirers with “The Sea Wolf,” and Messrs. H. L. Wilson and E. Phillips Oppenheim have satisfied theirs with “The Seeker” and ‘ The Betrayal.” A promising first appearance has been made by Miss Edith Rickert with her story of the Shetland Isles, called “The Reaper.” ‘ Wanted, a Cook,” by Alan Dale, has reached a large public. We should not conclude this imperfect survey without a passing allusion to two widely different works. Dr. William J. Rolfe’s valuable “ Life of Shakespeare,” and Miss Ida M. Tarbell’s meri- torious “ History of the Standard Oil Trust.” THE AUTHOR. Life is not long enough for us to enter into the merits of the dispute between those who claim and those who deny the exclusive right to use the title of Webster’s Dictionary. Our obituary list contains few important names. There is Lafcadio Hearn, the American journalist, who ended a romantic career by becoming a Japanese subject and professor, and left a legacy of many charming books upon his adopted country. Mrs. Euphemia Vale Blake, who reached the advanced age of eighty-eight, was the author of “Arctic Experiences” and “A History of Tammany Hall,” amongst other works. Prof. Charles Woodruff Shields, of Princeton, was a well-known writer on the science of religion, who abandoned Presbyterianism to become an Episcopalian. Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop’s name will endure in her books of travel in Asia and North America. It is more doubtful whether Jol. Prentiss Ingraham will find a place among the Immortals, in spite of the thousand novels which he left behind him. —_———_+—_>—_+__—_ HINTS ON PRODUCTION. + Il. Mov.LpING, STEREOTYPING OR ELECTROTYPING. TT keep type standing for any period without a rental is not fair to the printer; therefore if the work is likely to be reprinted later on, it should be either stereotyped or electrotyped. If the probability of a reprint being required is small, moulding is a tentative process which does not cost very much. This is the preliminary stage of stereotyping by the papier-maché method. The moulds are readily stored, and if required later on may be easily cast from, the two methods of moulding and casting, done at two different periods, costing very little more in the aggregate than if stereotyped direct in the first place. But if there is acertainty that plates will be required, either stereo- type or electrotype plates may be made at the outset. The first is the cheaper kind, but the second, although dearer, is more serviceable if several editions are likely to be required. Here again it may be assumed roughly that the charges for these respective methods are— Moulding ... 4d. per sq. in. Stereotyping (at some Sd. in future date) from all. moulds oe ads. i Stereotyping direct ... 34. 5 5 Electrotyping ... ald  THE AUTHOR. 103 PAPERS. Paper isthe next important thing to be dealt with, and of this necessary material there is a very large selection to choose from. Naturally that made by hand is the best kind, and roughly three or four times dearer than an average paper made by machine. For bookwork the very cheap kinds are not recommended. Another class to be avoided as far as possible is shiny paper; in fact, smooth or glossy papers are always objectionable, although, in these days of graphic literature, process blocks absolutely demand a smooth surface for the satis- factory printing of illustrations. Papers which are extremely light in bulk and those which are very heavy are also to be avoided—the first are generally too poor in substance to stand handling, and the second are objectionable from the fact that they are usually clay-loaded. A medium weight should be selected, for one can obtain a fairly light-hand- ling paper, considering the bulk, without sacrific- ing the quality in order to obtain a minimum weight. It may be taken for granted that some- thing is wrong in its manufacture when either of the extremes is manifest and the bulk of the volume is considered. A paper made with a rough antique finish naturally bulks more than one which has been calendered, but judgment must be exercised in considering the two classes of paper— both of which are necessary for the production of either plain or illustrated volumes. Papers are made as a rule to definite sizes, but in the case of those produced by machine these sizes can be varied. Sheets for printing purposes are frequently made in double and quadruple sizes, in order to facilitate and cheapen production, but we need only give the single or more ordinary sizes with the publishers’ or booksellers’ equivalents in 4to and 8vo: Printers’ Size of Publishers’ Sizes. Sheet. Quarto. Octavo. mppetial .., 30 x 22) .. Ib xl 3. 1 x 7% Super Royal 274 x 203 ... 133 x 10} ... 10} x 6% Royal soe 20 Le x 0 LO x 6 moon 3. 24 % 19°. 12° =< OF 298 x 6 Demy po eee te LE xe Be. SEK OF Post oe 20 16) a IO ee 8 Crown ey 20 «16 10 x 1 1d Kb Foolseap ... 17 x 13} SA xX 6 ... 6) x 4 Pat -.. 164 x 12} We x 642 6k x OE Books in quarto or octavo if with cut edges would measure slightly less, especially in height. The bulk of books as regards thickness cannot be foretold to a nicety, nor can the weight be quite determined, without a size or pattern copy being made up out of the exact paper, for, as before explained, the material used in making and the precise finish of the sheets does very considerably affect the exact bulking proportions of the paper. A ream consists of 500 sheets nominally, and papers are made to certain weights—so many pounds to a ream of a given size. An average weight of an ordinary paper in double crown size (30 x 20 in.) such as is used for a novel, if the paper is ofan antique character, may be 36 lb., and the equivalent weight in demy (224 x 174 in.) and double foolscap (27 x 17 in.) would be 24]b. and 27 lb. respectively. The cost prices of average papers may be taken for the purposes of calculation at 3d. per lb. per machine and about 1s. per lb. for those made by hand, but, of course, there are many qualities of each kind, both cheaper and dearer. ILLUSTRATIONS. The question of method to be adopted for illus- trating a work is an important matter and requires careful consideration. The old books were nearly all made beautiful with engravings on copper or on wood—the latter mostly. Although these methods were the most artistic, the expenses of production were great and at the same time very slow. Reproductive processes are so numerous now-a- days, so cheap, and at the same time so expeditious, that the choice is somewhat bewildering to many. By means of photography almost anything can be reproduced by these mechanical processes, and the methods mostly employed for illustrating books are those of photogravure, collotype, half-tone and line blocks. The first two are adapted for the separate plates of any volume, and are the more expensive kinds, especially the first. The other two methods are best for textual illustrations, although unfortunately it is a sime qua non that for all half-tone blocks very smooth paper must be used in order to bring out the full effects of tone. To avoid the use of this paper it is best to adopt the line method of reproduction as far as possible, for all drawings or pictures in wash or photo- graphs can only be made by the half-tone process. With regard to prices for all these processes it is somewhat difficult to give instances, for in the first place there is always a minimum charge for each subject, because any single reproduction is not worth handling below acertain price. In forming an idea of cost the making of photogravure plates costs about 2s. per inch; half-tone blocks range any- where between 9. and 1s., and line blocks half the price of half-tone. In all these cases the original plates or blocks can be held for future use, but with collotype plates it is a different matter, for. the method consists of printing from a gelatine film which has to be made from the negative and renewed from time to time in course of printing off. It may be taken for granted that for full page or separate plates, when only short numbers are volumes of Rufus Rockwell Wilson’s ‘ Source Books of American History’? have been issued. “The Evolution of the U.S. Constitution and History of the Monroe Doctrine,” by Dr. John A. Kasson, is an important item in Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin and Co.’s list ; and Cyrus Townsend Brady’s ten years’ story of “ Indian Fights and Fighters,” is worthy of mention. “The Historian’s History of the World,” a little work in 25 vols. is now reported as “ complete.” Charles Eliot Norton’s publication of the letters written to him by John Ruskin is a matter of moment to both continents, as also perhaps are Thackeray’s letters to the Baxter family. In fiction there have been new works by Henry James, W. D. Howells, and Marion Crawford. The first and third scarcely rank nowadays as American authors; but Mr. Howells will always be a true American. His latest novel, ‘“ The Son of Royal Langbrith,” is one of his very best New England problem stories, the problem in this case being concerned with the treatment of an unworthy father’s memory. Among younger masters of the craft, Mr. Stewart White has followed up “The Blazed Trail? and “The Forest,” by a worthy successor, “The Mountains”; George Barr McCutcheon, has written a sequel to “ Graustark” (“ Beverley of Graustark”) which has recently been at the top of the “ best sellers” ; and the author of the celebrated Self-made Merchant’s Letters has pro- duced in “Old Gorgon Graham” a new series which do not show the usual falling-off of a sequel. Another “best seller,” “ The Affair at the Inn,” was inspired and directed by Kate Douglas Wiggin, but, as readers of the AUTHOR _will be aware, was written in England in collabo- ration with two English ladies and a gentleman. Mr. Robert Grant has written in “The Under- current” a novel which discusses the divorce ques- tion in a candid and interesting manner. The authorship of the clever “ Jessica Letters” has been revealed. It belongs to Mrs. Lundy Howard Harris and Mr. Paul Elmer. Mr, Jack London has again delighted his admirers with “The Sea Wolf,” and Messrs. H. L. Wilson and E. Phillips Oppenheim have satisfied theirs with “The Seeker” and “ The Betrayal.” A promising first appearance has been made by Miss Edith Rickert with her story of the Shetland Isles, called “The Reaper.” « Wanted, a Cook,” by Alan Dale, has reached a large public. We should not conclude this imperfect survey without a passing allusion to two widely different works. Dr. William J. Rolfe’s valuable “ Life of Shakespeare,” and Miss Ida M. Tarbell’s meri- torious “ History of the Standard Oil Trust.” THE AUTHOR. Life is not long enough for us to enter into the merits of the dispute between those who claim and those who deny the exclusive right to use the title of Webster’s Dictionary. Our obituary list contains few important names. There is Lafcadio Hearn, the American journalist, who ended a romantic career by becoming a Japanese subject and professor, and left a legacy of many charming books upon his adopted country. Mrs. Euphemia Vale Blake, who reached the advanced age of eighty-eight, was the author of “Arctic Experiences” and “ A History of Tammany Hall,” amongst other works. Prof. Charles Woodruff Shields, of Princeton, was a well-known writer on the science of religion, who abandoned Presbyterianism to become an Episcopalian. Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop’s name will endure in her books of travel in Asia and North America. It is more doubtful whether Col. Prentiss Ingraham will find a place among the Immortals, in spite of the thousand novels which he left behind him. —___—_+ <> —__—_ HINTS ON PRODUCTION. — Il. MovuLpine, STEREOTYPING OR ELECTROTYPING. O keep type standing for any period without a rental is not fair to the printer; therefore if the work is likely to be reprinted later on, it should be either stereotyped or electrotyped. If the probability of a reprint being required is small, moulding is a tentative process which does not cost very much. This is the preliminary stage of stereotyping by the papier-maché method. The moulds are readily stored, and if required later on may be easily cast from, the two methods of moulding and casting, done at two different periods, costing very little more in the aggregate than if stereotyped direct in the first place. But if there is acertainty that plates will be required, either stereo- type or electrotype plates may be made at the outset. The first is the cheaper kind, but the second, although dearer, is more serviceable if several editions are likely to be required. Here again it may be assumed roughly that the charges for these respective methods are— Moulding a ... $d. per sq. in. Stereotyping (at som Sd. in future date) from all. moulds s oo ide, os Stereotyping direct ... 4d. , 5 Electrotyping ... 1d, o E 2  THE AUTHOR. PAPERS. Paper isthe next important thing to be dealt with, and of this necessary material there is a very large selection to choose from. Naturally that made by hand is the best kind, and roughly three or four times dearer than an average paper made by machine. For bookwork the very cheap kinds are not recommended. Another class to be avoided as far as possible is shiny paper; in fact, smooth or glossy papers are always objectionable, although, in these days of graphic literature, process blocks absolutely demand a smooth surface for the satis- factory printing of illustrations. Papers which are extremely light in bulk and those which are very heavy are also to be avoided—the first are generally too poor in substance to stand handling, and the second are objectionable from the fact that they are usually clay-loaded. A medium weight should be selected, for one can obtain a fairly light-hand- ling paper, considering the bulk, without sacrific- ing the quality in order to obtain a minimum weight. It may be taken for granted that some- thing is wrong in its manufacture when either of the extremes is manifest and the bulk of the volume is considered. A paper made with a rough antique finish naturally bulks more than one which has been calendered, but judgment must be exercised in considering the two classes of paper— both of which are necessary for the production of either plain or illustrated volumes. Papers are made as a rule to definite sizes, but in the case of those produced by machine these sizes can be varied. Sheets for printing purposes are frequently made in double and quadruple sizes, in order to facilitate and cheapen production, but we need only give the single or more ordinary sizes with the publishers’ or booksellers’ equivalents in 4to and 8vo: Printers’ Size of Publishers’ Sizes. Sheet. Quarto. Octavo. Imperial on ee ee Ib eT Tx Tk Super Royal 274 x 204 ... 13% x 104 ... 10} x 6% Royal mee oe 20 AE 10, 10 KGS Medium 22019 12 OR Oe 6 Demy sa coy X 1 ALE &K 8e We. 2 8S KX BS Post ee lO 6 10 oe) Be coe Bene Crown peel 15 10 ee TR a Foolscap ... 17 x 133 .- 83 x 62 ... 6% x 44 Pots pe Oe IDE eK 6). OF Xk 38 Books in quarto or octavo if with cut edges would measure slightly less, especially in height. The bulk of books as regards thickness cannot be foretold to a nicety, nor can the weight be quite determined, without a size or pattern copy being made up out of the exact paper, for, as before explained, the material used in making and the precise finish of the sheets does very considerably affect the exact bulking proportions of the paper. 108 A ream consists of 500 sheets nominally, and papers are made to certain weights—so many pounds to a ream of a given size. An average weight of an ordinary paper in double crown size (30 x 20 in.) such as is used for a novel, if the paper is ofan antique character, may be 36 Ib., and the equivalent weight in demy (224 x 17k in.) and double foolscap (27 x 17 in.) would be 241b. and 27 Ib. respectively. The cost prices of average papers may be taken for the purposes of calculation at 3d. per lb. per machine and about 1s. per lb. for those made by hand, but, of course, there are many qualities of each kind, both cheaper and dearer. ILLUSTRATIONS. The question of method to be adopted for illus- trating a work is an important matter and requires careful consideration. The old books were nearly all made beautiful with engravings on copper or on wood—the latter mostly. Although these methods were the most artistic, the expenses of production were great and at the same time very slow. teproductive processes are so numerous now-a- days, so cheap, and at the same time so expeditious, that the choice is somewhat bewildering to many. By means of photography almost anything can be reproduced by these mechanical processes, and the methods mostly employed for illustrating books are those of photogravure, collotype, half-tone and line blocks. The first two are adapted for the separate plates of any volume, and are the more expensive kinds, especially the first. The other two methods are best for textual illustrations, although unfortunately it is a sine qua non that for all half-tone blocks very smooth paper must be used in order to bring out the full effects of tone. To avoid the use of this paper it is best to adopt the line method of reproduction as far as possible, for all drawings or pictures in wash or photo- graphs can only be made by the half-tone process. With regard to prices for all these processes it is somewhat difficult to give instances, for in the first place there is always a minimum charge for each subject, because any single reproduction is not worth handling below acertain price. In forming an idea of cost the making of photogravure plates costs about 2s. per inch ; half-tone blocks range any- where between 9d. and 1s., and line blocks half the price of half-tone. In all these cases the original plates or blocks can be held for future use, but with collotype plates it is a different matter, for. the method consists of printing from a gelatine film which has to be made from the negative and renewed from time to time in course of printing off. It may be taken for granted that for full page or separate plates, when only short numbers are 104 required, collotype pictures sometimes cost less than half-tone illustrations because of the initial cost of the block ; but, on the other hand, should a long number of copies be required of these separate plates, the initial cost of making half-tone blocks or even photogravure plates is merged into the total cost of producing the illustration. Press WORK. This term embraces all printing off, whether by hand or by machine. As already explained, to cheapen the cost of production of books, printing machines are now made much larger in size and paper may be obtained to suit the requirements of those machines. For instance, a crown 8vo novel is generally printed on a sheet of quad crown, 40 x 30 in., which would contain 64 pages when printed both sides. This is a consideration when the number to be printed is fairly large. Prices for ordinary plain printing (that is, without illustra- tions) are charged as reams of 500 printed both sides, which means 1,000 impressions for each ream. These charges vary according to the size of sheet employed in printing, and depend also on the quality of the work. It should be noted that it is important that all printing should be firm, black, clean and even in “colour” throughout. A yolume which has been carefully designed in its format is sometimes spoiled by bad or careless press work, and possibly by the use of a common or poor ink, which gives off a weak or gray effect that is trying to the eyes in reading. BINDING. This is the final stage in the making of a book, which also requires some consideration. For most books a publisher’s (i.e, cloth) binding suffices. There are many varieties of cloths, linens, and other fabrics to be selected from, and if gold is to be employed on the cover for lettering or for a special design, do not let it be too prominent, for, as a rule, a mass of gold looks vulgar, especially if a common kind be used. A design blocked in ink is in better taste provided the ink harmonizes with the covering material of the case. Besides, ink is much cheaper than gold, and really looks more effective ifa good design has been prepared for it. The question of cutting or not cutting the edges of a volume should be determined by the character of the work. A book which is going to be read straight off, or a reference volume, should have the edges cut all round, but éditions de luxe and other dainty editions, or any work printed on handmade paper, should be left untouched. Cuas. T. JACOBI. Oe 9 THE AUTHOR. AUTHORS AND INCOME TAX. — S disputes have frequently arisen between authors and income tax collectors con- cerning the amount due to the Revenue on the sums that authors receive in payment for their literary work, the Committee decided to place a full statement of the case before counsel with a view of obtaining his opinion on the issues, The following case therefore, prepared by the secretary, and approved by the solicitors, with counsel’s opinion on the questions, is printed below. CASE, In order that the subject may be considered in its completeness, it is necessary to put forward in some detail the methods adopted between authors and publishers. The usual forms of agreement between author and publisher for the publication of books may, perhaps, be enumerated as follows :— (1) A sale out-right, in which the author transfers to the publisher his copyright and all other rights and receives alump sum. Sometimes in one payment and sometimes by instalments (say on delivery of MS.: passing of last proofs and publication). (2) A profit-sharing agreement, a form much less common now than some years ago. In some cases the.copyright is transferred to the publisher ; in others it is retained by the author. As a general rule the author provides the MS. and the publisher the cost of production, advertisement, etc, The whole monetary outlay is placed on the debit side of the account, with any commission that the publisher charges, and the return from the sales is placed on the other side of the account, and the proceeds are divided in the proportions agreed on, but the author is not liable to bear any portion of the loss in case the book, on the accounts, does not show a balance to thegood. This form of contract is varied in different ways : sometimes the author pays part of the cost of production and is credited with that amount, sometimes the publisher has the right to sell a certain number of copies before the profits are divided ; but the mode in which receipts and payments in respect of the joint venture in the book are dealt with remains the same. (3) An agreement based on the royalty system. It is very exceptional in the royalty agreements at present signed by authors and publishers for the author to convey his copyright to the publisher, though this does sometimes occur. generally transfers to the publisher a licence to publish, on certain terms and conditions set forth in the agreement, a fixed or unlimited number of editions or copies of the book, and receives in The author : return a payment of royalty on the published price: THE AUTHOR. (as distinct from the actual or discount price) on every copy sold. Of these forms of agreement there are also variations. Sometimes the author receives an advance lump sum in addition to royalties (dependent on sales), but this is certainly the exception ; sometimes, and more frequently, he receives a lump sum in advance of royalty. This amount has been held not to be repayable in case the royalty on the number of copies sold does not reach the figure advanced. Another variation is a contract for deferred royalty, where the author receives a royalty after the sale of a certain number of copies. (4) A commission agreement, where the author pays for the whole cost of production and receives in return the full amount which the publisher realises by sale of copies of the book, less his commission and any expenses incurred by him, such as advertisements. There is another class of cases to be considered, that is, authors’ receipts from contributions to magazines and other periodical literature. In some cases—contracts on this basis are most frequent nowadays—the author sells to a magazine, or periodical, or daily paper the use of his work for serial issue limited either to one paper or embracing entire serial rights. Again, it not infrequently occurs that an author sends his work up to a paper or periodical, and the work is printed without any contract. In this case, no doubt, the author does not confer the copyright on the proprietors of the publication. Lastly, there remains those cases in which the periodical purchases the copyright of the work and pays for it, the work coming under the 18th section of the Copyright Act (5 & 6 Vict. c. 45), to which counsel is referred. Very often under these circumstances the periodical makes no further use of the article, but allows the author to reprint in book form, making a formal acknowledgment or paying a small consideration. It will be best to consider the publication in a periodical or serial form as distinct from the publication of books. In the publication of books in the four examples put forward, it is submitted that as long as the author retains the copyright he has the property in his work, and therefore any royalty or profits that may be coming to him in any year should be reckoned as income of that vear on which he should be bound to pay the annual tax, either annually upon the amount he receives or by reckoning his income over a period of three years. He merely farms out or leases his work either by a licence to the publisher to publish, receiving returns by pay- ment of royalty or by a share of the profits, or again, by a licence to sell in the cases where he keeps the printing and publishing in his own hands, and makes the publisher a mere middleman 105 for the sale of his work. But when an author transfers his property, receiving in payment either a sum down or a share of the profits or payment by means of royalty, the question arises how far he ig to look upon the amount as income or capital, and this view seems to carry with it considerable doubt. If it is denied that moneys received for the sale of copyright are income, it will follow that an author, producing much work in a year, and selling all copyrights to his publisher, earns no taxable income, On the other hand, if such moneys be reckoned as income, the consequence can be set out in the following hypothetical case. A certain work produces in royalty £60 a year. It is sold for £600, which the author sinks in a terminable annuity of £40. The effect is to reduce his income from this source by £20 a year, but if the £600 a year is income, and a three years’ average is struck, the author makes his terminable income from this source, £240 for the first year, £220 for the second, and £200 for the third, and will also have to pay income tax on his annuity of £40. Accordingly over three years the author has to pay income tax on £780, when his actual income is only £120. Supposing an author sells his copy- right for £600 to a publisher, and it is decided that this amount is to be reckoned as income, the publisher proceeds to sell the property to another, does the publisher reckon the £600 as income ? It is submitted he would not do so. Again, it should be considered whether, if an author writes works and does not proceed to publish them, and if the amount received from the sale of the copyright is to be reckoned as income, he is to make a schedule of the value of his copyrights in the return of income tax, although he may not as yet have marketed the commodity. This position seems to be untenable, and seems again to point to the fact that the property is, in itself, capital rather than income. Farther, counsel is requested to consider whether a payment in advance of royalty (under a royalty agreement which provides for the sale of the copy- right) stands on the same footing as payment of a lump sum down for the copyright. Questions of a similar kind arise when the whole serial rights in a contribution (7.e., a distinct part of the copyright) are sold to a magazine or periodical. Counsel is therefore asked to advise on the following questions :— (1) Is the sum received by an author in respect of a work of which he retains the copyright in all cases to be considered as income ? (2) Is the sum received on the sale of a copy- right to be considered as capital or income? And if capital, can a lump payment for such minor rights.as serial use, right of translation, dramatisa- tion, etc., be put on the same footing ?  106 (3) If the sum received is capital, will the liability of an author to pay income tax be varied by the method in which he receives payment—(q) by a lump sum in full discharge ; (0) by a share of the profits; (c) by a royalty ; (d) by a sum in advance of royalty ; (e) by a lump sum on sale of serial use to a magazine, periodical, or paper. (4) So far as an author’s receipts are to be treated as income, how is his payment to be regulated? Has he the right to make deductions for expenses incurred in compiling a book or in writing an article—(a) directly, as railway journeys, purchase of books, purchase of photo- ‘graphs, stationery, typewriting, etc. 5 (0) indirectly, for rental of portion of his house as office ? (5) May he calculate the amounts he receives on the three-year basis ? CoUNSEL’S OPINION RE ASSESSMENT OF INcoME Tax ON Prorits FRoM LirERaRy, PrRo- DUCTIONS. By 5 & 6 Vict. c. 35, 8. 100, Sched. (D) :—The duties hereby granted, contained in the schedule marked (D) shall be assessed and charged under the following rules :— ScHEDULE (D). Rules for ascertaining the last-mentioned duties in the particular cases herein mentioned. First case... . Second case.—The duty to be charged in respect of professions, employments or vocations, not con- tained in any other schedule of this Act. RULES. Pirst, =... Second.—The duty to be charged shall be com- puted at a sum not less than the full amount of the balance of the profits, gains and emoluments of such professions, employments and vocations (after making such deductions, and no other, as by this Act are allowed), within the preceding year. Russ APPLYING To BoTH THE PRECEDING CASES. First.—In estimating the balance of the profits or gains to be charged according to either of the first or second cases, no sum shall be set against or deducted from such profits or gains for any disburse- ments or expenses whatever, not being wholly and exclusively laid out or expended for the purposes of such profession, employment or vocation ; nor for the rent or value of any dwelling-house or domestic offices, or any part of such dwelling-house or domestic offices, except such part thereof as may be used for the purposes of such trade or concern, not exceeding the proportion of the said rent herein- after mentioned, nor for any sum expended in any other domestic or private purposes, distinct from THB AUTHOR. the purposes of such trade, or of such profession, employment, or vocation. ; From the words “the amount of the balance of the profits and gains” it will be seen that income tax is intended to be a tax upon a per- son’s annual profits and gains, and such profits and gains must be ascertained on ordinary principles of commercial trading. “The rule contemplates the preparation of a balance-sheet in which proper trading disburse- ments and liabilities are to be set against trade assets, so that the surplus of the latter, if any, will represent the assessable profits or gains of the con- cern. All the other rules applicable to Schedule (D) are framed upon the same footing.” (Gresham Life Assurance Society v. Styles, (1892) A. C. per Lord Watson, p. 317.) Turning now to the questions which have been put: (1) and (2) The principle laid down in the above- mentioned judgment of Lord Watson, in my opinion, applies to the present case. Therefore, in ascertaining the amount of his profits or gains for the year an author must in all cases place upon the credit side of the balance- sheet the sum which he has received in respect of a work of which he retains the copyright. In the same manner he must account for any lump sum which he may receive on the sale of the copyright or any minor rights. Then, if after deducting any expenses which he may have incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of his profession or vocation a profit remains, he must pay income tax on the amount of such profit. ; There is really no mystery connected with the sales of copyright or minor rights, and they must be treated in any ordinary commercial way. I can see no difference in principle between the cases put and that of a coachbuilder who builds a carriage. 'If the coachbuilder either lends out the carriage for hire or sells it there can be no doubt that in making his yearly return of profits or gains for the purpose of income tax he must bring into account the amount he receives for the hire or upon the sale. * (3) In my opinion, for the reasons already given in (1) and (2), the liability of the author to pay income tax on the amounts received will not be varied by the method in which he receives payment; although, of course, the time of payment of the tax may be, because he will only have to bring into account the amounts which he receives in the parti- cular year for which he has to make his return. (4) Here, again, the matter must be treated upon - ordinary principles of commercial trading, having regard to the restrictions imposed by the Act. The author is entitled to deduct any disburse- ments or expenses which he may have laid out or expended wholly or exclusively for the purposes of his vocation. THE AUTHOR. Therefore, in my opinion, the expenses or cost of such items as photographs, stationery and typewriting may be deducted. Books stand upon rather a different footing, because after they have been read they are still of value, and I think the proper deduction to be made would be the difference between the cost price and the present value of the book. With regard to travelling expenses I think that if they were incurred exclusively for the purpose of getting some information for the purpose of his vocation—e.y., to enable him to write a description of a particular place or to inspect a particular document—they might be deducted. In making any of the above deductions it must be remembered that the expenses need not necessarily be appropriated to any particular book or work, so long as they are incurred in the period for which the return is made and were incurred wholly and exclusively by the author for the purpose of his vocation. With regard to the rental of a portion of his house as an office, I think that the author would be entitled to deduct it if it can be proved that such portion of the house is used exclusively for the purpose of his profession or vocation, and if it can be shown that he would not have taken so large a house but for the fact that he was going to devote apart of it to the exercise of his vocation. The amount of such deduction would of course be sub- ject to the limits mentioned in the Income Tax Act. (See 6 Vict. ¢. 35, s. 101.) (5) By sec. 48 of 16 & 17 Vict. c. 34, the duty to be charged under Schedule (D) in respect of pro- fessions or vocations shall be computed on a sum not less than the full amount of the balance of the profits and gains of such professions or vocations upon a fair and just average of three years. If the author should have set up and commenced his profession or vocation within the three years from the date when he makes his return I think that under the first rule of the first case in Schedule (D) the computation would have to be made for one year on the average of the balance of the profits and gains from the period of first setting up. W. Ottver Hopes. 7, Fig Tree Court, Temple. a MAGAZINE CONTENTS. -—<>— + — DECEMBER, 1904. THE ALBANY. A Shelley Letter. The Exile of Geo. Gissing. How I became an Author, The Drift of the Drama. On Giving People what they Want. By Richard Whiteing. By E. A. Morton. By Francis Gribble. 107 Bookman, Society in Recent Fiction. By Susan Countess of Malmes- bury, and Lady Violet Greville. Mark Rutherford’s Bunyan. By Ian Maclaren. The Feminine Note in Fiction. By Lucas Malet, CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL, Shakespeare in Scotland. By Alex. Cargill. The Romance of Old Book Collecting. By Clive Holland. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. After the Reaction. By C. F. G. Masterman. The Relation between Ecclesiastical and General History. By Prof. Adolf Harnack. : Religion, Science and Miracle. 3y Sir Oliver Lodge. CORNHILL. Charles Lamb’s Commonplace Books. : By E. V. Lucas. Historical Mysteries. By Andrew Lang. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Adam Smith and Some Problems of To-day. Marriott. Artemis and Hippolytus. By J. G. Frazer. The Winged Destiny and Fiona Macleod. Goddard. The Crisis in the Book Market. Shore. The Sportsman’s Library, 1904. By Ethel By W. Teignmouth 3y F. G. Aflalo. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Of Style. By C. F. Keary. The “ Trojan Women” of Kuripides. 3y Gilbert Murray. The Religions of Japan. By Baron Suyematsu. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Ludlow Masque. By G. A. Nicklin. The Vicar of Morwenstow. By G. 8S. Freeman. The Pleasures of a Book Lover. By Michael Barrington. NATIONAL REVIEW. The London University and the Study of History. By Prof. Pollard. NINETEENTH CENTURY. Free Thought in the Church. By W. H. Mallock. Hymns “ Ancient’ and “ Modern.” By M. E. Jersey. The Rhodes Bequest and University Federation. By J. Churton Collins. : Queen Christina’s Pictures. By Bildt. PALL MALL MAGAZINE, Lines Written in a Copy of Henley’s “ Lyra Heroica.” By R. Ellis Roberts. 8 Studies in Personality : Miss Marie Corelli. By Herbert Vivian. ee How Dr. Johnson wrote his Dictionary, Dobson. By Austin TEMPLE BAR. Richard Wagner in Zurich, By H. Alexander Clay. WorLbD’s WORK AND PBAY., The Fourth Estate in Africa, By Leo Weinthal. There are no articles dealing with literary, dramatic, or : ; ; : 1s musical subjects in Blackwood’s Magazine, Longman’s Magazine, ov The Month,  WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —— ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if @ proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: C1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. ‘Therefore keep control of the advertisements, (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” uniess the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. “.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. : (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :-— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book, General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what ‘an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —_____——_+—___ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. deme Oe EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, 108 THE AUTHOR. 8. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). ‘this method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9, Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10, An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. —___—_+—>—+-—___ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —— > ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often ‘the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He a ¥  THE AUTHOR, should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part. cular consideration the warnings stated above. $< HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. 2 1, VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination, 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers, (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society, Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements, This must be done within fourteen days of first execution, The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members, 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society iis £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. 109 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —— 7 —— pe Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or _,. part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society's safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble, To THE READING BRANCH. Seg EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience, The fee is one guinea, ———_—o + ___ NOTICES. —— 1 HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, 8.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. — + The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be y crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. a ee ee LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —+—~>— + ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, pP either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  AUTHORITIES. —+— ! N article by Mr. W. Teignmouth Shore, A entitled “The Crisis in the Book Market,” appears in the December number of 7'he Fortnightly. : A subject of this kind must, of necessity, appeal to members of the Society of Authors, as the prosperity of the book market must affect the author’s income. Mr. Shore has brought forward many generalities but few facts for what he terms “The Crisis in the Book Market,” and takes a very pessimistic view of the position. The first consideration of the article induces one to think that the whole system—author, trade, and reader—was running in a vicious circle, but Mr. Shore appears finally to put his finger on what he considers the weak spot, and comes to the conclusion that publishers are to blame for over- production and the consequent glutting of the market. He also states as an obiter dictum, “ Woe betide our writers if they slay the golden goose by play- ing the game of ‘heads I win, tails you lose.’” It is rather difficult to understand how playing a game of pitch and toss can slay any goose, even if it is golden; but putting this aside, why should the publisher be thus stigmatised ? As a similar remark was put forward on a former occasion, it is necessary once again to show the absurdity of the statement. Those who write and those who read are the two chief factors in this dispute. If those who read want to obtain the thoughts of those who write, and those who write are anxious to place their works amongst those who read, then if Mr. Teignmouth Shore’s “golden goose” was cleared off the market with its Christmas throat cut there would still be other means of bringing the two parties together. The readjustment of the trade would, no doubt, take a little time, but where there is supply and demand it would be bound to come at last. Although the publisher may not be exactly the “ golden goose,” it is possible that he may stimulate authors in the keen competition of the publishing business, toa production beyond the demands of the readers. ‘This is what Mr. Teignmouth Shore is inclined to think has occurred. ‘Taking all things into consideration,” he says, “the bad condition of the book market can be made good only by efforts on the part of the publishers, and if these efforts are not made, the law of the survival of the fittest must take its course.” The law of the survival of the fittest must take its course in any event, and Mr. Shore, we are inclined to think, is too pessimistic. THE AUTHOR. We have received from the publishers, Messrs. Stevens and Haynes, the 4th Edition of Mr. W. A. Copinger’s well known work on copyright, re- edited by Mr. J. M. Easton, of the Inner Temple. As the work came to hand but a short time before the issue of Zhe Author, it has been found impossible to give such consideration and care to its perusal as would be essential for a formal review. We hope, however, in another number, after an exhaustive study, to deal with the work in a manner befitting the importance of the subject. Mr. Easton, in his preface, states that some slight alterations have been made in arrange- ment, and that the increase in International Copy- right and the Judicial decisions since the last edition in 1893 have necessitated a re-writing of portions of the book dealing with this branch of the Law of Copyright. He acknowledges his indebtedness in dealitg with foreign law to “Le Droit d’ Auteur,” the organ of the Copyright Union. We have frequently had to thank the secretary and the officials con- nected with the International Bureau at Berne, and to be grateful to ‘‘ Le Droit d’ Auteur” for the careful and comprehensive way in which they have done their duty in dealing with the subject of copyright, and we are pleased to notice Mr. Easton's corroborative appreciation. In another column is printed the case set before counsel by the committee referring to the payment of Income Tax by authors, followed by counsel’s opinion on the questions submitted to him. It is somewhat amusing, with counsel’s opinion so strongly stated against The Author, to read the following utterance made by Mr. Gladstone, and recorded in Sir J. B. Robinson’s “Fifty Years of Fleet Street.” “He (Mr. Gladstone) told a story of Macaulay receiving £8,000 for his history and escaping pay- ment of Income Tax, on the ground that it was principal and not interest.” We wonder whether this was a statement of fact within Mr. Gladstone’s knowledge, or a matter of report and hearsay. It is to be feared that the Income Tax collectors have learnt their business more thoroughly since then, otherwise there would have been no need for the Society to go to the expense of obtaining counsel’s opinion. Amona the reasons or excuses put forward by publishers for offering inadequate payment to authors has been the statement that they are crippled by the excessive sums they have to. pay to the popular celebrities of the day. ‘Two instances THE AUTHOR. in which this ground has been alleged, one in this country, one in the United States, have recently come under our notice. It can hardly be necessary to point out that the excuse is not a good one. If the publisher pays a heavy price to an author he does so in the expectation that the transactions will lead to a corresponding profit, either directly or indirectly, as an advertisement and asa lure. If he misealculates, the publisher only proves himself wanting in business judgment. Should he offer less than fair market terms for the work of young authors, they are free to go elsewhere. There is no lack of firms ready to deal. WE regret to notice the death of Miss Adeline Sergeant, who was a member of the Society from 1893 till 1898, when she resigned owing to ill- health. Miss Sergeant was the youngest daughter of the Rey. R. Sergeant, a rector in Derbyshire, and was born at Ashbourne in 1851. Her writing was, at all times, virile, strong, and engrossing. On one occasion, after she had made her name, she tried the daring experiment of publishing a book anonymously. The success of the book was remark- able, and was no doubt most satisfactory evidence to her of her continued powers. How many authors have made the experiment ? and, if they had, would obtain the same result ? We know of no similar instance. oe THE NOBEL PRIZES. — ++ HE Nobel Prize for Literature has been divided between M. Mistral, the Provencal poet, and Don Jose Echegaray, the Spanish dramatist. Great Britain has, so far, been unsuccessful under the Nobel Statutes in obtaining any recog- nition for its great writers. The prizes in former years have been awarded as follows :— 1901. M. Sully Prudhomme, the French poet. 1902. Prof. Theodor Mommsen. 1903. Mr. Bjornstjerne Bjornson. Although Great Britain has failed in literature, she has been very successful in science, last year in medicine and this year in physics. Lord Rayleigh, Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institute, and Sir William Ramsay, Pro- fessor of Chemistry at University College, have been awarded prizes this year, which are of the value of about £8,000. The Nobel Prize Committee of the Incorporated Society of Authors met at the offices of the society early last month, and passed the usual resolution for the dispatch of the circulars to those entitled to vote under the Swedish Statutes. iit As in former years, the votes will be collected before the Ist of January, and will be forwarded to Stockholm before the 1st of February. They are then laid before the Swedish Committee appointed for the purpose of selection for the award in 1905. ———_—_-~» — bee LITERATURE AND LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. a ‘[Seconp Arricnn.] I POINTED ont at some length, in the November issue of this magazine, the first important difference between our copyright law and that of the United States, as shown by recent decisions given by the American courts and now presented in the admirable compilation by Mr. Arthur 8. Hamlin.* That. first important difference, as I said, was registration. There is no copyright in America except by registration; and, even then, only if it is in the correct form prescribed by the American statute. In this respect, therefore, the very door- way to American copyright was shown to be a pitfall to the unwary ; whereas here at home we acquire copyright in books by the mere act of publication. Before proceeding to discover, from Mr. Hamlin’s instructive book, what, in America, constitutes publication, and what are the necessary consequences of it in the eyes of the American statute, whether a book be first published there, or first published elsewhere and afterwards there, let us pause for a moment to consider what may be the subject-matter of copyright in America. Subsect-MaTrer or CopyriGgur. This will not detain us long, for the examples given in this work show that America looks at this branch of copyright much as we do ourselves. I suggested in my previous article that America was still young in literature and the arts. It will scarcely be credited that she is so young as this :— A Mr. Cleland made and copyrighted a coloured photograph entitled “ Palisades Alpine Pass in Colorada.” A Mr, Thayer promptly infringed it. What was his defence? Simply that the scenery was “natural” scenery, and consequently public * Copyright Cases: A Summary of Leading American Decisions on the Law of Copyright and on Literary Property, from 1891 to 1903; together with the Text of the United States Copyright Statute, and a Selection of Recent Copyright Decisions of the Courts of Great Britain and Canada. Compiled by Arthur S, Hamlin. Published for the American Publishers’ Copyright League by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 1904, $2.  112 property! More wonderful stil], he successfully defended himself on this plea at the first trial. On appeal, however, he was, of course, put out of court at once. So a photograph of natural scenery, however “natural ” and unreclaimed it may be, is a proper subject-matter for copyright protection in America. So, also, we should say. Let us now have another extreme case, only this time at the other end of the scale. One Young sent to the Librarian of Congress a blank book, demanding to have it copyrighted ! The Librarian refused. Young promptly sought a writ of man- damus to compel the Librarian to copyright his blank book. His argument was that the Librarian’s duty was a purely ministerial one—that he had no discretion in the matter. The judge, however, tripped him up. It was quite true, he said, that the Librarian had no discretion ; but before he, the judge, could issue the writ, Mr. Young would have to show that the writ would avail—namely, that a book containing not a single English sentence could be the subject of copyright. Mr. Young, of course, could not show this, and the court could not therefore “order a vain thing to be done.” Blank books cannot be the subject of copyright here or in America, Nor will a fitle of a book or play as such, and apart from its subject-matter, obtain protection. Du Maurier’s famous novel, ‘Trilby,” provided this decision. Messrs. Harper, its American pub- lishers, sought an injunction against one Renous, who produced a play entitled * Trilby ” (copying the plot and characters of the novel), to restrain him from using the title of the novel. This the judge refused. Fortunately the affidavits showed that the rest of the novel had also been pirated, and the judge therefore went out of his way to grant relief; but he let it be clearly understood that no action in copyright law could lie against the user of a mere title. But, this well-known ruling apart, note the dis- tinction between this and our own law. Here, it is free to anyone to dramatise a novel provided he does not let the printed or type-written copy of the drama get into the hands of the public. In that case an action will lie for the infringement of the copy right. A mere title, therefore, here or in America, gets no protection from the statute law. But in America the mere dramatiser of a novel may be proceeded against as an infringement. Not so here. “Ticker Tapes,” as they are called in America, provided another interesting case of equitable relief. One news company sued another for making use of readings from its tape machines. They could not be copyrighted, urged the wronged company, because they were published before there was time THE AUTHOR. to register them. The judges agreed, but held, in its equity jurisdiction, that the action of taking was unfair competition, and so granted an injunction restraining it. Readings of tape machines cannot, therefore, be copyrighted in America. Here they are, ipso facto, copyrighted the moment they emerge from the instrument. In answer to the well-known question: What constitutes literary value ? many interesting cases group themselves under this head of “ subject matter.” Has a bottle label, a letter file index, a racing chart, any literary value; has a circus poster artistic value—sufficient to entitle these produc- tions to copyright protection ? The bottle label in question was the property of Mr. Higgins, the famous ink and paste maker (with whose photo-mounting composition every amateur photographer ought to be acquaint2d), The only specific words on the label were: “ Water- proof Drawing Ink.” It was duly registered for copyright. The judge held that a mere descrip- tion of the contents of the bottle had no value for copyright purposes apart from the article described, and refused the injunction. Our courts would do the same. Similarly, a mere index to a letter file, however skilfully devised, was not within the protection of the Copyright Act, no literary explanation of its working being given. A book describing a short- hand system likewise failed to get protection against another book describing the same system, but written differently. There might be twenty books describing the same thing, provided they were different in treatment. But a racing chart, which formed part of a sporting paper, received protection; and it was no defence to say that it was disentitled to protection because designed for gaming pur- poses. A racing chart alone, however, could scarcely protect itself. A circus poster, showing performers on bicycles, and so forth, was not disentitled to protection on the ground of its being a mere advertisement. cx work of art,” said the judge, “is none the less a work of art because it is of little merit or humble degree.” Thus American Courts provide us with almost precisely similar rulings to the English Courts on © the question as to what may and may not be the | subject matter of copyright. PUBLICATION AND ITS EFFECTS. Let us now see whether there is any difference between English and American law as to what — constitutes publication, and what are some of the | consequences of publication. ;  THE AUTHOR. i We know that, over here, before we give a book to the world by publishing it, we can prohibit its «© publication by any unauthorised person by means »>> of an action at common law. It is the same in oe America. Similarly, after we have published a book, the common law protection ceases as far as its infringement goes, and the work now comes under the protection of the statute. But what, our author frequently asks, 7s publication ? Let » us see what America says on the subject. The Jewellers’ Mercantile Agency printed a book » of what, in America, are called “credit ratings,” which I take to be, from the evidence, a list of jewellers’ customers, with an account of their finan- cial standing. This they leased to their subscribers © only, having first copyrighted it. As soon as the | book was infringed, the plaintiffs alleged that, though copyrighted, it had not really been pub- i lished, seeing that it was only leased to their own “private subscribers. The trial court took this view . and granted them an injunction. But the appeal court reversed the judgment, holding that to lease a book to an unlimited number of subscribers amounted to‘a publication. This would be held ‘' 5) to be good English law also.* qi Similarly, when Professor Loisette (the curer of ~~ weak memory) issued his book to subscribers under “= a contract of secrecy, this was construed as a ji's4 publication of it, and the pirate went free. And when one Rigney published a cut in a trade journal, allezing that there was no real publication because it only circulated within the limits of the trade—his contention was manifestly ill founded. Does the previous serial issue of a work consti- tute publication in America ? Or, when the work has not been copyrighted in this serial form, may it afterwards be copyrighted in volume form? No, unfortunately. So the author of the “ Autocrat of the Breakfast Table,” Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, lost his copyright in that famous book. But if the last instalments of a serial be duly copyrighted, does this secure copyright in the whole work? ‘The appeals court answered this question for another famous author, Mrs. Stowe, but also in the negative. Before we come to the subject of the ‘‘ conse- quence of publication,” a very important case, not included in Mr. Hamlin’s book, but recently decided, should be mentioned as coming between the two questions of “publication” and its “ con- sequences,’’ © 2 we * It is noticeable that in both trials the important question as to whether “ publication” was a prerequisite to complete a copyright in America was avoided, Here itis, No book acquires copyright here without it. The Jaw in America on this point is doubtful; but Mr. Hamlin is of the opinion that the depositing of title and copies perfects the copyright without any publication, 113 In this case the great American Tobacco Com- pany got beaten in their own country. They printed and published, as an advertisement, the painting called “Chorus,” ‘a meritorious work of art, by Sadler, a British subject,” who sold it to Emil Werckmeister, “a citizen of Germany,” who hung it in the Royal Academy, London. The question was: Did this exhibition of the picture amount to “ publication” so as to deprive Werckmeister of his right to obtain copyright in America? In other words: Was the picture published ? In deciding this important question, Judges Lacombe, Townsend, and Cox were under the necessity of reviewing all the important decisions previously given in the analogous cases of books, lectures, and dramatic compositions, since the question as regards paintings had not hitherto been directly decided. With this review (which occupies fifteen pages of the royal-octavo pamph- Jet before me) I shall not trouble readers of Zhe Author. Suffice it to say, the judges decided that the exhibition did not amount to a publica- tion, on the grounds that (1) admission was by payment, implying a limitation of the persons who were to view the painting ; and that (2) there was express prohibition by the rules of the Academy against making copies of pictures ex- hibited therein. Now this decision is one to be thankful for, although it runs counter to our own law, which regards public exhibition in a gallery as publica- tion; and for the best commentary on the American decision (written long before it was given) I must refer readers of Zhe Author to Mr. Macgillerray’s book on ‘ Copyright,” pages 263-4, CONSEQUENCES OF PUBLICATION. Under this section of Mr. Hamlin’s book we move among giants, and it becomes still more interesting when the “ publication” in question is a publication owlside the United States. Such cases are particularly instructive to all authors, English and Continental, having a sale in the United States. Richard Wagner transferred his music-book rights in “Parsifal” to B. Schotts & Sons, re- serving the acting rights to himself (which we know he liked to do—since no one else was, in his opinion, competent to deal with them). Schotts sent the book to America, but were many years too late for copyright. Oonfried put ‘‘ Persifal” on the boards, and Wagner brought an action to restrain him. Held that the book having once been published, the “reservation” notice was of no avail in America. ‘“ Parsifal”? could be “put on” by anyone.  114 The next case is interesting to all budding geniuses. When Mr. Kipling was yet in that enviable state, his books were naturally not copy- righted in America. So in the year 1900, when he had become world-famous, he tried to ‘‘ take it out of” America by bringing an action against publishers there to restrain them, not from pub- lishing and selling his stories, which he could not prevent, but from publishing and selling them except in such collections and under such totles as he himself should authorise. One finds it diffi- cult to refrain from a smile, and wonders what he said to his lawyers when the court told him there was nothing about that in the statute. Sudermann, Germany’s playwright, provides our last case under this head. He published the text of the play “Die Ehre” in Germany, and the celebrated Augustin Daly decided, with his per- mission, to put it on the boards in America. But one Walwrath got in before him and produced the play, and defended himself successfully against injunction, by pleading the previous German publication. The moral of all these cases for authors is: see that, if you hope for anything from America, your work is duly copyrighted there before you publish it elsewhere. If the courteous editor of The Author will allow me, I hope at a future date to deal with the remaining sections of Mr. Hamlin’s book: “ Literary Property and its Transfer,” “ Unfair Use,” and “Remedies and Penalties,” as America regards these matters. CHARLES WEEKES. 2 ge EDITORIAL CRITICISMS. Se st T is seldom that an editor in returning a MS. I of which he cannot avail himself will vouch- safe his precise reason for declining it. He has not the leisure, perhaps, or it may be that, as hé cannot honestly offer encouragement to the writer, he restricts himself to the stereotyped form of regret which commits him to nothing. It may even be that he dreads what so often happens ifhe give his contributor an opening—that the latter will proceed to question his decision at the expense of much ink and paper. Should he, however, depart from his rule and proffer a criticism, it is worth considering in cold blood, no matter how cutting, presumptuous, or brutal an aspect it wears, for probably a lifetime of experience has perfected him in the art of silhouetting the weak points of an article at a glance. If he devote five or ten of his precious THE AUTHOR. minutes to bestowing the benefit of that experience on a complete stranger he does it, undoubtedly, with the kindliest of motives, and by no means merits the vituperation which ofttimes requites him: English editors volunteer ‘‘remarks”’ -less fre- quently than American ones, but it is the authors’ fault. American writers (and not novices only) beg for a review of their work and profit by it, whereas their English brethren, hugging their amour propre, are apt to regard anything savouring of condemnation as insult added to injury. “Tt is impossible for us to criticise MSS., so many are submitted,” is a very usual notice in the Transatlantic magazines. It is rarely met with in an English periodical, for it is not needed. Yet “to see oursels as ithers see us” must be as salutary to authors as to other folk. «The reader foresees the dénouement almost from the beginning.” This comment was once sent vith a rejected story of my own, the “almost” just saving my self-esteem, for in a MS. of 2,000 words— a very acceptable length, by the way—there is not overmuch room for “ drawing a red herring across the trail.” I comforted myself with that reflection, but & propos of the criticism a problem presented itself—whether the majority of readers like to have the whole plot divulged, sprung upon them as it were, in the two last lines, or whether they have a secret predilection for the pleasant sense of their own perspicacity which the divination, from the very beginning, of the author’s intention inspires. Endeavouring to be quite honest with myself, I decided that I personally agreed with my friendly mentor, and had a distinct leaning towards ‘a measure of mystification. “The central ‘idea has done duty in scores of short stories.” This was, I remember, something of a blow, since I had fondly imagined my little tale quite original, but being well aware the editor saw more fiction in a day than I in a month, I sat down to think the matter out, and the more I reviewed his ultimatum the more grateful I was to him for having had the courage of his opinions, and the more willing to concede that some time, somewhere, I too had encountered. a not altogether alien argument. In this case—and to my mind it covered a multi- tude of sins—the regret was a written one, and put me in possession of an autograph I had long coveted. “Your story is too improbable.” Yet I had sent the MS. where “impossible” would have described the letterpress even better than “impro- — bable,” and I had spoken of what I knew to be true. Nevertheless the editor, with his finger on the pulse of the public, was right. I eliminated the “impossible” truth I hadthought so fascinating, and promptly disposed of my “ copy.” “Tf you care to change the convent into a Church hy -  THE AUTHOR. of England boarding-school ’—O bathos !—“ we will reconsider the article.” Now the hours and the pains I had spent on “ getting up” that convent made the bare notion grievous. The walls were high and ivy-clad, the garden within them a place of peace, whilst the softened strains of the ‘“‘ Ave Maria” issuing from the little oratory were indispensable io my mise en scene. I felt I couldn’t part with a word, so I kept the MS. intact and sent it elsewhere. But I did not sell it for a very long time—not, indeed, until I had taken the editor’s advice. . L hold no brief for editors, nor do I claim infallibility for them—it is notorious that many a time and oft they decline excellent work, after- wards bitterly bewailing their short-sightedness— but I earnestly maintain that, since their intentions in advising are of the very best, it is crass folly to ignore their well-meant strictures or to lull oneself into the belief that one is superiur to ali such warnings. I have quoted adverse criticisms in every case, partly because they are more useful, but chiefly because favourable ones are few and far between. Literary wares bear a suspicious resemblance to all other saleable commodities, much as we like to flatter ourselves they are on an altogether higher plane. If good they are eagerly snapped up at the lowest price the author s poverty or love of fame will induce him to accept, and to praise them would be a quite superfluous indiscretion on the purchaser’s part, raising their market value immediately and possibly depriving him of a cheap monopoly. If they are faulty in the ways I have instanced the editor does himself no harm and the writer an in- estimable service by saying so, besides creating a bond of sympathy between himself and the more sensible of his contributors. If the ranks of the wise be ever so slightly swelled by the perusal of this article it has not been written in vain. : ANNIE Q. CARTER. oe gee LITERARY RESPONSIBILITY. 1 S an author responsible for the sayings and sentiments of his characters? ‘lhat—like “to be or not to be””—is the question : and a very burning question, too, upon occasions. The reading public apparently labours under an impression that the author of a novel has cast himself for every one of the parts ; that (after the manner of Bottom the Weaver) he is ready to play Pyramus and Thisbe, and the lion too—to excel in Ercles’ vein, to speak in a monstrous little -voice, to roar that it will do any man’s heart good 115 to hear him ; and yet all the time to be himself, bringing out of his mental treasure-house such stores of wisdom and knowledge as he has collected during the shining hours of his mundane career. We writers are constantly being hit full in the face with inquiries as to whether we “ really think ” the sundry and divers—often diverse—things that our characters see fit to enunciate ; and the horns of the dilemma whereon we then find ourselves are too sharp for us. If we say Yes, we are convicted of folly ; if we say No, we are convicted of untruth ; which is the severer condemnation it is not for us to decide. The sentiment thus quoted is probably the very last that one would choose to have fathered upon oneself : a sentiment which one has purposely put into the mouth either of a fool, to prove his want of wisdom, or of a knave, to prove his want of honesty. Yet the anxious inquirer pertinently asks whether it is, so to speak, one’s own confession of faith. If we say we agree with it, then we know ourselves for ever set down as fools or knaves as the case may be; if, on the other hand, we repudiate the doubtful sentiment, then we are con- fronted with the fact that we have said it in print, and that therefore we must have thought it, just as Mr. Winkle must have said that his name was Daniel as well as Nathaniel, or else it could never have been written on Mr. Justice Stareleigh’s notes. Next to being buried wholesale in Westminster Abbey, perhaps the most glorious thing that can happen to an author is to be preserved piecemeal, as it were, in a Birthday Book. The Birthday Book is the literary amber wherein our choicest epigrams are embalmed: and all of us to whom this honour has been accorded ought to be thankful that our jewr d’esprit have thus been rescued from the transitory state of ephemera to the immortality of flies in amber. But it is when we see ourselves first dissected and then mummified in a Birthday Book, that the terrible responsibility of authorship comes home to us! The speeches which we gave to our puppets to show, as we thought, the material whereof these puppets were made, now stand forth —with no background of atmosphere, no shadow of context—as our own confession of what life has taught us, and of what we are in turn longing to hand on to other people. It is ghastly ! But apart from the fierce light that beats upon the separate atoms of the Birthday Book, even the consumers of novels roasted whole seem to find difficulty in differentiating between the author and his characters. I remember a reviewer once saying of me, in sorrow rather than in anger, that “ Miss Fowler ought to have known that no lady would address a gentleman as *Captain.’” Miss Fowler did know it, and had made use of what she vainly considered a subtle device to convey to her readers  116 that the lady speaking was no lady. But I had apparently succeeded merely in conveying the im- pression that I was no lady myself; the reviewer evidently having fallen into the popular error of supposing that I was playing the parts of Pyramus and Thisbe and the lion as well. Now I maintain that a writer is not responsible for anything that appears in his books in the form of dialogue. His object is to make his characters speak according to their kind—to say what it would be natural for such people to say in such circumstances. He does not want to convey to the reader what sort of a person he is himself, but what sort of people are those about whom he is writing ; just as a painter has no wish to make a picture like himself, but like the person whose portrait he is painting. For the time being the writer must forget his own individuality and his own opinions, merging them in the personality of the creatures of his imagination. . He must be an actor, throwing himself heart and soul into the part which he has undertaken to play. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that in a really good piece of work the author is more apt to become like his hero, than the hero like the author : so that in drawing evil characters, and in writing about things and people which are distinctly not lovely nor of good report, the author is doing more harm to himself than to his readers, as the tendency of us all is to become the thing that we pretend to be. But alas! the better we act, the less is our audience pleased. When we play the lion’s part they expect that half our face shall be seen through the lion’s mane lest the ladies should be afeard: and instead of roaring as much like a lion as it lies in us to roar, they prefer that we should name our name, and tell them plainly that we are Snug the Joiner. Of a truth the hard- handed men that worked in Athens knew how to please the public better than some of us do after all. But, on the other hand, I do think that an author is responsible for what he says in narrative —that is to say, if he chooses to say anything at all which is not in the way of simple narration. Should he drop into philosophy, as Silas Wegg into poetry, he is bound to see that the philosophy is the best of its kind that he has in stock. He must stand or fall by whatever sentiments he then expresses. The greatest writers, with Shakespeare at their head, tell us nothing about themselves at all; we are absolutely ignorant as to what manner of men they were: their art is purely dramatic. But we have some good examples to follow, never- theless, if we choose to reveal our own thoughts and opinions to some extent in our writings ; but we owe it to our readers as well as to ourselves that this revelation should be, if not all the truth, THE AUTHOR. at least nothing but the truth. Itis as untruthful —and therefore as inartistic—to say in narrative what we do not really think, as it is to make our characters say what they would not really think if they were actual people. For my own part, I neither drop into poetry nor into philosophy, but into downright old-fashioned preaching. I own the soft impeachment and make no bones aboutit. But | admit that what I preach I ought, if not to practice, at any rate to believe, and to be prepared to stand or fall by: though I absolutely decline to be responsible for the senti- ments and opinions expressed by my characters, as They are not I—they are themselves; and in fact they are very often not even the sort of people ah that I like or approve of; but that is no excuse for = me to trifle with them, or to put words into their mouths which I very well know they would never have uttered. I have a duty towards them, as well as towards myself and my public. The conclusion of the whole matter, therefore, seems to be this. As long as the author is «— .« dealing in dialogue, he must play in the tyrant’s * vein, or speak in a monstrous little voice, or | roar loudly enough to hang usall, according asthe —_. « parts of Pyramus or Thisbe or the lion demand— ; he must lose himself in his characters. But when 2 wl once he makes up his mind to writea prologuewhich shall, for the more better assurance, tell the public —. that Pyramus is not killed indeed—in short, that Et Pyramus is not Pyramus at all but Bottom the ~~ Weaver—then let him take thonght to every word that he utters and to every opinion that he expresses; for surely he must one day give an account of these to all those readers who have believed what he said —if not before a Higher Tribunal. Whether he is drawing a fictitious character or describing his own, he must never cease in his endeavour ‘‘To paint the thing as he sees it For the God of things as they are.” ELLEN THORNEYCROFT FOWLER. ++ SHOULD AUTHORS HIDE THEMSELVES? —_t—— + — By Bastu Tozer. R. T. T. WRIGHT has been protesting lately in the Literary World against the publication of authors’ portraits in public _ periodicals, and adding support to his argument by — declaring that a friend of his, a lady, remarked to him recently that she used always to read Mr. So-and-So’s articles with interest, until one day she saw a portrait of the distinguished writer in one of the illustrated papers. ‘That disillusioned | * her. A man with a face like that, she thought— =| *  THE AUTHOR. 117 well, she didn’t say then just what she did think. Probably she felt that in a way she had been duped. The editor of the publication in which she had been in the habit of reading the distin- guished writer’s contributions ought, she no doubt felt, at least to have hinted to his readers what the distinguished writer looked like ; whether his features were chiselled or the reverse, if he wore his hair long, or preferred the billiard-ball coiffure, who supplied him with his suits and with his “neck-wear.” “I wish I hadn’t seen it,” the fair critic—or rather, unfair sceptic—did end by admit- ting with reference to the offensive photograph ; “he looks so gross, and I think I shall never like his articles again.” This is regrettable, from the standpoint of writer and reader alike, and it opens up a rather important question, namely, whether authors ought or ought not to hide themselves ? I remember a crushing reply that I received about a year ago, when, in the lending library of a certain well- known watering-place, I suggested to an acquaint- ance, again a lady, that she should read a book that I named, a book by an author whose works are generally popular. “What!” she exclaimed, in a tone of great contempt, “J read _ that man’s books? Why, he lives here!” Now, I have every reason to believe that this lady was by no means singular in her views, but that, on the contrary, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of readers, men as well as women, who would scorn the bare idea of reading anything that is written by anyone they happen to be personally acquainted with, no matter how excellent the article or the story may be. It is merely the truth of the hackneyed saying, “ Familiarity breeds contempt,” making itself manifest in a rather different guise, and these two ingenuous assertions, dropped, as it were incidentally and at haphazard, by two members presumably of the ordinary read- ing public, leads to the belief that the more our authors, as a body, keep themselves to themselves, the better it will be, pecuniarily, for themselves as well as for their publishers and editors. All this tends to show, then, that the habit of creating, unconsciously no doubt, “ideals,” of building up in the imagination little idols to be gazed upon from afar with respect and probably admiration, is not yet extinct. The girl in her teens who is fond of reading, and who is of a romantic, imaginative nature, unconsciously comes to think that the various handsome and attractive leading male characters in the books written by the highly-popular author, John Jones, must reflect some of the personal charms of their creator, John Jones himself. This belief gradually grows _ upon her, and as it grows she unwittingly comes to cherish it. By degrees John Jones becomes in her mind a very real personage, a sort of blend of everything that is fascinating about the various men he has pourtrayed in his various successful novels. At times she thinks about him a good deal. In her lucid intervals she perhaps wonders what he really is like, and whether, after all, he is not quite different from the being she has so often in her imagination pictured him to be, but asa rule the “ideal” remains paramount. Then one ee a portrait is, so to speak, sprung upon ner. “Oh!” The exclamation escapes her with a little gulp as she sees this portrait for the first time. Even if good-looking he is not in the least like what Lottie Venn used to call the “angel man” she had conjured up in her imagination, and that single glance at the portrait has shattered for ever her little “idol.” If only the wretched photograph had been left out of sight she would have revelled in reading all that he had to say about himself, his views upon life in general, the details of his mode of existence, and so on. Her appetite for his novels would if anything have been whetted by the knowledge that he lived in a bijou residence “ in the confines of lesser Surbiton,” that he was fond of croquet, a good bridge player, and an excellent judge of a cigar; that he ate sparingly, shunned alcohol, and approved of Back- ache’s Breakfast Nuts. Indeed it interests many persons to know that the much-talked-about gilt- haired heroine of John Jones’s latest masterpiece was neither created with a fountain pen nor hammered out on a typewriter, but that she was dictated to a stenographer, or shouted into a phonograph, and subsequently manifolded and sent straight to the printers. Yet I think I am well within the mark when I say that eight authors out of twelve appear to greater advantage in their writings than they do in real life, and certainly over and over again I have heard members of the general public —the circulating library public—express disap- pointment after being, accidentally or otherwise, brought into contact with authors whose works they enjoyed reading. The serious writer, for instance, is somewhat flippant in general conversa- tion. The humorist on paper is often deadly dull at a social gathering. The writer of brilliant epigrams may be “ quite ordinary” when you meet him at a dinner party. The lady novelist, whose creations are adorable, herself is sometimes tire- some to talk toand plain-featured toa degree. All these discoveries are unpleasant, and help to dis- enchant. Therefore the assertion made lately that some authors nowadays adversely affect the sales of their books—I am speaking of course of novelists— by being themselves rubbed shoulders with here, there and everywhere, may not be devoid of truth.  118 THE ARCHDEACON’S PERSONALTY. —_+—~>+ A DIALOGUE. By M. R. ScenE—CHAMBERS IN STAPLES INN. Tom Smith (Barrister). Jack Robinson (Writer). Smith (alone, sitting in an armchair by the fire). Now what I want to know is why the devil is my name Smith if I wasn’t born to be something out of the common? And here I am _starving-in wretched chambers, without briefs, devilling for a barrister, which is like devilling a bone a hungry tyke has spent an hour with. Heigho! I suppose I must read something—at any rate it’s less de- eraded than writing novels. ((roes to his shelves and takes down Henley’s “Book of Verses.) Come now, where is the rondeau with the refrain “ Let us be drunk!” I only wish I could afford to be so with a decent regularity that would excite no remark. (Reads and puts the book down). I wish old Jack would come as he promised. (A knock at the door). Why, there he is! Robinson. Well, here I am, old chap. Why, why, what’s the matter with you? You look as melancholy as a stray cat on a rainy night. What is the matter ? A question of oof ? Smith (sententiously). My dear Jack, your similes are low and the word “oof ” is very vulgar, though what it signifies is supremely and splendidly rare. J have a shilling. Robinson. Cheer up, my dear fellow, I'll toss you for it. Did you get my telegram ? Smith. Telegram? No. Robinson. Then I suppose I beat the telegraph this time. I was to have met your wild young devil of a cousin at the “ Cri.” ; so I wired you I would look in about nine. However, he didn’t turn up, and I wouldn’t wait, and came here in a hansom. Smith. You fat rascal, so you can telegraph and ride in cabs; sit down in the light and let me look at you, you confounded millionaire. Or was it that you did it with your last half-crown. Yes ? Ah, you true Bohemian! (Double knock at outer door.) Ah! there’s your telegram. A wasted sixpence! Into the fire with it. Robinson (jumping vainly to rescue it). Here, I say, come, you should always open a telegram. But there it goes, my message is in the sky by now. How, in the name of a mismanaged behind-the-time post and telegraph office do you know that was my telegram ? Smith (sardonically). What in the name of penniless Bohemia do you think it was ? The offer of a judgeship, or a report of my uncle’s death ? ‘Robinson. How can I tell? But you certainly THE AUTHOR. should have opened it. How is the rich and venerable avuncular archdeacon ? How well he bears these magnificent adjectives ! Smith. The dear old boy is horribly well, eats and drinks well, stamps about like the Com- mandatore, usually keeps his temper, takes exer- cise and no medicine, though he has a doctor on the premises as a kind of prophylactic. And if he _lives till eighty that doctor is to have a big bonus over and above his fees. And those would keep me in luxury. Robinson. Do you know that tame medical man ? Smith. Of course I do. Robinson. And yet Smith. Ah! You see I’m on the equity side. You, being on the criminal side, evidently can do as you please with your uncles. Robinson. My dear Innocent, I am not related to those of my uncles who are ever of any use to me. And as for my mother’s brothers, they are as one man kept by my father! Their unanimity in refusing to work is wonderful. Smith. Poison them off, and your father may increase your allowance. Have some whiskey ! (Another knock at the door.) Smith (eacitedly). By Jove! another telegram ! Robinson (snatchiug it from Smith). By Jove, indeed ! and this, this one ismine! Now you have done it! Ofalithe hot-headed, addle-pated, reason- less literary nincompoops I ever Smith. Silence, silence, you adjectival incubus. What the deuce shall I do? Let me think. Robinson. Yes, yes, sit down and read up for precedents in Shelley or Browning. And I’ll be practical for you. I'll go to the telegraph office and get a copy. (He looks out of the window.) No, I’m hanged if I do! snowing like the very devil. You had better get your porter to take a note from you to explain. matters. Smith, Yes, that will be the best thing. (@oes out.) Robinson (picking up the book of verses) : What’s this ? “ What is the use of effort? Love and debt And disappointment have us in a net, Let us break out and taste the morning’s prime— Let us be drunk——” Truly a poetical sentiment ; good sooth, the brave rhymer isright. ‘ We cannot please the tragicaster. Time!” (Smith returns.) Ob, here you are? Well, don’t worry, and out with the whiskey. Smith. There you are, help yourself, and I'll help myself. It’s the last half-bottle of a dozen the Venerable gave me. What an ass I was with that telegram. Do you know, Jack, I feel quite excited? It might actually be goo: news of some. sort. I have had a grey monotony of bad for a long eternity. 2 I take it all back. It’s.  THE AUTHOR. Robinson. Warm the grey with whiskey and forget publishers and editors and solicitors. What about the antique Venerable? What if he really has cheated the doctor of his bonus and left you your share ? Smith. Don’t talk rot. I don’t want the old boy to go and boom in the vast inane yet awhile. Let him live. He has helped me a good bit one way or another, and would have done so more if I hadn’t disgusted him by refusing the law and the prophets for—— Robinson. The law and no profits out of letters, not even half profits, or ten per cent. after a sale of two thousand. But you talk much too correctly. I am not an uncle and don’t want proper sentiments ; you said just now you were on the equity side. This is just a true equity case. Think what a rare and rosy time, what a port winey archidiaconal abbotlike time he has had. Now he might retire gracefully and let you come in. Think of all it would mean! Think, think how you would quit elegiacs for drinking songs, and law for love! Here’s to his promotion. Smith. In his own whiskey! Well, well, I own it would mean a good deal. Mean, yes (jumps up) by the eternal processes of everlasting litigation I would throw my case books out of the window and burn them in a bonfire. And as to writing, why, I would chuck rhyme for reason, and reason for the fatness of things. I would circumnavigate the globe of my unexplored desire in a hired whirl- wind, and take the moon on a lease. Robinson. And the fixed stars and the planets, including Venus ? Smith. What, get married do youmean ? Well, all things are possible, even marriage for a rhymer. But go to, you are a cynic and dwell with clever journalists, hearing them prate inverted platitude called paradox, and with critics who go about teaching their grandmothers to suck eggs. Robinson. Yes, their literary grandmothers, you benighted heathen. If that telegram only means oof, you shall be educated to construct hyperbole into a science and taught to see the preciousness of verse hard boiled in a religious stewpan of ancient measure. And I will inveigle you into taking or making a theatre in a big steamer anchored three miles beyond low-water mark, so as to be out of reach of the censor’s scissors. Oh, that would bea Theatre Libre ! Smith. And the critics and the audience would be even sicker than they are on shore. No, no, my pippy literary chicken, you shall come with me and leave the dusiy Fleet Street barnyard. If being born in a stable doesn’t make a horse of you, herding with asses may make an ass of you. You want grass, and the air and the sky. Robinson (shouting). Aye; and all, all the 119 planets. ‘‘ Let us break out and taste the morning’s prime.”’ Poor old Henley ! Smith. ‘Let us be drunk.” (Sits down.) And all this comes out of the ashes of a telegram floating on whiskey and water. What did you wire to me for? I have been up in the empyrean, beyond the ether, and the curses of law and labour lay blackly on our star. And now Robinson. And now, now comes the porter with the telegram. Believe me, you tragicaster, you dusty imp on a law book, you combination of all incompatibles of the modern, you shall be free and revel in the personalty of the Archdeacon. Read, read, what is it ? Smith. There will, I fear, be other claims on that property. It is from my cousin whom you did not meet. ‘Come and bail me out. I am at Vine Street Police Station.” M. R. i 9 LORD ALYERSTONE ON LITERATURE AND THE BAR. HE Lord Chief Justice was the guest of the evening at the Authors’ Club dinner on Monday, December 5th, with Sir Conan Doyle in the chair. In the course of an illumining and instructive speech Lord Alverstone drew an interesting parallel between the careers of law and authorship. He admitted that while speaking broadly the life of a successful lawyer had not much in common with that of a successful man of letters, yet in one respect they had much in common. For instance, success in advocacy calls into play the same qualities demanded of a skilful historian. He gave a striking instance of this in a criminal trial for murder in which he was once engaged.. The sole materials for the defence were three letters written a few weeks before his death by the victim. A night’s exhaustive study and analysis of these documents enabled him to piece together the story and build up a case which resulted in the triumphant acquittal of the accused. Dramatic authors, no doubt, had much in common with barristers, though the author certainly had the pull over counsel in that he could invent the replies as well as the questions of cross-examination (laughter). The cleverest and most convincing case of cross-examination on the stage was in that remarkable play ‘‘ Mrs. Dane’s Defence.” Coming to another department of literature—poetry, he feared there was little of the romance of poetry ab the Bar. Nor, indeed, was there much oratory now-a-days in the law courts. He remembered that Lord Coleridge had once observed to him that the days of set speeches of counsel with formal exordium and peroration were out of date.  118 THE ARCHDEACON’S PERSONALTY. —_1-—>—+ By M. R. SceNE—CHAMBERS IN STAPLES INN. A DIALOGUE. Tom Smith (Barrister). Jack Robinson (Writer). Smith (alone, sitting in an armchair by the fire). Now what I want to know is why the devil is my name Smith if I wasn’t born to be something out of the common? And here J am starving-in wretched chambers, without briefs, devilling for a barrister, which is like devilling a bone a hungry tyke has spent an hour with. Heigho! I suppose I must read something—at any rate it’s less de- graded than writing novels. (Goes to his shelves and takes down Henley’s “Book of Verses.) Come now, where is the rondeau with the refrain ‘“ Let us be drunk!” I only wish I could afford to be so with a decent regularity that would excite no remark. (Reads and puts the book down). I wish old Jack would come as he promised. (A knock at the door). Why, there he is! Robinson. Well, here I am, old chap. Why, why, what’s the matter with you? You look as melancholy as a stray cat on a rainy night. What is the matter ? A question of oof ? Smith (sententiously). My dear Jack, your similes are low and the word “oof ” is very vulgar, though what it signifies is supremely and splendidly rare. I have a shilling. Robinson. Cheer up, my dear fellow, I'll toss you for it. Did you get my telegram ? Smith. Telegram? No. Robinson. 'Then I suppose I beat the telegraph this time. I was to have met your wild young devil of a cousin at the “ Cri.” ; so I wired you I would look in about nine. However, he didn’t turn up, and I wouldn’t wait, and came here in a hansom. Smith. You fat rascal, so you can telegraph and ride in cabs; sit down in the light and let me look at you, you confounded millionaire. Or was it that you did it with your last half-crown. Yes ? Ah, you true Bohemian! (Double knock at outer door.) Ah! there’s your telegram. A wasted sixpence! Into the fire with it. Robinson (jumping vainly to rescue it). Here, I say, come, you should always open a telegram. But there it goes, my message is in the sky by now. How, in the name of a mismanaged behind-the-time post and telegraph office do you know that was my telegram ? Smith (sardonically). What in the name of penniless Bohemia do you think it was ? The offer of a judgeship, or a report of my uncle’s death ? ‘Robinson. How can I tell? But you certainly THE AUTHOR. should have opened it. How is the rich and venerable avuncular archdeacon ? How well he bears these magnificent adjectives ! Smith. The dear old boy is horribly well, eats and drinks well, stamps about like the Com- mandatore, usually keeps his temper, takes exer- cise and no medicine, though he has a doctor on the premises as a kind of prophylactic. And if he lives till eighty that doctor is to have a big bonus over and above his fees. And those would keep me in luxury. Robinson. Do you know that tame medical man ? Smith. Of course I do. Robinson. And yet Smith. Ah! You see I’m on the equity side. You, being on the criminal side, evidently can do as you please with your uncles. Robinson. My dear Innocent, I am not related to those of my uncles who are ever of any use to me. And as for my mother’s brothers, they are as one man kept by my father! Their unanimity in refusing to work is wonderful. Smith. Poison them off, and your father may increase your allowance. Have some whiskey ! (Another knock at the door.) Smith (excitedly). By Jove! another telegram ! Robinson (snatchiug it from Smith). By Jove, indeed ! and this, this one ismine! Now you have doneit! Ofali the hot-headed, addle-pated, reason- less literary nincompoops I ever Smith. Silence, silence, you adjectival incubus. What the deuce shall I do? Let me think. Robinson. Yes, yes, sit down and read up for precedents in Shelley or Browning. And I'll be practical for you. I'll go to the telegraph office and get a copy. (He looks out of the window.) No, I’m hanged if Ido! I take it all back. It’s. snowing like the very devil. You had better get your porter to take a note from you to explain, matters. Smith. Yes, that will be the best thing. (@oes out.) Robinson (picking up the book of verses) : What’s this ? “ What is the use of effort? Love and debt And disappointment have us in a net, Let us break out and taste the morning’s prime— Let us be drunk——” Truly a poetical sentiment ; good sooth, the brave rhymer isright. ‘“ We cannot please the tragicaster. Time!” (Smith returns.) Oh, here you are? Well, don’t worry, and out with the whiskey. Smith. There you are, help yourself, and I'll help myself. It’s the last half-bottle of a dozen the Venerable gave me. What an ass I was with that telegram. Do you know, Jack, I feel quite excited ? It might actually be gooil news of some, — sort. I have had a grey monotony of bad for a long eternity. i  THE AUTHOR. Robinson. Warm the grey with whiskey and forget publishers and editors and solicitors. What about the antique Venerable? What if he really has cheated the doctor of his bonus and left you your share ? ” Smith. Don’t talk rot. I don’t want the old boy to go and boom in the vast inane yet awhile. Let him live. He has helped me a good bit one way or another, and would have done so more if I hadn’t disgusted him by refusing the law and the prophets for Robinson. The law and no profits out of letters, not even half profits, or ten per cent. after a sale of two thousand. But youtalk much too correctly. I am not an uncle and don’t want proper sentiments ; you said just now you were on the equity side. This is just a true equity case. Think what a rare and rosy time, what a port winey archidiaconal abbctlike time he has had. Now he micht retire gracefully and let you come in. Think of all it would mean! Think, think how you would quit elegiacs for drinking songs, and law for love! Here’s to his promotion. Smith. In his own whiskey! Well, well, I own it would mean a good deal. Mean, yes (jumps up) by the eternal processes of everlasting litigation I would throw my case books out of the window and burn them in a bonfire. And as to writing, why, I would chuck rhyme for reason, and reason for the fatness of things. I would circumnavigate the globe of my unexplored desire in a hired whirl- wind, and take the moon on a lease. Robinson. And the fixed stars and the planets, including Venus ? Smith. What, get married do you mean ? Well, all things are possible, even marriage for a rhymer. But go to, you are a cynic and dwell with clever journalists, hearing them prate inverted platitude called paradox, and with critics who go about teaching their grandmothers to suck eggs. Robinson. Yes, their literary grandmothers, you benighted heathen. If that telegram only means oof, you shall be educated to construct hyperbole into a science and taught to see the preciousness of verse hard boiled in a religious stewpan of ancient measure. And I will inveigle you into taking or making a theatre in a big steamer anchored three miles beyond low-water mark, so as to be out of reach of the censor’s scissors. Oh, that would bea Theatre Libre ! Smith. And the critics and the audience would be even sicker than they are on shore. No, no, my pippy literary chicken, you shall come with me and leave the dusty Fleet Street barnyard. If being born in a stable doesn’t make a horse of you, herding with asses may make an ass of you. You want grass, and the air and the sky. Robinson (shouting). Aye; and all, all the 419 planets. ‘Let us break out and taste the morning’s prime.’ Poor old Henley ! Smith. “Let us be drunk.” (Sits down.) And all this comes out of the ashes of a telegram floating on whiskey and water. What did you wire to me for? I have been up in the empyrean, beyond the ether, and the curses of law and labour lay blackly on our star. And now Robinson. And now, now comes the porter with the telegram. Believe me, you tragicaster, you dusty imp on a law book, you combination of all incompatibles of the modern, you shall be free and revel in the personalty of the Archdeacon. Read, read, what is it ? Smith. There will, I fear, be other claims on that property. It is from my cousin whom you did not meet. ‘Come and bail me out. I am at Vine Street Police Station.” M. R. ee LORD ALYERSTONE ON LITERATURE AND THE BAR. HE Lord Chief Justice was the guest of the evening at the Authors’ Club dinner on Monday, December 5th, with Sir Conan Doyle in the chair. In the course of an illumining and instructive speech Lord Alverstone drew an interesting parallel between the careers of law and authorship. He admitted that while speaking broadly the life of a successful lawyer had not much in common with that of a successful man of letters, yet in one respect they had much in common. For instance, success in advocacy calls into play the same qualities demanded of a skilful historian. He gave a striking instance of this in a criminal trial for murder in which he was once engaged., The sole materials for the defence were three letters written a few weeks before his death by the victim. A night’s exhaustive study and analysis of these documents enabled him to piece together the story and build up a case which resulted in the triumphant acquittal of the accused. Dramatic authors, no doubt, had much in common with barristers, though the author certainly had the pull over counsel in that he could invent the replies as well as the questions of cross-examination (laughter). The cleverest and most convincing case of cross-examination on the stage was in that remarkable play “‘ Mrs. Dane’s Defence.” Coming to another department of literature—poetry, he feared there was little of the romance of poetry ab the Bar. Nor, indeed, was there much oratory now-a-days in the law courts. He remembered that Lord Coleridge had once observed to him that the days of set speeches of counsel with formal exordium and peroration were out of date.  120 Later in the evening Lord Alverstone remarked that the story of one of the guests who told the tale of a man who, reading the epitaph on the tomb- stone of a well-known solicitor, ‘‘ Here lies a lawyer and an honest man,” innocently asked why they buried two men in one grave, reminded him of the legal conundrum, “‘ What is the difference between an attorney-at-law and an action-at-law?” “An action-at-law only lies sometimes.” (Iaughter.) Or CORRESPONDENCE. —-—— + —_ “Wuat’s In A Namn?” Sir,—I think the severest thing I said about Mr. Panter in my previous letter was that he was an ‘‘idealist.” Few idealists, in this prosy world, succeed in reforming it, chiefly because so many of them take little pains to understand it. Mr. Panter strikes me as one of the many. He will never reform the copyright law until he has given a little study to it. Not till then will he be entitled to treat it “‘more upon moral than upon legal grounds.” I tried to get Mr. Panter to understand that copyright would have no existence but for the copyright statutes; that the right was analogous to the right ina patent or trademark. He will not understand it. 1 tried to show him the reasonable- ness of those statutes in not giving protection to titles. Hewill have none of it. I tried to get him to distinguish between statute law and common law. It only makes him angry; and when the idealist is angry, he is very angry indeed. He calls me “cocksure,’”’ hints broadly that I should be in Colney Hatch, says that I write in a “raw” way, “in plenitude of words,’ ‘sophistically;” asks naive questions (leaving out in his haste his marks of interrogation), and makes hotch-pot of my simplest statements. Very well, then; if the idealist cannot come down to earth, the man of earth must perforce go up to the idealist. I shall not try any more to give Mr. Panter that instruction which he so badly needs, but just take him on his own ground. Mr. Panter wants the titles of books to be protected by statute just as the books themselves are now. For, in Mr. Panter’s belief, a title is “the first sentence” of a book, and, therefore, worthy of equal protection with it. That is to say, the title Hamlet is “ the first sentence” of Shake- speare’s play of that name; Vittoria is “the first sentence’ of Mr. Meredith’s novel; and Kim “the first sentence” of Mr. Kipling’s. “ Every sentence,” says Mr. Meiklejohn in his Grammar, “must consist of at least two parts : the thing we speak about and what we say about the thing.” Mr. Panter’s “sentences” only consist THE AUTHOR. of one word. Is Mr. Meiklejohn wrong then, or is Mr. Panter ? Assuming for the moment, and for the amuse- ment it will yield us, that Mr. Meiklejohn is wrong and Mr. Panter right, and that the title of a book is “the first sentence” of it, and consequently on that ground worthy of equal protection with a book, let us see how that will work out. In England alone we publish about five thousand books a year. ach of these books is protected for forty-two years of life and seven years. Five thousand times forty-two—it might be sixty-two if the author lived long enough—gives 210,000. According to Mr. Panter, the law should extend a protective monopoly for half a century or so, to 210,000 titles of books, the actual books themselves —most of them, say, all but a round hundred— having long ago decently departed into the limbo of past things, very many of them a year or two after their birth, many of them a week or two! And what of the titles of poems, essays, and stories ? These would run, in a short time, into millions ! The present condition of things under which titles of books fight with a fickle public for dear life, live as long as they can, and die when they needs must, yielding at length to their betters—may be a grievance. It may be a grievance that Mr. Panter and others find their pet titles indecently “jumped” by some horrid little scribbler, either before their books are ready for publication, or, being published, before (in their authors’ opinion) the life is half out of them—that, too, may be a grievance. But I entreat Mr. Panter once again to take consolation to himself ; these things are simply nothing to the position in which Mr. Panter and his friends would find themselves if the law gave the thousands of scribbling amateurs and literary sciolists the right to ring-fence their millions of titles against each other under a “Panter Act.” CHARLES WEEKES. Fly-Fishers’ Club, S.W. [This correspondence must now cease.—EDIToR.] —_+—< + —_. AMERICAN SPELLING IN ENGLISH Books. Sir,—Can nothing be done by the Society of Authors and other influential bodies to prevent English books being printed in American spelling ? Naturally authors wish to get an advantage of American copyright, but why cannot there be a separate American edition? The only wonder to me is that, under present circumstances, the American printer does not insist on altering the wording as well.as the spelling of our books. I suppose if they did claim to do this our authors and publishers would not protest—for fear they should be so many dollars out of pocket. REGINALD HAYNEs. 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. 15 Issue 04 (January 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 04 (January 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-01-01-The-Author-15-4 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/502/1905-02-01-The-Author-15-5.pdf 3df4cb8cba728744b11c3d64de03e69e PDF Text Text �������������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-02-01 Volume 15 Issue 5 Pages Page range in volume 121–152 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050201 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly. ) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 5. FEBRUARY IsT, 1905. [Prick SIxPENcE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_———_+——_ —_____ NOTICES. 9 OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. —— + List of Members. THE List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —t1——1+ The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in February, 1904, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Vou, XV. Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Conse 2s £1000 0 0 Wocal Hoang, 0 a 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... War lian 7. London and North Western 3 % Deben- bare StOCK t. : 291 19 11 201 9 38 Total Subscriptions from May, 1904. May 6, Shepherd, G.H. . : : June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., GCB . : : : July 27, Barnett, P. A. 4 : Nov. 9, Hollingsworth, Charles . 1905 Jan. 12, Anonymous Donations from May, 1904, May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth June 23, Kirmse, R. ; June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. July 21, The Blackmore Committee : Aug. 5, Walker, William 8. Oct. 6, Hare, F. W. E., M.D. Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett Nov. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida . Noy. 11, Thomas, Mrs. Haig Noy. 24, Egbert, Henry 1905 Jan. Jan. oon anc oS So Memorial bo CNH COHRDMS He MNWHECOHOCS coococo$o , Middlemas, Miss Jean , Bolton, Miss Anna coo _ aoe co FROM THE COMMITTEE. rW\HE first meeting of the Committee in the new year was held on Monday, January 16th, at the Society’s Offices, 39, Old Queen Street. Mr. Douglas Freshfield took the chair. Twenty- four members and associates were elected. The list of these will be printed in the March number ot The Author, together with the February elections. There was much important business hefore the Committee. In the first instance, Mr. A. Hope Hawkins, Mr. Owen Seaman and Mr. J. M. Lely were re-elected members of the Managing Committee, and a vote of condolence was passed to Mrs. Rose on the death of her husband, Mr. Edward Rose, who had been for many years a constant and earnest worker on the Committee. A short article, written by his friend Mr. A. Hope Hawkins, appears on another page. Mr. Jerome K. Jerome attended the meeting and placed before the members particulars of an action which he had pending against a United States firm for infringement of copyright, and asked for the Society’s support. The Committee decided to give Mr. Jerome their assistance in carrying the case through to a successful issue. The address which is to be presented to the Spanish Academy on the tercentenary of the publication of “ Don Quixote ” has now been signed by all the members of the Council whom it has been possible to reach. The Committee decided to have the address bound in morocco-leather and forwarded to the Academy in time for the Cervantes Celebrations. Its text is printed in another column. The correspondence that has recently appeared in the Standard was laid in full before the mem- hers of the Committee, and a letter drafted by the Secretary and approved by the Chairman was finally settled by the Committee, and appeared in the Standard on the 19th of January. The Committee propose to take steps in order to press home the feeling of English authors on the question of United States Copyright on the legislature and on the public in the States. Members will be informed of the form their action will take at a later date. The Secretary reported that the Chairman had given his consent during the past month to three cases in the County Court. Two of these have been settled satisfactorily, and the third, a Scotch case, is still proceeding. The letter from the gentleman whose name had been placed before the Committee by Mr. James Bryce, as a suitable agent for the Society in the United States, was read, and, as he expressed his willingness to undertake the work on behalf of the Society, the Committee confirmed his appointment. THE AUTHOR. Cases. Srnog the last issue of Zhe Author there have been twelve cases in the Secretary’s hands. Seven of these, or more than half, were for money due to members. Four have been settled satisfactorily and the money has been paid. In the fifth case part of the amount due has been paid and a promise of a further sum in the course of a week or go has been obtained. The two remaining will be terminated at no distant date; one of them with an American magazine must necessarily be somewhat delayed. A case dealing with the settlement of an agreement has been satisfactorily terminated. Another dealing with an infringement of copyright and damage for such infringement has also been concluded. ‘The money has been paid and the infringement acknowledged. ‘There were two cases for the return of MSS. In one of these money was also due. The money has been obtained and the MS. returned in the one case; but in the other the Secretary is still waiting for an answer. The last case dealt with a dispute between a member and an agent. The member’s contention has been admitted by the agent, and the matter is at an end. It is pleasing to state therefore that eight of the twelve cases have been brought to a conclusion in a manner satisfactory to the members concerned. There are still four matters open from the former month. In one the money due has been promised. In another, it has been impossible to find the correct address of the delinquent who holds the MS., and it is doubtful therefore whether the Society will be able to accomplish anything. Another case for money due concerns a publisher in Munich, and the secretary is still in correspon- dence on the matter. There have been three cases sanctioned by the Chairman for County Court action. Two of these have terminated satisfactorily, and the third is in the course of settlement. ——————_e—<— —__— BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. i (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will. enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) BIOGRAPHY. THOMAS MoorE. By STEPHEN GWYNN. 7} X 5, 203 pp. Macmillan. 2s. n FICTION. Tur SPECIALIST. By A. M. Irvine. 7? X 5}, 317 pp. 4 Lane. 6s, THE AUTHOR. STORIES FROM THE PLAYS OF ALEXANDER DUMAS: Henri Trois, ANTONY, MDLLE. DE BELLE ISLE. By Harry A. Spurr. 72 xX 5, 250 pp. Cottingham: Tutin. 2s. 6d. n. THe Kina’s ScarLeET. By HorAcE WYNDHAM. 73 x 5, 305 pp. Brown Langham. 6s. CONFESSIONS OF A YouNG LApDy. By RICHARD MARSH. 7% X 5}, 303 pp. John Long. 6s. AUBREY ELLISON. By St. JOHN LuUCAs. 317 pp. Brown Langham. 6s. THE PROVINCIALS. By LADY HELEN FORBES. 320 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE FACE IN THE FLASHLIGHT. By FLORENCE WARDEN, 7% x 5,318 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE NIGHT OF RECKONING. By F. BARRETT. 318 pp. J. Long. 6s. LorpD oF HIMSELF. By Mrs. AYLMER GowinG. 7? x 5, 320 pp. J. Long. 6s. Mrs. CURGENVEN OF CURGENVEN. By S. BARING GOULD. 72 x 54, 357 pp. Cheap Edition. Methuen. 1s. THE SECRET WoMAN. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. 7% x 54, 356 pp. Methuen. 6s. Lapby PENELOPE. By Morey RoBerts, 73 X 5, 309 pp. White. 6s. THE WAR OF THE SEXES. 298 pp. J. Long. 6s. ie Xs 35, 73 x 5, 73 5 (ZF XK.0, By f. 8: Youne. 2 x 5, GARDENING. A GARDENER’S YEAR. By H. RrpER HAGGARD. 9 x 53, 404 pp. Longmans, 12s. 6d. n. LITERARY. SHAKESPEREAN TRAGEDY. Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. By A. C. BRADLEY. 9 x 53, 498 pp. Macmillan. 10s. n. THE MYTHOLOGY oF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. By C. SQUIRE. 9 Xx 52,448 pp. Blackie. 12s. 6d. n. FRENCH PROFILES. By EDMUND GOSsSE. 72 X 5, 372 pp. Heinemann. 7s. 6d. THE LEGEND OF THE TWILIGHT. 64 X 5, 96 pp. Burleigh. Is. n. By H. A. ROLLo. MILITARY. ANECDOTES OF SOLDIERS IN PEACE AND WaAR. Arranged by J..H. SETTLE. 73 X 5, 600 pp. Methuen. 3s. 6d. n. MISCELLANEOUS. Mr. Puncn’s Diary. By W. EMANUEL, 7 Xx 54, 144 pp. Punch Office. 1s. POETRY. Mirror Mrtopigs. By J. M. Sruart-Youna. 7% x 54, 109 pp. Kegan Paul. 2s. 6d. n. SCIENCE, A Popular GuIpE To THE HEAVENS. By Sir R. 8. Batt, LL.D., F.R.S. 84 x 74, 96 pp. 83 plates. Philip. 15s. n. THEOLOGY. By RAYMOND JACBERNS. 2s, 6d. 0. SUNDAY TALKS WITH GIRLS. 7% X 5,162 pp. Brown Langham. TRAVEL. Carro or To-Day. By BE. A. REYNoLDS BALL. Fourth Edition, revised and enlarged. 72 x 4}, 264 pp. Black. 123 LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. — 9 SMALL volume of short stories, entitled “ A Legend of the Twilight,” by the author of “His Political Conscience,” will be published immediately by Mr. Thomas Burleigh at 155, Victoria Street, S.W. We understand that Mr. Richard Bagot is about to publish a new novel which he has just completed. As the readers of his former novels are no doubt aware, Mr. Bagot is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, which he joined so long ago as 1881. The novel which first brought his name before the public was entitled “ The Casting of Nets.” Messrs. Skeffington will shortly publish a work by Norman Porritt, M.R.C.S., entitled “ Religion and Health, their Mutual Relationship and Influence.” Miss May Crommelin, whose last volume of short stories “ A Pretty Maid and Others,” published by Mr. John Long, has been well received, is now engaged on a novel which will appear in the autumn season. Miss Gertrude Warden is passing the winter in Sicily, collecting materials for her next novel. We have received a syllabus of lectures to be given under the auspices of the Dante Society during the first six months of the current year. On February 15th, Mr. Luigi Ricci will lecture on “Countess Matelda of Tuscany,” the Right Hon. the Earl of Lytton in the chair. On March Ist, the Rev. W. J. Payling Wright, B.A., will lecture on “La Lupa Dantesca,” Mr. Edmund Gosse, LL.D. in the chair. On April 5th, the Rev. Newton Mant, M.A., will lecture on Italian architecture in Italian cities, the Right Hon. the Lord Suffield, P.C., in the chair. On May 38rd, Professor George Saintsbury, M.A., will lecture on “ Dante and the Grand Style,” Mr. Alfred Austin in the chair. On June 7th, Mrs. Craigie will lecture on “Plato and Dante,” Sir Theodore Martin, K.C., V.O., in the chair, All tke lectures will be Pfeiffer Hall of Queen’s College, 45, Street, W., and will start at 8.30 p.m. “Pawns of Destiny” is the title of a new complete novel by Miss HE. T. Miller, which Messrs. William Stevens have issued in their sixpenny Jlagazine of Fiction. A new work by the same author, under the title of ‘ Ridgewell Bells,” will be published first in serial form, and later in book form. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. will publish imme- diately “ Great Lawn Tennis Players : their Methods delivered at the Harley 124 Illustrated.” The work has been produced by the collaboration of Mr. G. W. Beldam, who is respon- sible for the illustrations, and Mr. P. A. Vaile, who supplies the text, and the book has been prepared on the same lines as Mr. Beldam’s “ Great Golfers.” The illustrations, which number over two hnndred, are not “posed” photographs, but are in every instance taken in actual play. Hach picture is dealt with in detail by Mr. Vaile. The work contains an article by Mr. EB. G. Mears on “The Advanced Tactics of the Game,’’ and one on «The Half Volley,” by Mr. G. A. Caridia, the well- known exponent of that stroke. A German translation of Mr. Ferrar Fenton’s “Bible in Modern English” is in preparation by Meta Clausius, of Glion, Vand. The first volume, which he will issue shortly, is ready for the press. We understand that Mr. H. A. Vachell, whose novel “Brothers” has just run into a seventh edition, has finished a work which will be published at once. Mr. Eden Phillpott’s new novel ‘The Secret Woman,” published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. towards the end of last month, has for its centre the little village of Belstone, and the story is concerned with certain folk who dwell near at hand and pursue the various occupations of the district. Mr. Edmund Gosse’s new book “French Pro- files,” which Mr. Heinemann published in the middle of January, contains essays on most of the distingushed men of letters of contemporary France—Zola, Daudet, Anatole France, Pierre Loti, René Bazin, to name only a few. The book also contains the paper which Mr. Gosse read before the Société des Conférences in Paris on “The Influence of French Literature upon English Poetry.” «The System ” is the title of Mr. Percy White’s new novel which Messrs. Methuen will issue shortly. It is the story of a young man of original talent whom quixotic temperament leads into disaster, generally of an amusing nature. Love and courtship form the theme, and a quiet cathedral town the locality of Mr. E. T. Benson’s new novel “An Act in a Backwater,” which Mr. Heinemann will publish. “Lost Angel of a Ruined Paradise,’ by the Rey. P. A. Sheehan, is the title of a drama dealing with the lives of three school girls. The first part of the drama is located in Dublin, from which the author transfers to London the entire group of characters. Messrs. Longmans & Co. are the publishers of the book, the price of which is 8s. 6d. The paper which Mr. A. 8. E. Ackermann read before the Jubilee Meeting of the Royal Society of THE AUTHOR. Engineers in the beginning of May of last year, was awarded a prize of three guineas by the “ Society of Engineers” last month. The Rev. J. J. Gratrex, of Putford Rectory, Brandiscorner, N. Devon, has issued a little (celluloid) card, 82in. by 24in. in size, which pro- vides a calendar for all years from Saturday, January Ist, a.D. 1, by which the day of the week or any date in these years can easily be ascer- tained. Mr. Gratrex entitled his work “ The Regal Calendar.” Copies can be purchased at the rate of 6d. each or 2s. 6d. for half-a-dozen. “Great Friends,” a modern comedy by G. 8. Street, was produced by the Stage Society at the Court Theatre on the 30th and 81st of January. “Prunella” or “Love in a Dutch Garden,” written by Laurence Housmann and Granville Barker, was produced at the Court Theatre on Friday, December 23rd. The play is described by the Zimes as a blend of the quaint, the sentimental, and the weird. Closely following this production, Mr. Barrie’s play of “Peter Pan, or the Boy who wouldn’t Grow Up” was mounted at the Duke of York’s Theatre. The play was favourably received. Miss Nina Boucicault as “ Peter Pan,” Miss Dorothea Baird as Mrs. Darling, the “ grown up” mother, and Mr. Gerald Du Maurier alternately as Mr. Darling and Gus Hook, and the other members of the company, helped to insure its success. PARIS NOTES. —+—> + A Société francaise sous la Troisieme République,” d@’apres les romanciers con- temporains, by Marius-Ary Leblond. ‘The volume is divided into six chapters, in which are studied the child, the officer, the financier, the nobility, anarchists, and socialists. ‘T'aine’s idea was that, during the last hundred years in Ger- many and sixty years in France, history had been entirely transformed by the study of literature. The author of the above volume therefore studies the novelists and the characters in their books, with the idea of getting a picture of our times. “Les Etats Unis au XXe. Siécle,” by M. Leroy Beaulieu, is, as the author describes it, “ an inven: tory of the forces and resources of the United States.” The author has a perfect knowledge of his subject, and in this volume he not only studies the factors which have served to bring about the eat)  present position of the American nation in the universe, but he also gives figures and calculations which appear to be indisputable. “La Guerre Russo-Japonaise,” by Léon Tolstoi, translated by M. E. Halpérine-Kaminski. To this article, which gives its title to the volume, the translator has added other writings by the Russian author expressing the same theories. The titles of these are: “Les deux guerres,” “Carthago delenda est,” “La Guerre du Transvaal,” “ Sou- venirs de Sebastopol.” There are long quotations from Voltaire, Anatole France, Isaiah and Lao Tseu. “La Macédoine et les Puissances,” by M. Gaston Routier, is a volume containing a series of inter- views with all the important politicians of the Balkan Peninsula on the Macedonian question. This inquiry throws a great deal of light on this much-discussed subject. “ues Lois de la Guerre continentale” is a book of considerable interest for all nations at the present time. It was originally published by the historical section of the German military staff. The present volume is a translation by M. Paul Carpentier, who is an advocate and also a lauréat of the Institute of France. M. Carpentier’s work is particularly valuable, as he points out by means of notes certain passages which would otherwise be misleading, because the German author has omitted certain important articles of the Hague Convention and various other details which are of great importance. “Ot allons-nous ?” by C. Coignet, is the title of a pamphlet published some little time back, which gives a clear and concise account of the events which have gradually brought about the present crisis in France. The author, who has lived through many changes and known some of the leaders in French politics, takes us back to the days of Jules Ferry, and shows us just what has led to the present conflict between Church and State. According to the author, if Jules Ferry’s policy had been continued the present crisis would certainly have been avoided. An extremely interesting book for travellers intending to visit the Holy Land is the volume entitled ‘ La Palestine,” published by the Assump- tionist Fathers stationed at Jerusalem. For more than twenty-five years the Fathers have been organising pilgrimages to Palestine, and this valuable work is the result of their experiences, There are maps and accounts, too, of the various archeological researches in that country. “Newman,” by Henri Bremond, is another volume published in the collection La Pensée contemporaine. “Les Malheurs d’une Grande Dame sous Louis XV.,” by M. de Coynart, is the story of THE AUTHOR. 125 Mme. de Montboissier. The facts are taken from history, and the whole book is as interesting as a novel. “La Vie au Palais-Royal,” by M. Augé de Lassus, is a book to be read at once before the famous old palace undergoes any further trans- formations. “Mémoires du due de Choiseul” is the title of the new volume published by M. Calmettes. The chief part of this work consists of a number of letters, hitherto unpublished, concerning the journeys and campaigns of the writer of them, the war and the Austrian succession, Choiseul’s experiences as Ambassador to Rome and Vienna, the preliminaries and consequences of the Seven Years’ War. ‘La Maison de la Petite Livia,” a posthumous volume by Pierre de Querlon, the author of “Les Tablettes romaines,” and other novels. Among the new books are “ Bergeries,” by M. Claude Anet; “L’Obstacle,” by M. Pierre Perrault ; ‘ Sécularisée,”’ by M. Jean Bouvier ; “Vie de Chateau,” by M. Claude Ferval ; “Madame Fulbert,” by Mme. Jeanne France; “Le Maitre du Monde,” by Jules Verne; “Les Serments ont des ailes,” by the author of “Amitié Amoureuse”; ‘La Cruche Cassée,” by Gabrielle Réval; “Histoire de la France contemporaine,” by Gabriel Hanotaux. M. Guy de Chantepleure’s new book is a volume containing three short stories. “ L’Aven- ture d’Huguette”’ gives the title to the volume. “Le Roman de 1’Espagne héroique,” by M. Gaston Routier; “ Le Vent emporte la poussiére,”’ by Georges Bonnamour. ‘“‘L’Envers de la Gloire,” by M. Adolphe Brisson. In this volume the author gives us a series of articles on Victor Hugo, Quinet, Zola, Pére Didon, Charles Garnier, and Henri Heine. M. Bergson has succeeded to the chair of Modern Philosophy at the College of France, occupied hitherto by M. Gabriel Tarde. The recent pamphlet by C. Coignet, entitled “ Nouvelle: Philosophie, Bergson,” gives an excellent résumé of the chief lines of the theory of Bergson, who, as the author says, has not yet touched directly on moral and religious questions, ‘Mais, qu’il le veuille on ne le veuille pas, sa métaphysique humanisant la nature et divinisant I’humanite, lie au souverain affranchissement l’immortelle espérance.” Once more America is in advance of England. A course of lectures on American Literature is now being given in the English language at the Sorbonne by an American. Some years ago America took the lead in this direction by inviting some of the first literary men in France to lecture  126 at her Universities. This hospitality has now been returned by France. In La Revue des Deux Mondes, January 1st, there is an article of great interest by Th. Bentzon entitled “Impressions d’Eté a Londres.” It is always curious to note the impressions of a foreigner in England and to see ourselves as others see us. There is an optimistic note throughout the article, which is cheering when we hear 80 much on all sides about modern degeneration. The French author is charmed with many of the innovations of recent years in England, and appears to see many improvements since a former visit. Many subjects are touched upon; philanthropic works and the various clubs for women are discussed. No two nations, perhaps, are such sealed books to each other as England and France, so that an impartial article of this kind is worth reading in both countries. At the Renaissance “La Massiére,” by Jules Lemaitre, appears to be a success. The scene is laid in one of the Schools of Painting so numerous in Paris. A great artist, who visits the studio regularly to criticise the work, falls in love with one of his pupils. As he is a married man, with a son of about the same age as the girl in question, there are complications. In the end, everything happens so that the piece may terminate in the most satisfactory way. The artist’s son and the young girl marry, and the father is elected a member of the French Academy. At the Nouveau-ThéAtre M. Lugné-Poe has been giving an admirable translation, by M. Georges Heérelle, of @’Annunzio’s “ La Gioconda.” Early in February he will put on at the same theatre “Ta fille de Jorio.” Auys HaLLarp. a SPANISH NOTES. —— + — O the Government has again fallen in Spain, and this without any loss of prestige to : Sefior Maura, who was Prime Minister. The important post of Chief of the General Staff of the Army to which the Minister of War wished General Leon to be appointed was declared by the King to be more fitting for General Polavieja, and his Majesty’s refusal to sign the order brought for- ward by his Minister led to the resignation of the Cabinet. It is interesting to see the tribute now paid to the Prime Minister, who has during the whole period of his power not only been the butt of every kind of attack in the Press, but, as we know, received THE AUTHOR. knife whilst with the King a stab from a during his historic visit to Barcelona. “Sefior Maura,” says the Hspana, “had a firm and lofty con- ception of the dignity of the Government, and his resignation under the particular circumstances was the most parliamentary event that has happened during the latter years of the Regency and since the majority of Alfonzo XIII. The omnia pro dominatione serviliter was far from being the line of action of the Prime Minister,” continues the writer, “and it was this which gained him the respect of the country in spite of continual opposi- tion ; and nothing but the King’s dissent from the wish of the Cabinet would have led to his present resignation. General Azcarraga having been asked by Alfonzo XIII. to succeed Maura as head of the Government, he has appointed to the Ministry the Marquises of Vadillo and Aguilar de Campoo, General Villar and the Seriores Castellano, Ugarte, Cardenas and Lacierda. In the Academy of the Fine Arts Senor Silvela,. the quondam Prime Minister, has particularly. delighted his hearers by his erudite discourse on —(1) the supreme efficacy of art, (2) art in relation to science, (3) the power of music and eloquence over a nation ; and when Sefior Salvador returned thanks to the new academician for his: able discourse it was to give a brief epitome of the illustrious man’s literary career, which has always been more to his taste than that of politics. Senor Rousifial, who wrote such an interesting biography of Balaguer, the late famous Cataloniam poet, has just distinguished himself by publishing a very striking play called “The Mystic” This. play has been translated from Catalan into Spanish by Seftor Dicenta, and it is now having a most successful run in Madrid. “Ta Estirpe de Jupiter” (“The Race of Jupiter”) is the title of a new and very forcible: drama from the pen of Seftor Linares Rivas, in which Sefiora Guerrero, Senorita Suarez, Seforita. Villar, Seior Diaz de Mendoza, and Senor Santiago- have taken their parts on the stage. As the story treats mainly of the various conquests of an artist, the interest of the performance hangs chiefly on the power of the actresses to portray the passions of love and jealousy, and in this the applause of the audience shows they were not unsuccessful. The psychological truth which the playwright seems to wish to enforce is that neither rank nor — wealth can give the stimulation to an artist for his work which is induced by real attraction— hence the triumph of the artist’s model over the Countess Amarilis. Spain is showing an increasing interest in the new books of other countries, and we not only find  THE AUTHOR. translations of Wagner, Tolstoi, Kropotkine, Reclus, etc., but the last work by P. J. Moebius, the German philosopher, has just been published in Spanish by Madame Carmen de Burgos Segui, under the title “ La Inferioridad mental de la Mujer.” And it is interesting to see that the German’s premiss of the mental inferiority of woman is vigorously opposed by the vindication of female intelligence from the pen of Colonel Figuerola Ferretti, the enthusiastic Spanish pioneer of Feminism. With the power of true logic the colonel shows that his countrywomen do not suffer from mental inferiority, but from lack of educa- tion, for wherever the opportunity for study is given they excel—be it in the realms of art, litera- ture, or philanthropy. Striking examples are quoted from the author's personal experiences of the superior brain power of women, and the passages relating to the necessity of love in mar- riage being supported by the culture of a wife’s intelligence shows that the Spaniard is some- what more advanced in his ideas than is usual in his country. The eternal feminine is certainly exercising the masculine mind just now, for Don Edmundo Gonzalez Blanco has just published a work called «Feminismo en las Sociedades Modernas,” which is not only a biological and psychological study of the weaker sex, but the position of woman is scientifically treated from a domestic, economic, and esthetic point of view. Pio Boroja’s “Aurora Roja,” (‘The Rosy Dawn’) is quoted just now as “the book of the day.” But the pessimism of the work must prevent it being very popular. The author's evident power of describing men and nature can- not outweigh the depressing influence of such passages as ‘‘Man lives if he can, and if he cannot he dies, and if he dies he is buried, and that is the end of his rights and his philosophy.” The idea of a Spanish-American University at Salamanca is steadily gaining ground, thanks to the enthusiastic propagandist efforts of Dr. Cobos. The advantages accruing to the New and Old World by an educational centre combining the advan- tages of both have now been set forth in all the chief cities of Spain. A meeting has recently been held by the Minister of Education to insure the forthcoming Ter-Centenary of Don Quixote being celebrated befittingly by all the schools of the country. The Spanish Press refers to Don Tomas Tamayo de Vargues and Don Nicolo Antonio as the only two supporters of Cervantes in the seventeenth century, which is only another instance of the little appre- ciation accorded to a genius in his lifetime. The cordiality shown by the Cubans to Don Ramon Gaytan de Ayala, the Spanish Minister in 127 the Island, has given great pleasure in Madrid, for King Alfonzo was toasted with enthusiasm at the banquet given in honour of the Spaniard. It is interesting to hear that the laurels of the Nobel Prize for poetry are divided between Eche- gary and Mistral. Neither of the celebrities lost in this division of honours, for it only showed the power of judges to recognise that the opposite lines of thought were pursued by the two poets with equal power, albeit of different countries. Mistral, we hear, will devote his prize to the foundation of an ethnographical museum in Arles. It is interesting to read the generous tributes paid to each other by the two poets of France and Spain who have met with such success. Mistral in his reply to Evhegaray’s beautiful letter assures the Spanish poet that his great dramatic power savours of the palmy days of Ancient Greece, and grateful as he is to the Swedish Academy for uniting France and Spain in the triumph of the Nobel prize, he himself has done nothing but devote his life to the restoration of his native language and the glorification of his dear land (the South of France). The pro- vencal poet then refers to his father having served as a soldier in the campaign of the Pyrenees of 1793, and he then touched upon what he termed his own “triumphal progress” in Spain in 1868 when he was presented to Zorrilla, Nufiez de Arce, Runz Aguilera, and many other leading spirits of the land. The Southern tour of the Duke of Connaught and his family is exhibiting the Spaniards in the province of matchmakers in a marked degree, for on January 9th., the Jmparcial, the well known Madrid newspaper, not only published the portrait of Princess Victoria Patricia of Connaught as the probable future Queen of Spain, but the same page also presents the picture of her sister, the Princess Margaret of Connaught, as the destined bride of the heir apparent of Portugal. The correspondent certainly says that “nothing certain is known of these projects either in Madrid or Lisbon ;” and need one refer to the proverbial “Chateaux en Espagne?” But one thing is certain, and that is that the desire for such an alliance with England is a very real feeling in Spain, and doubtless it is the same in Portugal. The Jmparcial is offering a prize of 5,000 pesetas for the best project for the regulation of the Budget with regard to the Army, Navy, Public Education and the Ports. When the deputies are elected at the public polls such a project will command attention, and it was this vox populi for which Colonel Ferretti pleaded in his Petition to high quarters in November, 1902. RACHEL CHALLICE.  128 THE PROPERTY IN DRAWINGS REPRO- DUCED IN MAGAZINES AND NEWS- PAPERS. —t 1 N action was tried in December of last year by Mr. Justice Darling, with a special jury, which involved a question of considerable interest to artists, and indirectly also to authors ; a question also of importance to editors, who are inclined to assume rights over drawings and articles sent to them which are not recognised by their contributors, or by law. The following extract from the Zimes’ report of the trial (used with the kind permission of the proprietor) contains all the points material to the consideration of this question. « AyRTON v. C. ARTHUR PEARSON (LIMITED).” This was an action brought by Mr. Ormrod Maxwell Ayrton, an architect, for the sum of £173 5s., the value of certain drawings alleged to have been wrongfully detained by the defendants. In the alternative the plaintiff claimed damages on account of the said drawings having been lost or destroyed owing to the negligence of the defendants as bailees of the said drawings. The defence was that the drawings were the property of the defendants, and, alternatively, that the sum claimed was excessive. Mr. Dickens, K.C., in opening the plaintiff’s case, said that the plaintiff had formed the novel idea of making studies for weather-vanes which should be applicable to particular buildings. With this object in view he had made certain designs representing, among other things, a coach and horses, which would be appropriate for an inn, a sportsman with agun and dog for a gamekeeper’s cottage, and a man engaged in studying the line of a putt with a caddie standing at the flag, which would be suitable for a golf clubhouse. Certain designs of this nature were published in an art journal known as the Studio, and attracted the attention of the editor of Pearson's Magazine, who wrote to the plaintiff in the early part of the year (1903), asking him to furnish some of his designs for the purpose of being repro- duced in the pages of the magazine, together with an explanatory article. The plaintiff agreed to supply sixteen designs and an article, for which he was to receive the sum of £10, and the article and designs were in due course sent to the editor. In the course of correspondence between the editor and plaintiff, the former wrote: “ We should not, of course, require the full copyright of your designs.” On December 3rd, 1903, the plaintiff wrote to the editor of Pearson's Magazine asking for the return of his drawings, and on December 7th received a letter in reply which contained the following passage: The original drawings have been mislaid or lost, as I fear, ina gigantic spring cleaning which the office has recently undergone.” Five of the drawings which had not been made use of were returned to the plaintiff. The designs which the plaintiff had made were not for sale, and con- sequently their value must be assessed by what they were worth to the plaintiff for the purpose of exhibition and for hanging in his office, so that his clients might see the kind of work which he was capable of doing. __Mr. Ormrod Maxwell Ayrton, A.R.I.B.A., said that the idea of weather-vanes was partly his own and partly a revival of an old custom. His object was to exhibit them and to show them to clients. He valued the drawings at an average of £15 15s. each. In cross-examination he said THE AUTHOR. that he knew of no custom where pictures sent for a magazine article belonged to the people who published the article. He had not registered the copyright either in the pictures which had been returned or in those which were published. 1t would be impossible to take copies from the reproductions in the magazine. They could be reproduced in a way, but all the character would be gone. He was practically certain that all the drawings which were lost were coloured, and not in outline. In re-examination he said that it was never his intention to part with the property in the pictures for £10, the sum which he was paid for the article in Pearson's Magazine. Mr. Arthur Blomfield, F.R.I.B.A., stated that the pictures in question had great artistic merit. An average of £15 15s. was, in his opinion, not at all excessive. Professor Moira, of the Royal College of Arts, South Kensington, said that the artistic merit of the designs was very high, and that the amount claimed was not excessive. Mr. Alfred Lyss Baldry, an art critic, said that in his opinion the drawings were clever, with a good deal of originality and power, and the composition was good. He thought the average of £15 15s. was very moderate. On the second day of the trial Mr. Dickens said that he was unaware that the defendants were going to set upa custom by which they claimed the property in the illustra- tions sent to them. He therefore asked leave to recall Mr. Baldry on the point. Mr. Baldry, recalled, said that where an article was sup- plied to a magazine with illustrations he had never heard of any custom under which the illustrations became the property of the magazine. Illustrated journals generally bought the illustrations outright, but it was an understood thing that illustrations accompanying articles in magazines should be returned in the absence of any special stipulation. For the defence, Mr. Clement Shorter, formerly editor of the Illustrated London News and Illustrated English Magazine, and now editor of the Sphere, said that in the absence of any contract to the contrary it was the custom that illustrations sent with articles became the property of the proprietor of the paper to which they were sent. There was no distinction whether the illustrations were sent to magazines or illustrated journals. He thought that the price asked by the plaintiff for his drawings was absurd. Cross-examined by Mr. Dickens, witness was of opinion that where the contributor sent valuable drawings for reproduction with an article, in the absence of any stipula- tion, the drawings would become the property of the magazine contributed to. His experience was that when they bought an article with the drawings the price included the drawings. Mr. Justice Darling : There was a personnamed Whistler who at one time had no reputation and drew etchings. (Laughter.) Witness: Yes, I remember when his things fetched nothing. Mr. Justice Darling : Now they are very valuable. Witness: Yes. Mr. George Hammond, art editor of the Illustrated London News, said that they invariably kept the drawings sent them in the absence of any special contract with regard to them. He thought in the present case that to. ask fifteen guineas a piece for the lost drawings was preposterous, and two guineas would be a fair price. Mr. Stanley Wood, artist, and well-known contributor of drawings to magazines, said that the drawings became the property of the magazines to which they were sent. — The illustrations in question he thought ought to cost about 10s. each. Mr. H. P. Adams, architect and surveyor, of Woburn — Place, said that he had seen the article and some of the drawings. As architectural drawings they were useless, but they were clever drawings. He thought that two to — three guineas apiece was a fair price. 2  THE AUTHOR. Counsel having addressed the jury, Mr. Justice Darling summed up, and the jury found a verdict for the plaintiff for £40, and judgment was given accordingly. The issue in this case was, as the report shows, one of fact for the jury. The defendants endea- youred to set up a custom by which they alleged that an editor (or proprietor and a magazine as represented by the editor) obtained the property in the original drawings used by him for the purpose of illustration, in the absence of any stipulation to the contrary. ‘The jury found that no such custom existed, or at all events none of such universal application as to include drawings valued by some of the witnesses at fifteen guineas apiece, but paid for (by agree- ment) with a sum of £10 to cover sixteen drawings and an article. It will be observed that the» witnesses for the plaintiff had professional knowledge of the value of such work for the purposes for which he required the original designs, and that the witnesses for the defence looked on them from a purely journalistic point of view, and seemed to think that an artist’s work when once enshrined in the pages of a magazine was valueless for all other objects. In many instances this latter aspect of the matter is substantially true. A drawing made to illustrate a@ current event or a story in a newspaper or magazine is frequently of little value for sale as a work of art, but although this is often the case, it is by no means always so. Some drawings are works of art which are of considerable merit in themselves and of value as such, or they may become valuable at a future time when the artist has become famous, and in such a case may be a useful asset to their owner, whoever he may be. The originals in these days of process reproduction are preserved (when editors do not lose them during spring cleanings), and there is no difficulty in the way of restoring them to the artist should they in fact belong to him. In the days when Fred Walker, Millais, John Leach, and a host of others did the work that has helped to make their names household words in the world of art, the wood-engraver cut to pieces the drawing on the block, and the question could not in such instances arise. None, however, can deny that the question of ownership would have been of importance had this been otherwise. How the question of fact is to be determined when disputes of this kind arise depend upon the circumstances of each case. The matter, as has been said, affects authors as well as artists, because so far as the law is concerned their position is similar. These disputes arise because they send their contributions to the editor, and allow them 129 to be published without providing specifically by contract for all the contingencies which may arise, and editors having the advantage of the defensive position, usually decline to give way until they are compelled to. The recent case of Aflalo v. Lawrence and Bullen, ended in a decision of the House of Lords against the author, but it went very little further than laying down what was known already, namely, that the facts of each case must guide the decision of the issue. The head- note to the report of the judgment in the House of Lords stands thus in the Law Reports :— “ Where the proprietor of an encyclopedia em- ploys and pays anoth_r person to compose articles for publication in the encyclopedia, the question whether the copyright in the articles belongs to the proprietor within section 18 of the Copyright Act, 1842, depends on an inference of fact, not law, to be drawn by a reasonable man from the nature of the contract and all the circumstances. The contract need not be in writing; no express words need be used, and the inference that the copyright was intended to belong to the proprietor may be fairly drawn where there are no special circumstances, and the only material facts are the employment and the payment.” The attention of the public generally must be called to the fact that the case refers to encyclo- peedias and not to periodicals. No doubt, both kinds of literary property are mentioned in the 18th section of the Copyright Act, but there is a strong distinction between the two. As each case is settled on its facts, if the House of Lords made a deduction of the transfer of copyright with regard to encyclopeedias which have a permanent value, it does not follow they would draw the same deduction with regard to periodicals. Many papers have carelessly stated when re- ferring to this case, that as a matter of course the ruling in Aflalo v. Lawrence and Bullen would apply to “contributors to magazines and periodi- cals.” This deduction, however, should not be rashly taken. In Mr. Ayrton’s case the facts were eloquent. He had not been employed to make the drawings in dispute, but his existing designs had attracted attention ; the correspondence as quoted above reserved for him the copyright (which would be useless without the drawings) and showed that only a right to reproduce in a particular magazine was stipulated for, while the price agreed was one which was small enough if only paid for the right to reproduce once. It was ridiculous if regarde? as payment for drawings which would be useful for other purposes, after they had been used for that of illustrating the article in question. In all cases of this kind the question of price is strictly material in determining the question, “ what was 130 it that the artist or author meant to sell, and which the editor meant to buy ?” In such cases as that of Aflalo and Lawrence and Bullen, in all cases where editors claim and authors dispute as to whether the copyright has passed in articles published in periodicals, in all cases where original drawings are sought to be recovered, and upon many similar occasions, price agreed upon is of the utmost importance as independent testi- mony to the intention of the parties. Authors and artists have to live by their pens and their pencils, and are not likely to give away copyrights and other rights without adequate payment, or without attempting to obtain it should their attention be called to the point at the time of making their bargains. Where their attention is so called, they insert in their letters or introduce into their verbally-made agreements some con- ditions referring to the ultimate fate of their property; when they assume that this will be pre- served to them and say nothing, they have to rely on all the facts surrounding the transaction, and of these the price accepted should be placed before the jury and should be carefully considered by them. Mr. Ayrton is to be congratulated on the verdict obtained, although it fell short of what he asked for, and the jury should be congratulated also upon the verdict by which they upheld the artist’s rights, under the guidance of a judge who himself has had some personal experience of dealings with editors and proprietors. EA: —_—_—_—_——_—>__+—____- LAW OF COPYRIGHT.* os HE first edition of Mr. W. A. Copinger’s “Law of Copyright” appeared so long ago as September, 1870, and was then the only book which attempted to deal in a large way with this very difficult subject. The second edition, revised and brought up to date, was published in 1881, and the third edition in 1893. All these editions were re-written and re-edited by the same master-hand. The present volume has been entrusted to Mr. J. M. Easton, and comes before us as the fourth edition. There are many books on Copyright at present before the public, some dealing with special questions such as Dramatic Copyright, Artistic Copyright, Musical Copyright, or Literary Copy- right, some books as Mr. Scrutton’s and Mr. me The Law of Copyright.’’ By W. A. Copinger. Fourth edition, by J. M. Easton, Published by Stevens and. Haynes. THE AUTHOR. MacGillivray’s valuable works dealing with Copy- right from the point of view of the authors of Great Britain ; but none of the books covers such a wide range as the work originally published by Mr. Copinger, and now re-edited by Mr. Easton. Tt deals not only with Copyright in Great Britain, but also with International Copyright, United States Copyright; Copyright in the Colonies, and the Copyright Laws of all the prin- cipal countries of the world. So large a subject must necessarily demand large space. We are not surprised therefore that the book. contains between eight and nine hundred pages, and an Index and Appendices covering nearly another three hundred. The book has been divided into seven parts, and commences with Part 1, Literary Copyright. Part 2 deals with Musical and Dramatic Copyright ; Part 3, Artistic Copyright ; Part 4, Copyright in Designs ; Part 5, International and Colonial Copy- right ; Part 6, Copyright in Foreign Countries ; Part 7, Arrangements between Authors and Pub- lishers, and Appendices. The arrangement of the book is, on the whole, very satisfactory, and the most important questions. are handled with studious care and an intimate view of the subject. The work of the present editor, in order to bring it up to date, has indeed been heavy. He discusses the very latest questions and the very latest cases, and in an addendum ineludes the fact of Sweden’s adhesion to the Berne Convention in August of last year. He has commented at some length on the case of Aflalo v. Lawrence and Bullen, which was. taken to the House of Lords by the support of the Society, and which for some time will be the leading case on the rights of authors in articles written for encyclopedias. He quotes also the case of Gollancz and Dent, which under the Society’s auspices terminated in favour of the author. These points are of considerable interest, as many publishers and even some authors assert that the actions the Society supports are often vexatious. and frivolous. If the result of the decisions in two of these actions tends to make clear a difficult and complicated law, the efforts of the Society have not been spent in vain, and those who stand outside the Society should remember that their security is the result of the public spirit of the other members of their profession. In the article on Literary Copyright, the editor deals at length with questions of infringement— that most difficult of all points which has to be settled from the facts when the deduction to be drawn from those facts is often doubtful and uncertain. In order to give the most liberal opportunity for those interested in Copyright Law, and for those who deal with Copyright Property, to come to a decision, he puts forward all the — THE AUTHOR. leading cases on the point with considerable minuteness, and brings into prominence all the points on the subject which would be likely to assist the inexperienced. He deals also with the very interesting case of Walter v. Lane, and the House of Lords decision on the point. Musical and Dramatic Copyright have their fair share of attention, though hardly the same space is devoted to these subjects as is devoted to literary property. The result is all that could be desired, as the same care has been bestowed on these portions as on those dealing with literary as distinct from dramatic work. Then follows Artistic Copyright, beginning with the Copyright Law in engravings, prints, and lithographs, con- tinuing with Copyright in Sculptures, and con- cluding with the most important of Artistic Copyright Laws—Copyright in Paintings, Draw- ings, and Photographs. The subject is an exceedingly difficult one, and might well call for a book by itself. It is much more complicated owing to the confusion in the Acts, and the lack of leading cases, than is Literary Copyright. Finally, he deals with International Copyright— a question of growing importance owing to the spread of inter-communication, and the powers granted to the citizens of most of the countries of Europe under the Berne Convention. Outside the Berne Convention the only two countries with which Great Britain has an arrangement are Austria- Hungary and the United States of America. Our arrangement with Austria-Hungary is practically on the lines of the Berne Convention, and it will, no doubt, be possible for that country at no distant date to join the union of nations. Owing to the correspondence in the Standard, the arrangement with the United States must be before the minds of all who have any literary, dramatic or musical property to market. The chapter dealing with Colonial Copyright is most interesting and instructive. Several of the Colonies have passed Copyright Laws of their own for various purposes within their respective limits, but no Colonial Act can override the Imperial Acts. The great advantage of this to the Colonies, as well as to Great Britain, is that a book published in any part of the Empire obtains copyright throughout the Empire. Therefore, anyone who may spring into eminence as a writer, musician, or dramatist in any of the Colonies has at once an enormous market before him, and an enormous power of disseminating his views if his works are properly handled. Some of the Colonies which have passed separate Copyright Laws are New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, Canada, Newfound- land, Cape Colony, the Transvaal, and the Orange 131 River Colony. The editor discusses the question of Canadian Copyright—in the past one of the most difficult subjects before the Government—u to its latest development in the Act of 1900, This Act appears now to be working satisfactorily, and it is hoped has settled the question, at any rate until the Imperial Government once again brine to the fore a Copyright Act which will do away with the many difficulties at present surrounding the Act of 1842. : The next section deals with the Copyright Laws existing in foreign countries. Although it’ is true that under these Acts not many cases arise, yet it is of great value to have a book which includes a resume of the features and limitations of copyright in foreign countries. Questions have come before the Secretary of the Society of Authors, dealing with infringement of copyright in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Scandinavia, and the United States, and further questions will arise as time goes on. The German Copyright Act is the latest legisla- tion of any importance. This law was passed in 1901 and came into force on January Ist, 1902. There are, in fact, two laws—the Law of Copyright and the Law of Publishers’ Contracts. They are both exceedingly long and minute, and will, no doubt, prove difficult of interpretation. It is all the more important, therefore, to have a clear statement of their contents, They differ consider- ably from the Statutes on Copyright ina country like France, where the law is settled chiefly by leading cases rather than by minute statutory details. On the whole, the French have a freer interpretation than the Germans are ever likely to have. Lastly, comes a chapter on the arrangements between authors and publishers. This is an eminently useful chapter, for many questions do not come directly under Copyright Law, but deal directly with literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic property, and no book on the subject can be quite satisfactory unless it contains a chapter under this heading or unless it refers to agreements of this kind between publishers and authors. This chapter is followed by the Appendices, containing copies of the Berne Convention, United States Copyright Act, Forms for Registration of Books and Other Property. The Appendices G and H contain short Forms of Agreement between Authors and Publishers, and Assignments of Copyright and Forms of Agreement referring to Artistic Property. After a careful consideration of the whole book these two Appendices are the only points about which we raise any serious cause for complaint. A careful perusal of them by any one who has knowledge of the main points which should be protected shows them to be  130 it that the artist or author meant to sell, and which the editor meant to buy ?” In such cases as that of Aflalo and Lawrence and Bullen, in all cases where editors claim and authors dispute as to whether the copyright has passed in articles published in periodicals, in all cases where original drawings are sought to be recovered, and upon many similar occasions, price agreed upon is of the utmost importance as independent testi- mony to the intention of the parties. Authors and artists have to live by their pens and their pencils, and are not likely to give away copyrights and other rights without adequate payment, or without attempting to obtain it should their attention be called to the point at the time of making their bargains. Where their attention is so called, they insert in their letters or introduce into their verbally-made agreements some con- ditions referring to the ultimate fate of their property; when they assume that this will be pre- served to them and say nothing, they have to rely on all the facts surrounding the transaction, and of these the price accepted should be placed before the jury and should be carefully considered by them. Mr. Ayrton is to be congratulated on the verdict obtained, although it fell short of what he asked for, and the jury should be congratulated also upon the verdict by which they upheld the artist’s rights, under the guidance of a judge who himself has had some personal experience of dealings with editors and proprietors. E. A. —_____——_.—~—_+—_ LAW OF COPYRIGHT.* 1 + HE first edition of Mr. W. A. Copinger’s “Law of Copyright” appeared so long ago as September, 1870, and was then the only book which attempted to deal in a large way with this very difficult subject. The second edition, revised and brought up to date, was published in 1881, and the third edition in 18938. All these editions were re-written and re-edited by the same master-hand. The present volume has been entrusted to Mr. J. M. Easton, and comes before us as the fourth edition. There are many books on Copyright at present before the public, some dealing with special questions such as Dramatic Copyright, Artistic Copyright, Musical Copyright, or Literary Copy- right, some books as Mr. Scrutton’s and Mr. * “The Law of Copyright.’ By W. A. Copinger. Fourth edition, by J. M. Easton. Published by Stevens and Haynes. THE AUTHOR. MacGillivray’s valuable works dealing with Copy- right from the point of view of the authors of Great Britain ; but none of the books covers such a wide range as the work originally published by Mr. Copinger, and now re-edited by Mr. Easton. Tt deals not only with Copyright in Great Britain, but also with International Copyright, United States Copyright; Copyright in the Colonies, and the Copyright Laws of all the prin- cipal countries of the world. So large a subject must necessarily demand large space. We are not surprised therefore that the book. contains between eight and nine hundred pages, and an Index and Appendices covering nearly another three hundred. The book has been divided into seven parts, and commences with Part 1, Literary Copyright. Part 2 deals with Musical and Dramatic Copyright ; Part 3, Artistic Copyright ; Part 4, Copyright in Designs ; Part 5, International and Colonial Copy- right ; Part 6, Copyright in Foreign Countries ; Part 7, Arrangements between Authors and Pub- lishers, and Appendices. The arrangement of the book is, on the whole, very satisfactory, and the most important questions are handled with studious care and an intimate view of the subject. The work of the present editor, in order to bring it up to date, has indeed been heavy. He discusses the very latest questions and the very latest cases, and in an addendum ineludes the fact of Sweden’s adhesion to the Berne Convention in August of last. year. He has commented at some length on the case of Affalo v. Lawrence and Bullen, which was. taken to the House of Lords by the support of the Society, and which for some time will be the leading case on the rights of authors in articles written for encyclopedias. He quotes also the case of Gollancz and Dent, which under the Society’s auspices terminated in favour of the author. These points are of considerable interest, as many publishers and even some authors assert that the actions the Society supports are often vexatious. and frivolous. If the result of the decisions in two of these actions tends to make clear a difficult and complicated law, the efforts of the Society have not been spent in vain, and those who stand outside the Society should remember that their security is the result of the public spirit of the other members of their profession. In the article on Literary Copyright, the editor deals at length with questions of infringement— that most difficult of all points which has to be settled from the facts when the deduction to- be drawn from those facts is often doubtful and uncertain. In order to give the most liberal — opportunity for those interested in Copyright Law, and for those who deal with Copyright Property, to come to a decision, he puts forward all the  THE AUTHOR. leading cases on the point with considerable minuteness, and brings into prominence all the points on the subject which would be likely to assist the inexperienced. He deals also with the very interesting case of Walter v. Lane, and the House of Lords decision on the point. Musical and Dramatic Copyright have their fair share of attention, though hardly the same space is devoted to these subjects as is devoted to literary property. The result is all that could be desired, as the same care has been bestowed on these portions as on those dealing with literary as distinct from dramatic work. Then follows Artistic Copyright, beginning with the Copyright Law in engravings, prints, and lithographs, con- tinuing with Copyright in Sculptures, and con- cluding with the most important of Artistic Copyright Laws—Copyright in Paintings, Draw- ings, and Photographs. The subject is an exceedingly difficult one, and might well call for a book by itself. It is much more complicated owing to the confusion in the Acts, and the lack of leading cases, than is Literary Copyright. Finally, he deals with International Copyright— a question of growing importance owing to the spread of inter-communication, and the powers granted to the citizens of most of the countries of Europe under the Berne Convention. Outside the Berne Convention the only two countries with which Great Britain has an arrangement are Austria- Hungary and the United States of America. Our arrangement with Austria-Hungary is practically on the lines of the Berne Convention, and it will, no doubt, be possible for that country at no distant date to join the union of nations. Owing to the correspondence in the Standard, the arrangement with the United States must be before the minds of all who have any literary, dramatic or musical property to market. The chapter dealing with Colonial Copyright is most interesting and instructive. Several of the Colonies have passed Copyright Laws of their own for various purposes within their respective limits, but no Colonial Act can override the Imperial Acts. The great advantage of this to the Colonies, as well as to Great Britain, is that a book published in any part of the Empire obtains copyright throughout the Empire. Therefore, anyone who may spring into eminence as a writer, musician, or dramatist in any of the Colonies has at once an enormous market before him, and an enormous power of disseminating his views if his works are properly handled. Some of the Colonies which have passed separate Copyright Laws are New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, Canada, Newfound- land, Cape Colony, the Transvaal, and the Orange 131 River Colony. The editor discusses the question of Canadian Copyright—in the past one of the most difficult subjects before the Government—up to its latest development in the Act of 1900, This Act appears now to be working satisfactorily, and it is hoped has settled the question, at any rate until the Imperial Government once again’ brine to the fore a Copyright Act which will do away with the many difficulties at present surroundins the Act of 1842. r The next section deals with the Copyright Laws existing in foreign countries. Although it is true that under these Acts not many cases arise, yet it is of great value to have a book which includes a resumé of the features and limitations of copyright in foreign countries. Questions have come before the Secretary of the Society of Authors, dealing with infringement of copyright in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Scandinavia, and the United States, and further questions will arise as time goes on. The German Copyright Act is the latest legisla- tion of any importance. This law was passed in 1901 and came into force on January Ist, 1902. There are, in fact, two laws—the Law of Copyright and the Law of Publishers’ Contracts. They are both exceedingly long and minute, and will, no doubt, prove difficult of interpretation. It is all the more important, therefore, to have a clear statement of their contents. They differ consider- ably from the Statutes on Copyright in a country like France, where the law is settled chiefly by leading cases rather than by minute statutory details. On the whole, the French have a freer interpretation than the Germans are ever likely to have. Lastly, comes a chapter on the arrangements between authors and publishers. This is an eminently useful chapter, for many questions do not come directly under Copyright Law, but deal directly with literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic property, and no book on the subject can be quite satisfactory unless it contains a chapter under this heading or unless it refers to agreements of this kind between publishers and authors. This chapter is followed by the Appendices, containing copies of the Berne Convention, United States Copyright Act, Forms for Registration of Books and Other Property. The Appendices G and H contain short Forms of Agreement between Authors and Publishers, and Assignments of Copyright and Forms of Agreement referring to Artistic Property. After a careful consideration of the whole book these two Appendices are the only points about which we raise any serious cause for complaint. A careful perusal of them by any one who has knowledge of the main points which should be protected shows them to be  132 THE AUTHOR. unsatisfactory for the author, the publisher, and the artist. ‘Che forms are full of omissions, and in addition there are forms which should have been included which have not been mentioned at all. In a book which shows so deep and so intelligent a study of so vast a subject, to find only one serious fault is a matter for generous approval. Mr. Easton must be congratulated on the very complete manner in which he has carried forward what, in its original form, was a very efficient book ; that he has so laboriously brought up Mr. Copinger’s last edition to the present date; that he has so exhaustively studied the various difficulties to which the subject gives rise; and that, after so much labour and such deep study, he has been able in a manner so satisfactory to place his results before the public. : There can be no question, therefore, since the fourth edition of Mr. Scrutton’s valuable book was brought forward, since Mr. MacGillivray issued his important work, and since the fourth edition of Mr. Copinger’s work is now produced, that the Copyright Law has been neglected, and lacks the necessary interpretation. G. H. T. —_——__o—__o___—_ LITERARY YEAR BOOK. 1905. — ++ — HE ninth annual issue of the “Literary Year Book” is now published. It comes with a different imprint—Messrs. George Routledge and Sons—with certain changes and new features. On the whole the principle which has guided the editor has produced satisfactory results, but the present reviewer has only been able to look closely into those portions of the book which refer to law and copyright, leaving the tables and catalogues set forth to be dealt with by others in a subsequent number of this magazine. The question of copyright has been handled in a manner and by a treatment entirely different from that in former issues. As the former productions were, from one point of view, satisfactory, so the present production from another point of view is by no means unsatisfactory. But copyright law cannot be healthily masticated in the form of tabloids. In the present tabulated form its incongruities are made particularly apparent. Take, for example, one or two points. The period for which copy- right endures in books, is for the life of the author and seven years after his death, or forty-two years from the date of first publication, whichever is the longer period; but publication is differently defined in the case of a book and in the case of a play. In engravings, however, copyright endures for twenty-eight years from first publication, and in paintings, drawings and photographs for the life of the artist and seven years after his death, whilst in sculpture it lasts for fourteen years. Again, the law covering the assignment of copy- rights varies considerably. The assignment of books must be in writing or by registration ; of dramatic pieces in the handwriting of the author or his agent. Assignments of engravings must be with the written consent of the proprietor attested by two witnesses ; of paintings, drawings and photographs must be in writing and must also be registered. The assignment of sculpture must be by deed signed by the proprietor and attested by two witnesses. The law of registra- tion in its effect on books differs from its effect on pictures. Among all these complexities it is very difficult to arrive at any satisfactory knowledge, and it is to be hoped that the Government will once more take in hand the question of consolidating the Copyright Acts. In dealing with the question of Canadian copy- right, the editor makes no mention of the Act which was passed through the Canadian House and was assented to by Her Majesty Queen Victoria on July 18th, 1900. How is this? There is no doubt, as stated in the Zsmes when the Act was passed, that this solution of the Canadian copyright question was brought forward mainly at the instigation of the Society of Authors, who spent much time and money in their endeavours to bring the matter to a satis- factory issue. It has been possible to commend the form of the article on copyright law. Its substance may prove inadequate and misleading. Special attention should be drawn to the 18th section of the Copyright Act and the judgment given in the House of Lords in the case of Aflalo v. Lawrence and Bullen. ‘The editor says, “In an ordinary case the agreement that copyright shall belong to the editor or proprietor may be inferred from the mere employment and payment of the author.” This is not so. The Judges in the House of Lords deduced the fact that in an encyclopedia the copyright may belong to the proprietor, owing to a large sum of money having been expended on the production of the book. The deduction seems to be false, as it does not take into consideration the amount paid to the author. This amount would, of course, vary with the sale of the copyright or with the sale of the article for use in the encyclo- pedia only. But the point hes never been settled p% in regard to periodicals, and most probably the — ° judgment which applied to an encyclopaedia  THE AUTHOR. would not apply to periodicals, as the contents of an encyclopedia have, when published in that shape, @ permanent and lasting position, which con- tents of periodicals when published in periodical issue have not. In dealing with authors’ agents and agreements, the editor is inclined to think that authors are apt to under-estimate the share due to the publisher in the successful production of a book. This hardly appears to be the case. Again, he says: “The publisher should be a man of some literary attainments.” On the contrary, it is much better for the publisher to leave the literary attainments to his reader and adviser and confine himself purely to business. He takes a very strong view against the agent, and justly so. To a constant reader of The Author the following point has always been made clear. If a writer goes to a publisher, he does to a certain extent keep him at arm’s-length, and is prepared to look at any agreement offered him from the legal point of view. To the agent, however, the author entrusts his honour as to a confidential family solicitor, and, as in the latter case, not in- frequently finds his trust misplaced. Finally, the editor exclaims : “ Who will protect the author against the rapacity of the agent?” Quis custodiet ipsos custodes 2? Why did he not append a note and refer to the Society of Authors ? As this society is in no way connected with the financial success of the production of books, it can take an absolutely impartial view. On many occasions the committee have on behalf of its members been compelled to take strenuous action against agents, as well as against publishers and others. Following the articles referred to comes an article on agreements. Although the introduction to this article shows a healthy spirit of fairness, the agreements lack many important points and leave many points to be cleared. Take, for instance, the commission agreement. The difficulties of this kind of agreement are fairly represented, and the chances against the success of the commission book are fully cata- logued, but in one clause the editor says, “The publishers hereby agree to print, publish, adver- tise and sell the first edition.” If a publisher undertakes to “sell” the first edition, he is going a little far, and would himself naturally object to enter into such a contract. He would, no doubt, use his best endeavours to obtain a gale. In the second clause, copies are sold in the United Kingdom at the regular trade price and are most commonly accounted for to the author at two- thirds of the published price less a discount of 10 per cent., and the editor proceeds to state : “‘ This calculation is reached by taking the lowest price 133 charged by the publishers to the wholesale book- sellers and exporters.” But why should the author be credited with the lowest price a publisher receives, when many of the copies may be sold at a higher figure! Surely, when the author pays for the cost of the production of his book, he is en- titled to receive the same figure as the publisher receives, less 10 per cent., the publisher’s com- mission. The editor, later on, proceeds to take the publisher’s side of the case very decidely, and says: “It would be especially unfair to him—the publisher—in a commission agreement that he should account to the author for copies as sold, which he has actually supplied as odd or 18th copies.” The latter case is no more unfair to the publisher than the former is to the author. The publisher, again, is given a free hand to sell the book, by auction or privately, to a dealer at reduced prices or by way of remainder. This may be all very fine from the publisher’s point of view, but again the author might strongly object to having his book sold below cost price. Other points might be mentioned concerning the same agreement, but it is impossible to give an exhaustive criticism. ‘Take the second agreement for the sale of copy- right. From the author's point of view the omis- sions are very heavy. We mention one alone, publication is of the greatest importance to the author ; but if he sold his copyright without any clause binding the publisher to put the book on the market he might find his work utterly wasted. The agreement dealing with the division of profits may be passed over. This method of pub- lication is in all ways unsatisfactory from the author’s point of view, and should be avoided. Some of the remarks respecting the royalty agreement are interesting and should be carefully studied by those who think of entering into a con- tract of this kind, but the arguments against the advance on royalty are fallacious. No doubt the publisher puts in a certain amount of capital, but surely the author puts in the same amount, though not in the form of money. Sometimes, indeed, the author may put into his MS. the work of a whole lifetime ; but even if this view of the posi- tion is not accepted, the economic law of supply and demand comes into force. If a publisher, who is a man of business, considers it worth his while to advance money on royalties in order to purchase a licence to produce a certain book, it is absurd to say that such an arrangement is un- reasonable. Business men do not readily enter into unbusinesslike arrangements, and they must know when they enter into the bargain, that such payment will be amply restored to them, as far as their judgment can tell, by the sales of the book, or else they cannot be reckoned as men of business.  132 THE AUTHOR. unsatisfactory for the author, the publisher, and the artist. ‘The forms are full of omissions, and in addition there are forms which should have been included which have not been mentioned at all. In a book which shows so deep and so intelligent a study of so vast a subject, to find only one serious fault is a matter for generous approval. Mr. Easton must be congratulated on the very complete manner in which he has carried forward what, in its original form, was a very efficient book ; that he has so laboriously brought up Mr. Copinger’s last edition to the present date; that he has so exhaustively studied the various difficulties to which the subject gives rise; and that, after so much labour and such deep study, he has been able in a manner so satisfactory to place his results before the public. : There can be no question, therefore, since the fourth edition of Mr. Scrutton’s valuable book was brought forward, since Mr. MacGillivray issued his important work, and since the fourth edition of Mr. Copinger’s work is now produced, that the Copyright Law has been neglected, and lacks the necessary interpretation. G. H. T. ————___+—>_o—__—__ LITERARY YEAR BOOK. 1905. —1+—— + — HE ninth annual issue of the “ Literary Year Book” is now published. It comes with a different imprint—Messrs. George Routledge and Sons—with certain changes and new features. On the whole the principle which has guided the editor has produced satisfactory results, but the present reviewer has only been able to look closely into those portions of the book which refer to law and copyright, leaving the tables and catalogues set forth to be dealt with by others in a subsequent number of this magazine. The question of copyright has been handled in a manner and by a treatment entirely different from that in former issues. As the former productions were, from one point of view, satisfactory, so the present production from another point of view is by no means unsatisfactory. But copyright law cannot be healthily masticated in the form of tabloids. In the present tabulated form its incongruities are made particularly apparent. Take, for example, one or two points. The period for which copy- right endures in books, is for the life of the author and seven years after his death, or forty-two years from the date of first publication, whichever is the longer period; but publication is differently defined in the case of a book and in the case of a play. In engravings, however, copyright endures for twenty-eight years from first publication, and in paintings, drawings and photographs for the life of the artist and seven years after his death, whilst in sculpture it lasts for fourteen years. Again, the law covering the assignment of copy- rights varies considerably. The assignment of books must be in writing or by registration ; of dramatic pieces in the handwriting of the author or his agent. Assignments of engravings must be with the written consent of the proprietor attested by two witnesses ; of paintings, drawings and photographs must be in writing and must also be registered. The assignment of sculpture must be by deed signed by the proprietor and attested by two witnesses. The law of registra- tion in its effect on books differs from its effect on pictures. Among all these complexities it is very difficult to arrive at any satisfactory knowledge, and it is to be hoped that the Government will once more take in hand the question of consolidating the Copyright Acts. In dealing with the question of Canadian copy- right, the editor makes no mention of the Act which was passed through the Canadian House and was assented to by Her Majesty Queen Victoria on July 18th, 1900. How is this? There is no doubt, as stated in the Zsmes when the Act was passed, that this solution of the Canadian copyright question was brought forward mainly at the instigation of the Society of Authors, who spent much time and money in their endeavours to bring the matter to a satis- factory issue. It has been possible to commend the form of the article on copyright law. Its substance may prove inadequate and misleading. Special attention should be drawn to the 18th section of the Copyright Act and the judgment given in the House of Lords in the case of Afialo v. Lawrence and Bullen. The editor says, “In an ordinary case the agreement that copyright shall belong to the editor or proprietor may be inferred from the mere employment and payment of the author.” This is not so. The Judges in the House of Lords deduced the fact that in an encyclopedia the copyright may belong to the proprietor, owing to a large sum of money having been expended on the production of the book. The deduction seems to be false, as it does not take into consideration the amount paid to the author. This amount would, of course, vary with the sale of the copyright or with the sale of the article for use in the encyclo- pedia only. But the point hes never been settled in regard to periodicals, and most probably the judgment which applied to an encyclopedia .  THE AUTHOR. 133 would not apply to periodicals, as the contents of an encyclopedia have, when published in that shape, a permanent and lasting position, which con- tents of periodicals when published in periodical issue have not. In dealing with authors’ agents and agreements, the editor is inclined to think that authors are apt to under-estimate the share due to the publisher in the successful production of a book. This hardly appears to be the case. Again, he says: “The publisher should be a man of some literary attainments.” On the contrary, it is much better for the publisher to leave the literary attainments to his reader and adviser and confine himself purely to business. He takes a very strong view against the agent, and justly so. To a constant reader of The Author the following point has always been made clear. If a writer goes to a publisher, he does to a certain extent keep him at arm’s-length, and is prepared to look at any agreement offered him from the legal point of view. To the agent, however, the author entrusts his honour as to a confidential family solicitor, and, as in the latter case, not in- frequently finds his trust misplaced. Finally, the editor exclaims : “ Who will protect the author against the rapacity of the agent?” Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Why did he not append a note and refer to the Society of Authors ? As this society is in no way connected with the financial success of the production of books, it can take an absolutely impartial view. On many occasions the committee have on behalf of its members been compelled to take strenuous action against agents, as well as against publishers and others. Following the articles referred to comes an article on agreements. Although the introduction to this article shows a healthy spirit of fairness, the agreements lack many important points and leave many points to be cleared. Take, for instance, the commission agreement. The difficulties of this kind of agreement are fairly represented, and the chances against the success of the commission book are fully cata- logued, but in one clause the editor says, “The publishers hereby agree to print, publish, adver- tise and sell the first edition.” If a publisher undertakes to “sell” the first edition, he is going a little far, and would himself naturally object to enter into such a contract. He would, no doubt, use his best endeavours to obtain a sale. In the second clause, copies are sold in the United Kingdom at the regular trade price and are most commonly accounted for to the author at two- thirds of the published price less a discount of 10 per cent., and the editor proceeds to state : “ This calculation is reached by taking the lowest price charged by the publishers to the wholesale book- sellers and exporters.” But why should the author be credited with the lowest price a publisher receives, when many of the copies may be sold at a higher figure ! Surely, when the author pays for the cost of the production of his book, he is en- titled to receive the same figure as the publisher receives, less 10 per cent., the publisher’s com- mission. The editor, later on, proceeds to take the publisher’s side of the case very decidely, and says: “It would be especially unfair to him—the publisher—in a commission agreement that he should account to the author for copies as sold, which he has actually supplied as odd or 13th copies.” The latter case is no more unfair to the publisher than the former is to the author. The publisher, again, is given a free hand to sell the book, by auction or privately, to a dealer at reduced prices or by way of remainder. This may be all very fine from the publisher’s point of view, but again the author might strongly object to having his book sold below cost price. Other points might be mentioned concerning the same agreement, but it is impossible to give an exhaustive criticism. Take the second agreement for the sale of copy- right. From the author’s point of view the omis- sions are very heavy. We mention one alone, publication is of the greatest importance to the author ; but if he sold his copyright without any clause binding the publisher to put the book on the market he might find his work utterly wasted. The agreement dealing with the division of profits may be passed over. This method of pub- lication is in all ways unsatisfactory from the author’s point of view, and should be avoided. Some of the remarks respecting the royalty agreement are interesting and should be carefully studied by those who think of entering into a con- tract of this kind, but the arguments against the advance on royalty are fallacious. No doubt the publisher puts in a certain amount of capital, but surely the author puts in the same amount, though not in the form of money. Sometimes, indeed, the author may put into his MS. the work of a whole lifetime ; but even if this view of the posi- tion is not accepted, the economic law of supply and demand comes into force. If a publisher, who is a man of business, considers it worth his while to advance money on royalties in order to purchase a licence to produce a certain book, it is absurd to say that such an arrangement is un- reasonable. Business men do not readily enter into unbusinesslike arrangements, and they must know when they enter into the bargain, that such payment will be amply restored to them, as far as their judgment can tell, by the sales of the book, or else they cannot be reckoned as men of business.  134 It is somewhat difficult to criticise the agreement itself, as the editor has covered the wording of the clauses by a careful explanation, but it should be stated that, in no circumstances, should an author sell the copyright of his work, the translation rights, or any of the minor rights. The habit of paying royalty on thirteen copies as twelve has come into contracts of late years, but authors should remember that this takes away 8 per cent., and that, in consequence, where they would otherwise have received the royalty on every copy, they would be entitled to a higher royalty if they receive it on thirteen copies reckoned as twelve. In the case in which the author’s royalty is subject to a reduction, if the sales are made at reduced prices or by way of remainder, it should be distinctly understood what a sale at reduced prices is, as trade sales vary con- siderably ; cases have arisen in which publishers have desired to pay a smaller royalty on the ground of a sale at reduced prices, when really the book had been sold to the trade at a slight reduc- tion on account of a large purchase. In the correction clause the editor allows the author a margin of only 6s. per sheet of sixteen pages. This is certainly small. ‘there are one or two additional clauses of importance which should have been suggested in this agreement. To sum up, 1t would appear that the editor in his desire to be fair to both parties, has fallen between two stools. He has put forward a series of agreements which are of no advantage to pub- lishers (they do not show the difficulties to be avoided or what bargains they should strive to make for themselves) nor to authors. They do not show them what their rights are and how they should retain them. Even if the editor had been desirous of keeping the balance fixed between the author and the publisher, he has certainly in this matter thrown some extra weight into the publisher’s scales. The forms of agreement which the editor has chosen to criticise are certainly by no means the best forms of agreement that come on the market. There are one or two publishers who have the printed forms which are the subject of editorial comment, and it would seem rather that the agreements have emanated from their offices. It would be advisable in future editions, for whoever is responsible for this part of the work, to study more varied forms of agreement, and consider the different methods by which different publishers and different authors have been accustomed to deal with the property of the author. RT, H, THER AUTHOR. UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT. 1 VERY interestmg correspondence dealing with the question of the United States copyright law has been initiated in the Standard by Mr. Douglas Sladen. The con- tributors seem to be unanimous on one point, that is, the unfairness of the United States copyright law to British authors and British copyright property, but they take different views as to the manner of dealing with the difficulty. Some desire still to rely on argument and per- suasion, whilst others desire to retaliate in order to force the United States to adopt a more equitable position. Thus the writers are divided into two parts, the majority desiring to bring pressure on the United States rather than to force retaliatory legislation on this side. The columns of The Author show that the Committee of the Society have always kept a keen eye upon the question of United States copyright, and, according to a letter that appeared in the Standard on January 19th, they have now decided to take some active steps. Last year the United States Copyright Association asked for the criticism of the Society on the copy- right law, but especially excluded the question of United States printing. The Author printed the correspondence in full. Members interested in the subject should read it carefully. It should be mentioned by the way that the competition in literary commodities cannot be placed on the same lines as the competition in other commodities, as some authors seem to think. The liberal minded, therefore, must not be alarmed at the words “ protection” and “ retaliation,” and must not think that the doctrines of Cobden are being overturned; in fact the protection demanded for literature is free trade in its widest sense. Lord Avebury in his letter touches on this oint. The Author has from time to time pointed out that the United States copyright law is even more severe against foreign nations than it is against England. ‘The United States publisher does not care to produce a simultaneous publication of a foreign book in the language of the original, and, in consequence, the unfortunate foreign author is compelled to translate into English, in addition to setting up in the United States and publishing simultaneously, if he wants to secure copyright. Germany for the past two years has fought vigorously against this position, and the German Authors’ and Publishers’ Associations have urged their Government to withdraw from the agreement with the United States. : Mr. G. H. Putnam, a prominent member of the Publishers’ Association in the United States, and a  THE AUTHOR. 135 staunch upholder of a wide copyright, has used his best endeavours to prevent what they term in the States ‘“‘retrogression,” and has made every effort to amend the United States law and place foreigners in a better position. The proposed amendment will give a year from the publication of the original in the foreign country for the publication of the translation in the United States before the copyright is lost. The first attempts were unsuccessful, but there appears to be a good prospect of the Bill becoming law at no distant date. It is this effort on the part of the United States and the consequent proposed law that has prompted the correspondence in the Standard. If the action of Germany is taken as an example, it would seem that retaliatory measures, or the threat of retaliatory measures, would have the desired effect, and it may fairly be deduced that if the same or even stronger retaliatory measures were taken in Great Britain, the same or even better results might accrue. But there is this further point to be taken into con- sideration, which will also serve as a strong argu- ment. In the days when the first United States Act was passed, owing to the fact that the United States author had practically no protection, the production of literature was small, and the number of publishers limited. Since those days, however, the partial protection which has been granted has raised the number of authors in the United States ten fold, and the number of pub- lishers in equal proportion. Retaliatory measures, therefore, would at the present time affect a larger number of people than they would have affected years ago, and it would be easier for the United States publishers and authors to bring more ample pressure to bear now than when, with such a de- termined and praiseworthy struggle, they passed the first United States Act. It is needless to say that as matters at present stand all the United States authors and certainly the great majority of the United States publishers, with the cultured minority of the United States citizens, are in favour of taking up that position in copyright legislation which all other civilised nations have taken. But, unfortunately, the politician and the trade care for none of these things, the advancement of their literature offers no attraction, and the opinion of the author has to bow before the greed of the printer. Mr. Bernard Shaw, in his letter to the Standard of Junuary 4th, is the true exponent of the position. He shows—and with justice—that if the United States should join the Bern Convention, their printers would not lose but would most likely gain by the change. Firstly, they would gain an enormous amount in the printing of English books that are not printed and published simultaneously now, but are shipped over in sheets ; and, secondly, they would gain by the increased production of United States literature, as it is a fact that the larger the scope given to men of talent in any direction for protection of their work, the larger the number of men of talent likely to adopt that work as a profession. This has been, and must be, a necessary law of evolution, and the enormous increase of United States writers during the past ten years is a witness to this law. But English authors must be quite clear on one point, ze., that if the United States joined the Bern Convention, the competition with the United States author would be increased and not diminished. Mr. Douglas Sladen, in his letter, seems to think that retaliatory measures would sweep the United States competition off the market. This is not so. Those authors of the United States who have an English public would still be copyrighted and have an English public. Those who have no English public, whose works it would not pay to copyright, would be sold in cheap editions all over the United Kingdom, and the competition would be greater. Retaliatory measures, therefore, would produce a more disastrous result from this point of view than would be produced by persuading the United States to join the Convention. It is unfortunate, as Mr. Matthews in another letter whimsically suggests, that we are kin to the Americans, otherwise we should be treated as foreigners and gain a similar advantage. In the excitement caused by the discussion about the law above referred to, a phase of United States copyright even more important has been overlooked. From the Umited States Publishers’ Weekly it appears that Mr. Tawney, who introduced a Bill into the House of Representatives on March 2nd, 1904, has recently brought forward the same Bill, the final clause of which runs as follows :— “And provided further, that accompanying the two copies of a book, photograph, chromo, or lithograph, required to be delivered or deposited as above, there shall be an affidavit under the seal of a registered notary public of the United States, and made by the person desiring the said copyright, or his United States agent or representative. setting forth that the two copies required to be so deposited have been printed from type set within the limits of the United States, or from photos made therefrom, or from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States or from transfers made therefrom: Provided also, that a penalty of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars shall be imposed for the violation of any of the provisions of this section.” Copyright registration is already sufficiently difficult, but if every copyright owner or his 136 agent has to support his deposit of copies by an affidavit, copyright registration will become almost unbearable, and no agent or publisher would undertake the risk of making such an affidavit at a penalty of not less than £50 and perhaps as high as £250. If the United States in their first copyright law only advanced half way from their barbaric condition the present law referring to foreigners would take them a little further towards civilisation, but Mr. Tawney’s Bill would take them back again almost to the starting point. These two points, then, should be carefully con- sidered : 1. Whether it is better in order to obtain equitable legislation to adopt retaliatory measures in Great Btitain, or whether it is better to bring more pressure to bear on the United States. From the conduct of Germany the first course would appear to be the best. 2. Whether Mr. Tawney’s amendment to the present Act should be opposed tooth and nail by all, both in the United States and in Great Britain. Finally, before the subject of United States copyright and international relations is laid aside, it might be as well to draw attention to a lament by Mr. W. D. Howells in the Christmas number of Harper's Magazine on the existing condition of things. He publishes a letter he has received from a correspondent raising a complaint against the present position of the United States, and setting out that no solid Engish book is now printed there, and his correspondent ends by saying “in conse- quence we shall relapse into barbarism, and then resort to piracy, which will so improve our minds that we shall again seek a lawful alliance, then degenerate again, and so on and so on.” Mr. Howells’ correspondent seems to forget that though the present law may exclude a certain number of English authors it has stimulated the literature of the United States, and surely the literature of their own countrymen ought to be able to raise the citizens to a level of civilisation : but both the writer of the letter and Mr. Howells seem to doubt whether this can be the case, and in lamenting the fact that the English authors are not published in cheap editions, think that there is no corresponding stimulus to American author- ship. Further, Mr. Howells, in commenting on the letter, says : “ English authors have now less currency in America than they had before the passage of the Act, and American authors have less currency in England, although in the social, political, and commercial interests there has been so great an affination of their respective nations.” The real fact of the case is that in this matter the United States have only emerged half way. THE AUTHOR. If they had emerged entirely and placed them- selves on the same basis as other civilised nations, neither the complaint of Mr. Howells’ corre- spondent nor his own would arise. But it is impossible to confirm the last part of Mr. Howells’ statement. He mentions that twenty years ago all the best United States authors were known in England. He includes in his list about eight names, but he may gain comfort with the full knowledge that where one author was known in England twenty years ago there must be at least five known at the present time. Without difficulty it would be possible to write down thirty United States authors who are not unknown this side of the Atlantic. This fact merely disproves Mr. Howells’ statement, and does not afford any permanent satisfaction. Mr. Howells proceeds : “That the two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon race no longer drink from the same wells of Eng- lish.” Again this can hardly be upheld. It is possible that the United States do not drink from our British well, owing to the fact that the United States trading element, dealing with property which does not belong to it, has insisted on the printing clause, but the British are drinking from the United States well in ample abundance. It is pleasant, however, to see Mr. Howells terminate his article with the following words: “ Better our historical novels and a good national conscience than the best English fiction and the sense of having robbed the author.” May this statement be a growing sentiment in the minds of the politician and the trade. R. M. —_—___e—>—_+-—____—__- MIL WERCKMEISTER v. AMERICAN LITHOGRAPHIC AND AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY. + HIS case was tried in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. The main issue was whether the exhibition of a picture in the Royal Academy in London was such a publication as would necessitate the American copyright notice being printed upon it in order to secure United States copyright. Some very interesting remarks were made as to what constituted publication. As an obiter dictum it is stated that the Courts have found the rule that the capacity for public repre- sentation of a dramatic piece is distinct from the publication of other literary productions. This, of course, we know has already been decided, and is one of the points of distinction between the United States law and. the British law, as first THE AUTHOR. 137 public representation in England is tantamount to first publication. Again ‘the exhibition of a work of art for the purpose of securing a purchaser or an offer to sell does not adversely affect the right to acquire copyright.” This question of the copyright notice which the United States Courts insist upon may prove a great difficulty in special cases. The one advantage of the method adopted under the Bern Convention is the fact that there is no need to comply with the particular formalities in other countries—signatories to the Convention—if in the country of origin the formalities are complied with, until publication in the other countries actually takes place. It seems absurd that a work of art put on the public market or a work of literature published in England should be bound to have a United States copyright notice upon it, and it is submitted that this position cannot be upheld. This question, unfortunately, was not at issue in the case above quoted, although it might have been determined had the dispute not been settled on another point, whether the exhibition of a picture ina public gallery amounted to publication so as to bring it under the statute, and, therefore, upset the common law right of the artist to control the reproduction before publication. The decision come to was that exhibition at the Royal Academy did not amount to such publica- tion. This is satisfactory, as the artistic effect of all the pictures being labelled with United States Copyright Notices would hardly be pleasing, although from the commercial view of the land of the almighty dollar it might be sound. _ MAGAZINE CONTENTS. —— JANUARY, 1905. BLACKWOOD’s MAGAZINE. Recollections of a Visit to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton at Knebworth in 1857, By E. H. J. THE BOOKMAN. The New Young Islanders. By A. Macdonell. Hawker of Morwenstow. By C. E. Byles. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. School Books Old and New. By Katherine Burrill, CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Utilitarian Secondary Education. By A. Macnaughton. Robert Browning and Alfred Domett. By Wm. Hall Griffin. The Oxyrhynchus Sayings of Jesus. By Vernon Bartlett. The Dual Nature of Deity. By Geo. Barlow. CoRNHILL. Blackstick Papers, No. 10: “Ja ium.’’ rs Poe) edhe sa : 10 Jacob Omnium. By Mrs. The Tereentenary of Don Quixote. By Austin Dobson A Welsh Rector of the Last Century. By His Honour Judge Pavey. G. D. Friend of Lamb. By E. V. Lucas. A Rhodes Scholar from Germany on Oxford. By H Evan Lindeiner Wildau. r oe THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. Aubrey de Vere, Poet. The Fall of the Directory. Bishop Creighton. Spenser in Ireland. Homer and His Commentators. Burne-Jones. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Psychological versus Armchair Historians. 3y Emil Reich. Anton Rubenstein. By A. E. Keeton. Sainte-Beuve. By Francis Gribble. Swinburne’s Collected Poems. By Ernest Rhys. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW. One View of Christian Faith, By C. R. Buxton. The Ideas of Anatole France. By Olgar Thorold. Bishops and Historians. By Herbert Paul. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE, Aubrey de Vere. By Mrs. C. Towle. The Hills of Dream: a Poem. By D. J. Robertson. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Dutch Undergraduate. By J. D. Hoare. Some Contemporary Criticism. By H. H. Dodwell. Shakespeare’s Books, By Geo. Bartram. THE MONTH. Blessed Edward Campion’s “ Decem Rationes.” By J. H. Pollen. The Plague of the Text Book. MoNTHLY REVIEW. Umbrian Art. By Edward Hutton. Vittoria Accoramboni. By Christopher Hare, NATIONAL REVIEW. Some Aspects of Children’s Books, By Miss Catherine Dodd. Field Names. By the Rev. Canon Ellacombe. Correspondence between Frederick Nietzsche and Geo. Brandes, with an introduction. By Elizabeth Forster Nietzsche. NINETEENTH CENTURY, Fantin and Boudin. By Frederick Wedmore. Higher Education in India. By Henry Madras, THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. William Stubbs, Churchman and Historian, Horace Walpole and Wm. Cowper. Matthew Arnold. The Direction and Method of Education, WorLp’s WORK AND PLAY. Religion in the Novel. By Hall Caine There is no article dealing with literary, dramatic, or musical subjects in Zemple Bar,  138 THE AUTHOR. WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. ++ ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. ‘There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a pad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to : C1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (8.) Not to allow a special charge for ‘office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account pooks which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ——__—_+—__o___—_ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. 1 IN sex sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established mabager. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays: in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts, Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts- in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect, The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights ina play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be, included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantia) consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11, An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. : ‘As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, om account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. —__—_——_—<—_o—_——_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must; however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two. rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He ay THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement,and should take into part.cular consideration . the warnings stated above. —— ee ee HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. i. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members, 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10, The subscription to the Society is £1 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. — igs Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or _ part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ———— ) THE READING BRANCH. Cae es EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this Vi branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. ‘The term MSS. includes ‘not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. +—>_¢ ______ NOTICES. Sn a coe See HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subseription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —— > + The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ———0—~<>_ — LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. +> i PENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. : Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C.  AUTHORITIES. —_-—~>—+— TuuRE has been some doubt in the minds of members of the Society as to those countries which are at present members of the Bern Convention. Tt may be of some use, therefore, again to catalogue the signatories. The subject is of considerable importance, looked at from any point of view, but owing to the fact that Sweden joined in August of last year, there is thisadditional point that the three Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, are now members. As the difference of language in each of these countries is stated in their own Copyright Law to be merely a difference of dialect, the trans- Jation in one country is secured in all three, and there is no longer fear of piracy. The Signatures. Germany, Tunis, Belgium, Monaco, Spain, Luxembourg, France, Japan, Haiti, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden. In order to complete the record of international relations as far as Great Britain is concerned, there remains the United States Copyright Act and the treaty with Austria-Hungary. The latter runs very much on the same lines as the clauses con- tained in the Convention of Bern. We desire again to call the attention of authors to the value of translation rights, as the matter is constantly coming before the Secretary. Translators in foreign countries often write to authors in the United Kingdom and inquire whether they may have the honour of translating their works. When the question of payment is brought forward, the reply comes back either that the translator cannot afford to pay any sum whatever, but considers the author obtains a good advertisement, or that translations are exceedingly badly paid for in the country of which the trans- lator is a citizen, and that the utmost it is possible to offer is £—. This offer sometimes goes as high as £10, but more frequently is much lower. It is true that translations are not paid for at a high rate, for in addition to the remuneration due to the original author, the remuneration for the translator has to be taken into consideration, but the following example will show that the statement THE AUTHOR. of the position is not always in accordance with fact. ‘A well-known English author was asked for the right of translation in his work, and on inquiry for payment received the answer already put forward, that the translator would be unable to obtain any money beyond what would cover his work as translator, but hoped the author would be able to get a certain amount of advertisement. The author finding that he failed to get cash, con- sented to receive nothing for the translation of the story. Our attention was called to the matter by a correspondent, who informed us that the trans- lation was being published as a serial in one of the largest and richest papers. Did the translator obtain a nice sum for this publica- tion ? or did the proprietor of the paper obtain the advantage by purchase of cheap copy ? What became of the book publisher ? In other cases also the rights have been given away by the authors. Again, examples have come to our notice where authors of the highest rank have received in foreign countries the paltry sum of £5 for translation rights. Authors, therefore, should take note of these points, and should not permit their works to be translated for nothing in countries which are members of the Bern Convention without having a most accurate statement as to the marketable quality of the translation, for they may rest assured that if the translator knows how to manage his business he will obtain a good recompense for his work, What has been stated applies to all countries bound together by International Agreement. Amone the correspondence we have the pleasure of printing a letter from the English representative of the North American Review, correcting a mistake made in Zhe Author in an article touching the dispute between Mr. G. W. E. Russell and that magazine. We regret the mistake, but the correction does not seem to alter, to any great extent, the un- accountable action of the North American Review and the circumstances surrounding the publication of the article referred to. Mermeers of the Society will be pleased to hear that the replica of the Besant Memorial has now been affixed to one of the granite bases by Waterloo Bridge. The exact locality is just to the west of the pridge, opposite the road coming down from the  THE AUTHOR. Strand to the Embankment. The’ County Council, who undertook to fix the site and place the work, gave no formal unveiling. As far as the Society was concerned the formal tribute to Sir Walter Besant was completed when the original was unveiled in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Amusing errors in nomenclature are sometimes to be found in the “books received” column of the great dailies, which are presumably “edited ” by one of the counting house clerks. Sometimes the variant given to the title is a distinct im- provement on the original. For instance, we notice “The Silent East” instead of “ The Silken East.” But an entry we once came across in a “books received” column, which dealt with an indian romance, was scarcely an improvement. The book was entitled “ Before the British Raj.” This was altered to “ Before the British Rag!” It appears from the papers that the idea of a permanent Shakespeare memorial is at last assuming its proper proportions. The County Council have agreed to provide a site if the necessary funds are forthcoming, and a provisional committee has been brought together. The names contained in the list show the support the movement is receiving, The President of our Society is one of the com- mittee, Dr. Furnivall has accepted the position of Chairman, Lord Avebury has consented to act as Treasurer, and Professor Israel Gollancz as Honorary Secretary. There seems to be no doubt that with the strong support already promised no difficulty will be experienced in ‘obtaining the necessary funds. For the sake of those who desire to interest themselves in the matter, it is as well to state that all communications should be sent to the Secretary, 32, George Street, Hanover Square, W. + EDWARD ROSE. 1° the last hours of the old year Edward Rose passed away at his house in Hampstead. By his death, at a comparatively early age, the Society loses a faithful friend and the members of the Committee a valued colleague. Having joined the latter body in 1900, he continued a regular attendant at its meetings till the end. His long and intimate acquaintance with the 141 theatre—as actor, as critic, and as playwright— gave him a knowledge of the dramatic side of the Committee’s work which was of the greatest service in its deliberations. He was also keenly interested in educational literature, being himself the author of more than one school book ; and he brought to the consideration of all questions an open mind, a_ well-balanced judgment, and a courtesy and kindliness of manner which made him a model Committeeman. He was a man of many interests—an educationalist, a politician, a student of social questions (he was an early and ardent supporter of the “ Garden City” movement) ; but his life’s work lay in the theatre, and here he was best known as a very skilful and successful master of the difficult art of adaptation. His original work is not, indeed, to be disregarded. “In Days of Old” will be remembered as a charming and graceful romantic play. But as an adapter he could claim at least three notable successes, * Vice Versa,” “The Prisoner of Zenda,” and “ Under the Red Robe,” and he did much—perhaps more. than any other man—to re-establish the “ drama- tized novel” in popular favour. The work of an adapter, as he conceived it, was by no means mere carpentry. While taking singular care to preserve. all of the original which was valuable for the uses. of the stage, he added much from his own store, rightly understanding that, before a novel can make a good play, it may well need addition as well as subtraction, a stronger infusion of the dramatic no less than an elision of what is not dramatic. So he made a play of his own out of a book which was not his own, and stood entitled to. the credit of its success. Devoted to his work, always full of new projects, yet at the same time with an outlook and interest stretching far beyond the walls of the theatre, he lived till the end a life rich in mental activity, although of later years his health was delicate and his spirit overshadowed by a great and enduring sorrow which had befallen him in the loss of a dearly-loved daughter. To his friends—to those who had the good fortune to know him well, whether in holiday hours or in days and weeks of work done together—he leaves behind him a pleasant memory, the memory of a man who, not himself dowered with high spirits, had such a gift of affectionate sympathy, and so complete a freedom from repining for himself and from envy towards others, that the joys and successes of his friends became to him as his own. He will live in their recollection as a good man, a good work- man, and a good friend. A. H. H.  THE MASTERS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.* — > — CCORDING to the preface, “The Masters of English Literature,” by Stephen Gwynn, is a book for young or busy people who do not wish to remain ignorant of what “every school- boy knows,” and whose knowleage and time are limited. Whilst it will doubtless fulfil this purpose (which puts it merely on the level of a handbook or literary “Who’s Who”), we venture to think that it will serve better ends than this, and that the author’s tentative hope that it may send the readers to the fountain head will also be fully realized. He has the art of putting the reader in touch with the various authors and their times by clear and sympathetic criticism of the passages cited, and, whilst pointing out their leading charac- teristics, he leaves enough unsaid to induce the reader to search further and think for himself. It is this which raises the book above the level ‘of a mere book of reference. His criticism is suggestive, and will be of interest to all lovers of literature who will recognize fresh beauties in familiar passages, and be led to study the originals with greater insight. It cannot be too highly recommended to students reading for examinations where time is short, and accurate knowledge, combined with scholarship, of great value. The author is so much in touch with his subject that in one case at least, whilst commenting on “Mrs. Battle’s Opinions on Whist,” a few lines are written in criticism, which might easily have flowed from the pen of the essayist himself. Yet there is no favouritism or over-praise of any special work; from Chaucer to Tennyson the balance of impartial judgment and clear narration is well kept, so that neither prejudice nor confusion is raised in the mind of the reader searching for information. The extracts given show unusual knowledge and insight, but in the case of Wordsworth, too much stress has been laid on the weaker side of his simplicity. One fine sonnet at least should have been quoted for the benefit of those who have not got beyond “ We are Seven,” and verses of that description. We fear that the ordinary reader, after perusing the “Idiot Boy,” will but echo the couplet thrown long ago at the heads of the poets of the Lake School : & They lived in the Lakes, an appropriate quarter For poems diluted with plenty of water.”’ _* “The Masters of English Literature,” by Stephen Gwynn. Published by Macmillan & Co. THE AUTHOR. The majority are but too well aware of the simplicity which at times borders on the inane, comparatively few have realised the incomparable beauty of “ Harth has not anything to show more fair,” the deep feeling of “ The world is too much with us,” the dreamy charm of the sonnet on Death, or the exquisite light touch which describes the daffodils in the lyric, “ I wandered lonely as a cloud.” In literature, as in everything else, local colour is of great value, and the stress laid by the author on the circumstances under which the works were written is as useful to the student as the criticism of the works themselves. The chapters on Milton, Dryden and Pope are notable instances of this. It is impossible to cultivate a catholic taste in literature without getting in touch with the times (often strange and antagonistic to our own day), in which some of the finest works were written. The author is well aware of this, and has noted it in the chapter on the 18th century novelists. In it he explains much of their former repute, and more of their disrepute in the present day. They are in a sense “caviare to the general,” and the reason why is set forth in clear terms by one who understands. No one who reads this little book can fail to have a very effective grasp of the main points of English literature, and in addition they will possess a feeling for the spirit of each age which will be of material advantage to them in pursuing their researches. i THE TERCENTENARY OF “DON QUIXOTE.” (Published at Madrid, January, 1605.) (Reprinted from the January Number of the Cornhill Magazine by kind permission of the Editor.) DVENTS we greet of great and small, Much we extol that may not live, Yet to the new-born type we give No care at all! This year, three centuries past,—by age More maimed than by Lepanto’s fight,— This year Cervantes gave to light His matchless page, Whence first outrode th’ immortal Pair,— The half-crazed Hero and his hind,— To make sad laughter for mankind ; And whence they fare Throughout all Fiction still, where chance Allies Life’s dullness with its dreams,— Allies what is with what but seems,— Fact and Romance :— ‘essenateesiiah  O Knight of fire and Squire of earth ! O changing give-and-take between The aim too high, the aim too mean, T hail your birth, Three centuries past, in sunburned Spain, And hang, on Time’s Pantheon wall, My votive tablet to recall That lasting gain! Austin Dosson. SO “DON QUIXOTE” TERCENTENARY. ae N the “From the Committee ”’ mention has been made from time to time of the action the Committee of the Society has taken in order to mark the literary importance of the Tercentenary of the publication of “Don Quixote.” The text of the address which will be sent to the Spanish Academy, drafted by Mr. Austin Dobson, approved by the President of the Society, Mr. George Meredith, and the Managing Committee, and signed by all the members of the Council, is now printed. ADDRESS TO THE SPANisH ACADEMY. The Council of the Society of Authors desires to express, on behalf of the members of that Society, the pleasure and entire sympathy with which they have learned that steps are being taken to celebrate the tercentenary of the publication of * Don Quixote.” There is a special, and, indeed, exceptional reason why Englishmen should wish to associate themselves with the contemplated ceremonial.. We in England were, from the first, among the most enthusiastic admirers of “ Don Quixote.” We have translated the book repeatedly and elaborately ; we have printed it in Spanish, and one of the most searching and scholarly of its commentators is to be found in the ranks of our ecclesiastics. Its Knight and Squire have become part of our national life ; its incidents have stimulated the invention of our artists, and lent imagery to our poets and dramatists, and the impress of its genius is upon all our great novelists, from Fielding and Sterne to Dickens and Thackeray. But there are further reasons—more general in their nature, and less local in their application—why we should join in doing honour to your illustrious compatriot. Spaniard of the Spaniards, he was also a cosmopolitan in fiction—a citizen of the world of letters. His method and his matter are alike imperishable, because they are based in universal humanity. Wherever is waged that endless war between metaphysics and mother-wit ; wherever imagination quits the beaten track of THE AUTHOR. 143 commonplace for the haunted bye-ways of romance: wherever the old heroic spirit is stirred once more to the sublime ambition of self-sacrifice - there must men remember and revere the name of Miguel de Cervantes. “Don Qurxorte” Dinner. In London on Thursday, January 19th, dinner was held at the Whitehall Rooms of the Hotel Metropole, under the chairmanship of Major Martin Hume, to celebrate the same event. The chief guest of the evening was the Spanish Ambassador. Among the company present were Mrs. Craigie, Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins, Mr. Edmund Gosse, Mr. Clement Shorter, Mr. Austin Dobson, Mr. Edward Clodd, Mr. Sidney Lee, and Mr. Justin H. McCarthy, Sir Henry Irving (representing the Stage), Prof. Ray Lankester, (Science), and Mr. George Frampton, R.A., (Art). The Spanish Ambassador, in responding to the toast of “ The Immortal Memory of Don Quixote,” proposed by the chairman, pointed out that the idealism destroyed by “Don Quixote” had not left Spain without lofty aims, and expressed the pleasure which he felt at the present cordial relations existing between Great Britain and his native country. Mr. Edmand Gosse, in proposing prosperity to the literatures of England and Spain, declared that in his opinion Spanish influence had implanted upon Elizabethan drama its love of splendour, colour and music. Sir Henry Irving, replying for the Drama, con- trasted the position of modern dramatists with that occupied by Cervantes, whom he stated at no time received more than about £7 10s. for any of his plays, and expressed a desire to meet a present- day dramatist willing to sell his work on similar terms. Sir Henry also dealt with the difficulties con- nected with the satisfactory production of “ Don Quixote” on the stage, and concluded his speech by remarking on the possibility of Shakespeare having had the opportunity of recognising a kindred soul before he died. ee CHARACTER-DRAWING. + HERE was a time (Plancus was consul then, if you are exacting for a date), when I used to be a great admirer of the paintings of G. D. Leslie, R.A., finding, I suppose, rest and refreshment in a certain grace which they possess, and their studied sobriety of tone. And I can THE THE MASTERS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.* ——————— CCORDING to the preface, “The Masters of English Literature,” by Stephen Gwynn, is a book for young or busy people who do not wish to remain ignorant of what “every school- boy knows,” and whose knowleage and time are limited. AUTHOR. The majority are but too well aware of the simplicity which at times borders on the inane, comparatively few have realised the incomparable beauty of “ Harth has not anything to show more fair,” the deep feeling of “The world is too much with us,” the dreamy charm of the sonnet on Death, or the exquisite light touch which describes the daffodils in the lyric, “ I wandered lonely as a cloud.” In literature, as in everything else, local colour is of great value, and the stress laid by the author on the circumstances under which the works Whilst it will doubtless fulfil this purpose (which puts it merely on the level of a handbook or literary “Who’s Who”), we venture to think that it will serve better ends than this, and that the author’s tentative hope that it may send the readers to the fountain head will also be fully realized. He has the art of putting the reader in touch with the various authors and their times by clear and sympathetic criticism of the passages cited, and, whilst pointing out their leading charac- teristics, he leaves enough unsaid to induce the reader to search further and think for himself. It is this which raises the book above the level of a mere book of reference. His criticism is suggestive, and will be of interest to all lovers of literature who will recognize fresh beauties in familiar passages, and be led to study the originals with greater insight. It cannot be too highly recommended to students reading for examinations where time is short, and accurate knowledge, combined with scholarship, of great value. The author is so much in touch with his subject that in one case at least, whilst commenting on “Mrs. Battle’s Opinions on Whist,” a few lines are written in criticism, which might easily have flowed from the pen of the essayist himself. Yet there is no favouritism or over-praise of any special work; from Chaucer to Tennyson the balance of impartial judgment and clear narration is well kept, so that neither prejudice nor confusion is raised in the mind of the reader searching for information. The extracts given show unusual knowledge and insight, but in the case of Wordsworth, too much stress has been laid on the weaker side of his simplicity. One fine sonnet at least should have been quoted for the benefit of those who have not got beyond “ We are Seven,” and verses of that description. We fear that the ordinary reader, after perusing the “Idiot Boy,” will but echo the couplet thrown long ago at the heads of the poets of the Lake School : fe They lived in the Lakes, an appropriate quarter For poems diluted with plenty of water.” * “The Masters of English Literature,’ by Stephen Gwynn. Published by Macmillan & Co, were written is as useful to the student as the criticism of the works themselves. on Milton, Dryden and Pope are notable instances of this. It is impossible to cultivate a catholic taste | in literature without getting in touch with the | times (often strange and antagonistic to our own 7 H day), in which some of the finest works were 2 oe written. pu has noted it in the chapter on the 18th century novelists. repute, and more of their disrepute in the present |e day. They are in a sense “caviare to the general,” lect and the reason why is set forth in clear terms by one who understands. little book can fail to have a very effective grasp 4 of the main points of English literature, and in addition they will possess a feeling for the spirit of each age which will be of material advantage to them in pursuing their researches. wei The chapters The author is well aware of this, and In it he explains much of their former | \oat No one who reads this +> ___—_ THE TERCENTENARY OF “DON QUIXOTE.” (Published at Madrid, January, 1605,) (Reprinted from the January Number of the Cornhill Magazine by kind permission of the Editor.) DVENTS we greet of great and small, Much we extol that may not live, Yet to the new-born type we give No eare at all! This year, three centuries past,—by age More maimed than by Lepanto’s fight,— This year Cervantes gave to light His matchless page, Whence first outrode th’ immortal Pair,— p> The half-crazed Hero and his hind,— f° To make sad laughter for mankind ; : And whence they fare Throughout all Fiction still, where chance Allies Life’s dullness with its dreams,— Allies what is with what but seems,— Fact and Romance :— eat co € eS 9 oe THE AUTHOR. O Knight of fire and Squire of earth ! O changing give-and-take between The aim too high, the aim too mean, T hail your birth, Three centuries past, in sunburned Spain, And hang, on Time’s Pantheon wall, My votive tablet to recall That lasting gain ! Austin Dogpson. Or “DON QUIXOTE” TERCENTENARY. ee N the “From the Committee ” mention has been made from time to time of the action the Committee of the Society has taken in order to mark the literary importance of the Tercentenary uf the publication of “ Don Quixote.” The text of the address which will be sent to the Spanish Academy, drafted by Mr. Austin Dobson, approved by the President of the Society, Mr. George Meredith, and the Managing Committee, and signed by all the members of the Council, is now printed. ADDRESS TO THE SPANISH ACADEMY. The Council of the Society of Authors desires to express, on behalf of the members of that Society, the pleasure and entire sympathy with which they have learned that steps are being taken to celebrate the tercentenary of the publication of “ Don Quixote.” There is a special, and, indeed, exceptional reason why Englishmen should wish to associate themselves with the contemplated ceremonial.. We in England were, from the first, among the most enthusiastic admirers of “ Don Quixote.’”” Wehave translated the book _repeatedly and elaborately ; we have printed it in Spanish, and one of the most searching and scholarly of its commentators is to be found in the ranks of our ecclesiastics. Its Knight and Squire have become part of our national life ; its incidents have stimulated the invention of our artists, and lent imagery to our poets and dramatists, and the impress of its genius is upon all our great novelists, from Fielding and Sterne to Dickens and Thackeray. But there are further reasons—more general in their nature, and less local in their application—why we should join in doing honour to your illustrious compatriot. Spaniard of the Spaniards, he was also a cosmopolitan in fiction—a citizen of the world of letters. His method and his matter are alike imperishable, because they are based in universal humanity. Wherever is waged that endless war between metaphysics and mother-wit ; wherever imagination quits the beaten track of 143: commonplace for the haunted bye-ways of romance : wherever the old heroic spirit is stirred once more to the sublime ambition of self-sacrifice - there must men remember and revere the name of Miguel de Cervantes. “Don Quixote” Dinner. In London on Thursday, January 19th, a dinner was held at the Whitehall Rooms of the Hotel Metropole, under the chairmanship of Major Martin Hume, to celebrate the same event, The chief guest of the evening was the Spanish Ambassador. Among the company present were Mrs. Craigie, Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins, Mr. Edmund Gosse, Mr. Clement Shorter, Mr. Austin Dobson, Mr. Edward Clodd, Mr. Sidney Lee, and Mr. Justin H. McCarthy, Sir Henry Irving (representing the Stage), Prof. Ray Lankester, (Science), and Mr. George Frampton, R.A., (Art). The Spanish Ambassador, in responding to the toast of “ The Immortal Memory of Don Quixote,” proposed by the chairman, pointed out that the idealism destroyed by “Don Quixote” had not left Spain without lofty aims, and expressed the pleasure which he felt at the present cordial relations existing between Great Britain and his native country. Mr. Edmund Gosse, in proposing prosperity to the literatures of England and Spain, declared that in his opinion Spanish influence had implanted upon Elizabethan drama its love of splendour, colour and music. Sir Henry Irving, replying for the Drama, con- trasted the position of modern dramatists with that occupied by Cervantes, whom he stated at no time received more than about £7 10s. for any of his plays, and expressed a desire to meet a present- day dramatist willing to sell his work on similar terms. Sir Henry also dealt with the difficulties con- nected with the satisfactory production of “ Don Quixote” on the stage, and concluded his speech by remarking on the possibility of Shakespeare having had the opportunity of recognising a kindred soul before he died. Se eee CHARACTER-DRAWING. 9 HERE was a time (Plancus was consul then, if you are exacting for a date), when I used to be a great admirer of the paintings of G. D. Leslie, R.A., finding, I suppose, rest and refreshment in a certain grace which they possess, and their studied sobriety of tone. And I can 144 recall saying to one who, to my inexperience, represented the height of mature culture, that at the Academy I looked for the Leightons and the Leslies, and did not care for anything else. She gave a deep assent—in those sesthetic days deep assents took the form of a sigh—and I felt proud of my judgment. But the next year I went to the Royal Academy with an artist, who, standing before the mob-capped Leslie maiden of that particular year, pointed out to me that the girl’s hands came about where her elbows should have been. And henceforward the charm of G. D. Leslie faded away for me. In mental things you cannot point out malforma- tions as easily as in things physical ; and it is perhaps well for the happiness of most novel- readers that you cannot. Yet even in the mere drawing of a figure, I for my part needed to have the defects made plain. And I feel a moral con- viction that if I could take the reader’s arm and stroll with him through a gallery of our most popular fiction, I could convince him of misdraught- ings of character quite as fatal as Leslie’s mis- drawings of mob-capped maidens : limbs too long or too short, necks all awry, every kind of impossi- bility. And he should soon learn to distinguish— though I do not think he does so yet—the unusual from the impossible. Nobody expects a gallery of portraits to be all alike ; and yet in a gallery of portraits you can easily, or easily learn to dis- tinguish between bad drawing and good drawing. When Velasquez paints you a dwarf, he is a dwarf and nothing more. But when Madox Brown does so—as in his pot-boy in “‘ Work’”’—he has painted a horror who haunts you just because the deformity of nature is complicated by the deformity of bad draughtsmanship. He did not intend that, no more than he intended his St. Peter, whose feet Christ is washing, in our Tate Gallery picture, to have a head almost twice too large for his body. I am sure that if we were equally sensible to malformations in character-drawings, all those personages of fiction whose merits or defects were outside nature would haunt us in the like fashion. Then those impossibly courageous heroes whom young ladies adore would not be pleasant to contem- plate at all—they would be more monstr’, horrend’, inform’ than Quasimodo; just as the Farnese Hercules is much more horrible than heroic. But alas ! we—we in England are the worst in this respect—seem hardly to have begun to understand the laws of character-drawing, and even to have declined in this regard of recent years. There are no studios where this kind of draughtsmanship can be taught. It is not studying the works of the great classics which will do the business. Had not the book illustrators of fifty years ago the classic masters in their own art before them ? THE AUTHOR. But who would now tolerate the hands and feet of Richard Doyle, say, or of Phiz? I am not saying that in these cases, as in that of Madox Brown, you do not get great excellences. Looking at their merits alone, you pardon their defects, which yet reach down to the elements of their art. So I make no doubt it will be with some of our best contemporary novelists fifty years hence. People will read them still with delight ; but they will wonder how the mere technique of the character- drawing could have gone so wonderfully astray. For my part I surmise that the failure of technique in the two arts—in figure-drawing and in character- drawing—springs from very much the same cause in either case. I imagine a Madox Brown (or a Richard Doyle; it doesn’t matter which you choose), getting his model in front of him, but so much occupied with what he wants to show of the face—minutest hairs, wrinkles, what-not, in the one case ; humorous touches in the second—that he almost forgets to look at the figure. At any rate, he never thinks of the face as a part of the body as a whole. Least of all does he think of face or figure as moving or caught under sudden aspects of light, and so forth. Well, it is the same with the drawer of character, ninety-nine times out of a hundred. The “ personality” with him plays the part which the head played for the Pre-Raphaelite. ‘And he on his side never thinks of that personality in motion, displaying itself as it only could display itself in reality in the rough-and-ready speech of actual life, in the sudden calls of common affairs. Of course we do not to-day—as Scott and Dickens did, at least with their hero and heroine—make the folk of our novels “talk like a book.” That that has been as much abandoned as the soliloquy on the stage is so far a sign of advance. But the pook-folk almost always speak—if I may use the word—in vacuo. They say what in the opinion of the author of their being would be at the back of their minds. They do not show the influence on themselves of the personality with whom they are in contact, nor any one of the thousand acci- dents which in real life always deflect speech from the perfect straight line. I call that speaking m vacuo. At any rate, it is an atmosphere which is not of earth, like the atmosphere of a Pre- Raphaelite picture. I say that a study of the classics will not alone correct this evil. 1 have listened a hundred times to Shakespeare on the stage, and I am absolutely convinced that the actor never really imagines © himself the personage he presents. He gets as far perhaps as imagining he imagines himself that personage. What he really does is (at best) to appreciate in its general bearing the essential emotion which the lines express. And all his brother actors (at best) do the same. Thus you THE AUTHOR. got a series of separate studies arranged into a picture ; which once again is the Pre-Raphaelite method. You never got the enveloping atmo- sphere which unitesthem all. To get that atmosphere in the case of Shakespeare is indeed almost a superhuman task. One can guess it, half appre- hend it in reading, no more. For here the atmo- sphere is not that of every day: it is transformed by the poetical setting. And yet even in this divine air the characters play upon each other, create each other, as they do not in any other poetical drama even of that time : not to the same extent, not nearly to the same extent. Shakespeare himself felt this without doubt, when he insisted so much on naturalness, on naturalism. And though his sentence has become a cant one with us, it is most noticeable how on either side of Shakespeare the Elizabethan dramatists shade off into extravagance, slip away into the non-natural (in love as in other things)—Marlowe does upon one side, Webster and Ford upon the other side. Even when they do not this, even when they turn the folk that strut and bellow out of doors, there is still the same kind of separation between the different characters that I have spoken of already—individuality in the wrong sense of the word. Their utterances read almost as if they were all speaking soliloquies or “talking like a book” in the Dickens-Scott fashion. More than anything does the technique of an art that is vital vary from age to age. And it is of no use to urge that good character-drawing belongs to all ages—to Shakespeare, to Sterne, to Richardson, to Thackeray. For it will not belong to our productions, if we set ourselves to imitate the manner of Shakespeare or Sterne or Richardson or Thackeray. It will not come through any elaboration of upholstering either—no more in the novel than on the stage. There is no harm in M. Antoine’s realism of stage-setting, and there is no harm in all the details in which the naturalist, he who prides himself on that title, takes delight. But unless you can get real folk to walk the boards all such stage-management is of little worth. C. F. Keary. $< —_ THE DECAY OF HUMOUR. —— + N Forster's “Life of Dickens” it is related that “The Pickwick Papers” were not absolutely successful until the character of Sam Weller was introduced. This witty type of a cockney servant stamped the inimitable book with the saving grace of humour. Perhaps the quaint turns of speech, the sly wisdom of the devoted Sam’s ideas, may not commend themselves 145 nowadays; their ancient flavour may not whet the modern, fastidious, literary palate; but genuine whimsicality must always appeal to the sense of humour which to a greater or less extent is latent in all of us. And over all the works of this master of fiction the spirit of drollery hovers and wanders to illumine the shadows of life. And this is why his popularity has kept pace with the growth of modern readers. Some years ago a few choice spirits, with exuberant pens and laughing intentions, embodied their ideas in certain books which had a measure of popularity. Brilliant wit and epigrammatic force did not lurk in their pages, which were only seasoned with inoffensive jokes and mild incon- eruities. But a wonderful result happened! These exuberant platitudes were styled the new humour! as if real humour could ever grow old, or actual wit become stale. But a large section of the reading public, perhaps, oppressed with the solemn seriousness of nearly all imaginative literature, exultingly welcomed these appeals to their laughing instincts. The constituents of this so-called new humour were only pinchbeck and veneer, but it served. It has already become obscure and forgotten. It has lived its little day and is heard no more. Why amongst our various periodicals are there no humorous or even semi-humorous ones ? Where is the light play of thought, the touches of persi- flage, the fantastic grace of whimsicality, the subtle egigram, the shaft of satire, the grotesque absurdity, or even the twist of verbal meanings, all bordering on or relating to the saving grace of humour? What mystic spirit of solemnity has clouded modern thought ? It may be said, however, that there is a certain ancient comic institution to supply the humorous needs of the public. Certainly its illustrations often sharply outline the shows and vanities of the hour ; but its venerable quips and irksome sallies hardly provoke hilarity. Nevertheless, the institu- tion claims its votaries, for the spirit of the past, when genius stamped its pages with brilliancy and brightness, still endears this publication. But there is ample room for a modern rival. When are we to have it ? The fiction of the period is sometimes brilliant, but seldom diverting. here are a few popular novels full of generous farce or touched with a keen spirit of humour, on others a bizarre wild- ness and curious vein of drollery ; but the general tone of modern fiction is dejecting, pessimistic and solemn. Yet the genius of the modern novelist ranges in every direction. Plots, inci- dents, characters, are as varied as the countries of the earth ; but wit or humour is almost nd ; and the busy, reading world is so eager to laugh and  146 to chuckle! Surely the novel which photographs life’s episodes, events and aspects ought to reveal its lighter and mirth-compelling moods. The times are crying out for merry thought, lively characters, hopefulness, gladness in the domain of imagination and life. Poetry nowadays seems almost a caput mor- fwum, and our few bards only pipe doleful music. Their ditties are set ina minor key. There is no Thomas Hood to evoke smiles as well as tears; no Byron to electrify the world with brilliant wit. Even the lighter fantasies of society verse are not popular. The strife, stress and endeavour of life have shadowed song. ‘The saving grace of humour has departed from it. The modern comedy of manners and men, with a consistent plot, natural incidents and situations, seems to be non-existent. But the solemn serious- ness of the times finds its inevitable reaction in the forced buffoonery of a three-act farce written around the distinguished actor-manager. Still its unreal panorama of life and the inconsequent vagaries of the puppets arouse mirth. The jaded, solemn citizen finds relief in the grotesque, incon- gruous play that amuses without making any appeal to the intelligence. The glimpses into an absurd, humorous, but unconvincing world are still a transient pleasure. Even the modern poetic drama, such as it is, is devoid of humorous interludes. There is no mirth-provoking purpose to illumine its glint and glamour ; no iridescent wit to bring the trope and metaphor into relief. Evidently the clowns and fools of the poet of all time have not taught the modern poetic playwright any preparatory lessons. He has not sought the effects of contrast, the light play of incongruous thought, the vivid impression of an epigram. Consequently, his plays, marred with incompleteness, only partially interest. Is it any wonder that the jaded public, oppressed with the solemn austerity of what it hears and reads, enjoys inept musical farces ? What if their melodies are weak echoes, the lyrics a jingle and jangle of nonsense, and the dialogue sprinkled with threadbare inanities ; dejected humanity enjoys the relief. It laughs and forgets. The light, mirthful hours banish memories of the solemn platitudes, the dreary gush of sentiment that infect literature and the Press, which, for all we know to the contrary, may be the cause of the alarming increase of patients in lunatic asylums. We not only take our pleasures sadly, but our work, conversation, and social intercourse seem pervaded with gloom. The dismal silence in an omnibus or railway carriage might be the precursor of the final Judgment Day. ‘The stolid, sad faces THE AUTHOR. of the passengers seem to mirror doleful cares or unhappy experiences. Oh, for a chuckle or a titter to break the oppressive silence and the brooding solemnity ! The old Puritanical spirit still seems to darken our lives and our homes. ‘There are tens of thousands of sensible people in London to-day who deem theatre-going a sin. In hundreds of chapels the iniquity of the Stage is insisted on, and doleful hymns and sermons are presumed to add to the happiness of humanity. The religion of innocent amusement and merry thought is tabooed. It is said that conversation is becoming a lost art ; thus one of the prerogatives of mankind, the propensity to laugh, seems also to be gradually disappearing in this country. In course of time, unless severe and prompt measures are taken to check our dismal tendencies, our laughing powers will become atrophied through disuse. The art of smiling graciously will be lost, until gradually the haman face divine will revert to its old sad ape-like appearance. Everyone will frown or have a lugubrious aspect. The music of the coming time will only consist of funeral marches ; the plays will only be dire tragedies, and everyone will have suicidal tendencies ! How delightful it is to be associated or live with those who see the humorous side of things, the mirthful oddities of life. The person who can transform a serious remark into a joke, or a plaintive saying into a jocular one is the world’s benefactor. How one’s heart warms to one who can brighten lagging moments with a happy anecdote, jest or repartee. These choice, mirth- ful souls are the salt of home life. Their inflaence kills care and stifles despondency. The stress, worry and the pin-pricks of existence vanish in the atmosphere of their liveliness. To dwell with one of these joyous temperaments is like breathing the air of pine woods or the ozone of the sea. It is the hopeful, vigorous atmosphere of real happiness. Perhaps the scholastic training of the future will include the study and appreciation of jokes! There must be a school for anecdotes, epigrams and conundrums. ‘The teachers must be wits ; there must be regular examinations in drollery, and prizes and scholarships must be awarded to those who can distil the most merriment out of life’s toils, abstractions and cares; whilst to be dull, grave, solemn or dismal without sufficient reason shall be considered a punishable offence. Of course, the professors at these gay institutions must be Professors of the Saving Grace of Humour. IsrporE G. ASCHER.  THE AUTHOR. A MODERN FRENCH HISTORIAN. +o ONSIEUR FRANTZ FUNCK-BREN- TANO is having a most successful tour in the United States, where he is engaged in _ giving eighty conferences on “ Ancient France” for the Federation of the French-American Alliance. No one could be better fitted for such an under- taking. Monsieur Brentano has lived in that great past of France in a manner altogether unique and special. For ten whole years he devoted his life to classifying the archives of the Bastille and com- piling a catalogue for the Government of those thrilling and dramatic human records, many of them written in the blood of the prisoner on strips of linen shirt, on the plaster of the walls, on anything which would retain a mark. There is a small room at the Bibliothéque de TArsénal, the old palace of the Duc de Sully, the walls of which are entirely lined from floor to ceiling with neatly covered and catalogued folios —all records of the once famous Bastille. It is not surprising that Monsieur Brentano, having lived on intimate terms for so many years with these unfortunate, and in many cases illus- trious, prisoners, deciphering their most heart- rending confessions, dying petitions, and sometimes maledictions, should write of them with the pen of one who knows, not only as the historian and scholar, the President of the ‘‘ Société des Etudes Historiques,” the Professor of the Collége de France, the Librarian of the Bibliotheque de l’Arsénal, but as one who has dwelt among them, felt their heart-throbs, witnessed their tears. No priest in the confessional could have got in closer touch with the strange, capricious nature of that abnormal criminal, the poisoner Marquise de Brinvilliers ; or the noble, heroic soul of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette. It is this insight into character and motive which gives to the work of Monsieur Brentano its peculiar interest and hold on the imagination. His style is terse and singu- larly lucid. There is no touch of sentimentality, no attempt to work on your feelings—just a care- ful statement of facts, a careful analysis of motive, borne out by documentary evidence supplied by letters, reports of trials, sentences, etc. ; but you feel these are human beings of like passions with those now living, not historical lay-figures seen through a dim past. The principal works of Monsieur Brentano are *‘Légendes et Archives de la Bastille ” (in which the author solves the problem of the “ Man with the Iron Mask”), the “ Drame des Poisons,” “ Histoire du Collier,’ its tragic sequel, ‘La Mort de la Reine,” and “ Les Brigands de France.” With regard to the last-named, it is one to 147 rejoice and thrill the heart of every schoolboy, though there is much in it to make his mother shudder. The original of Blue Beard, the monster Barbe Bleue comes under this head, and one can hardly sympathise with Monsieur Brentano’s para- doxical theory that the main difference between brigands and respectable members of the community, is, that the former are honest fellows “ hating any sham,” when you read that after doing to death in an unspeakably horrible fashion two hundred and forty young boys and girls, the monster finally repented and made a most pious ending upon the scaffold ! This year Monsieur Brentano will become known to the public also as a dramatist. Three of his plays, one a collaboration with Monsieur Sardou, have been taken by leading theatres in Paris, and the American rights for, I believe, two of the plays are already bought. The “ Mort de la Reine” and “ Histoire du Collier” have both been translated into English, and are well known, at all events in literary circles. If the author could be induced to repeat his American conferences in London his books would soon certainly not fail to become widely popular, for they are living romances. The conferences, too, are of a popular kind, not the dry-as-dust lectures in the French tongue one is occasionally invited to attend in London drawing-rooms, but full of the same human and dramatic element which characterises his books. ‘They are illus- trated also by magic-lantern slides of old France and portraits of the men and women who are the subjects of the lecture. No one minds going to school again under the auspices of Frantz Funck-Brentano, and no one ever gets a chance of going to sleep. CoNSTANCE ELIZABETH MAuvD. <> —_____— TYPE-WRITING : A PROTEST. op AM going to enter a protest, under the depress- ing conviction that all protest is useless, and that there is no remedy for the evil. I refer to the increasing tendency of typists to lower their prices, which were low enough before in all con- science. I write, also, subject to a correction which is even more depressing. Whenever I say that personally I object to employing any type- writer who charges less than 1s. a thousand words, I am told that in this I display a wanton ignorance of economics; I am besought to consider the facts, and reminded that many people, who could not possibly afford 1s, a thousand and can afford 8d. or 9d. are spending as much as £30 or £40 or more:  148 on type-writing in the year, and that if the charges were higher the inevitable consequence would be that these valuable people would simply cease to give out their work. But would this happen so inevitably ? Would not they continue to spend their £30 or £40 on copying, since they can afford it, anid merely give out rather less MS. in the year than they did before? A consequence by which both the type-writing trade and the self-respecting type-writing individual would gain. The others deserve all the discouragement they can get; or would, if their case were not so hard. And of course there is the argument from speed. It is only obvious, I am told, that typists who can turn out 2,000 words in the same time that others take to copy 1,000, actually gain by charging 9d. instead of 1s. Possibly (if they cannot get the 1s.) ; but to the simple mind it seems (quite apart from the fact that these cheap persons are ruining the market for other people) curious that skilled workers should be paid less rather than more for their extra dexterity. Then there is the argument from incompetence (curiously, again, it is the very reverse of the argu- ment from speed). Some typists, it is said, are not worth more than the low terms they offer. Very likely, and nobody could complain if the hire were in all cases proportioned to the labourer’s worth. But this is not so. Sometimes the lower terms are offered by incompetent persons setting up on their own account. As often as not the inferior work is turned out by the prentice hands of firms charging the higher rates ; while it is just the superior speed of the skilled operators which enables them to undersell their competitors. I know the subject is by no means so simple as I may seem anxious to make out. All sorts of things have to be taken into consideration. For instance, I was roused to this protest by the insi- dious solicitations of a circular, addressed to me by a firm in a provincial town, offering to type my MSS. for me at the seductive rate of 6d. a thou- sand. My answer was a strong, and, as I believed at the time, well-deserved remonstrance. It drew forth an elaborate explanation. The town in ques- tion had a season, and the season affected the firm. These sixpences, therefore, were only its winter terms; in the summer it asks and has no difficulty in getting as much as 1s. 3d. a thousand. But in the dead season work is so scarce in that place that the only alternative to offering these low terms is to dismiss the staff, and the staff prefer to be kept on at any terms. : Now, such an arrangement may be perfectly justifiable as between employer and employed ; its effect on the market is none the less deplorable. The fault is not with the typists, and not always (in fact, seldom, one imagines) with their employers. THE AUTHOR. Neither is the remedy altogether in their hands. It is hard to say what remedy there is. Can we expect them to take a noble altruistic attitude by foregoing their only chance of finding employment in this over-crowded market? Or may we hope for a more moral view on the part of the class which at least controls the out-put if it has no direct power over the price ? In all this I am sure I am displaying a wanton ignorance of economics. What does it matter, if it only provokes somebody else to display the sort of knowledge that suggests a remedy ? May SINcLarr. rs ARS LONGA—YITA BREVIS. a Scene: London.—A drawing-room in MAGDALEN Daty’s house. Time: The Present. PERSONS : Magpauen Daty, a novelist. CHARLOTTE JOHNSON, her friend. SCENE I. Cuar. What? After waiting years to get your work accepted, do you mean to say you're going to fling the whole thing up now ? Mac. Yes, no doubt whatever of my intentions. Do you see this? (Holds up a packet of papers.) To put me quite out of the reach of temptation, here goes my last manuscript. (Throws the packet anto the fire.) CuHar. Oh, Magdalen! Maa. Short work, wasn’t it ? (She watches the papers burning, while CHARLOTTE tries to save them witha poker.) Well, what do you think of me now ? I haven’t got a copy, you know ? Cuar. I think you insane. Why, editors are simply snapping at everything you send them, and in another year youd have made your name. And wasn’t George Matthews going to take you on his staff? What’ll you do about that ? Mac. Nothing ; [ve refused Mr. Matthews’ offer. CHAR. Whatever for ? Mac. I'll tell you, if you'll let that poker alone ; there’s no good raking among those ashes, they’re done for. Do listen instead of making that horrid row. Cuar. Well? (Drops the poker.) Mac. (shuddering). Oh! I knew you'd go and do that! Sit down and try and look more intelli- gent; I’m going to talk seriously—not that you'll  THE AUTHOR. understand it in the least. People are pleased to say my stories are “so true to life,” and I daresay they are. J’m not. I’ve never lived—never until now. CHAR. (with sublime contempt). Oh, now. Mag. I was fool enough to think I could run the two things comfortably together. But I can’t. Therefore, as you see, I’ve jilted “ art.” Car. But why—when there was another alternative Maa. Because—because art is long and can wait, and life is short and must be accepted now or never. Caar. Oh come, I can’t take ‘hat in ; what do you mean ? Mac. I mean that I’m going to marry Leslie Copeland, as you know. CHAR. Oh, now I see what you're driving at. You’re—actually—going to—sacrifice your career vo Mr. Copeland ? Mac. “Sacrifice” is not exactly the word I should use. CHar. Isn't it? He’saliterary man himself— would he do as much for you ? Maa. (with hesitation): He needn’t ; men are different, you see. CHarR. (with a sniff). Are they, are they ? Mac. Yes, you may blink the fact, since it seems to annoy you, but it remains. One woman can’t live two lives, though one man may. Cuar. He may, by shirking the responsibilities of both. Mac. No, by sheer strength. A man has more staying power, for the simple reason that he has more self-restraint. Car. Skittles! That’s the last thing he’s got. Maa. At any rate he doesn’t mix up his heart with his brains in order to write a novel. That’s what a woman does as arule; andit’s fatal. Say what you like, we are handicapped. You can never tell how a woman may end, but if a man’s an artist once, he’s an artist to the end of the chapter. His mind’s built in water-tight compartments, and if he springs a leak in one it doesn’t affect the rest, while ten to one a woman finds herself sinking before she knows there’s a storm. That’s where it is ; I couldn’t be Leslie’s wife and an artist (how I hate the word ! ) in the same lifetime. CHAR. Well, I can’t see it. Mac. Can’t you? Do you realise what it means? It means to live with your own ideas night and day, to be always listening to their voices, thinking their thoughts, till you see and hear and care for nothingelse. ‘T’o be Leslie’s wife means I can’t tell you, for I don’t know myself yet. I only know that the woman who puts her whole heart into a book won’t have much of it left for her husband. And I’m equally certain that I 149 should ruin Leslie’s life, if I went on working after I married him. I know the sort of things that would happen. Every word I write carries away a bit of me with it, and when my final masterpiece has left me as dull as a University Extension Lecturer, would it console Leslie to know that my works are full of sparkling dialogue ? Cuar. It ought to, if he wasn’t a selfish brute. But there’s no good arguing. I know most women are fools when there’s a man in the case, though I thought you had a soul above that sort of thing. Mac. Ah! You didn’t know me; I didn’t know myself a year ago. I believed I had a mind, perhaps a heart, and I was very positive I had a will ; but as for a “soul,” it wasn’t till I knew Leslie that I found out I had one. ‘There's another brilliant discovery for you. CHar. So you immediately go and commit suicide on the strength of it—throwing yourself away in this fashion ! Mac. Throwing—myself—away. Perhaps; but I gain more than I lose. CHar. And supposing you were to lose him 2 What would you do then? Maa. Then—I shouldn’t want to do any- thing. But why do you saggest such hideous possibilities ? Cuar. Because you talk as if life had no other interest for you beyond your absurd infatuation for that man. Why, life’s full of interests. Look at me Mac. You! I never saw a sadder sight—a woman who spends eight hours a day in an office, because she thinks it manly. (Stghs heavily.) Well, I suppose one can magnify one’s office—even if it is in the City. Cuar. (rising). Oh, it’s one opening, you know; then I’ve got my typewriting, that’s another. Catch me giving up my career! And if I’d your chances—well Maa. Then possibly you’d do as I do. Cuar. (shaking hands). Ymnot afool. Good- bye, dear, I must be off. What are you going to do next week ? Mac. Oh,my cousin Violet Laybourne’s coming up for the season, She’s promised to give up flirtation if I'll take her in for a month. She wants to see a little of life, so I shall have my hands full. Cuar. (meditatively). Yes. (Holding her at arm’s length and examining her critically.) Do you know, you really ought to get a smarter gown. ‘And—couldn’t you make rather more of your hair, ‘ or does Mr. Copeland like it best as it is ? I don’t know, really, Mac. (laughing). perhaps he does. (They kiss, and Charlotte goes out.)  AN INTERVAL OF SIX WEEKS. SCENE II. Cuar. (enthusiastically). Oh, yes, rather, dear, I’m getting on like a house on fire. I’m in your line now, you know—I do the ‘Notes for Our Pantry” column in Zhe Woman’s Weekly; it’s a good opening. And what are you doing ? Mae. (wearily). 1? Im doing nothing at present. (An awkward pause, ) Cuar. (tentatively). Is it true you’re not going to marry Mr. Copeland after all ? Mac. Yes, and it’s still truer that Mr. Cope- land’s not going to marry me. Cuar. Dear me, you don’t mean to say so! I heard the report, but I don’t know any particulars. Mac. There weren’t any. Cuar. Nonsense? How did it all happen ? Do tell me, dear, I’m dying to know. Maa. There’s nothing to tell; it was all over inaweek. Let me see——(couwnting on her fingers ) Violet came on a Monday. On Wednesday he began to protest against things in general. On Thursday he said he couldn’t stand the modern world and modern ideas—the decadents bored him, and the advanced people made him ill. On Friday he remarked, in a casual way, that I was terrifically complex—saturated with the modern spirit. All Saturday he talked about the simplicity of the golden age (she had on a sprigged white muslin blouse that day), and on Sunday he expressed a wish tu be in Arcady. At his own request I gave him leave to go there, and he’s there now, I believe, engaged to my cousin—a charming little anachronism. Cuyar. What? Has he thrown you over for her, the fluffy-brained thing? She’s only got one idea in her head. Mac. And that not a very modern one; Violet is simplicity itself. Don’t get excited, it’s all for the best, in this best of all possible worlds. Cnar. It isn’t, it’s shameful. Such a genius, too! Of course, that makes it all the worse to bear. My poor Magdalen, I know how you're feeling it, though you look as cool and hard as a cucumber. Well, there’s one consolation for you—they’ll be so miserable ! Maa. You consider that a comforting reflection? Cuar. I do. Serves him right, too! She won't care a rap about lis genius and all the rest of it ; she won’t understand one of the things he writes Maa. On the contrary, she thinks him “awfully clever’; and if she doesn’t, what matter? He can apreal from Violet to posterity. As I once THE AUTHOR. remarked before, Art is long, and—the future wil} be his. CHar. (rising indignantly). It’s hers, too; can’t you see that? Or don’t you care? Why, that little idiot will simply wear his fame as the finest feather in her cap! Mac. Possibly. Violet always had excellent taste in dress. (Looks abstractedly at a photograph on the mantelshelf. ) Cuar. (afler an awkward pause). Well. Come and see me soon, dear. ( They part.) Mace. ((o the photograph). Oh, Leslie, I wouldn’t. mind if only you had a future. — a CORRESPONDENCE. 1 Mr. Grorce Russevt ano “ Tus Nortu AMERICAN REVIEW.” Srr,—A recent article in Zhe Author has been brought to my notice, dealing with Mr. George Russell’s letter to the Zimes respecting his article in the North American Review upon the late Sir William Harcourt. It is stated in your comments upon this topic that you ‘understand that the editor had notice of the writer’s objection ” to the article appearing after Sir William’s death. In fairness to my colleague at New York, I must. inform you that this was not the case, as Mr. Russell’s remonstrance was only made upon seeing the article in the November number. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, G. LEVESON GOWER (European representative of the North American Review). —— oe THE VALUE OF “ORIGINALS.” I. Sir,—Permit me to draw attention to the important case reported in The Daily Telegraph, with the title of “‘ Weather Vanes,” on Dee. 20,. 1804, and in preceding issues. Several editors gave evidence in the case, and substantially agreed with that of Mr. Stanley Wood, who put the whole matter in a few words. by the definite statement that originals, ae, original drawings, sent to a magazine were the property of the proprietor, unless there were some special contract. The claim of £173 for plaintiff's. eleven designs was outrageous ; ten shillings each was sufficient.  y # Antoni er, THE AUTHOR. What I desire to know is, by what right does an original sent to a magazine become “the pro- perty of the proprietor?” Does the same claim extend to original written contributions ? The greatest puzzle of all is to know how the editor came to appraise the value of the originals at “ten shillings each.” On his own showing such an original must, if sent to him, have become his own “property.” Then why give “ten shillings” for what belongs to you already ? Will anyone explain this ? Waiter W. SKEAT. + II. Sir,—By a happy printer's accident, whereby Dr. Skeats’s letter appeared in proof on certain galleys which you were so good as to send me, I have had the luck to see and read it before other readers of 7'e Author. Will you therefore kindly aliow me to play the humble part of the mouse in the fable to this king of letters, who has himself often befriended me in greater matters. The question he proposes is this: I sell to a magazine either the copyright or the serial right (or both) in certain drawings—to whom do the actual drawings afterwards belong ? Now, in four cases out of five, the actual drawings have, after reproduction and publication, little saleable value. The result of this upon these business transactions is that artists have grown careless about their rights. They sell the drawings —that is, copyright, serial rights, and the physical property in the drawings. True, they do not actually intend to sell so much, and there is the vice of the whole matter. Artists and authors are only now waking up to the fact that they should practice the same methods of doing business as other business men. A photographer, for example, sends an editor a printed form, explicitly stating the right given— including size and the vehicle which alone is to carry the right. But as regards artists, my experience is that only the older men ever dream of subdividing and reserving their rights. Yet this matter is quite simple. An artist has only to say : “ Please note, I sell you only such and such right, reserving all others to myself; and the originals are to remain my property, and to be returned to me after reproduction.” The portentous words “special contract” mean nothing more than this. The same thing applies to MSS. In this case, similarly, only the actual MSS. of celebrated men is of money value. Ruskin’s MSS., for example, have changed hands at considerable prices since his death. But there is no reason why authors who believe the MSS. of their works will one day be valuable should not reserve the right in them and get them back. 151 Why an editor who loses drawings should, on a claim being made for them, estimate their value at: ten shillings each”’—although he believes them to be his own property—this appears to be one of those judicial jokes which are funny only to the onlookers. : CG. YV. A: Malpas, Chesire. eC SWORD AND PEN. Str,—I have read with much pleasure Mr. Horace Wyndham’s interesting article, ‘“ Sword and Pen,” in the December number of Z'he Author. May I suggest that a list so comprehensive as to include Julius Ceesar and “ Linesman ” should also contain the name of that well-known Canadian Imperialist Lieut.-Colonel George T. Denison, whose *‘ Modern Cavalry,” published in 1868, was afterwards translated into both German and Russian, and was the undoubted source of certain reforms and improvements in the cavalry of the former nation. Colonel Denison’s “ History of Cavalry,” for which he obtained the prize of 5,000 roubles offered by the Czar for the best work on the subject in 1877, is also well known; while his “ Soldiering in Canada,” published in Toronto and England four years ago, is one of the most interesting and chatty of military autobiographies. It is a significant fact that “ Modern Cavalry” and “The History of Cavalry” have had their greatest vogue among foreign military readers, who were not slow to perceive their value. In England, where the military constitution is subject to chronic conservatism, it was perhaps considered an unheard-of and disagreeable innovation that the best works on the topics treated should pro- ceed from the pen of a colonial citizen-soldier, out- side of the sacred pale of the “ regulars,” who, at the time he wrote them, was industriously following his profession of law. I do not think for a moment that this had anything to do with the exclusion of Colonel Denison’s name from Mr. Wyndham’s chronicle. Since tne Boer War we have had to come to the conclusion that the citizen- soldier will be the soldier of the future, and that it is upon his competence, in a great measure, that the fortunes of war will depend. Bernarpd McEvoy. Vancouver, B.C. oo Book BrGaaars. Sir,—Authors have for years been more or less subjected to the annoyance of applications for free copies of their works, all kinds of specious reasons being given by the writers. This system appears to be a very cheap way of forming a library, and from the recent increase In the number of such applications it is apparently a  152 successful one. I can understand some people wishing to possess more or less entertaining books without paying for them, but when they apply for the dry stuff I write (technical) it would appear likely that there is a channel where they get rid of them at a profit. During the last few months I have had several such applications from complete strangers, couched, I need hardly say, in the most flattering terms ; but as my vanity was satiated years ago I refused them all. From what I hear, this sort of thing appears likely to become an unmitigated nuisance unless checked, and my object in writing is to ask all authors to absolutely refuse such unfair requests. Literature, luckily, has its compensations, but most of us do not write entirely for amusement. If our begging friends happened to be hatters or drapers, for instance, what would they think if authors called and asked to be presented with a new silk hat—or say one trimmed with ostrich feathers for nothing—Verbum sap. Yours faithfully, M. Powis Baus, M.I.C.E. a oe TITLES. Srr,—Will you allow me to uplift my humble voice and air three grievances ? I wrote a children’s book called “Pat” which sold merrily for some years. Suddenly I found the title changed to “ Patricia” without my know- ledge or consent, because some other publisher had a book of that name (which I never heard of) and insisted on my title being changed. Some twenty years ago I read a charming novel called “The Sword of Damocles.” Quite lately I saw it advertised in a sixpenny edition. I ordered it, and find myself possessed of a sensational tale by a totally different author. This Christmas I ordered what purported to be a new edition of “ Mrs. Leycester’s School.” I find all the delightful account of the school, including the young ladies fighting and scratching, is entirely omitted. The book consists merely of the histories related by the aforesaid young ladies. Should it not have been advertised as abridged ? The ways of the publisher as regards titles are too much for me. Puzziep. ee IncomE Tax FOR AUTHORS. DEAR Srr,—Your counsel’s admirable com- parison between authorship and coachbuilding has filled me with such profound conviction that I venture to ask him or any other kind Christian soul to resolve a few difficulties which still stand in the way of my adopting it as an axiom. We may take it for granted, I presume, that THE AUTHOR. both author and coachbuilder are God’s creatures of a day, that their brains are about equal, that they both, alas ! have to pay an iniquitous tax on brains. Also that the brains of a coachbuilder and an author equally require raw material on which to work. The coachbuilder’s is, let us say, largely varnish, with minor items of wood, iron, horsehair, etc., superadded. Of all these he has a supply only limited by his purchasing power. The author like- wise has pen, ink, paper in quantities only limited by his pocket. So far it seems as if both brains had a satisfactory medium in which to work. But unfortunately pen, ink, paper and brains do not make it possible to produce imaginative or creative work indefinitely. There is such a phrase “ He has written himself out.” There is no phrase “ He has coach-built himself out.” Why? Because the building of one coach does not in any way detract from the builder’s power of production, while it adds to his technical skill. In like manner the writing of fiction adds or ought to add technical skill to the author, but it also uses up irrevocably plot, incident, description, all of which are limited in relation to the limited experience. Take my own case. I was five and twenty years laboriously buying with time, brains, health the raw material for “On the Face of the Waters.” I can use none of that material again. But I was not allowed to deduct anything for deterioration of plant, while the coachbuilder may buy a new varnish brush at the expense of the State! It may be said that this applies equally to others besides authors. Undoubtedly it does to all en- gaged in any brain work in which the only raw material available is a by-product of the same brain. But a very little consideration will show clearly that, strictly speaking, the only brain work of this character is imaginative art. Take the case of a doctor or lawyer. If they work themselves out it is from no lack of raw material. The sick and the litigious are with us always. In addition each case of diphtheria or divorce treated, so far from being deterioration of plant, adds to the likelihood and possibility of treating exactly similar cases. Whereas, so far as my experience as an author goes, the only phrase which once uttered in black and white is not gone for ever is “ My Darling.” The B. P. does not mind repetition in a love scene. All else, plot, incident, description, is so much clear deterioration of a plant which is . necessarily limited by the personal experience of the brain which is at once raw material and manu- facturer. May I therefore beg your counsel to give his analogy in detail. F. A. STEEL. Talgarth Hall, Machynlleth. 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. 15 Issue 05 (February 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 05 (February 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-02-01-The-Author-15-5 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/503/1905-03-01-The-Author-15-6.pdf 185d74b7909ebdf292db0a477b137cc9 PDF Text Text ������������������������������������ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-03-01 Volume 15 Issue 6 Pages Page range in volume 153–184 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050301 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 6. Marcu Isr, 1908. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ———__+—@—+_____ NOTICES. —1<—+—__ OR the opinions expressed in papers that are EK signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. —1+-—<>— + —_ List of Members. Tux List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —_-———9_—__ The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in February, 1904, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present Vou, XV. [Prick Srxpencr. standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— ey £1000 0 0 Local Loans 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 °% Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... Zot 19 V1 War fan en 201: 9- 38 London and North Western 3 % Deben- BUTS SOCK. ee 250 0 0 Potel 2 £2243 9 2 Subscriptions from May, 1904. & 8. a. May 6, Shepherd, G. H. ; = 0 5 0 June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., G.C.B. : : : 1 tO July 27, Barnett, P. A. : : 010 0 Nov. 9, Hollingsworth, Charles . 010 O 1905 Jan. 12, Anonymous . : ; ~ 0 2.6 Donations from May, 1904. May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth . 2720 0200 June 23, Kirmse, R. . . : 5.045. 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. : : 5 0 July 21, The Blackmore Memorial Committee ; : - 20 0 0 Aug. 5, Walker, William S. : - 2:0 0 Oct. 6, Hare, F. W.E., M.D. . os let 0 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold : : ~ 0160 0 Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett . - 0-10. 0 Noy. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida . : » 1b 0 Noy. 11, Thomas, Mrs, Haig : uo? 2 20 Nov. 24, Egbert, Henry : : <0 6 0 1905 Jan. , Middlemas, Miss Jean 10 0 Jan. , Bolton, Miss Anna 5 0 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 27, Bencke, Albert 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. Jan. Jan. Feb. Feb. mMooccoooc }S on o  FROM THE COMMITTEE. — T the meeting of the Committee, held on the 6th day of February, the following business was transacted. Mr. Douglas Freshfield, who has for the past two years so ably and so disinterestedly under- taken the arduous duties attached to the post of chairman, retired under the constitution of the Society, and Sir Henry Bergne, who has for many years been a member of the Committee, was elected to fill the post. Sir Henry Bergne’s past connection with the Foreign Office and with international copyright questions is known to all members of the Society, and will be of advantage at the present time, when United States copyright legislation is coming so prominently forward. Twelve members and associates were elected to the Society. The list, together with the January elections, is printed below. On the proposal of Mr. A. Hope Hawkins, Mr. Bernard Shaw was unanimously elected a member of the Council and Committee to fill the place left vacant by the death of Mr. Edward Rose. Mr. Shaw’s qualifica- tions for the post to which he has been elected are so well known, that it is needless to bring them before members of the Society. In pursuance of the resolution passed at the last meeting, the question of United States copyright was further discussed. Details will be given when the line of action has been finally adopted. The date of the General Meeting has been fixed for Thursday, March 30th. The report and notice of General Meeting will be sent out in due course. The Committee decided to take up, on behalf of one of the Society’s members, a case against a publisher in Munich, and the Secretary has been instructed to write to H.B.M. Minister and request him to advise the Society as to the best course to pursue. If necessary the matter will be placed in the hands of a German lawyer. Under the constitution of the Pension Fund of the Society, Mr. A. W. a’Beckett, the Committee's nominee, retired in due course, and, submitting his name for re-election, was unanimously re-elected. The Society’s nominee will, according to custom, be elected at the General Meeting. —— Cases. Srnoz the last issue of The Author seven cases have been in the Secretary’s hands, three for money, two for the return of MSS., one dealing with an intricate question of copyright law, and the remaining case referring to the wrongful use of the THE AUTHOR. name of one of the Society’s members. The last case has been settled, but none of the others has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion at present, although negotiations are still being carried on. All the matters in dispute in the Secretary’s hands that remained unsettled at the end of last month have now been terminated in favour of the members. During the past month the Society has obtained judgment in a County Court case which has been hanging on for some time. It has also succeeded, through the aid of its solicitors, in collecting the payment due to a member from an Edinburgh publisher. The Committee have sanctioned an action against a German publisher. The papers have, on the advice of His Majesty’s Minister at Munich, been placed in the hands of a German lawyer. One other case in the solicitors’ hands has been satisfactorily settled, as the accounts demanded have been obtained, and a cheque will, no doubt, be forthcoming as soon as the accounts have been approved by the author. In the case of Mr. Grant Richards’ bankruptcy, a receiver has been appointed. When he has had time to look into all the contracts he will be ina position to negotiate with authors for the transfer of their property, but there are so many different kinds of contracts involved in any publishing business, and the legal questions are so complicated, that authors must have patience. et January Elections Alden, W. L. 61, Cloudesdale Road, Balham, 8.W. ‘“ Ballin, T. S. Dean” Barnett, Rev. T. R. Fala, Blackshiels, Mid- (Torquil Macleod) lothian. Barry, Miss F. Lewesdon, Lyme Regis, Dorset. : Bencke, Albert H. Oliva, West Derby, Liverpool. Bonfield, J. T. (Mar- maduke Lannes) Crawford, Mrs. Dunsfauld Ryse, Chid- dingfold, Surrey. Clooncahir, Lough Rynn, Dromod, Ireland. Wayside, Eltham, Kent. Digges, Rev. J. C. Felkin, A. L. (A. St. Lawrence ) Figgis, Darrell E. . 84, Darenth Road, Stam- ford Hill, N.W. Joubert, Carl Le Riche, P. J. 96, Marine Parade, Worthing, Sussex.  THE AUTHOR. Moyes, The Right Rev. Mer. Canon Muriay, Major S. L. Cathedral House, Francis Street, Westminster. 1, Southside, Wimble- don. Ullenhall Vicarage, Hen- leyin Arden, Warwick- shire. 1, Forester Road, Bath. Springbank, | Woking- ham, Berks. 149, Harley Street, W. Pelton, Rev. W. F. Rothwell, Charles KE... Salwey, Mrs. Charlotte M. (née Birch) Scharleib, Mrs., M.D., M.S. Stuart-Young, J. M. Ardwick Green, Man- chester. 548, Halburn Street, Aberdeen. —_*——»——_ Watson, W. Petrie : February Elections. Alford, Lincolnshire. Strathmore,St. Bernard’s Road, Olton, Warwick- Brown, Haydn Caldicott, J. W. shire. Chater, Arthur G. - 41, Porchester Square, W. McDonnell, Randal Home Leigh, Grey- stones, co. Wicklow. Roker, Sunderland. 4, Harcourt Buildings, Temple, E.C. 2, Regent Street, Oxford. 36, Walker Street, Edin- burgh. Willson, Beckles . . 60, Acacia Road, St. John’s Wood, N.W. Wilson, H.W. . . 144, Elgin Avenue, W. Three members do not desire the publication either of their names or their addresses. Monks, Rev. Gilbert Paine, Wyatt Roberts, Miss Jean Stodart-Walker, A. ee BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. ——>+ =m (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) BIOGRAPHY, ! Lire oF Sirk JoHN BervERLEY ROBINSON, C.B., D.C.L., Chief Justice of Upper Canada. By MAgor GENERAL C. W. Roprnson, C.B. 94 x 6}. 490 pp. Blackwood. 16s.n. DRAMA, THe MAN@uvREs or Jane. An Original Comedy in Four Acts. By Henry ArTHuR JONES. 63 x 42. 124pp. Macmillan. 2s. 6d. %. BaRr., 155 EDUCATIONAL. THE NEW TEMPLE READER. Tdited by E. E. Sprieur. 7% X 5. 288 pp. Horace Marshall. ‘1s. 6d. n. LAMB’s SCHOOLDAYS AND OTHER Essays. Macaulay’s First Chapter ; Boccaccio, Tales from the Decameron. Edited by W. H. D. Roussz, Litt.D, 64 x 41. 128 + 1364+ 119 pp. Blackie, 8d. : ; FICTION. LANGBARROW HALL. By THEODORA WILSON WILSON, Harper & Bros. 6s. THE REBEL .WoorIne. By J. 368 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. SopHy Bunce. By THomAS Copp. Nash. 6s. Count REMINY. G. Long. 6s. GEORGE'S GEORGINA. By RENNIE RENNISON. 334 pp. Simpkin Marshall, 6s. THE PILGRIMS. By E. BeLAsYsE. 74 x 5. Greening & Co. 6s, < AN ACT IN A BAcKWater. By E. F. 276 pp. Heinemann. 6s. THE INFoRMER. By FRED WHISHAW. 72% 5. J. Long. 6s. THE SYSTEM. Methuen. 6s. THE RELIGION OF EVELYN HASTINGS. Cross. 73 x 5}. 255 pp. Co. 5s. WINNIFRED’S WAY. By MAsgor A. GRIFFITHS. 306 pp. White. 6s. A QUIXOTIC WOMAN. John Murray, THE GATE OF A. STRUART. 72 x 5, 1s: xX 6. 316 pp: sy JEAN MIDDLEMASS. 72 x 5. 304 pp. 1k-x< D. 323 pp. BENSON. 72x 5. 317 pp. 3y PueRcy WHITE. 73 Xx 5. 330 pp. 3y VICTORIA The Walter Scott Pub. 7? x 54. By IsaABEL Firz Roy HECHT. 6s. THE Desert. By JoHN OXENHAM. 7% x 5. 323 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE BELL IN THE FOG AND OTHER STORIES. By GERTRUDEATHERTON, 7} X 5. 380 pp. Macmillan. 6s. i THE SIRDAR’S SABRE. White. 6s. PETER’S MOTHER. 1% x 5. 344 pp. A CouNTRY DIARY. 244 pp. Allen. 68. {OSAMOND GRANT. By Mrs. LOVETT CAMERON. 7? X 5. 309 pp. J. Long. 6s. GARDENING. By Lous Tracy. 73 x 5. 241 pp. By Mrs. Henry De La PASTURE. Smith Elder. 6s. By Mrs. ALFRED Cock. 7} x 5. FLOWERS AND FRUIT FoR THE HomeE. By J. L. RICHMOND. 7 X 5. 247 pp. Edinburgh, Morton; London, Simpkin Marshall, 5s. n. HISTORICAL. HisToRY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. By W. C. MACKENZIE, I'.8.A. Scot. 9} x 6. 623 pp. Gardner. 21s. THE PROBLEM OF FIORENZO DI LORENZO OF PERUGIA. A Critical and Historical Study. By JEAN CARLYLE GRAHAM. 8} xX 7}. 123 pp. 25 Plates. Loescher. 21s. LITERARY. Essays AND AppRESSES. By THe RiguTr Hon. A. J. BALFouR, M.P. Third and_ enlarged edition. 7i x 5. 443 pp. I Edinburgh, Douglas. 7s. 6d. n. BOOKS AND THINGS. A Colleetiou of Stray Remarks. By G.S. Street, 73 X 5}. 247 pp. Duckworth. 6s, MEDICAL Their Mutual Relationship and By NorMAN Parritt, M.R.C.S. 74 X 5. 3s, 6d. RELIGION V. HEALTH, Influence. 186 pp. Skeflington,  156 MILITARY. ‘A SECRET AGENT IN Port ARTHUR. 72 x 5. 316 pp. Constable. 6s. : WELLINGTON’S CAMPAIGNS. Peninswla—W aterloo, 1808- 15. Also Moore’s Campaign of Corunna (for Military By W. GREENER. Students). By Masor-GENERAL C. W. Ropinson, C.B. Part 1, 1808-9-10. Roleia to Busaco. 8} x 54. 141 pp. Rees, 3s. 6d. n. PHILOSOPHY. DARWINIAN Fanuactes. By J. SCOULLER. 296 pp. Simpkin Marshall. 3s. 6d. n. POLITICAL. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TSAR, AND THE PRESENT STATE m1 (g OO. oF Russia. By CARL JoUBERT. 9 x 5}. 265 pp. Nash. 7s. 6d. SPORT. GREAT LAWN ‘TENNIS PLAYERS. Their Methods Illustrated. By G. W. Benpam & Pp, A. VAILE. 9 x 6. 403pp. Macmillan. 12s. 6d.n. THEOLOGY. SERMONS ON SOCIAL SUBJECTS. Compiled by the Rev, W.H. Hunt, 252 pp. Skeffington. 5s, TOPOGRAPHY. THe THACKERAY CountTRY. By Lewis MELVILLE. 8} X 5}. 223 pp. Black. 6s. n. TRAVEL SICILY, THE New WINTER Resort. An Encyclopedia of Sicily. By i:Dovgnas SLADEN. 7} X 5. 616 pp. Methuen. 5s. n. THE LAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia. By W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM. 8} x 6. 228 pp. Heinemann. 6s. n. —____—_+-—@—+—___—_ LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. —+—>—+ ISS VICTORIA CROSS, the author of “Anna Lombard,” “Six Stories of a Man’s Life,” and other works, has pub- lished through the Walter Scott Publishing Com- pany a new novel entitled “The Religion of Evelyn Hastings.” It is a simple love story in which the faith of the heroine is strengthened by her belief in the spiritual power of telepathic suggestion. We have received notice that Mr. J. A. Cooper, a member of the Society of Authors, will preside at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Press Association of Toronto, when seven important topics will come before the Association for con- sideration. The Association will hold a supper at McConkey’s, in Toronto, on the evening of the first day. The following is alist of the Officers of the Association :—John A. Cooper, President ; A. McNee, 1st Vice-President ; A. H. U. Colquhoun, 2nd Vice-President ; Joseph T. Clark, Secretary- Treasurer; John R. Bone, Assistant Secretary- Treasurer; D. Williams, W. E. Smallfield, J. F. THE AUTHOR. McKay, M. A. James, W. Ireland, Executive Com- mittee ; H. J. Pettypiece, M.P.P., Past President. The third volume of Mr. Austin Dobson’s annotated edition of the “Diary and Letters of Madame D’Arblay,” will shortly be published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. It deals with the period from 1786 to 1788, and, in Fanny Burney’s inimit- able manner, throws much light on the inner life of the English Court, and also on the doings of the literary and artistic circles of that time. Jt has been arranged that Lord Avebury’s recent book on Free ‘'rade, which sets forth his views on the great question of the day, is to be published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. in a_half-crown edition in the course of a week orso. The author holds the opinion that before the country gives its decision the subject should be discussed in the widest possible manner, and it is hoped that in its new form this work will reach a greatly increased circle of readers. “The Bell in the Fog and other Stories,” by Gertrude Atherton, published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., is a collection of ten tales. The three first have a more or less common interest in that they deal with theosophical and supernatural subjects, with the scenes laid in Hertfordshire, Yorkshire, and Brittany. The romantic story of Wilhelmina Margravine, of Bayreuth, an influential woman of the eighteenth century, who moved in Continental Courts, and founded the fortunes of the town, has been written by Mrs. Edith E. Cuthell, and will be published in the spring by Messrs. Chapman & Hall. The book will be an 8vo. volume, and fully illustrated. The price will be 12s. 6d. Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. have just published a new novel by J. A. Steuart, under the title of “The Rebel Wooing.” The scenes of the story, the hero of which is a Scottish divine, are laid in Scotland and England. Messrs. Routledge have included in their New Universal Library an authorised selection of Sir Lewis Morris’s poems under the title of “ The Golden Treasury.” “ Sicily,” by Mr. Douglas Sladen, has just been published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. The first part of the work aims at giving a general idea of the Island of the Sun as a winter resort, while the second is a road guide, giving the names of all the towns of Sicily to which there is any reasonable means of access by road, rail, or steamer. “ Hearts of Wales,” an old romance, is the title of a new work by Allen Raine, which will be published during the present month. Mrs. Humphry Ward’s novel, “ The Marriage of William Ashe,’ which is appearing serially in Harper’s Magazine, will be published in book form on the 9th of this month in this country by Smith, Elder ‘s 4  & Co., and by Messrs. Harper Bros. in the United States. The social and political setting in which the characters move, and the unconventional element in the rising statesman’s marriage, suggest for their foundation passages from the career of a famous minister of three centuries ago. Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. have also published Mrs. de Ja Pasture’s new book, “ Peter’s Mother,” the scene of which is laid in a Devonshire country house, the mistress of which is Peter’s mother. : “The Silver Key, a Romance of France and England,” by Nellie K. Blissett, will be issued during March by Messrs. Chapman and Hall. Charles II. and his favourite sister, Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, figure prominently in the plot, which deals with the alleged poisoning of the Duchess and the signing of the Treaty of Dover. Miss Theodora Wilson Wilson has just finished revising a novel, “ Ursula Raven,” which appeared serially in Te Daily News, for publication in book form by Messrs. Harper Bros. in the early autumn. “The Desire of the Nations,” by Mary A. Mocatta, is a simple attempt written for educated children to illustrate from Old Testament history preparation for the Incarnation and continuity of worship. The price of the work, which Messrs. Mowbray are publishing, is 5s. Messrs. Jarrold & Sons have just issued a cheap edition of “The Poets Laureate,” by J.C. Wright. It contains an additional chapter on the present laureate, Mr. Alfred Austin, and is thus brought up to date. “Sir Claude Mannerley,” by Edith C. Kenyon, will be published by Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co. on the 3rd of March. Miss Kenyon’s last book, “ A Girl in a Thousand,” is still on sale. Its pub- lishers, Messrs. S. W. Partridge & Co., have secured Miss Kenyon’s promise to write them another tale for the autumn. “The Brooches of many Nations,” by Harriet A. Heaton, edited by J. Potter Briscoe, has been published by Murray’s Nottingham Book Company. The author has devoted herself to the study of the history, art and symbolism of brooches, and the evolution of the brooch as traced from the bone pins found in British barrows of the stone age and in remains ofa later period. She deals with the brooches of countries as widely divergent as Assyria, Egypt, Scandinavia, Greece, Rome, and the British Isles. “The Problem of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo of Perugia,” a critical and historical study by Jean Carlyle Graham, which has been published by Messrs. Loescher at the price of 21s., has been well reviewed in the Italian journals Nuova Anthologia, Roma Letteraria, L’ Unione Liberale, and L’ Italie. “The Voice of the Fathers,” by S. T. A. Caul- feild, will shortly be published by Messrs. Brown, The work, to which the Right Langham & Co, THE AUTHOR. 157 Hon. the Viscount Halifax contributes an intro- duction, deals with the doctrine and ritual of the first six centuries. The notice that appeared in The London Gazette to the effect that 7'he Monthly Review had been voluntarily wound up does not mean, as many people thought, that the Review has ceased to appear. ‘This is the legal formula by which the Review ceases to be the property of a limited liability company. It is now, we understand, the property of Mr. John Murray, by whom it will be published as before. “A Country Diary,” by Mrs. Alfred Cock, has been published by Mr. Geo. Allen at the price of 6s. The book contains three stories, into all of which the supernatural element enters. Mr. Charles Lowe’s novel of the Tuileries and the Siege of Paris has been published by Mr. T. Werner Laurie. The tale is called «A Lindsay Love,” and depicts French Court life. The two final volumes of Mr, E. V. Lucas’s edition of the Lamb writings will be issued in a few days by Messrs. Methuen. They consist of the “ Letters,” about which Mr. Lucas says, in his preface :— ‘In this edition of the correspondence of Charles Lamb, that of his sister, Mary Lamb, is for the first time included. In it also appear, for the first time, between seventy and eighty letters, many of them of the highest importance ; and it is’ the first edition to take note in chronological order of those letters printed by other editors that are not available for the present volumes—a step which should, I think, add to the correspondence’s biographical value.’ The Literary World, which since 1867 has been published as a penny weekly, is now published as an illustrated threepenny monthly. The first issue appeared in February. A serial entitled “ Roger Temple,” by Norman Gale, is ramning through its pages. Mr. Norman Gale has been a constant writer in the Literary World during past years. Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton, the author of “Wild Animals I have Known,” is publishing through Messrs. Constable & Co. a new book entitled “ Monarch, the Big Bear of Tallac”’ The work will contain one hundred drawings by the author. Miss Olive Katharine Parr has just completed a book of short stories entitled “ Back Slum Idyls.” Though in the form of fiction, they are all fact, observed during her mother’s unusual experiences as honorary prison visitor to three of H.M. prisons and guardian of the poor of a large London parish. : Messrs. Macmillan & Co. make some interesting announcements in connection with the new series of “ English Men of Letters”? which has been for some time in course of publication. Mr. Stephen Gwynn’s life of Thomas Moore has been issued.  8 Mr. Arthur C. Benson has completed his monograph on Edward Fitzgerald for this series, and it is now in the press. Messrs. Macmillan have now added “The Manceuvres of Jane” to their uniform edition of the plays of Mr. Henry Arthur Jones. A cheaper edition, price s., of Carl Swerdua’s” (Miss ©. C. Andrews) novel, ‘On London Stones,” is to be issued shortly by Messrs. James Clarke & Co., under the amended title of “A Town Romance ; or, On London Stones.” A new work by the same writer, entitled “The Penance of Penelope,” will be published imme- diately by Messrs. William Stevens, first as a serial and later in book form. «“ Mollentrave on Women,” by Alfred Sutro, was produced at the St. James’s Theatre on February 13th. The play ismainly concerned with the various schemes, of a matrimonial nature, engineered by Mollentrave, a character portrayed by Mr. Hric Lewis, whose pet delusion—a profound knowledge of women—retained by him to the conclusion of the piece, causes complications which, however, are set right at the fall of the curtain. Mr. Sydney Grundy’s new play, “The Diplo- matists,” mounted at the Royalty Theatre on February 11th, and described as a farce in two acts, deals with the attempt of two neighbouring families to maintain an appearance unwarranted by their pecuniary position, each to persuade the other of the advantages of an alliance between them. Itis an adaptation from the French. A further play by a member of the Society— Captain Robert Marshall’s “Lady of Leeds ’— appeared at Wyndham’s Theatrein the middle of last month. ‘The piece deals with the determination of three rejected suitors to be revenged upon a lady who has refused each of their advances, and, incidentally, affords Mr. Weedon Grossmith scope for the exercise of his drollery. Mr. R. ©. Carton’s play, “ Mr. Hopkinson,” appeared at the Avenue Theatre on Tuesday, February 21st. Miss Compton took the leading part as “The Duchess of Braceborough,” and Mr. Frederick Kerr acted as “The Duke.” We understand that Mrs. Humphry Ward’s play written in collaboration with Mr. Louis N. Parker, entitled “ Agatha,” will be produced by Mr. ‘Tree on the afternoon of March 7th. The performance will be given on behalf of the Princess Mary’s Village Homes, and the Princess of Wales has promised to be present. Mr. Granville Barker, of the Stage Society, and Mr. J. E. Vedrenne, have arranged for a further series of matinées at the Court Theatre at the beginning of March. Among the plays to be produced will be Mr. Bernard Shaw’s burlesque of himself, ‘ How he lied to her husband.” THE AUTHOR. PARIS NOTES. Oe € A Vie Future,” by Louis Elbé, is a most L interesting book, and the work of a thinker and savant. The author tells us that the object of his researches has been to study the problem of the survival of the human soul, as taught by the philosophers of ancient times and by the traditions handed down from distant ages, and to consider all this by the light of modern science. With the greatest competence and the most abso- lute impartiality M. Elbé gives us a brief sketch of the various beliefs and religions dating from the most remote ages of civilisation. He then touches on the various sciences from astronomy to experi- mental psychology, and the historical and scientific arguments which justify faith in another life, but although he shows us clearly that modern science does not destroy the hypothesis of a future life, he admits that it cannot give any idea as to what the future life will be. As the titles of some of the chapters will show, this book is not one to be scanned hastily. It requires careful reading, and is well worth studying from the first line to the last. The first part of the volume is devoted to “The Wisdom of the Ancients,” and the various chapters are “‘ L’idée de la survivance dans les civilisations antiques,” “ Tra- ditions et monuments préhistoriques,” ‘ Les peu- plades sauvages,” ‘Les Chinois,” “Les Egyptiens,” ‘Les Hindous,” “ Les Chaldéens,” ‘* Les Gaulois,” “Les Juifs,” ‘‘ Les Grecs,” ‘ Les Romains,” “ Le Christianisme,” ‘‘ L’immortalité conditionnelle dans les églises protestantes,”’ ‘Le spiritisme et la théosophie.’ The second part of the book treats of ‘‘ Modern Science,” and is divided into the chapters following: ‘‘ Déductions tirées des sciences fondamentales,”’ “ L’astronomie,” “ La terre dans Punivers,” “Les sciences physiques,” “ La perman- ence de la matiére et de l’énergie,” “ Les sciences physiques et chimiques,” “ La conception de l’éther dans la constitution de la matiére et les mani- festations de l’énergie,” ‘Sciences physiques et mécaniques,” ‘Le réle de I’éther dans l’univers,” “ Biologie,” “ La matiére et la vie,” ‘ Le tourbillon vital,” ‘‘Les fronti¢res de la science,” “ Le fluide odique,” “ L’éxtériorisation du double fluidique,” ‘Manifestations 4 grandes distances,” ‘ La télé- pathie,” “Examen des hypothéses propos¢es,” ‘“* Conclusions.” The great argument which M. Elbé brings forward to support his theory is “the law of | permanence which governs all the manifestations — We must conclude,” he says, “that this law could not allow conscious force to perish when we see with what incorruptible fidelity _ of universal life. it watches over the preservation of the minutest ee  THE AUTHOR. material atom, the transformation of physical energy, and the registering of accomplished facts.” The review published by Messrs. Hachette, Za Vie Heureuse, has awarded a prize for the best book written recently by a woman. Most of the promi- nent French authoresses were on the jury, so that their works could not be taken into consideration. The idea of this scheme must therefore be to bring to the front writers who are not well known. Among the members of the jury were Mmes. Arvéde Barine, Blanc-Bentzon, Pierre de Coulevain, Judith Gautier, Damel Lesueur, Marcelle Tinayre. The prize was awarded to Myriam Harry for her novel “Ta Conquéte de Jérusalem,” a book which attracted great attention at the time of its publi- cation. Myriam Harry’s first volume was a collection of short stories entitled ‘‘ Passage de Bédouins,” published in 1899. The subjects are ali taken from Oriental life, and the writer has succeeded in getting the atmosphere of the places she describes into her stories. Myriam Harry’s next book was “ Petites Hpouses,” an exquisitely written idyll, the subject of which is the love-affair of a Frenchman and a young Annamite girl during the sojourn of the former at Saigon. This book is an extremely clever psychological study. The mentality of the child-wife, Frisson de Bambou, with her mingled simplicity and subtlety is most delicately portrayed, while the influence of environ- ment on the character of the European is, in itself, an interesting subject. In “La Conquéte de Jerusalem” the authoress gives us a graphic de- scription of the Jerusalem of to-day. Hélie Jamain ig a young Frenchman whose great-uncle had accompanied Chateaubriand to Palestine, and had brought back with him all kinds of curious relics and souvenirs from the Holy Land. Hélie, from his earliest childhood, had dreamed of Jerusalem, and had pictured himself there as a Crusader, a pilgrim, or a martyr. Later on, when he had finished his education, travelled in various countries and lived long enough in Egypt to learn Arabic and to know something of the manners and customs of Oriental people, he decides to go to Jerusalem. Some Lazarist priests had fired him with enthusi- asm and endeavoured to persuade him into under- taking a mission to the Holy Land, where the Church of Rome had lost its prestige. After a short sojourn in Jerusalem, Hélie begins to lose faith in being able to accomplish the task he has in view. In this country, from which the whole world had received its charitable and holy inspira- tions, he now finds the greatest religious intolerance, jealousy, and hatred. “On all sides people were praying and disputing. They no longer sang in order to praise God, but to drown the voices of those who held another creed and to prevent them being heard in Heaven.” We are told that “No 159 one in Jerusalem belongs to a country but to a religion, no one adheres to a class, but to a creed. All the different beliefs are equally detested, but everyone admits this reciprocal hatred, and respects the fanaticism of his neighbour,” so that Hélie comes to the conclusion that the only man who would be universally despised in Jerusalem would be a just and tolerant individual with broad views, who recognised what was good in every different religion and creed. In the ghetto quarter Hélie is looked upon with suspicion, as he has ventured to suggest certain innovations, and one night he is found lying in a deserted street wounded and unconscious. He is taken to the nearest hospital, which happens to be one founded by Protestants. Hélie during his convalescence falls in love with one of the nurses, the daughter of an Alsatian pastor, and a few weeks later marries her. The chief interest of the story lies in the psychological study of this man imbued with all the poetry and idealism of the Catholic religion and the Latin race. His wife, Cécile, has all the positivism and narrowness of a Calvinist, so that it is only in rare moments that there is any true communion between them. Hélie is persuaded by Cécile to adopt her religion, and his existence from thenceforth is one long mental combat and a series of disappointments. There is a great fascination about the book, but one closes it considerably disillusionised on the subject of modern Jerusalem. After the celebrated exhibition of paintings by the French early masters, M. Henri Bouchot’s study, “Les Primitifs Francais” (1292—1500) is very apropos. 'The author gives many details about the various artists, and particularly about Jean Perréal. Among the recent books are “ Histoire de la guerre Russo-Japonaise,” by M. Gaston Donnet ; “Le Reveil de la nation arabe dans I’Asie Turque,” by Negib Azoury. * Reliquoe” is a posthumous publication of a collection of stories and descriptions of voyages, by M. Louis Guéry, with a preface by M. Edouard Rod and M. Stryienski. M. Guéry died last year at the age of twenty-three, and had already published two novels, “Le plus heureux Temps de la vie,” and ‘“ L’Autre Voie.” “Ta Rose du Bocage,” by Francois Casale, is a novel dating back to the time of the First Consulate. “La Valise Diplomatique,” by Léon de Tinseau, is a volume of short stories, the scene of most of them being laid in the East. “ Les Sophistes Francais et la Révolution,” by M. Th. Funck-Brentano. “‘Madame Récamier et ses amis,” by Edouard Henriot ; © Un ouvrage inédit de M. de Staél,” by Edouard Henriot ; “ Histoire de l’Emigration,” 160 by Ernest Daudet ; ‘La Princesse Charlotte de Rohan et le Duc d’Enghien,” by Jacques de la Faye ; “ Classification sociale,” by Edmond Demolins ; ‘ L’Etat social de lAvenir,” by Professor Bilz; “ Une vie d@’ Officier Russe,” by Colonel Vereschaguine; ‘“ La Vie de Paris,” by Jean Bernard. M. F. Brunetiére is now giving a course of lectures on “The History of Free Thought in the Kighteenth Century, or the Encyclopedistes.” In La Nouvelle Revue, a diplomatist writes on ‘Les Ambitions du Japon.”” M. de Pouvourville in an article on “ L’Armée moderne et ses cadres,” discusses the reforms to be made in the army. In La Quinzaine, Henry Madeleine writes on “TL’Esprit militaire des officiers allemands.” M. Goyau continues his study of “ Fébronianisme et Joséphisme.” In the Revue des Deus Mondes there is an article by Général de Négrier, ‘‘Le Moral des Troupes ” ; and Madame Arvede Barine continues her history of “‘ La Grande Mademoiselle.” In the Revue de Paris there is also an article, “A propos du Japon et de la Paix,” and in the Revue Philosophique, Charles Richet discusses the consequences of peace and war, arguing that war does not exalt the greatest virtues of a man. Madame Sarah Bernhardt is at present giving Victor Hugo’s ‘‘ Angelo.” At the Thédtre de l’Oeuvre, M. Lugné Poe has just recently given “ La Gioconda,” ‘* Maison de Poupée,” “ Phedre,” and “ La Fille de Jorio.” M. Bour, of “ Alleliiia’ fame, has come to the front as an actor-manager. We have mentioned in The Author his various enterprises and his great success as an interpreter of some of the chief roles in the plays he has introduced in France. We have to thank him for the opportunity of having seen some excellent Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and German plays, and he is now about to found a theatre for the poets, and to do for idealism what Antoine has done for naturalism. M. Bour is at present playing “Cadet Roussel,” by Jacques Richepin, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, and a subscription has been raised in order to subsidise that theatre for him. One of the greatest successes of the month has been “La Retraite,” the German play, by M. Beyerler, which is now running at the Vaudeville. It is a study of German military life, and curiously enough there is only one woman’s role in the whole play. The piece has been admirably translated by M.M. Rémon and Valentin, and it was awaited impatiently here. At one time it was thought that it would be difficult to put it on in France, as French actors might not be willing to appear in German uniforms. Auys HALLARD. THE AUTHOR. NOTES ON AGREEMENTS. —_+-—<—+—__ TY is some months since any agreement has I been put forward for criticism in the columns of The Author. There are certain agreements which come before the Secretary from time to time, and which, in con- sequence, need repeated explanation. It need not necessarily follow that agreements will work out badly, even if they are badly drawn. LHverything, in these circumstances, must depend upon the methods of the publisher, but a badly drawn agree- ment in the hands of a publisher who desires to take the utmost advantage of his legal position is necessarily disastrous to the author. It is in order that the author may be able to see clearly, before entering into an agreement, what terms he could safely accept, that it is advantageous from time to time to criticise forms of contract. It is necessary to draw attention to the wording in the description of the parties to the agreement printed below. ‘‘ Whereby it is mutually agreed between the parties hereto for themselves and their respective executors, administrators, and assigns or successors, as the case may be.” It is most unsatisfactory to contract with the successors or assigns of a publishing house. Many members of the Society are beginning to find, in the case of a recent bankruptcy, how awkward their position is when they have entered into these terms with a publisher. A publishing contract should be a personal contract, and authors should always endeavour to keep it so, in spite of what pub- lishers may say to the contrary. In Clause 1 the words “with due diligence ” are very indefinite. It should be clearly stated that the book should be on the market before a certain date. In many cases this is of importance, as pay- ments are made on the date of publication. The form in which the book is to be produced, and the price at which it is to sell to the public should be definitely mentioned, and the publisher should also be bound to produce a first edition of at least 1,500 copies in the form and at the price agreed upon. The second Clause is, in some respects, not unreasonable, as in many cases the author is the only person who can tell whether a book is an infringement of copyright or contains anything libellous, but although he should guarantee the publisher against expenses which have been. incurred owing to his (the author’s) neglect, he should not be responsible for any costs which may be taken or incurred by the publisher. This clause might lead the author into unknown diffi- culties, should the publisher without proper advice, take action to protect the work from alleged infringement. ii as es  _ cism. Clause 8 is much too wide and comprehensive, and in the hands of a bad publisher has been utilised with disastrous effect against the author. The last part of the clause from “ and the author shall not” down to ‘“‘dramatised version of the work” should be entirely deleted. Cases have been known where the publisher has refused to give his consent unless he received 50 per cent. of the profits arising from the sale of translation rights—an absurd position, even if the sale of these rights have been negotiated through the publisher’s agency—and it is impossible to tell what he might ask in the case of a successful dramatic version. These rights of translation and dramatisation have nothing whatever to do with the publication of the book, and ought never, in any circumstances, to be under the control of the publisher. Although it is possible that the publisher, who has not negotiated the sale, may not desire to exercise his option, it is not equitable to the author that he should be given the option. It is not always satisfactory to let the equitable rights be settled by the business party to a contract. Clause 4, section A, cannot be too severely con- demned, as there is no stimulus to the publisher to sell beyond the 1,000 copies of the book or, count- ing 13 as 12, say 1,080 copies. Every clause is a mistake which places the publisher’s and author’s interests in opposition, and should the publisher see the sales dropping just as he is nearing the 1,000 copies, it is quite certain that he will not be in a hurry to sell the last 50; for he will be bound to pay the author a royalty from the begin- ning and on all further sales. If it were clear that the sale of 1,000 copies would fall far short of the expense incurred on cost of production, there might be some stimulus for the publisher to keep the book on the market, but the sale of 1,000 copies of the ordinary 6s. book and subject to no royalties would not only cover all expenses, but bring back a good 50 per cent. on the capital invested. In some circumstances it might be better for the pocket of the author and for the circulation of the book to have a royalty from the 1,001st copy only, than to agree to the clause just under criti- In the hands of an unscrupulous publisher it is not impossible that only 1,100 copies would be printed, and the type then broken up. The next point arises under Section B. of the Same clause. A royalty is to be paid on the published price of all copies sold to America, 13 being reckoned as 12. About twenty years ago it was customary for all publishers to pay English authors a royalty on all Copies sold, and it was on this basis that the profits ‘quoted in the “Cost of Production” and “ Methods of Publishing ” issued by the Society were based. ‘The publishers, however, owing to their desire to THE AUTHOR. 161 make larger profits, complained bitterly that they should be forced to pay royalty on copies that were not actually sold but given away, for they stated that the thirteenth copy was really given in with the twelve others. The authors, instead of meeting this position with a stiff back, gradually gave way to what appeared a reasonable argument, and the point in many cases has been yielded. It is hoped, however, that in consequence, they ob- tained higher royalties, as there was no real basis for the cutting down of 8 per cent. of their profits. The publishers’ appeal to the author that it was unfair that they should have to pay royalty on copies that were not sold, may, or may not, have been sound, but in the Clause referred to above, the publisher has reversed this process, and is asking the author to consent to a royalty payment on 13 as 12 when the books are not sold 13 as 12. It is true that many sales on the English market are made in this way, but at the lowest, from 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. are not, so that the pub- lisher gains a small advantage. Butin the sale of books to the United States, they are never sold 13 as 12. If, therefore—according to the publisher’s own argument—it is unfair for the author to demand a royalty on every copy from the publisher when the books are sold 13 as 12, it is unfair for the publisher to ask the author to receive a royalty on 13 as 12 when the books are not sold according to this calculation. In consequence authors should be careful to see in a clause dealing with sales to America that the reference to 13 as 12 is deleted. Section C of the same clause, again, is full of pitfalls. Who is to decide whether copies of the book are sold at a reduced rate. Frequently, when large quantities of the book are bought an extra discount is given to the purchaser. In fact, a case came before the Secretary in which a publisher claimed the payment of the lower royalty, because he had consented to make one of the largest sales of the book at what he was pleased to call a reduced rate. When asale is made to the Colonies it is generally made in sheets, and a reduced royalty is generally paid, but everything must depend even then upon the method of sale and the price the publisher obtains; on remainder sales the reduction in royalty is fair. In Section D of the same clause one or two points of serious interest to authors arise. In no circumstances should the author allow the pub- lisher to deai with serial or Continental rights. If no clause of this kind were inserted and the publisher received an offer for the book from a cor- respondent, or from someone who desired to use the serial rights, he would, if his business were conducted on proper lines, with due courtesy, com- municate direct with the author, who would be willing or unwilling to accept the proposal. If 162 willing, he would gladly pay the ordinary agency charge of 10 per cent. to the publisher. It is true that the publisher cannot deal without the consent of the author, but then on the other hand the author is bound to pay the enormous charge of 50 per cent., which is utterly absurd, as agents are willing to undertake this kind of business for much more moderate charges. Sections E and F are comparatively unobjectionable. Clauses 5 and 7 must be taken together. They do not apply to the ordinary work of fiction, and should, therefore, be deleted, but in a con- tract for the sale of an educational or scientific work they are of the utmost importance, and it should not lie in the power of the publisher to demand the alteration or amendment of the work from the author, but it should be at the option of the author to amend or alter his work as the demands of the public or the evolution of his subject may require. He should be able, therefore, to re-edit the work at certain stated periods—after the sale of a given number of copies, or at the end of a given time. It is most important that the author should retain this control, and the publisher should’ be bound to accept such alteration or cancel the contract. Concerning Clause 6 little need be said, except to point out under this contract the amount allowed for corrections is low, and the author should, therefore, be exceedingly careful not to run up this item. Clause 8 may pass without comment. In Clause 9 the accounts should be rendered semi-annually. Under the arrangement put forward, if the book was issued at the end of January—not at all an unfavourable period at which to issue books—the publisher would retain the author’s money for nearly a year. This might be very unsatisfactory. In Clause 10 the stock and plates should be taken over ata valuation, and not at a fixed price, as they may be useless when the author desires to purchase them. Strong objection should be raised to Clause 11. Not only is arbitration as a rule more expensive for the author, but it saves the publisher from that publicity which he is often anxious to shun. Whereas, if the publisher has treated the author unfairly or unreasonably, the Public Courts are the best places in which to discuss the point, and the publicity which is given to such treatment will act as a warning to the other members of the publishing trade. Clause 12 should be deleted. The reasons for this were pointed out at the beginning of the article. Everyone should read exceedingly carefully the comments which have been made on this agree- ment, in case he may at any time have similar terms before him. For when a legal document THE AUTHOR. between two parties is signed, there is no further dispute possible, and it is unsatisfactory to throw yourself on the generosity of the other party. AGREEMENT, Memorandum of agreement made this between hereinafter termed the author of the one part, and (hereinafter termed the publisher of the other part). Whereby it is mutually agreed between the parties hereto, for themselves and their respective executors. administrators and assigns (or successors as the case may be) as follows :— 1. The publisher shall at his own expense and with due diligence produce and publish a work at present entitled “ ” by the author and use his best endeavours to sell the same. 2. The author guarantees to the publisher that the said work is in no way whatever a violation of any existing copyright, and that it contains nothing of a libellous or scandalous character, and that he will indemnify the pub- lisher from all suits, claims and proceedings, damages and costs which may be made,.taken, or incurred by or against him on the ground that the work is an infringement of copyright, or contains anything libellous or scandalous. 3. The publisher shall during the legal term of copyright have the exclusive right of producing and publishing the: work in England, the Colonies, and the United States of America. The publisher shall have the entire control of the publication, sale, and terms of sale of the book, and the author shall not during the continuance of this agree- ment (without the consent of the publisher) publish any abridgment, translation, or dramatised version of the work. 4, The publisher agrees to pay the author the following royalties ; that is to say :-— (a) A royalty of per cent. on the published price of all copies (13 being reckoned as 12) of the British edition sold, provided always that in the event of less than 1,000 copies being sold no royalty whatever shall be paid, and that till the sales exceed 1,000 copies no advance on: account of royalties shall be made (13 copies to be reckoned as 12 throughout). (b) A royalty of on the published price of all copies. (13 being reckoned as 12) of the American edition, (c) In the event of the publisher disposing of copies or editions at a reduced rate for sale in the Colonies, or else- where, or as remainders, a royalty of per cent. of the: amount realised by such sale. (d) In the event of the publisher realising profits from the sale, with the consent of the author, of serial or con- tinental rights, or from claims for infringement of copy- right, a royalty of fifty per cent. of the net amount of such: profits remaining after deducting all expenses relating thereto. (e) No royalties shall be paid on any copies given away for review or other purposes. (£) The author shall be entitled to six gratuitous copies, and any further copies required at trade price. 5. The author agrees to revise the first, and, if necessary,. to edit and revise every subsequent edition of the work, and from time to time to supply any new matter that may be needful to keep the work up to date. 6. The author agrees that all costs of corrections and alterations in the proof sheets exceeding twenty per cent. of the cost of composition shall be deducted from the royalties payable to him. 7. In the event of the author neglecting to revise an edition after due notice shall have been given to him, or in the event of the author being unable to do so by reason of death or otherwise, the expense of revising and preparing” such future edition for press shall be borne by the author,. and shall be deducted from the royalties payable to him. day of  THE AUTHOR. 8. During the continuance of this agreement the copy- right of the work shall be vested in the author, who may be registered as the proprietor thereof accordingly. 9. The publisher shall make up the account annually to December the thirty-first and deliver the same to the author within two months thereafter, and pay the balance due to the author on the same date. 10. If the publisher shall at the end of three years from the date of publication or at any time thereafter, give notice to the author that in his opinion the demand for the work has ceased, or if the publisher shall for six months after the work is out of print decline or, after due notice, neglect to publish a new edition, then and in either of such cases this agreement shall terminate, and on the determina- tion of this agreement in the above or any other manner, the right to print and publish the work shall revert to the author, and the author, if not then registered, shall be entitled to be registered as the proprietor thereof, and to purchase from the publisher forthwith the plates or moulds and engravings (if any) produced specially for the work at half cost of production, and whatever copies the pub- lisher may have on hand at cost of production and if the author does not within three months purchase and pay for the said plates or moulds, engravings and copies the pub- lisher may at any time thereafter dispose of such plates or moulds, engravings and copies, or melt the plates, paying to the author in lieu of royalties ten per cent. of the net proceeds of such sale, unless the publisher can prove from his books that the publication has resulted in a loss to him in which case he shall be liable for no such payment. 11. If any difference shall arise between the author and the publisher touching the meaning of this agreement, or the rights or liabilities of the parties thereunder, the same shall be referred to the arbitration of two persons (one to be named. by each party) or their umpire in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1889. 12. The term “publisher” throughout this agreement shall be deemed to include the person or persons or com- pany for the time being carrying on the business of the said and under as well its present as any future style, and the benefit of this agreement shall be transmissible accordingly. As witness the hands of the parties. —>— LITERARY YEAR BOOK.* [Second Notice. | GENERAL REVIEW. <6 HERE is nothing so difficult,” wrote Dr. Johnson, “as the art of making advice agreeable.” In the friendliest spirit, we offered, last year, a lengthy criticism of the eighth edition of this work, believing that, if advantage were taken of the hints we gave, the result would be profitable to the publishers and especially to the immense community to which a good “ Literary Year Book” would appeal, for there is no reason why authors and journalists should not have, year by year, as reliable a handbook as the Peerage possess in “ Dod” or the Clergy in “ Crockford.” * «¢The Literary Year Book and Bookman’s Directory, 1905,” 9th annual volume. Routledge. 163 But, although the new edition of the “ Literary Year Book” has been sent us to review, it would appear that advice is not wanted, and that appro- bation only is desired, for whilst we gave the book a bucketful of the former last year, the publishers Sa been contented with using a mere tea-spoonful of it. With all deference we suggested that upwards of a dozen well-known authors whose names we mentioned might find a place in the 1905 edition. We cited the works they were best known by. Neither these authors, under the alphabetical list, nor their books, under the “new” Index of Titles, are to be found. The mistakes in London news- paper addresses which we pointed out remain. In the Calendar we pleaded that the English poet William Shenstone might have his birthday noted. We fail to find it in the new edition, although it is usually given as 18th November, 1714. On the other hand, our recommendations which have been adopted include the leaving out of the “Survey of Bookland,” and the signed Resumé of English literature in the preceding year. The suggestion that the book, in order to reduce its bulk, might be printed on thinner paper, has also been taken advantage of. But we certainly never suggested that the Index should be deleted. Strange to say, this is omitted in the 1905 edition, although a page headed ‘ Index to Advertisers ’ is retained! A better advertisement for the book itself would have been to have increased the copiousness of the former alphabetical lists of sub- jects at the end of the book, a table of contents at the beginning being of less use than were the six columns in smaller type affixed to former editions. Onr suggestion that the usefulness of the “ Year Book ” would be increased, if a Catalogue Raisonné, or list of books classified under Theology, History, Travel, Fiction, and so forth were included, has been adopted. InpEX oF TITLES. An “ Index of Titles” has also been incorporated. But we never anticipated, when recommending it, that books published over thirty years ago would be enumerated in such a catalogue, so as to form a supplement occupying 235 pages. If the compilers had borrowed a catalogue of titles, covering that period, from any of the large Public Libraries, it would have been far better than the supplement before us, which is anything but complete. In future years it is to be hoped that the ‘Index of Titles” will be confined to the books published during the preceding twelve months. The useful list of artists and book illustrators, which only occupied twelve pages, and the lists of literary Clubs (another four pages) can then again be included. 164 THE AUTHOR. Oprtuary, 1904. In the Obituary section last year, we noted the omission of six names of writers of importance. On glancing through the list given this time, no fewer than seven names occur to us which ought to have beeninserted. They are as follows :—Charles Williams, the well-known journalist and war correspondent, who died February 9th ; Samuel Capper, author of “ Wanderings in War Time,” etc. (died, April 8th) ; Edwin Hodder, author of * Life of the VIIth. Earl of Shaftsbury,” ete. (died, March 1st); Julian Sturgis, the novelist and opera librettist (April 13th); W. F. Collier, LL.D., author of Histories of Great Britain, Ireland, Rome, Greece, etc. (November 25th) ; Adeline Sergeant, the distinguished novelist (December 5th) ; and Norman Mac Coll, author of ‘Greek Sceptics from Pyrrho to Sextus,” etc., and editor of the Athenwum from 1869 to 1901 (December 15th). PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS. Last year we pointed out that the list of periodi- cal publications needed more careful revision, and that the London addresses of the Belfast News Letter, Daily Dispatch, Newcastle Chronicle, Norfolk Chronicle, etc., had been changed. Yet the editor of the new “ Year Book” has not taken the trouble to put such matters right. The same old list, with very few changes, reappears. It begins with the Aberdeen Evening Gazette, Aberdeen Free Press, Aberdeen Journal, and Aberdeen We eekly News. This is an unfair proportion to give to the “Granite City,” considering that there is no men- tion of any Brighton paper, nor of such important organs as the Northern Whig, of Belfast, the great Presbyterian weekly the Witness, of Belfast, nor the old-established Cork Eaaminer. Surely these periodicals are of more importance to authors, as far as reviews are concerned, than the Alerandra Library of Complete Novels, price 1d. each, to which prominence is given. To the professional literary man, what, again, is the use of adver- tising the Alpine Journal, to which contributions are invited, and the words no payment are appended ? Although the Anglo-Russian is given five lines, the Anglo-Japanese Gazette (39, Seething Lane) is left out. Why occupy valuable space, moreover, by inserting an annnal like the Charities’ Register and Digest, which is of no use to authors, or the Anthropological Institute Journal, price £1 per annum? And if these are notified, why omit the quarterly Archwological Journal? In the name of common sense, what sane author would submit MSS. to the Army and Militia List, issued annually, price £1 1s. ? Surely, if this is inserted, the Army and Navy Chronicle, price 6d. monthly, should have been included. At all events, the defunct Naval and Military Magazine need not have been noted. ‘There seems to have been no method in choosing periodicals for this list, in- tended to be of service to writers. The Art Annuals, published once in twelve months, are noted, but the Art Decorator, an_ illustrated monthly, price 1s., is left out. ‘It is most im- portant,” says the introduction to this list of periodicals, “ to use discretion and judgment in the matter of submitting MSS.,” but neither discretion nor judgment seem to have been used in compiling this section. The Australian Handbook, a useful annual in its way, price 10s. 6d., isno more in need of outside literary contributions than is Kelly’s London Directory. Since motoring has become so much written about, it is difficult to understand why the Aufomotor Journal should have been for- gotten. The Bankers’ Magazine, price 1s. 6d. monthly, is mentioned, but the Weekly Bankers’ Journal is omitted. Surely the Boudoir, published monthly, of which no mention is made, is of more service—especially to women writers—than the Botanical Gazette or the British Empire Year Book. Again, there is no mention of the Bur- lington Magazine, published on the first of the month, but the defunct British Realm and Animal Life ave given. Certain religious periodicals of little account are noted, but the Christian, published on Thursdays, which is a quarter of a century old and has a large circulation, is overlooked. The editor has been careful to notify two periodicals rejoicing in the title of Critic. But one gathers that he does not approve of the national pastime by his omission of Cricket, an old - established paper, and of the Cricket and Football Field, now in its eighteenth year. It is strange that while these periodicals are ignored, the Football Times, of Inverness, should be inserted! Of more service to writers than the latter paper would have been the inclusion of the Figaro and Irish Gentlewoman, a smart, if at times scurrilous, weekly, which solicits, nevertheless, outside contri- butions. Mr. C0. B. Fry—who has done, and is doing, much in a literary sense for healthy sport— surely will not bless the “Literary Year Book 2 for disregarding his remarkably successful illus- trated monthly magazine. The compiler, however, appears to think that a halfpenny weekly produc- tion entitled Funny Cuts is of more importance. Mr. E. Ledger is no longer editor of the Mra. Whilst the Gas World Year Book is drawn atten- tion to, we note that the Geological Magazine, — issued monthly since 1864, is left out. Itis evident that the compiler is not a Scot, as he has omitted the periodicals known as (olf Iilustrated, Golfing, etc., published weekly. Under the heading of “ Home,” the somewhat exclusive quarterly, Home a Counties Magazine, is carefully recorded, but Home  THE AUTHOR. Words, a popular weekly, which has been in exist- ence twenty-five years and takes contributions, is omitted. ‘That, however, is of minor importance compared with the omission of the Illustrated Official Journal, published on Wednesdays, price 67., which is of great use to writers on scientific sub- jects, recording, as it does, the latest patented inventions. Under “I” we note the omission of Trish Society, which has a special London letter, and is read all over Ireland. “Mrs, E. Mac- donald”’ no longer edits the Ladies’ Field. An- other injustice to Japan is the exclusion here of the Japanese Journal of Commerce, published both in Tokio and London. Although the Journal of the Ex-Libris Society is given, the more important Journal of Botany, British and Foreign, published since 1863, is left out. No doubt the #x-Libris Journal, of Plymouth, is admirable in its way, but surely the Journal of the Society of Arts does not deserve to be shelved. Ainy and Country, we believe, is no longer published, although it is given here. The “ Literary Year Book” (which the reader presumably possesses) is, of course, carefully in- cluded, but the quarterly magazine, known as Legal Literature, which has done good work since 1899, is regarded as of no account. After that, one can quite understand why the London Argus, a well - known weekly dealing with municipal life (8, New Bridge Street) is left out, but a German paper, the Londoner Anzeiger, is left in. With the ** M.’s”’ one comes to the musical papers, of which we gave a considerable list of omissions last year. As not one of those papers has been inserted in this list, it is waste of space to pursue this care- lessly drawn-up compilation any further. Before leaving this section, however, we would add that an improvement on the “1904 Year Book” is made in the short paragraphs attached to certain of the periodicals as a guide to the contributor. This, nevertheless, has been more systematically done in the Writer’s Year Book (price 1s.), in which, wherever possible, indications are given of the actual rate of payment for contributions, when payment is made, if a preliminary letter is required, whether the contributor is expected to send in an account, the day and hour when contributors are interviewed, and other useful information. But even in the Writer’s Year Book one vital matter is overlooked. It is of great importance to an author that publishers and editors should give information as to the approximate time they require for the reading of books and articles submitted to them. The irresponsible way in which this is done at present is often most unjust to the literary man. An editor who invites outside contributions, or a publisher who accepts manuscripts to read, over- looks the fact that he is in the same position as a person who receives goods on approval, and that 165 he is under a moral (if not legal) obligation to return those goods without delay and in proper condition, should he decide not to buy them. The long waiting to which authors are unfairly sub- jected would not be tolerated by a publisher’s or editor’s tailor or bootmaker. Yet whereas coats or boots may not be depreciated in value by being kept, it often happens that articles not promptly returned lose their value, and the wrong is further aggravated when type-written sheets come back dog’s-eared and soiled, so that it is impossible for the author to submit them elsewhere. Literary men of experience may know those firms that are the greatest sinners in this respect and avoid them. Publishers of enterprise, therefore, who conduct their business on methodical lines, would find it to their advantage to state, approximately, the period of time they require to make up their minds whether to reject or accept MSS. A correspondent points out how carefully, in this 1905 Year Book,” the word editor has been printed ‘‘ editress,” to indicate a female editor, the only instance where the affix has not been altered being in the case where the rédacteuse is a “countess,” the “ess” in countess apparently sufficing for both substantives. ForEIGN PUBLISHERS. The same correspondent remarks that “ the list of Foreign Publishers is very incomplete.” It isa pity that Mr. David Nutt or Messrs. Dulau were not consulted on such a subject. For instance, under the heading “Switzerland” (p. 448), not a single publishing firm of Geneva or Neufchatel is mentioned ; whilst under “ Italy,” the publishing houses of Rome are overlooked. LIBRARIES. This section (commencing on p. 572) has been amplified, and now contains much valuable informa- tion. In place of eight pages in the “1904 Year Book,” it here occupies 32 pages, entries regarding the cathedral and college libraries, as well as pro- vincial collections, being most acceptable. It is to be hoped that the list of foreign libraries in the tenth edition of this “ Year Book” will be done more justice to in the same way. Paris—it is a truism to say—is better provided than London or any other city with great public libraries. Besides the Bibliothéque Nationale, there are four great libraries, each containing upwards of 120,000 volumes. Particulars of the many valuable collec- tions belonging to various learned and _ scientific societies throughout France would be of interest and value. As regards Germany, no mention is made of the Royal public libraries of the great towns, nor of the renowned book collections at Dresden, Stuttgart, Darmstadt, Gotha, Leipzig, 166 Gottingen and elsewhere. Of the many public libraries of Italy, there is not one word. This is not courteous either to Florence, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Rome, Milan, Venice, or Padua. Holland, as everyone knows, is a very “ booky” country, but it is invidious to mention the Royal Library of The Hague, and three other places, omitting Utrecht. Again, what about Belgium, with its magnificent libraries at Brussels, Ghent, and Liége ? Also, what about the libraries of Madrid, Lisbon, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Christiania? The deletion of the present “Index of Titles” padding should give plenty of space for such matters. Forrign ANNUALS. Writing from abroad, the same correspondent suggests that, in future, the title of each annual shoutd be given as published, and not be translated into English, when it is more difficult to recognise. This list, also, is sadly incomplete. Finally, it is not to be expected that any work of reference can be made perfect. Omissions must occur. Perhaps more allowance would have been made generally for the present edition of the “Literary Year Book” if it had not been announced with such a flourish of trampets. By the way it was advertised, writers expected at last to find that really reliable reference book they have so long desired to possess. Even as the shoe- maker is generally noted for wearing the worst ‘shoes, so, it appears, is the British author doomed to put up with a “ Year Book ” which falls short of what such a “year book” should be. But, accord- ing to Schiller, “ Hope is sent ¢0 the unfortunate.” As there are many unfortunate slips in the 1905 Year Book,” it will perhaps comfort the publishers to know that we fervently hope, and bid them resolve, that the tenth edition may be an improve- ment on the ninth. A. R, __¢—<—9-—__—_ MAGAZINE CONTENTS. FEBRUARY, 1905. BLACKWOOD’S MAGAZINE. The Renascence of Sycophancy. Mrs. John Hunter, The Surgeon’s Wife. By Flora Masson. Two Singers. Musings Without Method :— 1. Of the Making of Historians. 2. Disraeli’s First and Last Novels. BooKMAN. Cervantes and His Musterpiece. By Major Martin Hume, THE AUTHOR. The Hunting Ground of Don Quixote. By Henr. Bernard. j 7 Book MONTHLY. Gladstone as Bookman. Ambnassadors of Letters. A Children’s Library. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL, The Memory of an Old Young Author. By W. W. Fenn. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. The Bankruptcy of Higher Criticism. By Dr. Emil Reich. Plutarch the Humane. By Countess Martinengo Cesaresco. Patriotism and Christianity. By Augustine Birrell. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. By Maurice Materlinck. By Horace B. Samuel. By J. Churton Collins. By John F. “ King Lear” in Paris. The Psychology of Disraeli. Greek at the Universities. French Life and the French Stage. Macdonald. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW. How Long Halt Ye? By G. Lowes Dickinson. The Poetic Quality in Liberalism. By G. K. Chesterton. Side Lights on the Franciscans. By G. G. Coulton. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Study of Colonial History at Oxford. By the Rey. Wm. Cresswell. “ Art and the Athlete.” By Martin Hardie. “ Sainte-Beuve.” By H. C. Medowall. MonrTH. By the Rev. John Gerrard. By Darley Dale. The Perogatives of Science. The Poems of William Nassington. MonTHLY REVIEW. The Papal Medals of the Italian Renaissance. By Earl Egerton of Tatton. Living Legends of the Fianna. By Lady Gregory. Counter Reformation Plots. By G. W. P. Religious Instruction in Primary Schools. Edward Bickersteth Otley. By the Rev. NATIONAL REVIEW. On the Proposal to Erect a Statue to Shakespeare in London. A Poem. By Alfred Austin. NINETEENTH CENTURY, Training the Youth of England. By General Lord Methuen. Compulsory Greek as a National Question. A Waning Glory of England. The Madrigal. By J. A. Fuller Maitland. PALL MALL MAGAZINE, Studies in Personality. The Lord Avebury and Mr, John Hare. By Herbert Vivian. TEMPLE BAR. Wordsworth in Somersel. By Miss Esther Hallam Moorhouse. There are no articles dealing with literary, dramatic or musical subjects in Cornhill, Longmans Magazine, or The World’s Work and Play. Seca ek  THE AUTHOR. WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCER OF BOOKS. oo ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: C1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides, It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. Weare advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ge WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. eg EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. 167 3. There are three forms of dramatic contra , in three or more acts :— Be (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills, (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of g7oss receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. 66 WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. <p ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  168 THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part. cular consideration the warnings stated above. ———_+———_____—_ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —-—— — 1, VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4, Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no. benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. This The 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 14s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —1—~<—+ —_ HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. Ce et Se THE READING BRANCH. oe EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. —_—__——_-—<>—_2 —___—_. 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 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, §.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —— The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Se ag ee LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. 1 ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C.  THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. ———+ —_ A VERY interesting point has been decided in France, dealing with the subject of musical repro- duction. Correspondents writing in the English papers state that quite a crisis has occurred in the phonograph trade by a judgment given in a Parisian court, which has placed a talking machine in the same category as an orchestra, with a result that all the instruments contrived for the repro- duction of popular songs and airs for which copyright is unpaid, owing to the fear of in- fringement, must be, for the present at any rate, silent until a fresh adjustment takes place. In the case of Roosey v. White tried in the English courts some time ago, perforated rolls of paper were sold, reproducing certain songs in which the plaintiff had copyright. It was con- tended for the plaintiff that these rolls were sheets or music under the Copyright Act of 1842, and for the defendants that they were strictly part of a machine, and in consequence, not within the scope of the Copyright Acts. Mr. Justice Stirling held that the Act of 1842, fairly construed, did not prevent the defendants from making and selling these rolls, so far as they contained perforations, but in adding to them words taken from the plaintiff’s music sheets, for the purpose of indicating to the player on the instrument the pace and expression at and with which the music ought to be played, the defendants had gone beyond their rights, and he granted an injunction to restrain them from so doing. On appeal, this decision was affirmed as to perforations and reversed as to the words. On the point of mechanical reproduction, there- fore, the Paris courts and the British courts appear to be at variance. It would, no doubt, however, be quite a simple matter to stop the sale of mechanical reproductions in the English courts by an action for infringement of performing rights, not for infringement of copy- right. As, however, the performing rights in music are subject to peculiar modes of treatment, owing to the Whall Act, and owing to the fact that few composers ever reserve these rights of performance when selling the copyright, it is not at all likely that the question will ever arise ; though if the composer was as careful about his property as the dramatist, he could, no doubt, make a large income by obtaining a royalty on performances, and a fixed sum for the rights of mechanical repro- duction. We are glad again to have the oppor- tunity of calling the attention of composers to this point, 169 TE second report of the Advanced Historical Teaching Fund and the third (interim report) is now before us. Wecommented on the importance of this Society when it was first started, and are glad to see that it has made steady progress. The present syllabus of lectures and work of the Fund requires an annual income of £250, and it is hoped that it will be possible, when the work meets with a more generous support, regularly to endow lectures. The members of the committee are the Richt Hon. James Bryce, M.P., Mr. W. A. 8. Hewins, Dr. G. W. Prothero, Dr. A. W. Ward, Mr. Sidney Webb, and Mr. H. R. Tedder. The last-mentioned gentleman is acting as Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. All subscriptions should be sent to him. The receipts for 1904 amounted to £525 13s. 81. The report states that the exposition and criticism of medizeval and Tudor sources by Mr. Hall and Mr. Leadam have been taken as starting points for courses given in the School, on “The Development of the Great Powers from the Close of the Middle Ages,” “ Economic History since 1485,” and “The Development of English Local Government from the 15th Century’; and they have been illustrated not only by these courses, but also by others on “Historical Geography,” and on “The History 0 > of Political Ideas in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,” “The Monetary System in the Middle Ages,” and the “Elizabethan Poor Law.” Tt will be seen from this statement how important and how thorough is the work undertaken by the managers of the Fund, and what strong stimulus such work, properly undertaken, would be to a thorough knowledge of the deductions that may be made from a study of historical science. In the February number of The Author we pub- lished a letter from one of our members on “ Book Begging.” The same member has been kind enough to forward to the office a printed letter received from India. We omit the district and name of the writer. The letter may be perfectly bond fide, but the mere fact that such printed cir- culars are issued tends to show how the practice is growing, and, as our correspondent rightly says, “is fast becoming a real nuisance.” In the printed letter the writer asked for books to the value of £2. ‘The cost of passage to India must be added to this. If any other members of the Society have suffered from the same kind of complaint they might forward their experience to the Kditor. INDIA, Dated the , 1905. Sir,—I have the honour to inform you that, with a view to the advancement of scientific and  THE AUTHOR. own behalf. ‘The pirate would thus secure the 170 technical knowledge among the public and for behal supplying the needs of students whose poor cir- copyright in the United States for an unsatisfactory cumstances do not allow them to buy valuable translation and the position of the author of the books, I have established the “Free Scientific original would be worse than it was before the Library,” where any student or any other person passing of the amendment. can freely use any book for promoting his know- ledge in any line of life. The library has been so arranged as to give each person the kind of instruction he specially needs; LITERATURE AND LAW IN THE UNITED thus all those who may desire to avail themselves STATES. * of the branches of instruction while pursuing the oo regular work in their own profession have an o [Turrp ARTICLE.] excellent opportunity now. fo n from its readers, this \\ 71TH such alarming things happening in a Realising no subscriptio library depends entirely upon my scanty private our own publishing world at home income, which is hardly sufficient for its main- during the past year or 80, quarrels tenance in proper way so as to meet the beneficent between publishers and authors, and publishers and object for which it is established. booksellers, cannot be quite without interest for us. Under the circumstances I am led to most In America such quarrels have been much more humbly and respectfully appeal to your generosity numerous than with us, for America is not only a that you will be kind enough to help my project young nation still engaged in testing her institu- by making a gift to this library of your under- tions, she is, even in the matter of books, on their mentioned works, which will be very useful to the commercial side at least, more go-ahead than we students and to the community at large. are. Hoping my appeal may meet with your favour- Some of these quarrels, illustrating her own able consideration and that you may be pleased to trade methods, throw an interesting light upon direct your publishers or Kooksellers to send me ours. Many of them touch us directly, for they are an outcrop from that distressing period when the above books, - I have the honour to be, Sir, she gave to our work —little protection as she gives Your most obedient servant, now——practically no legal protection at all; when she flew the Jolly Roger, and was the pirate on the Secretary and Librarian. high seas of literature. Thus (taking the second group of cases first, On another page of The Author is printed the and dismissing them for good) her Act of Copyright Amendment to the United States Copyright Law dates from 1891. Mr. Barrie’s “ Little Minister” and the Report of the Committee on Patents to had the misfortune to be published here the year whom it was referred. before, and was duly pirated. Similarly, a good deal Little need be sal k suffered the same din addition to what has of Mr. Kipling’s earlier wor already been put forward in The Author on this fate, resulting in many quaint attempts on the part subject. of his publishers to get legal redress, notably the The Committee on Patents seem to have touched “pills and soap” (otherwise known as the “ literary the two vital points—contained in the letter from trade mark’) action of Seribners v. Putnams, in Mr. Solberg, the Register of Copyrights, and Mr. which Mr. Kipling’s side lost. Herbert Putnam, the Librarian of Congress, to the Such actions as these are some of the undesirable Committee. legacies bequeathed to us by the state of original Under Section 3 they consider that the lapse of sin in which the American copyright law remained twelve months should extend to all books published till the passage of the Chace Act of 1891. Under abroad, and under Section 4 they point out that that Act the English author may now obtain copy- owing to the wording of the amendment the inter- right in America by having his book set up 12 pretation of the Act may beconfused. Onreading America, and by publishing there simultaneously the Bill carefully it would appear that the words referred to in that section might seriously invali- * Copyright Cases: A Summary of leading American date the benefit of the Act to all foreigners, a8 it Decisions on the Law of Copyright ey cn Literal ther with the Text of the would be possible for a pirate, looking out for the Property, from 1891 to 1903 ; toge and a Selection of Recent books of well known authors in France, Germany, pases oe. cope ee and Soret Beta her i : Jopyrig ecisions of the Courts of Grea! ritain : Italy, and other countries, to translate them In @ Canada. Compiled by Arthur 5,, Hamlin. Published for ight League by qa. P. hurried fashion, and bring them out before the ihe American Publishers’ Copyri authors had time to undertake the work on their Putnam’s Sons. 1904. $2.  THER AUTHOR. 11 with the publication of itin England. This is still a considerable disability under which to labour ; and there has recently been a newspaper agitation for retaliatory measures—for laying America under similar disability with regard to us: that is, by obliging American authors to set up their books here if they desire to enjoy the benefit of English copyright Lat us not be led away by this attrac- tively downright attempt at settling the difficulty. The quarrel is not one between the English author and the American author. It is a quarrel between commercial men. Such quarrels frequently yield to the downright method of treatment, for in com- merce nobody’s feelings are considered, nobody’s word is taken for anything. Authorship is a different matter. The literary world flares up at the arrest of a Russian author, and talks as seriously about it as commercial people would abonta finan- cial loss. That is the difference. Authorship is aa international affair; an affair—let me get it out—for gentlemen, in which they should, and will, stand by each other, and ultimately combine to do the proper thing by each other all the world over. Matthew Arnold was right in attributing the combining of European men of letters under the Berne Convention to this sense which authors and educated people generally have of the proper treatment, internationally speaking, of literature and its makers. From American authors then we may expect some move to come. We may, at least, expect support for the case which English authors will shortly make to them, as foreshadowed in the February number of this journal. We do not yet know the precise form in which that case will be presented ; but “retaliation” will certainly not form part of it. Tur Ner Book AGREEMENT. Turning now to the subject of this article, the purely trade side of the book world as we find it represented in Mr. Hamlin’s compilation, the most notable case reported there is that which turned on the question as to whether publishers can compel booksellers to sell their publications at met prices ; whether they can legally enforce what we know here in England as the ‘Net Book Agreement.” The American Publishers’ Association (like the English Publishers’ Association) had for one of its objects the maintaining of the prices of books published by its several members. Combinations of this kind are often made necessary where large retailers of certain articles engage in such ruinous cutting of the prices of these articles as practically to drive the smaller retailers in the same trade out of business. The huge “department stores” of ‘New York are great sinners in this respect, and some of their methods have been, from time to time, imitated by our own stores at home. Books are very attractive things, and the selling of books at prices even below cost is found to be a great inducement for getting people into a shop and then selling them profit-bearing articles, Probably the American “ Net Book Agreement” was aimed directly at this practice. Anyhow, Mr. Straus, the proprietor of one of these “department. stores,” took action for an injunction against the Pub- lishers’ Association, contending that it was a violation of the American law prohibiting such combinations. In other words, to obtain a ruling that he, Straus, could sell books at any price he liked. There were three trials. At the first, Straus was beaten on the ground that his complaint did not state a cause of action. The Appellate Division reversed this order, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the Appelate Division by a divided Court. Parker, C.J., in a very interesting judgment told the Publishers? Association where it was wrong and how far it could go in maintaining the prices of books. The American Constitution, he said, did recog- nise the right of such an association to prescribe conditions under which certain books might be sold ; for the protection afforded by law. to books was a legal monop:ly for promoting progress in science and art. But what were these books ? Obviously they were such books as were thus pro- tected by law—in other words, books then enjoying copyright. There was the mistake of the Associa- tion. [t endeavoured to shut out of the bookselling business those who sold “ books ” below the prices named by it. No doubt its case was based on copyright books ; but in effect it made no distinc- tion between copyright bouks, the sale of which it might legally control, and uncopyrighted books, the sale of which it could no more control than it could control the sale of stationery or soap; for it declined to supply any books to dealers who sold copyrighted works below a stated price. Indeed, dealers who were even suspected of selling copy- righted books to those who resold them at less than their net prices could not obtain books on any terms from members of the Association. The combination, therefore, was so far illegal, and Mr. Straus won his case. The rules of the Association have, therefore, since the decision, been amended so as to restrict them to the case of copyright books only. REBINDING CHEAP EpITIons. A very interesting trade point which has been the subject of dispute between publishers and booksellers more than once here at home was settled in the case of Dodd.v. Smith. The ques- tion was: Ifa publisher has two separate editions of the same work, one bound in paper and selling, say, at one and sixpence, the other bound in cloth,  172 selling at half-a-crown, may a bookseller, who has a stock of the eighteenpenny edition, take off the paper covers, bind in cloth, and sell at two shillings, thus bringing this two shilling cloth edition into competition with the publisher’s half-crown cloth edition ? This case was decided before the judg- ment was delivered in the Publishers’ Association y. Straus, so no guidance could be obtained from that ruling. The Court below held that the action of the bookseller could not be restrained, and the Supreme Court affirmed the decision. In an English case, which came under the writer’s personal notice some time ago, the bookseller was warned by the publisher that the practice was a contravention of the spirit, if not of the letter, of the Net Book Agreement, and the bookseller, after some correspondence, consented to see it in this light and withdrew his offending cheap cloth edition. I believe the English Booksellers’ and Publishers’ Association have frequently had similar cases to deal with, but, so far, none has become the subject of litigation. An action arising on the question would be interesting, for it would test the legality of our own “ Net Book” combination. ‘A similar case was that of Doan v. The American Book Company. Here the bookseller purchased from the publishers second-hand copies of various works, rebound, and sold them at a reduced price. The action was for infringement of copyright. Even publishers, like authors, seem to be under the impression that “infringement of copyright” is the only safe action in the defence of literary property. The publishers won, but Doan took the case to appeal. The Appeal Court held that there was no infringement, and reversed the judgment. It was unfair competition to rebind second-hand books so as to resemble the new ones, and sell them at a reduced price, but—that was another story. REPRINTING OLD EDITIONS. Readers of Darwin will remember that the original edition of the “ Origin of Species” fell out of copyright a few years ago, and that an English publisher put on the market, as against Darwin’s publisher, a cheap reprint of this work, without those additions to, and revisions of, the book subsequently made by Darwin, which still enjoyed copyright. Was that unfair competition ? The American Circuit Court of Missouri had a similar question put to it in the case of Webster's Dictionary, the original edition of which fell out of copyright, and was reprinted by a competing publisher without the subsequent additions. The Court held that it was unfair competition and granted an injunction. Wrona Use oF WASTE PAPER. When an author’s book meets with the unhappy fate of being sold as waste-paper, and the waste- THE AUTHOR. paper merchant, instead of either destroying the edition, or otherwise using it only as waste paper, allows it to get into the hands of booksellers, who bind and sell it—is that an infringement of copy- right? Yes, if the person suing is in possession of the copyright ; for such a person can impose restrictions upon the manner in which and the people to whom the work may be sold. But No, if it is only a case of breach of trade contract between one dealer and another. BANKRUPTCY.—WHAT IS A PERSONAL CONTRACT ? If a publisher die, or become bankrupt, having contracted with the owner of a copyright to publish for him in a certain manner or at a certain price, how far is the person into whose possession the work may come bound to carry out the terms of the original contract. This is a question of importance to many authors just now, and it was answered by the New York Supreme Court in the case of Murphy v. Christian Press Association much as the Court would answer it over here. The plaintiff, Murphy, acquired from the Catholic Publication Society a set of plates of a prayer book with permission to publish. It was agreed between the parties that the book should not be sold below a certain price. The Catholic Publication Society was dissolved, and the receiver sold other sets of the same plates to the Christian Press Association, who proceeded to sell under the stated rate, though, it appeared, they had knowledge of the contract. Held, at two trials, that though technically the original contract between Murphy and the Associa- tion was a personal one, it yet related to the use of property in a certain way and obliged all who might acquire that property, with notice of the agreement, to fulfil its conditions. CHARLES WEEKES. (To be continued.) ge UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT. a Aw Act ro AMEND SECTION FORTY-NINE HUNDRED ~ AND FIFTY-TWO OF THE REVISED STATUTES. E it enacted by the Senate and House of a4 Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Section forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and the same is, hereby amended so as to read as follows: Sec. 4952. musical composition, engraving, cut, photograph, or negative The author, inventor, designer, or ; proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or thereof, or of a painting, — drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models —  THE AUTHOR. or designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of any such person shall, upon complying with the provisions of this chapter, have the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, com- pleting, copying, executing, finishing and vending the same; and, in the case of a dramatic composi- tion, of publicly performing or representing it, or causing it to be performed or represented by others. And authors or their assigns shall have exclusive right to dramatise or translate any of their works for which copyright shall have been obtained under the laws of the United States. Whenever the author or proprietor of a book in a foreign language, which shall be published in a foreign country before the day of publication in this country, or his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall, within twelve months after the first nublication of such book in a foreign country obtain a copyright for a translation of such book in the English language, which shall be the first copyright in this country for a translation of such book, he and they shall have, during the term of such copyright, the sole liberty of printing, re- printing, publishing, vending, translating, and dramatising the said book, and, in the case of a dramatic composition, of publicly performing the same, or of causing it to be performed or repre- sented by others. Provided, That this Act shall only apply to a citizen or subject of a foreign State or nation when such foreign State or nation permits to citizens of the United States of America benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to tts own citizens. Passed the House of Representatives December 14th, 1904. Attest : A. McDowELL, Clerk. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PATENTS. The Committee on Patents, to whom was referred the Bill (H.R. 6487) for the amendment of Section 4952 of the Revised Statutes, recommended the said Billdo pass with the following amendment : Strike out the words “benefit of copyright on the same basis as is given to its citizens by this Act,” lines 1 and 2, page 3 of the printed Bill, and insert in lieu thereof the words “‘ benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens.” The following letter is submitted in support of this favourable report :— Liprary OF ConGRESS, COPYRIGHT OFFICE, Wasuineton, D.C., January 26th, 1905. Srr,—In compliance with your request of January 28rd for an expression of opinion from this office on House Bill 6487, to amend Section 173 4952 of the Revised Statutes, relating rights, I beg to report as follows :— p 1. That the purpose of this Bill appears to this office equitable and unobjectionable. 2. That the proviso passed by the House in the way of an amendment to the original bill would seem to require some slight alteration in order to bring its provisions into harmony with the Act of March 3rd, 1891. This alteration should be that in lines 1 and 2, on page 3, the words “ benefit of copyright on the same basis as is given to its citizens by this Act,” should be changed to read, “benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens.” 3. The Bill provides for a period of one year within which to comply with the requirement that the work shall be typeset within the limits of the United States, but this term of twelve months is allowed only when the book is originally published in a foreign language. In equity there would seem to be no reason why the allowance should not equally extend to all books originally published abroad. 4, That the words in lines 16 and 17, page 2, reading, ‘“‘ which shall be the first copyright in this country for a translation of such book” would cause difficulty of construction, and, if construed literally, are calculated to nullify the benefit proposed by the Bill. They should, we think, be stricken out. Conflicting claims between translations entered for copyright would require to be settled by the Courts as other matters of dispute. This is not to object to the present Bill, but to suggest that it might go further with advantage. THORVALD SOLBERG, Register of Copyrights. HERBERT PUTNAM, Librarian of Congress. Approved and transmitted. Your Committee deem it inadvisable at this Session to enlarge the scope of this Bill to extend to all books originally published abroad. It is the purpose of your Committee to attempt a codifica- tion of the copyright laws at the next Session of Congress. to copy- —“~- ON A LITTLE OLD BOOK. ~~ UMBER rooms hold these little volumes now ; the tops or the backs of book shelves where the old hymn-books are, the obsolete manuals of devotion, and the tattered school books ; some, as I have discovered, may be rescued from the penny or the twopenny box of the second- hand bookshop; a few are treasured. ‘T'reasured, my little old book, though it may have known the  172 selling at half-a-crown, may a bookseller, who has a stock of the eighteenpenny edition, take off the paper covers, bind in cloth, and sell at two shillings, thus bringing this two shilling cloth edition into competition with the publisher's half-crown cloth edition ? This case was decided before the judg- ment was delivered in the Publishers’ Association y. Straus, so no guidance could be obtained from that ruling. The Court below held that the action of the bookseller could not be restrained, and the Supreme Court affirmed the decision. In an English case, which came under the writer’s personal notice some time ago, the bookseller was warned by the publisher that the practice was a contravention of the spirit, if not of the letter, of the Net Book Agreement, and the bookseller, after some correspondence, consented to see it in this light and withdrew his offending cheap cloth edition. I believe the English Booksellers’ and Publishers’ Association have frequently had similar cases to deal with, but, so far, none has become the subject of litigation. An action arising on the question would be interesting, for it would test the legality of our own “ Net Book” combination. ‘A similar case was that of Doan v. The American Book Company. Here the bookseller purchased from the publishers second-hand copies of various works, rebound, and sold them at a reduced price. The action was for infringement of copyright. Byen publishers, like authors, seem to be under the impression that “ infringement of copyright ” is the only safe action in the defence of literary property. The publishers won, but Doan took the case to appeal. The Appeal Court held that there was no infringement, and reversed the judgment. Tt was unfair competition to rebind second-hand books so as to resemble the new ones, and sell them at a reduced price, but—that was another story. REPRINTING OLD EDITIONS. Readers of Darwin will remember that the original edition of the “ Origin of Species” fell out of copyright a few years ago, and that an English publisher put on the market, as against Darwin’s publisher, a cheap reprint of this work, without those additions to, and revisions of, the book subsequently made by Darwin, which still enjoyed copyright. Was that unfair competition? The ‘American Circuit Court of Missouri had a similar question put to it in the case of Webster’s Dictionary, the original edition of which fell out of copyright, and was reprinted by @ competing publisher without the subsequent additions. The Court held that it was unfair competition and granted an injunction. Wrona Use or WASTE PAPER. When an author’s book meets with the unhappy fate of being sold as waste-paper, and the waste- THE AUTHOR. paper merchant, instead of either destroying the edition, or otherwise using it only as waste paper, allows it to get into the hands of booksellers, who bind and sell it—is that an infringement of copy- right ? Yes, if the person suing is in possession of the copyright ; for such a person can impose restrictions upon the manner in which and the people to whom the work may be sold. But No, if it is only a case of breach of trade contract between one dealer and another. BANKRUPTCY.—WHAT IS A PERSONAL CoNTRACT ? If a publisher die, or become bankrupt, having contracted with the owner of acopyright to publish for him in a certain manner or at a certain price, how far is the person into whose possession the work may come bound to carry out the terms of the original contract. This is a question of importance to many authors just now, and it was answered by the New York Supreme Court in the case of Murphy v. Christian Press Association much as the Court would answer it over here. The plaintiff, Murphy, acquired from the Catholic Publication Society a set of plates of a prayer book with permission to publish. It was agreed between the parties that the book should not be sold below a certain price. The Catholic Publication Society was dissolved, and the receiver sold other sets of the same plates to the Christian Press Association, who proceeded to sell under the stated rate, though, it appeared, they had knowledge of the contract. Held, at two trials, that though technically the original contract between Murphy and the Associa- tion was a personal one, it yet related to the use of property in a certain way and obliged all who might acquire that property, with notice of the agreement, to fulfil its conditions. CHARLES WEEKES. (To be continued.) 9g UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT. + An Act to AMEND SECTION FoRTY-NINE HUNDRED AND Firry-two OF THE REVISED STATUTES. E B Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Section forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be,and the same is, hereby. amended so as to read as follows: Sec, 4952. The author, inventor, designer, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or photograph, or negative thereof, or of a painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models it enacted by the Senate and House of  THE AUTHOR. or designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of any such person shall, upon complying with the provisions of this chapter, have the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, com- pleting, copying, executing, finishing and vending the same; and, in the case of a dramatic composi- tion, of publicly performing or representing it, or causing it to be performed or represented by others. And authors or their assigns shall have exclusive right to dramatise or translate any of their works for which copyright shall have been obtained under the laws of the United States. Whenever the author or proprietor of a book in a foreign language, which shall be published in a foreign country before the day of publication in this country, or his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall, within twelve months after the first publication of such book in a foreign country obtain a copyright for a translation of such book in the English language, which shall be the first copyright in this country for a translation of such book, he aud they shall have, during the term of such copyright, the sole liberty of printing, re- printing, publishing, vending, translating, and dramatising the said book, and, in the case of a dramatic composition, of publicly performing the same, or of causing it to be performed or repre- sented by others. Provided, That this Act shall only apply to a citizen or subject of a foreign State or nation when such foreign State or nation permits to citizens of the United States of America benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens. Passed the House of Representatives December 14th, 1904. Attest : A. McDoweELt, Clerk. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PATENTS. The Committee on Patents, to whom was referred the Bill (H.R. 6487) for the amendment of Section 4952 of the Revised Statutes, recommended the said Bill do pass with the following amendment : Strike out the words “‘ benefit of copyright on the same basis as is given to its citizens by this Act,” lines 1 and 2, page 3 of the printed Bill, and insert in lieu thereof the words “‘ benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens.” The following letter is submitted in support of this favourable report :— Liprary or Concress, CopyRIGHT OFFICE, Wasuineton, D.C., January 26th, 1905. Sir,—In compliance with your request of January 23rd for an expression of opinion from this office on House Bill 6487, to amend Section 173 Ke ts . a a“ aloe ees, relating to copy- : g port as follows :— 1. That the purpose of this Bill appears to this office equitable and unobjectionable. 2. That the proviso passed by the House in the way of an amendment to the original bill would seem to require some slight alteration in order to bring its provisions into harmony with the Act of March 3rd, 1891. This alteration should be that in lines 1 and 2, on page 3, the words “ benefit of copyright on the same basis as is given to its citizens by this Act,” should be changed to read, “benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens.” 8. The Bill provides for a period of one year within which to comply with the requirement that the work shall be typeset within the limits of the United States, but this term of twelve months is allowed only when the book is originally published in a foreign language. In equity there would seem to be no reason why the allowance should not equally extend to all books originally published abroad. 4. That the words in lines 16 and 17, page 2, reading, “ which shall be the first copyright in this country for a translation of such book” would cause difficulty of construction, and, if construed literally, are calculated to nullify the benefit proposed by the Bill. They should, we think, be stricken out. Conflicting claims between translations entered for copyright would require to be settled by the Courts as other matters of dispute. This is not to object to the present Bill, but to suggest that it might go further with advantage. THORVALD SOLBERG, Register of Copyrights. HERBERT PUTNAM, Librarian of Congress. Approved and transmitted. Your Committee deem it inadvisable at this Session to enlarge the scope of this Bill to extend to all books originally published abroad. It is the purpose of your Committee to attempt a codifica- tion of the copyright laws at the next Session of Congress. <> ON A LITTLE OLD BOOK. ——1_—~<>e UMBER rooms hold these little volumes now ; the tops or the backs of book shelves where the old hymn-books are, the obsolete manuals of devotion, and the tattered school books ; some, as I have discovered, may be rescued from the penny or the twopenny box of the secoud- hand bookshop; a few are treasured. ‘Treasured, my little old book, though it may have known the  174 lumber room in its day or the backmost recesses of the topmost shelf before the penny box yielded it to me—treasured at some time, whatever the vicissitudes through which it had passed ! For narrow strips of stamp-paper (the mellow stamp-paper of the old red V ictorian stamp), applied with I know not what of tenderness and care, hold the covers in their place. Who fashioned the gentle bandages ? Who, with patience, loving kindness, and a straight eye, applied them? Senti- ment and the memory of some happy childhood are in every slender band. As I look at the little decrepit volume—time and hard times between them having dealt heavily even with its “ restora- tion” !—it seems to me right and fitting that the stamp-paper of which its props and ligaments are composed should be mid- Victorian. Neither the mauve borders of later Victoria, nor the “ pink” of early Edward would have provided quite the right mending. Sentiment was less rare in the latter half, even, of the nineteenth century, than in the age of the motor-car. Treasured, the Jittle old book ! The book itself is mid-William IV. The title- page is missing. so that we find ourselves face to face with the preface, as we lift the loosened cover. “ In the simple title of ‘Rhymes for the Nursery’ the pretensions of this little volume are fully explained,” says the preface humbly. “In the Vur- sery they are designed to circulate” (the “preten- sions” ?), “and within its sanctuary walls the writers claim shelter from the eye of criticism.” The writers—if their grammar, maybe, was a trifle shaky—were over-modest. The little book is in some ways a big book. The very spirit of the sheltered nursery and of child-life lies between the mended covers. “ Good Night ” holds it : “ Baby, baby, lay your head, On your pretty cradle-bed.” “Getting Up”: “ Baby, baby, ope your eye, For the sun is in the sky.” “Good Mamma,” “ What Clothes are Made Of,” “ Charles and the Animals””—most of all, perhaps, “The Sparrows” : “ Oh, dean, if you'd eat a erwmd out of my hand, How happy and glad I should be!” To turn the mended pages is to be reminded of your own childhood. All its little yearnings are here, its griefs, its lessons, its encouragements, its pleasures. Do you remember your first cut finger ? Tf so, but more especially if not, let me read you a verse of “ The Cut.” “Well, what’s the matter? There’s a face ! What! Has it cut a vein? And is it quite a shocking place ? Come, let us look again.” THER AUTHOR. “Come, let us look again!” The inspiration is there, I think—the minuteness of the shocking place, showing you in a moment your chubby finger fearfully extended for a horrified inspection. Come, let us look again! Do you remember the distinc- tion the bandages lent you, the “ indulgences” you claimed for the wounded member, the exemp- tions, the care? Apropos, I remember a proud young friend of five, a little scar on whose forehead constituted his title to the airs he gave himself when the topic of accidents was broached. He had fallen against the nursery fender, and Ais head had been cut open. “Cut quite open.” For years I looked at him with awe, believing implicitly that — before the wound had been “ sewn up”? (impressive term in itself!) you could lift up half his head, as you lift the lid of a kettle or pot, and lookin. He had a right to his pride. “About Learning to Read” is another of the subjects which stir memories. The modest writers seem to have forgotten nothing and to have under- stood everything—qualifications indeed for the task they had set themselves. Did a pin or a pen, or maybe a knitting-needle, “point” for you? A pencil “pointed” for me, I remember, and I recall now the delight of the day when it was discovered that my teacher (herself!) had made little straggling lines under the letters and words, thus doing what was called (when I did it) “defacing your books!” Too modest, I say, were the writers. We a something, all of us, I fancy, about ies. “So, so, you are running away, Mr. Fly, But I'll come at you now if you don’t go too high ; There, then, I have caught you, you can’t get away: Never mind, my old fellow, I’m only in play.” “ Oh, Charles! cruel Charles ! you have hilled the pour fly, You have pinched him so hard, he is going to die Follows, “The Cruel Boy and the Kittens” : “What! go and see the kittens drown’d, On purpose, in the yard!” On purpose in the yard! Then there is “ Harriet ” : « What is it that makes little Harriet cry ? Come, then, let mainma wipe the tear from her eye: There—lay down your head on my bosom—that’s right, ‘And now tell mamma what’s the matter to-night.” Harriet hardly knew what made her cry, but : knew, with us all, what it is to need comforting. The tragedies of the nursery are the tragedies of the world in little. ‘The modest writers under- stood Harriet, and those who should read of her, from the days of William IV. to Edward VII. Not a child but would find himself somewhere.  THE AUTHOR. Says “ One Little Boy” : *“T'm a little gentleman, Play and ride and dance I can : Very handsome clothes I wear, And Tf live on dainty fare : And whenever out I ride, I’ve a servant by my side.” Says “ Another Little Boy ”—a “ husbandman,” and, as I fear me, a prig: “ T've a hearty appetite, And I soundly sleep at night. Down I lie content, and say, ‘T’ve been useful all the day : Id rather be a ploughboy than A useless little gentleman.’ ” For a prototype in the mid-William nursery ‘there are plenty to choose from: “Idle Mary” (“Oh, Mary, this will never do! This work is sadly done, my dear!”) ; “ Sleepy Harry” (‘TI do not like to go to bed”); ‘The Little Girl that could not Read”; “The Little Girl that Beat her Sister” —some fifty or sixty in all. However naughty the little Original Sinner, it is, ‘‘ Come, let us reason together,” as in the Good Book of all. “What ! ery when I wash you, not love to be clean ! Then, go and be dirty, unfit to be seen : And till you leave off, and I see you have smiled, Tl not take the trouble to wash such a child. Suppose I should leave you now, just as you are, Do you think you'd deserve a sweet kiss from papa, Or to sit on his knee, and learn pretty great A, With fingers that have not been wash’d all the day ? “ Ay, look at your fingers, you see it is so: Did you ever behold such a black little row ? And for once you may look at yourself in the glass : There’s a face to belong to a good little lass! Come, come then, I see yow’re beginning to clear, You won't be so foolish again, will you, dear?” As I read, and see picture after picture conjured up by the magic of the modest pens, I wonder less and less that the volume was ‘‘ treasured.” What upheaval, what series of deaths or disasters brought it from sheltered places to the common grave of the penny box? Who sat on whose lap in far-off days to hear it read? Who “clamped” it with stamp-paper, trimmed its frayed edges, nursed it ? I shall never know, but I know why these things were done, and by reason of it and (indirectly) of them, I should, if I were a publisher of children’s books, rummage in lumber rooms, top shelves, and the penny boxes, that (to paraphrase a notable saying) when I was offered a new book I might publish an old one. : RICHARD PRYCE. 175 THE USE OF FICTION. + WAS sitting in my armchair one evening, at that time when the sky grows dusky and __ the street lamps are not lit; when the flickering firelight seems companionable and leads towards meditation. I was thinking of the words of a great modern novelist, in which he pointed out how much more potent a force than pulpit utterances was the novel, and in which he indi- cated future works would largely deal with human passion blended with religion. It is true under the present conditions of civilisation (conditions which we must hope for the honour and glory of humanity will not always exist) the great passions form the real foundations of life, and when blended with ideas of a religious tendency are strong factors in the well-being or otherwise of the social state. As civilisation is at present constituted they are as the foundation to the house or the roots to the tree; in the first instance giving strength and solidity to the upper stories which rise into the light and warmth of day, in the other furnishing sustenance to the aie to bring forth green leaves and golden ruit. As we walk through the streets the sun may shine on the windows of the houses and may light up the faces of happy men and women, of merry children, looking upon the comings and goings of the outside public. May we not think of these apartments and of the existence of those within them, and take some interest in it all, and yet not forget the humbler foundations and the humble workmen who made them? As we walk through the country lane may we not admire the beauty of the orchard, and if asked to do so, taste of the luscious apples? May we not do this and yet be mindful of the men who delved and covered the feeble roots with soil ; in due time to produce the tree with which and its products sight and taste are well pleased ? In other words, why should the future novel be all passion mixed with religion? Have we not even now a little too much of dismal scenes and just a little too much of that sort of sentiment which some may speak of as religious ? There is no doubt a great future for the novel. Sir Walter Scott spoke of himself and his novels as of aman who by opening a shutter let a little light into a dark room. The shutter has been opened a little wider since his day, but there has been super- imposed upon the white glass of the window many coloured glasses, mostly of various tints of red, which destroy the purity and truthfulness of the daylight which should stream in through the unstained panes.  176 The novel of the future should deal with life as it is. Taking a few illustrations from a sister art, its sentiment should range from the poetic solemnity of a “ Beata Beatrix” to the charming simplicity, full of lurking humour in the eyes, of the “Parson’s Daughter.” Passion deeper than that of the “ Beata Beatrix,” if passion is present in that exquisite picture, could and should be depicted ; fun lighter even than the jocund mood which hides about the lips of the “ Parson’s Daughter,” as beautiful and as winsome as a painting can well be, should be found in the alluring pages of the coming fiction ; but only in rare quantities. And this passion, this sentiment, this humour should only be expressed through the book’s individualism—individuals, not types. The joke, the feeling, the intense emotion, come home with treble force, with far more subtle effect when they are portrayed in individual characters and not in types of human nature. Abounding in individualism, the novel becomes at once a live book, because it has life palpitating within its covers. What a wonderful thing is this ; what a mighty power trending towards good! I say, unhesitatingly, for good. Only for good would a genius who could create men and women for all time consent to work. His theme would be as high and as ideal in range as the finest poetry, and wide in range as humanity itself, for through its individualism it would appeal to brothers and sisters throughout the whole world. We may well ask to what use could this immense influence be put? Ah! what subject too low, what too high, for the pen of the novelist con- nected in any way with what concerns us spiritually or materially! In all well-ordered governments employment should be found for willing hands held out asking for it. In all well-governed cities and towns hotbeds of disease in the form of insanitary dwellings should never exist. This poverty, this hideous approach of death will surely be eradicated in the future through the inventive faculties of man. Movements in that direction have already been made. And the novelist by his descriptive powers will hasten them on. From the stars and their light coming down to us through eons of time, from the tiny diatoms, so very minute and yet so perfectly formed as to defy detection of fault, from all things great and small, the writer would seek for inspiration ; for all these things, in heaven or earth, are of the utmost importance to man, who must ever be the proper study of the master of fiction. Under the sway of the master science shall proclaim and perform its wonders. It shall no more be an exotic, a thing apart from our daily THE AUTHOR. lives. It shall ever progress in aiding labour, in alleviating, perhaps destroying pain. It shall make clear the truth of religion, so that all doubters will be silenced and eternal hope shall be indeed universal. Science and religion shall be the sweetness and the light of existence; they shall become twin affections of the heart. J. Harris BRIGHOUSE. THE ABUSE OF WORDS. “When I make a word do a lot of work... I always pay it extra,’’—Humpty-Dumpty. “ Adjectives you can do anything with.’’—Zd. T is to be feared that the line of conduct toward the parts of speech put forward by the above-mentioned authority in the former of the two quotations has but few to follow it at the present day. With the great mass of people, both when they speak and when they write, the tendency is to employ a certain number of words, either individually or in set phrases, over and over again rather than to use a variety. The mind of the average man seems to recall with pleasure, in connection with certain ideas, certain familiar words and to shrink from getting out of touch with an old association. It would be difficult to estimate in what proportions the limitation of the ordinary vocabulary is produced by (1) this pleasure in the old association ; and (2) laziness, want of exertion to supplement the deficiencies of ignorance. For it must be acknowledged that there is a con- siderable difference between the case of the lady who characterises everything that she likes as “nice,” and that of the male novelist who invari- ably dresses his heroine in a robe of “clinging material.” But the effect is the same, to lessen the number of words in common use, and to sub- stitute for the free issue of language a currency of the debased coin, as it has been called, of speech and literature. The adjective, of whose adapta- bility Alice’s philsopher-acquaintance on the other side of the looking-glass spoke, is the most abused, in this way, of all the parts of speech. It would appear that some nouns have come to suggest to the mind of the sluggard some particular epithet at once. The original association may have been most appropriate, most poetical; but by constant repetition the union must become, if one is at all fastidious, merely nauseating. Why should we, for instance, not be allowed to hear of any crowd but a “madding crowd,” any anthem but a “ peal- ing” one? (Gray's “Elegy” has, unhappily,  M THE AUTHOR. 177 been a mine exceedingly well worked by the manu- facturers of clichés.) No doubt the constant epithet is of the most respectable antiquity, and was a great favourite with Homer. But quod licet Jovr non licet bovi ; and we do not live in an epic age, nor are we usually troubled by the exigencies of metre. With us there is no need ofa rule, One word, one epithet. It might be urged in defence of the stereotyped expression that it tends to imparta literary flavour. But there is little in this. What appreciation of literature does it show to associate, in season and out, certain phrases with certain ideas? We can but suspect, moreover, in a great number of cases, that the quoter is but half conscious of his quota- tions, since otherwise he would quote more, more widely—and, it may be added, more correctly. As it is, it matters nothing to him that the quotation is wrong or incomplete, as in the familiar (ah ! how familiar) ‘fresh fields and pastures new,” or “thick as leaves in Vallombrosa,” which in those forms, and not in their true forms, are part of the common currency of English speech. Cannot we express change of scene or the idea of multitude without mangling Milton? And really we can hardly suppose that any man hopes to raise the estimate of his talents by the aid of a hackneyed turn of speech. I cannot remember as a child thinking any better of my nurse because she was fond of talking about “ Patience on a monument.” Yet she was using the same device as very many speakers and writers—above all, leader-writers of a certain class, who know no means of pointing their arguments save with a quotation either from Dickens, from Shakespeare, or from the Bible. It is not, however, only the literary tag which annoys. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of other collocations of words in our language which the general mind cannot apparently avoid, and seems to regard it as indecent to vary. The resulting dialect—it is almost such—has been called **journalese,” though it is by no means limited to the newspapers. The diction of the minor writer both is affected by and reacts on common speech. To him every anniversary is an “auspicious occa- sion,” every entertainment a “ brilliant function.” Every marriage ceremony is a “very pretty wed- ding,” at every banquet the “festive board groans,” every host is “genial,” every actress and every coffin received “ floral tributes.” One cannot even be drowned without finding a “watery grave.” In descriptions of funerals most especially does such a writer revel in the trite. A very well-known “organ of public opinion ” (or perhaps I should say “advertising medium’’) once set up a record in its description of some great man’s burial by the number of times which it used the expression “the mournful corfége.” And cortége is now more than ever the stereotyped word for the procession which wends its way” to the cemetery, qualified by the epithet of “mournful” or “ funeral,” as you will. Nor do births escape the fate of marriages and deaths. Hard indeed is it for a son to come into the world without incurring the charge of being a “bouncing boy.” Daughters presumably never bounce. Their unfortunate brothers are almost invariably made to. Extreme youth can no more soften the heart of the relentless clicheur than can the years of the old man whose “ venerable head” he is so fond of describing, particularly when “bowed in sorrow.” It is a point which may be noticed that it is far more in expressions of praise than in those of cen- sure that the average man seems unable to escape the hackneyed word. He is in accord with Théo- phile Gauthier about the greater difficulty of expressing praise than blame. For he works his limited vocabulary of laudation very hard, whereas with words of disapproval he is seldom at a loss for variety. Herein he is evidently akin to the gentle- men famed for their ability to swear for half-an- hour without repeating themselves. One has only to study the wealth of epithets with which men are able to qualify the policy and the speeches of their political opponents, to be convinced of this. But such has been the case from the time of the early orators downward ; when they had called their own party “the good” they ceased to look further for a description of them, but they had a stock of elegant synonyms for their adversaries. Yet if we allow a certain greater richness in man’s vituperative power, compared with the resources of his praise, we still find the mass of undistinguished writers incapable of imparting variety to descriptions of the unpleasant or the disapproved. So it is that we get so often reiterated the conjunctions ‘‘ unutterable horror,” “unspeakable dread,” and the like. The saving in time and thought is, of course, great. The writer has brought himself to a point where progress is difficult. From the lumber-room of his mind he drags forth some well-worn, battered expression, assured that in the corresponding rooms in his readers’ minds are lying exact facsimiles. There can be no excuse for their not understanding him if he uses the expression ; and so he uses it. Is there any reason why he slould not? I know of none if his self-respect does not prevent him. So the question merely resolves itself into one of good taste. The last word suggests the tag which the bores might hasten to supply ; but in literature and in language the question of taste cannot be left out of dispute, for it is of their essence. PW. ee 9  178 THE COMMISSION AGENT AND THE WRITER. —<_ HERE are a number of persons con nected with various branches of trade who make a more or less precarious living by introducing buyers to sellers, without attaching themselves to any particular firm or being con- stituted the recognised agents of any particular principals. To a certain extent, T believe, these go-betweens act in the disposal of literary wares, but whether there are many of them, or a large number of authors and editors who require their services, and value them, I do not know. Probably the Secretary of the Society of Authors could say more than most people on the subject, as the agent of this class, who of course does not work for love, is a little apt to claim commissions which the person whom he has had to do with has not formally agreed to pay, and disputes arise as to the nature of the employment after the work has been done. In literary matters, T take it, commission agents, acting as free-lances, in the employment of no one in particular, do not do much in the way of bringing the author in contact with the publisher, but rather in the selling of stories, articles and other matter suitable for magazines, to editors. Editors sometimes want articles on special subjects, or they can be per- suaded that they do, and the agent may be an ingenious man who can invent a want for the editor, and lay his hand upon the right man_ to satisfy it. There is no particular harm in this. Tt does not affect the weil-known writer, whose work may be in the hands of an agent already, or who knows pretty well what to do with his books when they are written. It rather affects those who can write, but do not always understand what is most likely to be accepted, or who is most likely to need it. It is no doubt useful to these to have someone to carry through business for them, to do which for themselves may not be a congenial task. The trouble, however, from what I hear, arises most frequently in this way. The agent approaches the author and tells him that he can place for him a story or an article or a series of articles on such and such a subject, but says nothing about any payment to himself for doing so. The author expects to be told with whom he is dealing, not only because he wishes to be sure that the money is safe, but because he likes to know in what class of publication his work is to appear. He therefore, after the arrangement has been initiated, deals directly with the editor, or does so through his usual agent if he has one. He assumes, and possibly his agent does the same, that the person who first applied to him was the agent of the THE AUTHOR. editor, and that he will look to the editor only for the remuneration for his services. his, however, does not always turn out to be the case. At some late period in the transaction, perbaps when the bargain has been arranged, or possibly after publication has taken place, the commission agent applies to the author for a percentage of the sum paid in respect of it. The author naturally denies that he has ever agreed to pay anything, but finds that the demand made is being persisted in. The position then becomes an awkward one. ‘That there has been no arrangement whatever to pay a commission may be clear to the author, but a service has been rendered, and a jury may take the view that there was an implied contract, if not an express one, to pay for it at some customary rate, as to which the plaintiff may bring evidence. In any case the author wishes to ac® fairly, and perhaps the agent may be a useful man whom it would be impolitic to offend. When this last has been said, no doubt, there remains but little which can be said on behalf of the agent. He has come to the author unsolicited, he has quite possibly represented himself as pur- chasing, or arranging for a purchase, on behalf of a principal, who eventually agrees to take what is sold and to pay, and if the agent says nothing about reward from the vendor, he has no right to expect it. An author who does not mind running the risk will resist him, and possibly will do so successfully. Another will pay to save himself the worry of litigation, with the danger of increasing his loss thereby. The only safe plan, therefore, for the writer who is approached by one of these hangers-on of literature is to have it made perfectly clear at the outset whether there is or is not to be a commission due from him if what is proposed is carried out. He may as well remember that in ordinary transactions of a commercial character where this kind of introduction of business takes place, it is perfectly well recognised that the agent is going to make all he can out of the deal, and that business men, unless they are very careless, make the whole thing plain, as a matter of course. They generally, moreover, recognise tacitly the fact that the man who introduced the business is going to make a profit out of both sides. ‘The question of secret commissions is a thorny one, but as a rule in a strictly business transaction the buyer makes up his mind as to what he will give “to cover everything,” and the seller is equally assured as to what he will take and as to how much he will pay in order to get it. If there is any obscurity as to where the profit of the person is to come from who has brought the parties together, in order to make what he can by doing so, the ordinary business man makes it clear by asking a question or by making a stipulation, and if he does not know with a  + in a business-like manner. | to cases in which all the other parts of the contract + may be plainly stated between the writer and the THE AUTHOR. . whom he is dealing sufficiently well to be sure of _ his honesty, he takes care to have written or other - evidence to record what is arranged. These obser- yations only embody the advice which is given to writers pretty frequently in Zhe Author, that is, that they should make their business arrangements They refer, however, Editor, who have been brought into direct contact with one another, and in which the question of com- mission to the third person may well have been tem- porarily forgotten. The Editor, however, is quite likely to have remembered it, and to have told the agent clearly that from him nothing was to be expected. He says, in short, that the article, if published, will be paid for, but that the fee for the placing of it is to be obtained from the person who receives payment for it, and not from him who makes the payment. It would be interesting to know whether instances of this class of dispute are really of frequent occurrence, and what variety of circumstance introduces complication into them. E. ——————EE WHAT DOES THE NEWSPAPER PUBLIC WANT? sana a IXING, as I have occasion to do, with men and women of many sorts and conditions, T have been struck by hearing the remark made quite frequently of late years by high and low and rich and poor alike : “ Why don’t the papers give us more news and fewer ‘horrors ?’” The reply of the uninitiated generally is that there is no more news to give. The reply of the editor would of course be that the public wants the stuff. And these are the statements I wish to dispute. No believe, in the first place, that there is “no more news to give,” and that “the newspapers must fill their columns somehow,” is to believe what is wholly false, as all who have had to do with the editorial department of any great news- paper are aware. ‘The difficulty every editor of a “news” newspaper has to contend with is the problem of crowding news that would easily fill several columns into every single column he has at his disposal. “Every night day after day ”—as I heard an Irish editor say once—in the office of pro- bably every important daily paper published in the United Kingdom a quantity of interesting news already set up in type is at the last moment either omitted altogether, or condensed into a few lines of bare report, or “held over,” and yet space 179 is found for half-a-dozen or more reports of what I hope I may be forgiven for speaking of as murders of no consequence, and suicides of no interest, and divorce cases that even the “ masses” we so often allude to in tones almost of contempt are for the most part not greatly interested in and would much sooner not trouble to read about if they were given the chance of reading anything else. The chance, however, they seldom get. The reason they so seldom get it is that certain editors have, pre- sumably from force of habit, apparently grown to believe implicitly that the only news the “man in the street” cares to read consists of details of every provincial murder and every petty suicide—I call them so merely to distinguish them from crimes rendered of general interest owing to some excep- tionally remarkable feature or circumstance con- nected with them—with the result that news that would in reality prove far more acceptable to the general public, including the ‘“ masses,” has of necessity to be crowded out. If the public wanted this stuff I should say by all means give it to it and let it wallow in it to its heart’s content, for a newspaper to succeed must of course give the public what it wants. I maintain, however—and I speak of what, from constant observation, I know to be the case—that though, naturally, almost everybody is interested in hearing or reading particulars of an exceptionally remark- able or sensational crime, very few nowadays in the least want to read report after report of crimes that are, so to speak, commonplace and of purely local interest. As an example of what I mean, take the follow- ing. This list is compiled from a single copy of a Sunday newspaper that has approximately six pages of advertisements and ten pages of news, etc. I have copied the headings word for word, and the amount of space occupied by letterpress of the sort I have referred to I have set out in. inches. Inches, Doctor's petition against his wife... 2 BP Surgeon’s tragic death ; Miller’s: horrible death ... a - Se cee 2 Fruits of divorce (from Moscow) .-- : 23 Young woman sentenced for killing sweet- heart ; Woman committed on a charge of manslaughter ; Alleged attempted murder — 6} Bermondsey man confesses to cutting his wife's throat... ae ae a oa. Clergyman’s wife sued in the Dublin Courts 16 Sheffield man obtains a divorce —... eri Suicide from Yarmouth pier... ey oe) Yesterday’s law and police ... ae sie 0 Assize trials... =. ie as LG Cyclist’s suicide Be Ss ies es Dismembered wife left in a railway station Girl’s shocking story ... ae Bae ce Sensational sequel to society divorce case ... ) Hussar’s terrible death in a railway tunnel 33 Prison-breaker king; Woman partner in | burglary shares his fate... sk oe  178 THE COMMISSION AGENT AND THE WRITER. —_* HERE are a number of persons con- 1 nected with various branches of trade who make a more or less precarious living by introducing buyers to sellers, without attaching themselves to any particular firm or being con- stituted the recognised agents of any particular principals. To a certain extent, I believe, these go-betweens act in the disposal of literary wares, but whether there are many of them, or a large number of authors and editors who require their services, and value them, I do not know. Probably the Secretary of the Society of Authors could say more than most people on the subject, as the agent of this class, who of course does not work for love, is a little apt to claim commissions which the person whom he has had to do with has not formally agreed to pay, and disputes arise as to the nature of the employment after the work has been done. Tn literary matters, T take it, commission agents, acting as free-lances, in the employment of no one in particular, do not do much in the way of bringing the author in contact with the publisher, but rather in the selling of stories, articles and other matter suitable for magazines, to editors. Editors sometimes want articles on special subjects, or they can be per- suaded that they do, and the agent may be an ingenious man who can invent a want for the editor, and lay his hand upon the right man_ to satisfy it. There is no particular harm in this. It does not affect the weil-known writer, whose work may be in the hands of an agent already, or who knows pretty well what to do with his books when they are written. It rather affects those who can write, but do not always understand what is most likely to be accepted, or who is most likely to need it. It is no doubt useful to these to have someone to carry through business for them, to do which for themselves may not be a congenial task. The trouble, however, from what I hear, arises most frequently inthis way. The agent approaches the author and tells him that he can place for him a story or an article or a series of articles on such and such a subject, but says nothing about any payment to himself for doing so. The author expects to be told with whom he is dealing, not only because he wishes to be sure that the money is safe, but because he likes to know in what class of publication his work is to appear. He therefore, after the arrangement has been initiated, deals directly with the editor, or does so through his usual agent if he has one. He assumes, and possibly his agent does the same, that the person who first applied to him was the agent of the THE AUTHOR. editor, and that he will look to the editor only for the remuneration for his services. This, however, does not always turn out to be the case. At some late period in the transaction, perhaps when the bargain has been arranged, or possibly after publication has taken place, the commission agent applies to the author for a percentage of the sum paid in respect of it. The author naturally denies that he has ever agreed to pay anything, but finds that the demand made is being persisted in. The position then becomes an awkward one. That there has been no arrangement whatever to pay a commission may be clear to the author, but a service has been rendered, and a jury may take the view that there was an implied contract, if not an express one, to pay for it ab some customary rate, as to which the plaintiff may bring evidence. In any case the author wishes to act fairly, and perhaps the agent may be a useful man whom it would be impolitic to offend. When this last has been said, no doubt, there yemains but little which can be said on behalf of the agent. He has come to the author unsolicited, he has quite possibly represented himself as pur- chasing, or arranging for a purchase, on behalf of a principal, who eventually agrees to take what is gold and to pay, and if the agent says nothing about reward from the vendor, he has no right to expect it. An author who does not mind running the risk will resist him, and possibly will do so successfully. Another will pay to save himself the worry of litigation, with the danger of increasing his loss thereby. The only safe plan, therefore, for the writer who is approached by one of these hangers-on of literature is to have it made perfectly clear at the outset whether there is or is not to be a commission due from him if what is proposed is carried out. He may as well remember that in ordinary transactions of a commercial character where this kind of introduction of business takes place, it is perfectly well recognised that the agent is going to make all he can out of the deal, and that business men, unless they are very careless, make the whole thing plain, as a matter of course. They generally, moreover, recognise tacitly the fact that the man who introduced the business is going to make a profit out of both sides. ‘The question of secret commissions is a thorny one, but as a rule in a strictly business transaction the buyer makes up his mind as to what he will give “to cover everything,” and the seller is equally assured as 60 what he will take and as to how much he will pay in order to get it. If there is any obscurity as b0 where the profit of the person is to come from who has brought the parties together, in order to make what he can by doing so, the ordinary business man makes it clear by asking a question or ae making a stipulation, and if he does not know with” .  his honesty, he takes care to have written or other evidence to record what is arranged. ‘These obser- vations only embody the advice which is given to writers pretty frequently in Ze Author, that is, that they should make their business arrangements in a business-like manner. They refer, however, to cases in which all the other parts of the contract may be plainly stated between the writer and the Editor, who have been brought into direct contact with one another, and in which the question of com- mission to the third person may well have been tem- porarily forgotten. The Hditor, however, is quite likely to have remembered it, and to have told the agent clearly that from him nothing was to be expected. He says, in short, that the article, if published, will be paid for, but that the fee for the _ placing of it is to be obtained from the person who ' receives payment for it, and not from him who makes the payment. It would be interesting to know whether instances of this class of dispute are really of frequent occurrence, and what variety of circumstance introduces complication into them. E. —_—___+—~»—e—_— WHAT DOES THE NEWSPAPER PUBLIC WANT ? SL NE ae IXING, as I have occasion to do, with men and women of many sorts and conditions, I have been struck by hearing the remark made quite frequently of late years by high and low and rich and poor alike : “ Why don’t the papers give us more news and fewer ‘horrors ?’” The reply of the uninitiated generally is that there is no more news to give. The reply of the editor would of course be that the public wants the stuff. And these are the statements I wish to dispute. To believe, in the first place, that there is “ no more news to give,” and that “the newspapers must fill their columns somehow,” is to believe what is wholly false, as all who have had to do with the editorial department of any great news- paper are aware. ‘The difficulty every editor of a “news” newspaper has to contend with is the problem of crowding news that would easily fill several columns into every single column he has at his disposal. “Every night day after day ”—as I heard an Irish editor say once—in the office of pro- bably every important daily paper published in the United Kingdom a quantity of interesting news already set up in type is at the last moment either omitted altogether, or condensed into a few lines of bare report, or “held over,” and yet space THE AUTHOR. ' whom he is dealing sufficiently well to be sure of 179 is found for half-a-dozen or more reports of what I hope I may be forgiven for speaking of as murders of no consequence, and suicides of no interest, and divorce cases that even the “masses” we so often allude to in tones almost of contempt are for the most part not greatly interested in and would much sooner not trouble to read about if they were given the chance of reading anything else. The chance, however, they seldom get. The reason they so seldom get it is that certain editors have, pre- sumably from force of habit, apparently grown to believe implicitly that the only news the “ man in the street’’ cares to read consists of details of every provincial murder and every petty suicide—I call them so merely to distinguish them from crimes rendered of general interest owing to some excep- tionally remarkable feature or circumstance con- nected with them—with the result that news that would in reality prove far more acceptable to the general public, including the ‘‘ masses,” has of necessity to be crowded out. If the public wanted this stuff I should say by all means give it to it and let it wallow in it to its heart’s content, for a newspaper to succeed must of course give the public what it wants. I maintain, however—and I speak of what, from constant observation, I know to be the case—that though, naturally, almost everybody is interested in hearing or reading particulars of an exceptionally remark- able or sensational crime, very few nowadays in the least want to read report after report of crimes that are, so to speak, commonplace and of purely local interest. As an example of what I mean, take the follow- ing. ‘This list is compiled from a single copy of a Sunday newspaper that has approximately six pages of advertisements and ten pages of news, etc. T have copied the headings word for word, and the amount of space occupied by letterpress of the sort T have referred to I have set out in, inches. Inches, Doctor’s petition against his wife 27 Surgeon’s tragic death; M iller’s: death ... aoe = pee Fruits of divorce rom Moscow) horrible bo bo om Young woman sentenced for killing sweet- heart ; Woman committed on a charge of manslaughter ; Alleged attempted murder 63 Bermondsey man confesses to cutting his wife's throat... ie ry oo eis Clergyman’s wife sued in the Dublin Courts 16 Sheftield man obtains a divorce... Pee Suicide from Yarmouth pier... a ees Yesterday’s law and police ... ses re 90 Assize trials... ee ai ee 1G tyclist’s suicide ake He fas — Dismembered wife left in a railway station 24 Girl’s shocking story ... ee tee ae Sensational sequel to society divorce case ... 1 Hussar’s terrible death in a railway tunnel Prison-breaker king; Woman partner in | burglary shares his fate... as 8  180 Inches. More stories from the divorce court (illus- trated with ten portraits) ... cos oe Oe Betrayed girl's distressing suicide at Liver- pool . War news— Massacre feared ; Awful scenes at Port Arthur ; Mine explosion causes 700 easualties; A destructive shell; Steamers sunk ; Magazine explodes ; A charnel house ; Great conflagra- tions; Horrible scenes ; Tremendous losses; Plight of the wounded Soe Drama of love; Foreman and girl lover die together mee ne cs ae oad Attempted murder and suicide at Bethnal Green ... en aes we i po Os Mysterious murder : Woman _ shopkeeper killed near Glasgow : Bespattered with blood ... ce a eae a eos Leystone tragedy ae Be 1 East-end crime : Accused committed on the capital charge — cee ra cc Englishman’s attempted murder and suicide at Calais ae os es oe: e Discredited confession of murder... =e Brief courtship ends in a young woman’s suicide cos ke ae SS Body exhumed... ot Ne Total ... (Ten yards two feet.) Now, can any man who is not influenced by tradition really believe that the British public as a body wants to read in any one day ten yards and two fect of this sort of thing, that it prefers read- ing such stuff to reading the columns of sound miscellaneous news of general interest that have been omitted to make place for it? Hardly any of the cases reported under the above headings differ materially in general detail from the hun- dreds of similar cases that occur year after year ; yet were you to hint to the editor that his paper would “ go” better if, say, five or six yards of this class of “literature” were to be omitted and its place filled with accurate miscellaneous news and brightly- written articles dealing with the brighter side of life, he would probably declare with emphasis that you were entirely mistaken. Bast TOZER. <> e--— ~——— A UNIQUE LIBRARY. ——1—<— + —_ OOK-LOVERS may be interested to hear in Mr. Carleton Young’s own words, quoted : in the United States Ovitic, the origin of the unique library which is now becoming a literary monument of universal interest. “ I made a resolve that I would devote my life to forming a library which would be the most adequate tribute I could make to the Art of Literature. I proposed to THE AUTHOR. place under one roof in the beautiful city of Minneapolis, which I love, all the best books of the living writers of every country in the world, no matter in what language written. Each volume was to be inscribed by the author in a character- istic manner. If the writer were a poet, it would be desirable to have a poem written on the fly-leaf. A novelist should write of the manner he conceived his plot, or concerning the principal characters, of his romance; an historian something of the history he related; a biographer of the life of his subject ; a traveller of the lands he visited ; a theologian of the religion he advocated; a philosopher or scientist of the facts or theories he aad promul- gated, etc.” Such was the scheme of the well- known capitalist and bibliophile of America ; and as he has spared himself neither trouble or expense in the execution of this scheme—for he buys the most expensive copies of books, and sends them to the author with prepaid postage for return—the banks of the Mississippi will in time boast of an incomparable temple of literature. R. E. C. ——————_1—_>_+—__ AN INTERVIEW. — + AMES L’ESTRANGE, who has just risen to unlooked for fame by the publication of his first novel, is seated in an armchair by the fire, clad in a smoking coat, and smoking a cigarette. To him enters his old friend, Sypney MayTown. James L’Estrance.—Hullo, Syd, old man, just in time, come in. Sypyey Mayrown.—In time, why ? What for ? (Comes in and sits down.) J. L.—I am just expecting a scribbling cad from the Scorcher to interview me about this blessed old novel, and I don’t want to see him. 3. M.—Look here, my dear chap, if you are engaged (rises to go) J. U.—Don’t be a fool: sit down and make yourself comfortable. You afford a splendid excuse, now I won’t see him. S. M.—Very well, if you won't. What were you going to say to him? I suppose he would have begun by asking what you thought about your art. J. L.—I had prepared myself. (Stands with a cigarette in one hand and strikes an affected attitude.) «All art, my dear sir, is the first sign of that disease that marks the decay of civilisation.” What do you think of that ? Fresh, eh ? S. M.—Not bad; I do not think I have ever heard anything quite so foolish before. May I make a note of it ? J. L.—By all means. Would you like to have — cae  THE AUTHOR. afew more? By the way, old chap, awfully sorry : have a cigarette (hands him the bor) and help yourself to sherry. S. M.—You would not give the Scorcher a glass, I suppose ? J. L.—What! give him sherry and a cigarette, the most comfortable chair, yours for instance ? It’s no use being commonplace. In my case he must stand at the door or quit. S. M.—But he would slate you. J. L.—You are an old fossil. Of course he would: that is the high road to success. S. M.—AIll right; now go on. How about your own art? J. L.—H’m (posing again and addressing amaginary “ Scorcher”). My own art is the most virulent form of that disease. Its followers the most degraded and corrupt of beings. S. M.—Stop a minute, old man (writes it down). ‘That last is not quite new. I believe I have seen it from the pen of some disappointed scribbler. J. L.—It must pass. If not absolutely fresh, it is at any rate opposed to the opinion of the glorious masses. 8. M.—How about critics ? J. L.—Critics are nothing but common para- sites. S. M.—That is strong ; your views are growing with popularity. J. L.—The popular man is always the best hated. S. M.—Quite epigrammatical. I suppose as a matter of fact you are really enamoured of your art and work hard at it. J. L.—Of course, but it won’t do to say so. You musn’t work hard at anything now-a-days if you want to succeed, 8S. M.—Genius must be spontancous, otherwise it is merely realistic. How did you make your first plot ? J. L.—I took it from Dickens. S. M.—That is not new in the least. J. L.—On the contrary, I am the first confessed plagiarist. S. M.—Your characters ? J. L.—Wilkie Collins. 8. M.—Your local colour ? J. L.—Onida. S. M.—Your poetry ? J. L.—Andrew Lang. 8. M.—Your obscurity ? J. L.—George Meredith. S. M.—Your quotations ? J. L.—Myself. That will do for the writing S. M.—For absolute stupidity it takes the cake. You will be asked where your originality comes in. J. L.—What shall I say to that ? 181 8. M.—I can’t think of anything dull enough. Surely you are not at a loss. © 7 J. L.,—Originality—let me see--is the Brocken phantom of the pseudo-plagiarist. S. M.—That’s really very clever. It nothing and sounds very deep. J. L.—Stop a bit, Dll finish that by saying : “but plagiarism is the elysium of real genius.” S. M.—The Scorcher fellow I expect will be so confused by this time that he will change the subject. He will pass lightly on to your family and your relations and your domestic surroundings. J. L.—By that time I shall be getting awfully bored and shall turn airily round and say, “ You can go now.” S. M.—Yonu don’t get rid of these quill-drivers so lightly. J. L.—Oh, if he won’t go, I shall rise from my chair (r7ses), shall seize him by the scraff of the — (seizes imaginary person) and forcibly eject nim. S. M.—Well, old man, I have finished my cigarette, drunk my sherry, and been bored by your conversation, se I will say good-bye. (frets up from armchair and goes towards door.) J. L.—Good-bye. Awfully good of you to come and see me. You'll know what it all means when it comes out in the papers. I don’t think the scribbling cad will come now. (As S. M. goes out J. L. follows, watches him descending the stairs, and shouts after him): If you do see the writing ruffian coming up, tell him I’m not at home. S. M.—(Prom the ground floor, laughing) : You have entertained an angel unawares. I am the scribbling cad, the quill-driver, the Scorcher’s special. Look at my card on your table (archly). I shall know what it all means when I see it in the papers. J. L.—Here, Syd, stop you thief. Help! Murder! Fire! (/. L. returns disconsolate to his rooms, picks up card on which is written “ Mr. Sydney Maytown, ‘The Scorcher’? Office.’) Well, what a cunning old humbug. I really must take in the Scorcher. means AL B.C. <> CORRESPONDENCE. INCOME TAX FOR AUTHORS. . I, R. W. O. Hodges, whose opinion on the assessment of income-tax payable in respect of profit from authorship you published, intended as far I can judge from his  182 words, to supply an answer to a practical question of law. He iliustrated a lucid exposition of the law by means of an analogy with a view to making his point clearer to laymen, and apparently Mrs. F, A. Steel’s sarcasm in her letter published in the last Author is directed against his analogy rather than against his law. If I am wrong I shall no doubt be corrected. Analogies are sometimes misleading even when handled by lawyers. Lord Jessel, when he was first Solicitor-General, had once, I believe, to re- quest the Court of Appeal to “ listen ” before they interrupted him with “ hasty analogies,” but I doubt if Mr. Hodges’ analogy was either hastily conceived or is likely to mislead. Mrs. Steel would, apparently, distinguish in the assessment of income-tax between a coachbuilder and an author, allowing in the case of the latter for an expenditure of brains, or “time, brains, health ” ; that is to say, she would make a deduc- tion on account of this latter kind of expenditure such as is made for more material expenditure in every case before profits are reckoned. At present the law is equal ; no deduction 18 allowed for “brains” expended either by the author or by the coachbuilder, or by any other business man. Mr. Hodges would have been advising incorrectly had he suggested otherwise. Does Mrs. Steel consider that Mr. Hodges was called upon to express an opinion upon this, or to advocate some new principle to be introduced into income-tax assessment ? Could he have done so reasonably ? I take it that any such principle would apply equally ; or does Mrs. Steel intend to place authors alone among those who exhaust their brains, their inventive faculties, or their powers of observation, in their business ? Are business men, like authors, to be allowed to say, “ We have worn ourselves out with work over this scheme or that ; we shall never hit on such a brilliant idea again. ; we can use none of our material again; we have made many thousands of pounds, but you must deduct from our net profits, reckoned in the old way, a thousand or two for brain exhaustion and using of ideas?” Do authors as @ class write themselves out in the manner suggested very much more than other workers work themselves out 2? Is the instance (her own case) given by Mrs. Steel a typical one ? I will leave living authors out of the question. At what point in their lives were Dickens, Thackeray, Harrison Ainsworth, Bulwer Lytton, Dumas, Balzac (make the list longer, if you please, and assume that they lived in days of a shilling tax:in the pound) entitled to say, ‘ we put so much capital into this book and that, in the form of brains, that the State must make a return to us of income-tax over paid?” Take THE AUTHOR. at random a writer or two famous for one or a few books. Ought J. H. Shorthouse, or Tom Hughes, or Lewis Carroll, to have been enabled to say, ‘We wrote so well in the works. that have made our names household words, and have written so little since, that you must pay back to us all income-tax in respect of our works in con- sequence of the debilitated state to which we have reduced ourselves ?”” Ought they on the other hand to have been enabled to claim the exemption at the time when they first calculated their profits ? How would it have had to be done? Would the author of “John Inglesant” have been obliged to make a detailed statement, fortified by medical evidence, of the degree of cerebral impoverishment which he had suffered ? There seem to be practical difficulties in the way of any change in the present arrangements, and I submit that any alteration would at all events have to apply equally to the novelist and the coach- builder. The brain loss of the latter might be too trifling to be worth considering in many instances ; so also occasionally would be that. of the former, but both would have to be treated equally, and to be offered an allowance for any loss of brain proved to have taken place. At present they are treated equally in this, that the State does not attempt to ascertain an expendi- ture which would be, to say the least, difficult to assess justly and accurately. Tt says, in effect, “ Gentlemen and _ ladies, authors, coachbuilders, and others : If you make a tangible profit annually we must take a per- centage of it for State purposes, because we want ships, and abbreviated rifles, and other desirable things for States to possess, but we will allow for any tangible depreciation in your tangible capital, under what is known as Schedule D. If you choose to wear out your brains making money we must take a percentage of that money, we cannot allow for brain deterioration because we don’t know how to estimate it. suggestion to you, which we should not think of doing, we should point out that if you could manage to do with a little less money in the present, you will retain a little more brain for future use.” I may be entirely wrong, put I fancy Mr. Hodges’ legal opinion was correct, and that his analogy was — correct also. I also believe that he neither intended nor expressed any comparison at which any author — (or coachbuilder) need take offence. E. A. ARMSTRONG. Ce a ae Il. Sir,—Mrs. Steel does not stand alone in ad- — miring Mr. Hodges’ comparison of the author and One element of, surprise, the coachbuilder. If we made a i 2  THE AUTHOR. indeed, seems to have escaped her. It seemed to me that Mr. Hodges must have confused the character and functions of an author with those of a publisher. I do not know whether a coach- builder uses the designs of an artist. If he does, the comparison between him and the publisher is just. Hach of them reproduces an indefinite num- ber of copies of a work of art. He does thisin the way of business, pays away outgoings to various subordinate trades, varnish-makers or printers, ironmongers or bookbinders, allows for other ex- penses, and makes a certain profit, on which he pays income-tax. The likeness of either business to the operations of an author is lessobvious. In one point, indeed, Mrs. Steel sees difference where there is resemblance. The particular quart of varnish used in finishing one coach is irrevocably used up, just as are the particular words or ideas used in one book. Indeed, some critics will say that the author has the advantage here. But the more I allow the like- ness, the more bewildered I am by the duties which Mr. Hodges imposes upon me in respect of income-tax. ‘The coachbuilder, keeping proper books, knows exactly what his varnish costs him, and sets that off against his receipts for perfected coaches. But- how am I to estimate the cost of my words and ideas? How much, for example, has that last sentence cost me: and, if I received payment for this letter, how much should I deduct on account of it, to arrive ab my taxable income ? Mr. Hodges says :—“ The author is entitled to deduct any disbursement or expenses which he may have laid out or expended wholly or exclu- sively for the purposes of his vocation.” Since nothing is produced from nothing, and brain stuff requires renewal as regularly as a coachbuilder’s plant, and the butcher and baker have to be paid for this renewal, it is evident that I have expended something wholly or exclusively in the production of that particular sentence. I know that the law does not allow me to deduct anything for “maintenance’’ ; but my maintenance as a house- keeping, voting, taxable animal is one thing; the renewal of my literary stock-in-trade is another thing. Mr. Hodges makes the necessary calcula- tion less minute by allowing that the expenses need not necessarily be appropriated to any particular book or work; but even so, it seems to be my duty to keep very elaborate accounts, and I am threatened with the awkward consequence that my energies may be wholly absorbed in bookkeeping. Thus the calculation of my income for the purpose of taxation will extinguish my income altogether, and I shall be saved further trouble. Mr. Hodges, it is true, overlooks the cost of getting words or ideas, but of course he does not pretend to exhaust the subject. He gives only illustrations 183 of a general principle, and confines himself to certain parts of our stock-in-trade—photographs, sta- tionery, typewriting, books, and travelling expenses. But even these more easily calculated particulars fill me with dread. I will take a notorious ex- ample. Macaulay received a gross sum of £8,000 for the copyright of his History. If he had had Mr. Hodges’ opinion before him, he would have known that he ought to pay income-tax on his net receipts. But how was he to arrive at the net ? Think of the task of disentaneling his: book- buying accounts and his travelling expenses during the previous twenty years! Here, however, Mr. Hodges may afford relief —a relief, unhappily, which brings new pain. The expenses to be deducted must have been “incurred in the period for which the return is made.” This means, I suppose, that the average expenses of three years must be deducted from the average receipts. Let us suppose that Macaulay sold his copyright—I forget the real date—in 1855. His average income from this source, returned in the following year, was £2,666 13s. 4d.; and he would deduct his average expenditure on books and travelling during the last three years. But what about his ex- penses during the previous years of preparation ? A work like Macanlay’s History is not produced ab ovo in three years; and even if it were, the formation of the egg is a long and costly business. But, someone may say, Macaulay was always a writer by profession, a contributor to schedule D : each year he should have calculated his professional outgoings, and deducted them from his gross in- come. ‘The answer is just ; especially if we are agreed that an author’s calling is exactly com- parable with a coachbuilder’s, as steady and as uniform. But the analogy sometimes fails. I do not know whether Mrs. Steel was carefully balancing her annual accounts as author during the twenty-five years spent, as she explains, in buying materials for “ On the Face of the Waters” ; but I do know what was the case with Mr. Short- house. For more than twenty years he was elaborating “ John Inglesant,” and during this period he was certainly not a professional writer, and had no gross income as author from which to deduct the cost of ‘the material which he was putting into that book. When he began to draw an income from it, he could deduct only the average expenditure of the last three years. In one respect Mr. Hodges may bring us com- fort. When | wrote the article which formed the case submitted to him, I supposed, in my unbusiness- like way, that I was bound to return for income- tax the whole of the sums annually received as royalty. It was only the amount received by sales of copyrights about which I had doubts. I know now that I ought to deduct from my royalties the  184 annual expenses of the trade of authorship. They are difficult to calculate, but I must brace myself to the task. I only fear, as I have said, that my income may disappear altogether in consequence. On the whole, the comparison with the coach- builder seems to land us in great difficulties. The mention of “John Inglesant” suggests to me another comparison, which I will venture to put forward, though it does involve the impertinence of going behind Mr. Hodges’ opinion. A doctor amuses himself for a long time by building a house. He makes it his hobby ; he is continually altering and embellishing it, he takes his friends to see it, profiting by their suggestions as well as by those of his own taste. Tt is talked about, and within a certain narrow circle wins a reputation for beauty and comfort. It is at last finished ; he either goes to live in it, or lets it, or sells it, getting in the last case a good price because of its reputation. If he lives in it or lets it, he begins o pay income-tax on the annual value, If he sells it, must he return the price, less expenses, under schedule D, as a speculative builder? The case of “John Inglesant ” seems to me closely analogous. If Mr. Shorthouse received royalties for it, he would pay income-tax on them; but if he sold the copyright, would the sum received really be professional income ? TT, A. LACEY. CopyRIGHT IN Puays. Sir,—Some few years ago I heard Sir Henry Irving (then “Mr. Irving”) in “ Charles the First,” by the late dramatist Wills. Considering the deplorable dearth of good plays nowadays, it seems to me a matter for regret that “Charles the First” has not been revived. It is probable that Sir Henry Irving has the manuscript in his keeping, and he appears to have sole performing right. I have applied to him to know if I could get a chance to read the play, but received a reply merely stating that it has not been published. It will be a great pity if the public never hears anything more of it. Therefore, T venture to ask if nothing can be done to bring it before us again. I remember an amusing incident which happened on the occasion of my hearing the play. I did not know, at that time, the author’s name, and I turned to a man sitting near me, and asked him if he could inform me who was the author. by Shakespeare #” Probably the gentleman had mixed his dates somewhat ! E. Urwicr. THE AUTHOR. He, hesitated for a moment, and then said, ‘‘ Isn’t it. Tue REVIEWING SHAM. Sir,—Is it not time that reviewing should cease, inasmuch that it is a sham? Half the books noticed or reviewed are never read at all, being merely skimmed through, quoted from, condemned or praised, at the whim of the reviewer. Books have been frequently sent to me and I have been asked to review them. To have read conscien- tiously through each (taking only one bundle thereof as an example), and pronounced an honest opinion of the contents, would have taken me 365 days instead of 365 minutes, which is about the usual amount of time allotted by the ordinary reviewer to the same number of books, which I returned, with regrets that I had neither tame nor inclination to read them. I am not blaming the ordinary reviewer. This personage reviews for cash. He does it for a living, and the more books he gets through the larger is the income that he makes. Would it not be a much better plan, think you, for authors when they advertise their books to accompany same with an author's note stating the object and aim of the work, and leave it to the public to read it or not as it feels LS inclined, and form its own judgment thereon? If newspapers would afford space for such a note with | advertisements, and make a moderate charge much trouble would be saved, and the review- ing sham would be abolished. This would be a ~ good job indeed. The excessive expense of sending out “ Copies to the Press” would end, and literature be given fair play all round. Believe me, yours very truly, FuoRENCE DIxie. Glen Stuart, N.B. —-~p— — Tue Humours oF Books AND THE WAYS OF PUBLISHERS. Sir,—I am writing a book under the above title. Both parts of the title will come in for treatment, and I shall be glad of any little help in the way of facts, fancies, and fragments under either. My experience of publishers has been some-_ what extensive and rather mixed. My object will be to give an account of this experience, and par- ticularly of a case now in the hands of solicitors. I have appealed already and received some assist- ance. Iam quite sure that many of your readers — have some good stories to tell. Whatever their | nature be, I should like to receive them. May IT ask the favour of a bounteous reply and supply * Your obedient servant, J. P. SANDLANDS. Brigstock Vicarage, Thrapston. 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. 15 Issue 06 (March 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 06 (March 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-03-01-The-Author-15-6 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/504/1905-04-01-The-Author-15-7.pdf ff86d7b3aeedf554ffdc7079fcf2d69c PDF Text Text ���������������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-04-01 Volume 15 Issue 7 Pages Page range in volume 185–216 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050401 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che HMuthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 7. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ——————— NOTICES. ——— + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are KE signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. i THE Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author ) #1) that the cases which are from time to time quoted “| in The Author are cases that have come before the ‘| notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the 6 Society, and that those members of the Society * who desire to have the names of the publishers ) concerned can obtain them on application. eG List of Members. THE List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —_— + The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in February, 1904, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, | decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the Investments of the Pension Fund at present VoL. XV. APRIL ist, 1905. [Prick SIXPENCE. standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— CongOls 25%. ee eae. £1000 0 0 Whocaleioans: i ee 500 0 0 Victorian Government 8 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 War Ioan 4.6.0. ee... 201 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- EUG LOCK ec ge 250 0 0 otal. 2.80356. £2,745 92 Subscriptions from May, 1904. ey May 6,Shepherd,G. H. . : - 0 5 0 June 24, Rumbold, GCB . July 27, Barnett, P. A. : : Nov. 9, Hollingsworth, Charles . 1905 Aas Jan. 12, Anonymous : Donations from May, 1904. Sir Horace, Bart., May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth D0. 0 June 23, Kirmse, R. . ‘ 0 5 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. : - 055.0 July 21, The Blackmore Memorial Committee : - 20 0 0 Aug. 5, Walker, William S. 2 0 0 Oct. 6, Hare, F. W. E., M.D. 110 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold : 010 0 Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett 010 0 Nov. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida . tL 1 0 Noy. 11, Thomas, Mrs. Haig 2 2 0 Noy. 24, Egbert, Henry 0 5 0 1905 Jan. , Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 0 Jan. , Bolton, Miss Anna 0 520 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 0 5 O Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert 0-5. 0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 O Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 010 0 L020 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C.  184 annual expenses of the trade of authorship. They are difficult to calculate, but I must brace myself to the task. I only fear, as I have said, that my income may disappear altogether in consequence. On the whole, the comparison with the coach- builder seems to land us in great difficulties. The mention of “John Inglesant” suggests to me another comparison, which I will venture to put forward, though it does involve the impertinence of going behind Mr. Hodges’ opinion. A doctor amuses himself for a long time by building a house. He makes it his hobby ; he is continually altering and embellishing it, he takes his friends to see it, profiting by their suggestions as well as by those of his own taste. It is talked about, and within a certain narrow circle wins a reputation for beauty and comfort. It is at last finished ; he either goes to live in it, or lets it, or sells it, getting in the last case a good price because of its reputation. If he lives in it or lets it, he begins o pay income-tax on the annual value. If he sells it, must he return the price, less expenses, under schedule D, as a speculative builder? The case of “John Inglesant ” seems to me closely analogous. If Mr. Shorthouse received royalties for it, he would pay income-tax on them; but if he sold the copyright, would the sum received really be professional income ? T, A. Lacey. CopyRiGHT IN PLAYS. Str,—Some few years ago I heard Sir Henry Irving (then “Mr. Irving”) in “ Charles the First,” by the late dramatist Wills. Considering the deplorable dearth of good plays nowadays, it seems to me a matter for regret that “Charles the First ” has not been revived. It is probable that Sir Henry Irving has_ the manuscript in his keeping, and he appears to have sole performing right. I have applied to him to know if I could get a chance to read the play, but received a reply merely stating that it has not been published. It will be a great pity if the public never hears anything more of it. Therefore, I venture to ask if nothing can be done to bring it before us again. I remember an amusing incident which happened on the occasion of my hearing the play. I did not know, at that time, the author’s name, and I turned to a man sitting near me, and asked him if he could inform me who was the author. He hesitated for a moment, and then said, ‘“ Isn’t it. by Shakespeare ?” Probably the gentleman had mixed his dates somewhat ! E. URwick. THE AUTHOR. Tue REVIEWING SHAM. Sir,—lIs it not time that reviewing should cease, inasmuch that it is a sham? Half the books noticed or reviewed are never read at all, being merely skimmed through, quoted from, condemned or praised, at the whim of the reviewer. Books have been frequently sent to me and I have been asked to review them. To have read conscien- tiously through each (taking only one bundle thereof as an example), and pronounced an honest opinion of the contents, would have taken me 365 days instead of 365 minutes, which is about the usual amount of time allotted by the ordinary reviewer to the same number of books, which I returned, with regrets that I had neither time nor inclination to read them. the ordinary reviewer. This personage reviews for cash. He does it for a living, and the more books he gets through the larger is the income that he makes. Would it not be a much better plan, think you, for authors when they advertise their books to accompany same with an author's note stating the object and aim of the work, and leave it to the public to read it or not as it feels inclined, and form its own judgment thereon ? If — 7 newspapers would afford space for such a note with advertisements, and make a moderate charge much trouble would be saved, and the review- . ing sham would be abolished. This would be a good job indeed. The excessive expense of sending out “ Copies to the Press” would end, and literature be given fair play all round. Believe me, yours very truly, FLORENCE DIXIE. Glen Stuart, N.B. —-~<_+— Tur Humours oF Books AND THE WAYS OF PUBLISHERS. Sir,—I am writing a book under the above title. Both parts of the title will come in for treatment, and I shall be glad of any little help in — the way of facts, fancies, and fragments under either. My experience of publishers has been some- what extensive and rather mixed. My object will — be to give an account of this experience, and par- ticularly of a case now in the hands of solicitors. I have appealed already and received some assist- ance. I am quite sure that many of your readers have some good stories to tell. nature be, I should like to receive them. May I ask the favour of a bounteous reply and supply ? Your obedient servant, J. P. SANDLANDS. Brigstock Vicarage, Thrapston. Whatever their Iam not blaming eR RAED inl DAS a EL  if aid tdg aay Che Huthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 7. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —___§_+-— 2 —______ NOTICES. +1 OR the opinions expressed in papers that are K signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7he Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. + List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. ae The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in February, 1904, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the Investments of the Pension Fund at present Vou, XV. Aprin ist, 1905. [PRicE SIXPENCE. standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— COngOlS Pk o.oo. £1000 0 0 Wocal Woans: -.6.4.. 6.650 ioe. 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 War loan ..2...5 0.02.40... 201 9 3 London and North Western 8 % Deben- ture Stock (226. 250 0 0 Opal) wees. £2,245, 9, 2 Subscriptions from May, 1904. ‘eG May 6,Shepherd,G. H. . : 7 0.5 0 June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., G.C.B. : : : si 0 July 27, Barnett, P. A. : ‘ / 010 0 Noy. 9, Hollingsworth, Charles . 010 0 1905 | aah Jan. 12, Anonymous . : : . 0 2 6 Donations from May, 1904. May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth 5 0 0 June 23, Kirmse, R. . ; 0 5 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. : - 70 6 0 July 21,The Blackmore Memorial Committee é . 20,0 0 Aug. 5, Walker, William 8. 2 0 0 Oct. 6, Hare, F. W. E., M.D. bat 0 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold : 010 O Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett 010 0 Nov. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida . 11> 0 Noy. 11, Thomas, Mrs. Haig 2 2 0 Nov. 24, Egbert, Henry 0 5 0 1905 Jan. , Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 O Jan. , Bolton, Miss Anna 0 5 0 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 0 5 0 Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert 0 5 0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 O Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 010 0 10 0 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C.  FROM THE COMMITTEE. ee FRBruary 20TH, 1905. MEETING of the Committee was held on Monday, February 20th, at 39, Old Queen — Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and signed, the Chairman, Sir Henry Bergne, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Douglas Freshfield for the work he had done in conducting the affairs of the Society during the two years of his chairmanship, and for the attention and ability with which he had laboured for the best interests of the Society and its members. The vote of thanks was seconded by the Vice-chairman and carried unanimously. The election of Members and Associates followed. The number elected during the present year comes to forty-six. This is not so large as the number elected at the same period last year, which was a phenomenal year, as all members of the Society will perceive on perusal of the Report ; but the elections maintain the average of former years. The question of United States Copyright was again considered. The provisional date for the dinner was fixed for the beginning of May. Due notice will be sent to the members as the time draws nearer. FEBRUARY 27TH, 1905. A meeting of the Committee was held on Monday, February 27th, to enable the members to take into consideration some further points which had been placed before them dealing with the question of United States Copyright Law, and to determine the ultimate course to be adopted with regard to this issue. Note.—The amendment to the United States law, whereby a certain period of delay is granted in the case of a work published abroad ina foreign language, received the President’s signature on the 2nd of March. As the Act has thus passed. into law, the question whether any representation shall be made to the United States Government, with the view to a similar privilege being granted to works first published in England, is reserved for ulterior consideration. The text of the United States Act is given in another column. Five Members and Associates who had sent in their names between February 20th and February 27th, were duly elected. —— Cases. Srxce the last issue of the The Author ten cases have been before the Secretary. The members’ THE AUTHOR. complaints were in three cases for accounts, in one case for money and accounts, in five cases for money, and in one case for the return of MS. Two of the cases in which the Secretary demanded money have been satisfactorily settled, but so far none of the others have been brought to a success- fal issue, owing to the fact that six of them have been placed in the Secretary’s hands only within the last week. One of the cases in which money and accounts were demanded, has been placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors by the sanction of the Chairman, and it is probable that the Secretary will have to take the same course in one other case where money is due. ‘AIL the cases left open from the previous month have been settled, cheques having been received or the MSS. returned and forwarded to the members, To this statement, however, there is one exception, and here the matter hasbeen placed in the solicitors’ hands with instructions to carry it through the Courts if necessary. It is satisfactory to report the successful issue of so many of the complaints which have been for- warded to the Society’s office. Mr. Grant Richards’ bankruptcy is still proceed- ing, but the business of winding up is necessarily slow. The debtor was to have come up for public examination at the beginning of March, but owing to his absence abroad his examination has been deferred till the 14th of this month. oo Elections. FEBRUARY 20TH. Dexter, Walter 40,Ommaney Road, New Cross, 8. E. 6, Christ. Church Place, Hampstead, N.W. Gray, Benjamin Lyall, the Right Hon. Sir Alfred, P.C. Lydston, G. F., M.D. 815-100, State Street, Chicago, Tll., U.S.A. Macdonald, R. Neele, Miss Ethel : Powell, Mrs. 23, Upper Addison Gardens, W. Herts. Ronald, Landon 118, Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, — Saunders, James Wolverhampton. Lomond, Hookwood, near Horley, Surrey- Shepherd, J. A. “The Spider ” Harmer Green, Welwyn, W. 43, Powlett Street, Abe 2  THE AUTHOR. FEBRUARY 27TH. Langbridge, V. . . 95, Ebury Street, 8.W. Marshall, Mrs. Orde Caxton Hi'all, West- minster, 8S.W. Great Baddow, Chelms- ford. Vernon, France. Sutton Vicarage, Dart- ford. Only one member does not desire the publication of his name or address. Maude, Aylmer Sherard, Robert . : Weekes, A.R.. : —_—__—__—_e——e___ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. —_— oe (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) BIOGRAPHY. CHATHAM. By FREDERIC HARRISON. 72 X 5}. 239 pp. Macmillan. 2s. 6d. COVENTRY PATMORE. By EDMUND GOSSE. 252 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 3s. 6d, THE LIFE STORY OF CHARLOTTE DE LA TREMOILLE, CouUNTESS OF DERBY. By Mary C. ROWSELL. 9 X 53. 188 pp. Kegan Paul. 63. n. THE KING IN EXILE. THE WANDERINGS OF CHARLES II. FROM JUNE, 1646 To JuLy, 1654. By Eva Scorr. 9 x 53. 524 pp. Constable. 16s. n. WHISTLER. By HALDANE MACFALL. 73 Foulis. 6d. n. 72 X 52. x 4. 71 pp. CLASSICAL, THE TROJAN WOMEN OF EURIPIDES. Translated into English rhyming verse with Explanatory Notes. By GILBERT MuRRAY. 73 X 53. 94 pp. Allen. 2s.n. EDUCATIONAL. HAKLUYT?’s ENGLISH VOYAGES. Selected and Edited by E. E. Spricut, F,R.G.S. 74 x 5. 301 pp. Horace Marshall. 2s, 6d. FICTION. THE MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM ASHE. By Mrs. HUMPHRY Warp. 72 x 541. 506pp. Smith Elder. 6s. THe Kine’s SCAPEGOAT. By HAMILTON DRUMMOND, 7% <x 5. 320 pp. Ward Lock. 6s, Bioomsspury. By C. F. Keary. 73 x 43, 552 pp. Nutt. 68. THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HoLMEsS. By A. CONAN Doyte. 74 x 5. 403 pp. Newnes. 6s, THE Rose BrocaDE. By Mrs. PHILIP CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY. 73 x 5. 323 pp. Nash. 6s. BARHAM OF BELTANA. By W. E. Norris, 310 pp. Methuen. 6s. CONSTANCE West. By E. R. PUNSHON. 72 x 5. 304 pp. Lane. 6s, THE Sinver Key. By NELLIE K. BLISsErr. 286 pp. Chapman & Hall. 6s. Laneparrow Hau. By THEODORA WILSON WILSON, 7% x 5. 399 pp. Harpers. 6s, CoMPRoMIsED, By GERTRUDE WARDEN AND H. E. Gorst. Cheap Edition. 84 x 54. 128pp. Greening. 6d, 7% x «#5. 74 x «5. 187 “ WIDDICOMBE.” By M. P. WiILLcocks, ee as John Lane. ratte 208 BY, A DauGuHTer oF Kines. By KATHERINE TYNAN. i <b, SIT pp. “Nash: ‘6s, Miss BADSworTtH,M.F.H. By Eyre Hussey. 8 x 5f 326 pp. Longmans. 6s, P THE Dryap. By Justin HuNTLY McCarruy, 72x 5. 320 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE SILveR PIN, By A. WILSON-BARRETT, 73 x 5. 320 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. SoME EMmoTIONS AND A MoRAL AND THE SINNER’S Comrepy. By JoHN OLIVER HOBBES. Cheap Edition, ts by 5. 199 pp. Unwin. Is. n. Sir CLAUDE MANNERLY. By E. C. Kenyon. 72 x 5. 364 pp. Ward Lock. 3s. 6d. A Doa’s Tate. By Mark Twain, (New Edition), 7% x 5}. 36 pp. Harper. 2s. n. FOLKLORE, SONGS OF THE VALIANT VOIVODE, AND OTHER STRANGE FOLKLORE, FOR THE FIrsT TIME COLLECTED FROM ROMANIAN PEASANTS AND SET FORTH IN ENGLISH. By Héléne Vacaresco. 8} x 53. 238 pp. Harper. 10s. 6d, THE SHADE OF THE BALKANS. GENCHO SLANLIKOFF AND E, J, DILLON, HISTORY. Earby DutcH AND ENGLISH VOYAGES TO SPITS- BERGEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. (Second Series, No. XI.), Edited by Str W. MARTIN CONWAY. 9 x 5%. 191 pp. The Hakluyt Society. THE FIGHT WITH FRANCE FOR NORTH AMERICA. By By HENRY BERNARD, David Nutt. A. G. BRADLEY. New Edition. 83 x 53. 400 pp. Constable. 3s. 6d. n. LITERARY. ADVENTURES AMONG Books. By ANDREW LANG. 8 x 54. 312 pp. Longmans. 6s. 6d. n. JOHN BUNYAN AND THE PILGRIMS’ PRoGRESS. A Lecture delivered before the members of the Lincoln Diocesan Higher Reading Society at Lincoln, December 6th, 1904, by the Rv. C. E. Bonam. With a Preface by the Very REV. E. C. WICKHAMPTON, D.D., Dean of Lincoln. Small post. 8vo. S.P.C.K. 6d. LECTURES ON THE HISTORIANS OF BOHEMIA. Being the Ilchester Lectures (Oxford) for the year 1904. By the Count Lutzow. 8 x 5}. 120 pp. Frowde. 5s. n. MILITARY. THE OFFICER’S FIELD NoTE AND SKETCH BOOK AND RECONNAISSANCE AIDE-MiMOIRE. Tenth Edition. By Lizut-Con. E, Gunter, P.S.C. W. Clowes & Sons. 6s. 6d. n. NATURAL HISTORY. NATURAL HISTORY IN ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. By F. E, BEDDARD, F'.R.S. 8 x 54. 310 pp. Constable. 6s. n. POLITICAL. IMPERIALISM: ITs Pricns; Irs VocATION. By EMIL Reicu, 7} xX 5. 177 pp. Hutchinson. 3s, 6d. n. SOCIOLOGY. SLAVERY: PICTURES FROM THE DEPTHS. By BART KENNEDY. 8 X 5, 367 pp. Treherne. 6s. THE CHILD SLAVES OF BRITAIN. By R. H. SHERARD, 8k x 62. 265 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s. THEOLOGY, THE VOICE OF THE FATHERS : Unanimity. By 8, F. A. CAULFIELD. Brown Langham. 3s. 6d. OBJECTIONS TO SPIRITUALISM. 7ix 5. 95pp. Spiritualist Alliance, Their Erudition and 74 x 5. 198 pp. By H. A. DALLAS, 1g. 0,  188 TH MopDERN PILGRIMAGE, from Theology to Religion. By R. L, BREMNER. Constable & Co. THE YOUNG PREACHER’S GUIDE. By the REV. GILBERT Monxs. 8} x 54. 514 pp. Stock. 7s. 6d. n. TRAVEL. Crrims oF INDIA. By G.W. FORREST. 83 x 5}. 354 pp. Constable. 5s. n. THE WorRLD or To-Day. A Survey of the Lands and Peoples of the Globe as seen in Travel and Commerce. By A. R. Hope MONCRIEFF. Vol. I. 102 x 7. Gresham Publishing Company. 8s. n. In Pursuit or DutcrinEA. By HENRY BERNARD. Geo. Allen. ————————__+ + LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. ——— R. G. H. PERRIS is engaged upon a work which will: be entitled “Russia on the Eve of Revolution.” It is founded upon personal observation of subterranean life in the country of the Ozar, and deals with the causes responsible for the present state of affairs. Messrs. Brown, Langham & Co. are producing a new novel by Miss Myra Swan, author of “Ballast” and several other novels. The title of the present book is “ Ground Ivy.” Mr. William Greener, author of “A Secret Agent in Port Arthur” read the chapter missing from that book to members and friends of the Camera Club on March 23rd. Mr. Frederic Harrison’s life of “ Chatham,” which forms the concluding volume of Messrs. Mac- millan’s well-known series of “Twelve English Statesmen,” was published early in March. With William the Conqueror, Edward the First, and Cromwell, Mr. Harrison places Chatham as one of the four great creative statesmen produced by our country in eight centuries ; and shows how, by the creation of the Colonial system, Chatham became the founder of the British Empire, and how, for a century and a half, the development of our country has grown upon the imperial lines of Chatham’s ideals. His Majesty the King has been pleased to accept a copy of Mr. Mark Synge’s work “ To Lhassa at Last.” Mr. C. F. Keary has written a story, which Mr. David Nutt has published, under the title of “Bloomsbury.” ‘The scene is laid almost ex- clusively in the quarter of London which the title indicates. For contrast, however, it is peopled with a great variety of intellectual types suggestive of the sects and “isms” among which society is to-day partitioned. Mr. John Foster Fraser’s forthcoming book THE AUTHOR. “Canada as it is,” describes the dominion as he saw it from one side to the other. Mr. W. E. Norris’s new novel, which Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published under the title of “ Barham of Beltana,” has for its hero a wealthy colonist, son of a convict, whose transportation to Van Diemen’s Land on a charge of embezzlement was apparently a miscarriage of justice. Mr. Edward Noble, whose novel, “ The Edge of Circumstance” published by Messrs. William Blackwood’s Sons, is now in its third impression, is publishing a new book, entitled “ Waves of Fate,” with the same firm. The work will be on the market in the course of a month or so. It has been proposed that a party of members of the British International Association of Journalists should make a tour through Bohemia, starting from London to Dresden. Mr. James Baker is arrang- ing the tour. His knowledge of Bohemia will be of great assistance to the party. It is proposed, if sufficient names are forthcoming, to start the trip, which will occupy about fourteen days, at the end of May or the beginning of June. Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. have just published Mr. Carlton Dawe’s new book, “The Grand Duke.” The story narrates the adventures of an Englishman, who bears such a striking resemblance to the Grand Duke Boris, the Governor-General of Moscow, that, for the sake of a Russian girl, with whom he is in love, he actually goes to Moscow and personates the Governor-General. Mr. E. A. Reynolds Ball has just issued through Messrs. A. & ©. Black, a new work entitled, “Rome: A Practical Guide to Rome. and its Environs.” The guide, which is published at the price of half-a-crown, describes in sufficient detail the principal objects of interest in Rome, and whilst mainly appealing to tourists who are only able to spend a few weeks in this city, does not neglect the interests of more leisured travellers, and, to some extent, those of residents and invalids. Mr. 8. R. Crockett has completed a new novel, entitled “Peden the Prophet,” which is running serially through The British Weekly. Mr. F. Howard Collins has compiled a guide for authors, editors, printers, correctors of the press, compositors and typists, entitled “ Author and Printer.” This work, which Mr. Henry Frowde is about to publish, is an attempt to codify the best typographical practices of the present day somewhat on the lines of a dictionary, and Mr. — Collins has had the assistance of many authors, editors, printers, and correctors of the press during the three years he has been engaged upon it. The book has also been approved by various trade associations, including the Executive Committee 2 the London Association of Correctors of the — Tess. -  id EE THE AUTHOR. A work of fiction called “ A Village Chronicle,” by Mrs. Katherine 8S. Macquoid, will be published before Easter by Messrs. Digby, Long & Co. The book will be illustrated by Forestier. Messrs. Constable & Co. have just issued a new work by Miss Marie Corelli, under the title of “Free Opinions Freely Expressed.’’ The opinions refer to certain phases of modern social life and conduct. Mr. Arthur Dillon, whose volume, “River Songs and other Poems,” appeared some years ago, will this month bring out in book form, a new comedy in verse, under the title of “The Greek Kalends.” Mr. Elkin Mathews is the publisher. Mr. T. Werner Laurie will publish shortly a travel book by Mrs. Katherine 8S. Macqnoid, entitled “Pictures in Umbria.” The work will be illus- trated with fifty drawings by Thomas R. Macquoid, R.I. The price will be six shillings net. There has been a considerable demand of late for “Old Days in Diplomacy,” the second edition of which isexhausted. The book contains much that is of special interest at this moment, on the first outbreak of Nihilism. Miss Montgomery Campbell is now engaged in preparing Sir Edward Disbrowe’s valuable collection of autograph letters from Royalties and statesmen for publication, as algo letters of Sir Herbert Taylor, secretary to George IV., William IV., and the Duke of York. ““Widdicombe” is the title of a novel from the pen of M. P. Willcocks, which Mr. John Lane pub- lished during the middle of last month. It is a story of agricultural life in Devon. Mr. Eyre Hussey’s new work entitled “Miss Badsworth, M.F.H.” which Messrs. Longmans published recently, sets forth the troubles of a philanthropic lady who finds herself confronted by the management of an estate, farm, and pack of foxhounds. Mr. Halliwell Sutcliffe has nearly finished his new book, “Red o’ the Feud,” which will be pub- lished by Mr. Werner Laurie. The author of “Through Sorrow’s Gates,” has returned to that wild atmosphere of the moor-feuds which seems to hold a special glamour for him. Mr. Harry Furniss has just written his first novel, a fantastic tale, which he has himself illus- trated. Messrs. Chapman and Hall will publish the work under the title of ““ Poverty Bay.” We understand from the United States Pub- lisher’s Weekly, that Messrs. Charles Scribner’s Sons are publishing a new story by Mr. E. W. Hornung, entitled “ Stingaree.” A second impression of Mr. Wilfrid Ward’s “Memoir of Aubrey de Vere” has been issued by Messrs. Longmans. The price of the work is 14s, net. Mr. Heinemann will shortly publish a work by 189 Mr. Henry Norman, entitled “ Motors and Men,” in which the theoretical and practical studies of the motor-car and its destined influence are considered. The same publisher is issuing a new and revised edition of “ The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook,” by Mrs. Steel and G. Gardiner. The work —which is published in one volume at 6s.— specifies the duties of mistress and servants, the general management of the house, and contains practical recipes for cooking in all its branches, “Duke’s Son,” by Mr. Cosmo Hamilton, will also be published shortly by the same publisher. The story refers to the younger son of a peer, who, being obliged to resign his commission in a crack regiment for financial reasons, resorts to cheating at bridge as a profession. The success which he achieves in this direction is, however, only tem- porary, his marriage to a girl who helps him to fleece his friends giving rise to suspicions which eventually lead to his undoing. Professor Skeat, who has carried through, in successive volumes, his modernisation of the “ Can- terbury Tales,” has now accomplished the same service for Langland’s “ Vision of Piers Plowman,” which will shortly be issued as a volume in the King’s classics. It has been rendered line for line into modern English, the metre of the original being practically kept throughout. The “ Vision” deals with social problems of the fourteenth century, which were not wholly unlike our own. “ Agatha,” by Mrs. Humphry Ward and Mr, Louis N. Parker, to which we referred in our last issue, was produced at His Majesty’s Theatre, on the afternoon of March 7th. The play deals with Agatha’s refusal, and her subsequent retraction of this refusal to marry the man whom she loves, the reason for the refusal being that she has kept him ignorant of the fact that she is an illegitimate child, and the reason for its withdrawal being that her lover’s devotion is sufficiently strong not to be affected by the fact. Miss Viola Tree as Agatha, Mr. Dawson Milward as her lover, and Miss Lillah McCarthy as the unhappy mother, took the leading parts. «The Monkey’s Paw,” by Louis N. Parker and W. W. Jacobs, was produced at the Haymarket Theatre, on Saturday, March 4th, in front of ‘“‘ Beauty and the Barge.” Mr. Cyril Maude and Miss Bella Pateman share the main burdens of the piece, which presents a striking contrast to the one which it precedes. The story is fantastic and gruesome. “ Everybody’s Secret,” by Louis N. Parker and Captain Robert Marshall, was presented at the Haymarket Theatre, on the 14th of March. Adapted from M, Pierre Wolff’s “‘ Le Secret de Polichinelle,” the play deals with an alliance between the son of well-to-do parents and a  190 flower girl, and shows how the lovable nature of the child of the marriage causes the son’s parents to forgive the parties to the union, The cast includes Mr. Cyril Maude and Miss Jessie Bateman. «The Three Daughters of M. Dupont,” trans- lated by Mr. St. John Hankin, was produced by the Stage Society on March 13th. The cast of the play—which is rather of a pessimistic nature —included Miss Ethel Irving and Mr. Charles V. France. 2 ee tS PARIS NOTES. —— + « CYUR la Pierre Blanche,” by Anatole France, is a yolume in three parts. It opens with a conversation between a group of Frenchmen who are passing the early part of the year in Rome. They meet, usually at the house of an Italian friend, and discuss the past, present, and future. Roman archeology, the question of race, colonial politics, the Russo-J apanese war, and religion are among the topics of their conversation. Nicole Langelier is induced by his friends to read them a story that he has been writing, entitled “Gallion.” It is the history of an interview between the Apostle Paul and the Pro-consul Gallion, together with a long and inte- resting discussion between Gallion and his friends. The third part of the book is taken up by another story, read aloud to the friends by Hippolyte Duiresne, and is supposed to be a prophetic dream. The author of the story wakes up one morning and finds himself in a Paris that is completely trans- formed. ‘The magnificent house near the Bois no longer exist, but there are smaller houses surrounded by gardens. Gradually he discovers that he is living in the year 220 of the European Federation. Feeling hungry, he wishes to enter a restaurant, but a man standing at the door asks him for his ticket, and as he has not one refers him to the house where people are employed. Another man conducts him to a great bakery, and he is obliged to watch the machinery at work for some hours before he is allowed to satisfy his hunger. It appears that under the new réyime the Federal Committee has appointed that there shall be six hours of work for everyone. Alcohol is abolished and war completely done away with. It was explained to Hippolyte that out of the capitalist régime the proletariat had grown, as during the last years of the old era there had been great disorder in the production of the various nations and wild competition. The working classes had been drawn together, and in this way had been able to demand and obtain higher wages and greater liberty. They had no doubt made great mistakes, but in the end had become a great power. ‘The words Liberty, Fraternity, and THER AUTHOR. Equality were no longer used in their old sense, but the new watchword was “Harmony,” and the great ambition of the new Federation was that all people should work together for their mutual benefit. England refused to belong to the United States of Europe, but she was an ally. She had become socialistic, but still re- tained her king, lords, and even the wigs of her judges. Under the new dispensation in Europe there were no armies, but the frontiers were defended by electricity. The book is full of ideas expressed in the perfect style, and with the delicate veiled irony peculiar to Anatole France. There are home truths on every page. Speaking of the various races of mankind, it is proved that there are inferior and superior ones, and those which consider themselves superior have, of course, the right to massacre and oppress the others. ‘As regards the yellow peril, this seems to be traced to the invasion of China by the Christian missionaries and European merchants, thus proving to the Chinese that the white peril existed. The troubles of Pekin in 1901 were among the results of this, and in order to restore order five Powers covered with military glory signed a_ treaty in order to guarantee the integrity of China, while allowing the Powers to share her provinces. Russia then occupied Manchuria, so that Russia is now paying the price of the colonial politics of alk Burope, and expiating the crimes of all commercial and military Christianity. “Ta Lueur sur la Cime,” by Jacque Vontade, is a novel by the author of the well-known articles signed “ Fermina” in the Figaro. ‘As a psychological study the whole book is excellent: the characters introduced are so diverse, and at the same time each one lives and appears to stand as a type of the individuals which make up a certain set of modern society in France. There is the handsome, accomplished man of the world, agreeable and pleasant to everyone, bent on getting through life in the most delightful and luxurious way possible. His wife, a beautiful, clever woman, extremely self-centred, but capable of better things if she had been rightly influenced. Her illusions, disillusions, struggles and curiosities form the chief theme of the volume. There is also a woman of character, a fascinating, impetuous creature, who is a musician and an idealist. ‘A Swedish anarchist and a French journalist, who, by sheer force of wi and perseverance have attained a powerful position in the world, are among the other personages of the story. The book is written in a charmingly natural way, and there are man. excellent ideas expressed in the long harangues of Léonora BarozZl, the musician, and also of those of the Swedish anarchist. As a contrast to the two chief women  THE AUTHOR. of the book the author introduces us to a woman with an English name, a cold, sarcastic, unsym- pathetic person. There are several minor characters, too, which are admirably well drawn. ‘“‘ Emancipées,” by Alphonse Georget, is the story of an artist who marries his model. The manners and customs of the world in which these people live is cleverly told—the ambition of the wife, her anxiety to shake off all that belonged to her former existence, the way in which she schemes to obtain money in order to buy furniture and dress, urging her husband on to work for the sole reason that she may spend. Her vulgarity and her jealousies are endured by the long-suffering husband. Various incidents are introduced which make the story more dramatic, until at last the wife leaves her husband, and he devotes himself from that time forth to his little daughter. The idea of the book is to show up the unscrupulous- ness of our times and the esteem that is often the reward bestowed upon people who can “make their way ”’ in the world by dishonest means. Among the new books are the following: “La Baignoire 9,” by Henri Lavedan. This is another collection of dialogues, most of which are amusing, some of them dramatic, and all witty. “Le Prisme,” by Paul and Victor Margueritte, is a study of the manners and customs of our times, a satire on the importance given to wealth and position. The prism is the deforming mirror of money into which Madame Urtrel is always look- ing. The authors have painted a faithful picture of life in its most commonplace aspects. “Les Trois Demoiselles,” by Georges de Peyre- brune, a volume containing three short novels— “Mariageen palanquin,” La Gardienne” and “ Gris- perle.” “Prisonniers marocains,” by M. Hugues Le Roux ; “Ta Cité ardente,” by M. H. Carton de Wiart ‘Le Calvaire d’un docteur,” by M. Johannes Gravier ; “Esclave,” by Gérard d’Houville. In the reviews among the most interesting articles are the studies of Roumania by M. A. Bellessort in the Revue des Deux Mondes ; another on the souvenirs of Alfred Mézitres ; and a scien- tific article by M. Dastre. In the Revue de Paris the letters of Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonk, an article by Georges de la Salle on the warin the East ; and one by Maxime Leroy on the organisation of the working classes. In the Correspondant there is an article by M. de Lacombe comparing the controversies on the divinity of Christ in the time of Bossuet with those in our times. In the Nouvelle Revue M. Jules Delvaille writes on the moral crisis we are going through, and attributes it to our repugnance to ideas. 191 “Les Ventres dorés,” by Emile Fabre, has been the success of the month in the theatrical world, The whole play is of great interest and extremely powerful ; the great theme is money, and how it can be made in these days. The Odéon Theatre hag not put on so strong a piece for some time. “Les Experts,” by M. Beniére, is a humoristic play on the question of accidents in factories, A workman treads on a piece of orange peel and breaks his leg. Four experts are called in to discuss the matter. The employer pays one hundred pounds, but when all the legal expenses and costs of the experts are paid the unfortunate victim only receives four pounds. M. Antoine has given several of these satires on legal points at his theatre with great success. “La Belle Marseillaise,” by Pierre Berton, is being played at the Ambigu. It is a piece in four acts, historical and dramatic. The scene is laid in the time of Napoleon. The Marquis de Tallemont has taken a restaurant in order to be able to conspire more easily against the Emperor. After an attempted murder he is believed to be dead, and his young widow alone knows that he is alive. She is in love with an aide-de-camp, whom she marries when the Marquis de Tallemont is killed in a duel. ALYS HALLARD. Or SPANISH NOTES. t+ HE King of Spain’s forthcoming tour will afford England the opportunity of giving expression to the enfente cordiale between the countries. The prompt way in which King Alfonzo recently overcame the difficulties of the Cabinet resigning for the second time in about two months shows his power as a politician, and although Villaverde persists in the long prorogation of Parliament till May, which caused the resignation of General Azcarraga, the last Prime Minister, the King’s hopes for the success of the new Conservative Leader’s pro- gramme for the Reform of the Customs, the Coinage, and the Services will it is hoped be realized. The King’s deep interest in the welfare of his kingdom is seen in the prompt way he sent 2,500 pesetas to be added to the prizes offered by the Imparcial for the best project for the regulation of the Budget, with regard to the army, navy, public education, and the ports. The cordiality felt for England in Madrid was particularly shown in the warm and festive character of the reception at the Royal Palace of Sir Arthur Nicholson, the new English Ambas- sador. The four semi-state carriages and a company of the Royal Horseguards were in waiting 192 The staircase at the Palace was and after replying to the King’s gracious speech of welcome, Sir Arthur Nicholson paid his respects to HM. Queen Christina and her daughter and Dona Isabel. _ The well-known writer Perez Galdos has just published Volume XXXVII. of his “ Episodios Nacionales,” and VI. of the fourth series, under the title of “ Arta Tettauen.” The recent death of the poet Gabriel Galan has caused universal regret, and the literary “Conference” given at Caceres in his honour, subsequent to the funeral ceremony, was SIg- nalised by the reading of several of his poems, a fine speech by Senor Ibarrola, his great friend, and a musical composition written for the occasion by Seftor Patricio Cabrera. : Don José Echegaray, the well-known Spanish dramatist, has now been appointed by the King to the Chair of Physics and Science at the Cen- tral University. The National Festival in honour of the famous poet held on the 18th and 19th of March, assumed such importance that a royal decree was published suspending the Law of Domenical Rest for the occasion, so that the Press could publish early on the Sunday morning the proceedings of the Saturday fanctions. His Majesty King Alfonzo at his express desire presided at the great concourse of the repre- sentatives of all the professors and societies of the country. Sefior don Silvela, the quondam Prime Minister, made the -first speech at the brilliant assembly in the Congress, and after an address from the Minister of Sweden, explaining the origin of the Nobel Prize, King Alfonzo himself handed the medal and diploma to the illustrious poet. A gala performance was given in the evening of Echegaray’s plays, “ El libro Talonario” and “ El gran Galeota,” after which the dramatist received the gifts sent by the corporations and the scientific societies of the provinces. On the second day of the ovation the Plaza de Oriente, facing the Royal Palace, was the scene of a great popular manifestation to the poet, and the procession passed through the city to the Prado, where it finally dispersed. The great assembly held that evening in the Atheneum was particularly interesting, for Sefor Ramon y Cajal spoke upon Science, Sefior Perez Goldés took up the parable for Literature, and Senor Moret, the president, closed the proceedings with a brilliant oration. It is to Senor Ramon y Cajal that Spain owes her present place of distinc- tion in the scientific world of Germany, for he has just received the gold medal commemorative of Hermann von Helmholtz, the great physiologist and physicist, So Spain has distinguished herself at the station. decorated with flowers, THER AUTHOR. nobly this year in the great international contests in both science and poetry. The realm of Art has recently suffered a great loss in the death of the well-known painter, Manuel Yus. He was born in 1845, so he was still in possession of his artistic powers, and he died in Nuévalos, amid the charming scenes he has im- mortalized in his pictures, and the whole place followed him as mourners to his grave. His portrait of H.M. King Alfonzo and that of H.M, Queen Christina have been as much admired as hig typical peasant dances and village scenes. The Tri-Centenary Fétes of Don Quixote will evidently be both characteristic and picturesque. A royal decree has been sent to the Minister of Instruction and the Fine Arts, commanding that — (1) every centre of instruction shall mark the 8th May by some literary or artistic work, com- memorative of the centenary ; (2) the schools are all to send up their three best scholars, who, being poor, may have free opportunity of contending for the academical distinctions in their respective line of instruction to be conferred on one of each triad by the Minister of Education ; (3) that the reports and photographs of all the scholastic fétes be forwarded to the Minister of Education. The programme of the fétes in the Capitol include a battle of flowers, a grand meeting of delegates of foreign and national societies in the Congress, a military review, a national open-air fete, and a presentation of wreaths to the statue of Cervantes from foreign and Spanish literary societies. The congratulatory address from the English Society of Authors has met with due recognition in the Press and has been forwarded to the Royal Academy of Letters. In Valladolid the Society of Monuments is seeking to celebrate the approaching tri-centenary of “Don Quixote” by obtaining Cervantes’ house as a national possession. The increasing feeling against duelling is voiced by the publication in book form of the articles on the subject (“Contra el duelo”) by Baron de Albi in El Correo Catalan. “Bl Problemas agrario en Andalucia” erudite work by Don Juan Gallardo Lobato. « Bll sitio de Baler ” (“ The Siege of Baler”) is 8 very powerful presentment of this period of the Cuban War, and as the author is Don Saturnino Martin Cerezo, the infantry captain in comma: at the disaster which so marked Spanish heroism, the book is of an especial, though painful, interest. The publication of a book which promises to become almost a classic in Spain is saddened by the death of the author. The title of the work, “Gran Diccionario de la Lengua Castellana autorizado con ejemplos de escritores antiguos ¥ modernos,” shows the immense scope of the work is an  THE AUTHOR. undertaken by Don Aniceto de Pagés. It seems that he had been editor of the ‘ Diccionario Enciclopedico Hispano-Americano.” He some- times said that albeit he might be immortalised as a poet in Catalonia, his great work, the dream of his life, the now published dictionary, would make ‘| him live as a writer in Castile and Spain. Echegaray - said the first sight of the book filled him with sur- prise, and then its erudition overwhelmed him almost to dismay. Valera, Pereda, and Pi.y Margall ‘© also express their admiration of the great work. Silvela, the former Conservative leader, is exciting | increasing interest in his lectures on Moral and ' Social Biology in the Atheneum. After discoursing «on the struggle of Good and Evil, Creation and ) Destruction, which is ever present in all philosophy, sociology, and religion, he said: “ We exist in an environment of ephemeral things, and yet every © one really /ives in the eternal relations which he » creates. We all know the love of man and woman, - but what is this love when not based on the sense - of eternal truths ?” Armando Palacio Valdés, the celebrated Spanish writer, known to England by such novels as 1° “Froth,” “The Grandee,” etc., has just sent for the English press a very philosophical article on “Art and her Schools,” which promises to excite as ' much interest as that on “The Decadence of Modern . Literature,” which I had the honour to translate © for the Introduction to Vol. XX. of “The Library |) of Famous Literature,” from the pen of the same (js author. RACHEL CHALLICE. —————_+—<>—e —_____ UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT. I. “i! Tue American Pusiisuers’ Pornt or View. — ++ To the Editor of the Standard. Smr,—I have read with interest from week to week the letters that have been addressed to the ' Standard from representative authors, in which are set forth various grounds of complaint concerning _the provisions and the working of the present " American copyright statute. I may say at once, ‘1 writing as one who had some measure of responsi- Wide bility in securing the enactment of this statute /) and in maintaining it on the statute book against ey various later assaults and criticisms, that the “> grievances of which our literary friends in England ‘7 © are making complaint are in my opinion substan- © tially well founded. The American copyright law © now in force contains incongruities and inconsis- 1 tencies, and in the interpretation of its provisions '® the Courts find no little difficulty in arriving at “o* consistent decisions ; while in its application to 193 literary conditions and publishing conditions on both sides of the Atlantic, it does work inconveni- ence and injustice to authors, American, English and Continental, and to the publishers who make investments in copyright material. I can but think, however, that while the injustice and disadvantage to authors whose works are pro- duced in languages other than English are manifest and do constitute a very considerable grievance, the difficulties obtaining at this time with the authors of England in connection with the American editions of their works, may more properly be described as an inconvenience than as a serious business disadvantage. I note among your recent correspondents the names of a number of distinguished authors who have, during the past decade, secured very large returns from the American sales of their books, returns which, according to the general under- standing of the book trade, are in not a few instances larger from their American readers than those that have come to them from readers in Great Britain. It is the case with some at least of these authors that their more noteworthy successes have been secured during the last ten years, so that they may not themselves have personal realisation of the differences between the condi- tions of to-day affecting English works reprinted in the United States, and those which obtained before the enactment of the law of 1891. I can but think that if a trustworthy comparison could be made of the amounts going over the Atlantic each year from American book-buyers to English authors, as recognition for the service rendered to them by these authors, could be com- pared with the similar payments made prior to 1891 by publishers who could secure through such payments no copyright control, there would bea more adequate recognition on the part of English authors of the service rendered to English literary workers by the law of 1891, defective and inadequate as the law certainly is. The grievances presented by your literary corre- spondents in regard tothe provisions of the American statute may be classified under four headings : 1. The requirement that books securing the protection of American copyright must be manufactured within the territory of the United States. 2. The requirement for such books that publication shall be made in the United States not later than the date of publication elsewhere. 3. The imposition of a duty on books imported into the United States (a condition which belongs, of course, to the tariff policy of the country and for which the copyright act can bear no responsibility). 4, The preference given, or rather proposed to be given, by the amendment to the copyright law that is now pending to works originating in language other than in English, in the matter of the certain time allowance with which the translation and manufacture of such works can  194 be completed before the opportunity for securing copyright has lapsed. : 5, The fact that certain writers are not securing from the great American public the sales that they were depending upon, and the further annoyance that they find an increas- ing competition on the part of American writers for the favour of the English book-reading public, more part icularly of course, the readers of fiction. The manufacturing clause does not represent, as has sometimes been assumed in England, an expression of greed on the part of the American publishers. I may report, speaking with direct knowledge of the record, that the copyright Bill as first framed in 1887, under the direction of the Authors’ Copyright League and the Publishers’ Copyright League, did not contain any such condi- tion, The view was accepted quite generally by the publishers, no less than by the authors, that a manufacturing requirement was not germane to a copyright statute, and ought not to be made a con- dition of copyright. It seemed to us that what- ever “protection” might be considered due to the book-manufacturing interests of the country ought to be provided for in the tariff and not to be confused with the question of copyright. We did what was practicable, during a contest lasting for some years to secure the enactment of the Bill as framed. After an experience of two years or more in presenting the matter to the attention of Congressional committees, and in conferences with the Typographical Unions and with certain other Unions that claimed a right to be heard in the matter, those of us who had charge of the pill in Washington were obliged to report to the Copyright Leagues that it was not going to be practicable to secure its enactment. But the representatives of the Typographical Unions said frankly that no copyright Bill should become law that did not provide for the manufacturing in this country of the books securing copyright protection, and it became evident to us that they were in a position to maintain their contention. It was finally concluded that, rather than abandon the attempt to secure some measure of international copyright, an attempt that represented more than half a century of effort, it was better to secure the enactment of a modified Bill. It is, unfortunately, the case that, under what I myself believe to be the necessarily demoralising influence of the protective system, our legislators are much more ready to listen to the views of the Labour Unions and of manufacturing interests generally than to contentions submitted on the part of authors and publishers. ‘The former claim to represent or to control hundreds of thousands of votes. The latter stand for but few votes, and are not in a position to influence that class of public opinion which controls legislation. It has been my experience in presenting in a THE AUTHOR. committee room in Congress arguments in behalf of copyright amendments to be told by the Chair- man of the Committee that he and his associates were “entirely in accord with my views.” A representative of a Typographical Union takes the. ground, however, that his Union “ does not believe in Mr. Putnam’s Bill, and that he, the typographer, is speaking for forty thousand votes.” The conclusion of the Chairman is, “ Mr. Putnam, we are in accord with you in this matter, but there is no advantage in presenting to the House from this Committee a Bill to which the Unions are opposed. You go outside and satisfy these representatives of the Unions and come back to us and we will pass your Bill.” This, I point out, is the kind of action that can be expected of legislators who have for years been maintaining at the expense of the community as a whole, a system of so-called “ protection” for the benefit of certain classes of manufacturers and of labourers. While it is the case that, if it had not been for this sharp antagonism of the typographers, the Bill would have been passed without the manufacturing clause, it is proper to record, as part of the history in the matter, that certain objections were presented which had nothing to do with the claims of the typographers. It was pointed out by representatives of the book trade who had knowledge of publishing conditions that these conditions and methods differ very materially on the two sides of the Atlantic. It was suggested that if the English publishers were placed in a position through the enactment of a Copyright Bill without a manufacturing condi- tion, to supply, as long as they found it convenient,. their own editions for the American market in place of arranging with an American publisher for the production of authorised American editions, they would quite naturally follow on this side the routine that prevails in Great Britain. They would secure for a first term of, say, twelve months. as large a sale as seemed to be practicable for the comparatively high-priced form of the original issue; and they would delay the supplying of the market, either making sale for the first issue. It is the case that — the requirements of the two markets differ very materially. The English publisher finds it to his — advantage to issue a first edition of a book at — thirty-six shillings, sixteen shillings, and to secure sale with the more pecunious buyers, of such supplies as can be dis- posed of at that price. A year later the same book may be published at ten shillings or seven shillings The American publisher finds that and sixpence. direct or through an American publisher, with a cheaper edition until they were sure that they had exhausted the possibilities of or twenty-four shillings, OT  THE AUTHOR. he better meets the requirement of his public, and, therefore, better serves himself and his author, by printing at once an edition at the lowest price at which it can be afforded, suited for the widest possible sale and for the needs of the comparatively impecunious buyer. The publisher on this side makes his sale to a large public, securing on each copy sold a com- paratively small margin of profit. The English publisher, with a very differently situated public to deal with, finds a better advantage in securing, at least at the outset, a comparatively large profit from the circle of pecunious buyers. The im- pecunious buyer has to wait for a year or more for the cheaper form. If such a method had been attempted in the American market, the large mass of the book buyers, obliged to wait for a year or more for the books of English authors that they had heretofore been securing promptly, would unquestionably have brought to bear such a pressure of indignation upon Congress that the international provision of the copyright law would have been repealed within two years. It may be concluded, therefore, that the manufacturing clause affects the best but a portion, and, in my judgment, very much the smaller portion of the English books copyrighted in the United States. The larger number of such books would, even if there were no such American requirement, be reset in the form suited for the American market. The requirement of simultaneous publication involves, as stated, certain inconveniences. I may remind your readers, however, that this require- ment is not peculiar to the American law. It is also a condition of the British copyright statute. I may point out further that, as a matter of practice, there is at this time no essential difficulty in securing consideration in American publishing offices, well in advance of the day fixed for the publication of the book in Great Britain, for all books which are likely to prove of interest to American readers and to present any prospect of satisfactory returns to the authors from this market. The production of typewritten copies of a work of any commercial value is neither difficult nor expensive, and such typewritten copies can be submitted, and are submitted, from publishing office to publishing office on this side weeks or months in advance of the date fixed for publication in Great Britain. Books can also be submitted, and are submitted, in the form of advance proofs as fast as the material is put into type in Great Britain. An arrangement by cable for a publication date follows as a matter of routine. _ It does from time to time happen that a volume Supposed at first to be of little commercial import- 195 ance, which fails, therefore, to secure favourable consideration from (more or less obtuse) publishers, proves later to possess vitality and commercial value, and that such evidence of its value takes shape after the opportunity has been passed of securing American copyright. The occasional loss of a copyright of value in this way constitutes, however, but a small offset to the substantial gains that are secured by the English writers of books that are suited to the interests of American readers and that secure from such interests a satisfactory return. One ground for the requirement of simultaneous publication has not occurred, as it naturally might not occur, to your literary correspondents. It is, of course, the manifest interest of the English author to secure for his American market the largest price possible. Such price can, however, be obtained only if at the time he makes the sale, he is in a position to assure the buyer that he controls such market and can dispose of the entire usufruct or possible profit belonging to such market. If, however, a term of twelve months, as is suggested by your correspondent, were allowed for the fulfilling on the part of English authors of the requirements of the American copyright, within which term of twelve months no unauthorised edition of the book could appear, the book would, during such term, be in an anomalous condition. Hither the English edition would, during such term, be allowed to come into the market while arrangements were pending for the proposed American edition, or during such term the importation of the English edition would be prohibited. In the latter case, the American reader, who sees promptly from week to week English reviews, would have an annoyance which would easily accumulate into an indignation, at not being able to secure at once books which were already in print in the English market. In the former case, the American market would be “ occupied ” to a greater or less extent, in advance of the production of the authorised American edition, by supplies coming over from the English publisher, who naturally would make sale of his own edition in any territory in which he had a legal right so to do. The English author would, therefore, not be able to guarantee to the American publisher, purchasing the copyright, any control of the American market. He would be obliged to admit that such market had doubtless already been more or less “occupied” by the English copies. The consideration therefore that he would secure (in the form either of a fixed price, or of a rate of royalty, or of an advance against royalty), would be lessened not only by the extent of any actual injury or interference that could be determined, but (as is always the case with a business risk) by the greater amount that would be required to  196 “insure” against a larger interference than there might be actual evidence for. In my judgment, therefore, the English author, while securing a certain convenience in an additional time within which to make his bargain, would have a definite loss of net receipts, which would very much more than offset such convenience. ‘he difficulty on the part of authors of books originating in language other than in English, in meeting the requirements of the American law constitute, however, not an inconvenience, but an obstacle that is almost insurmountable. The records of the Copyright Office in Washington show that during the past decade the entries of authorised American editions of continental works have been so inconsiderable as to constitute practically no business under this heading. The authors on the Continent, and more particularly in Germany, are complaining, and complaining with justice, that the American law gives them copy- right in form, but not in fact. It may in the first place be borne in mind that the expectations on the part of these Continental authors, French and German, in regard to the possibility of returns from the American market were very much exaggerated. The experience of publishers show that it is by no means easy to interest American readers in books of a popular character (I am referring more particularly to fiction), which are written from the Continental point of view of social conditions, and which present relations and methods of thought that are foreign to American knowledge and sympathies. With the most perfect protection obtainable under any copyright law, the sales of American editions of Continental books would in any case be for years to come but inconsiderable. Under present conditions, however, it is true that such books cannot secure adequate attention in the publishing offices, and do not, therefore, have even a fair chance of comparison with or of fair com- petition with books of the same class coming from English and from American authors. The American publishers require to secure, in regard to Con- tinental works, the counsel of a rather special group of literary advisers. It would, as a rue, be undesirable, if not impracticable, to ask these advisers to pass upon German material in script, even if a duplicate script or typewritten copy could be secured from Germany in advance of the date fixed for the first publication of the book. The counsel of the adviser of the American publishing office must, as a rule, for foreign books, be given upon the material in print. After such counsel has been secured (and as above explained, the chances are at the best very much adverse to the prospect that the publisher will be tempted to make the investment), it is necessary, if the work is accepted, to secure the services of a translator, and THER AUTHOR. to allow the necessary time for the translation. It is only when this translation has been completed, that the work of the German author is in a position to be placed in the American market in competition with the similar work from his English or American competitor. The amendment now pending in Congress simply provides that, for the purpose of securing this necessary time for the consideration of the Continental work and for the production of the translation, a book originating in language other than in English shall, if copyrighted in this country within a term of twelve months and in advance of the production of any unauthorised edition, secure the full protection. The law as at present worded gives protection in the case of a book which has been published abroad before being issued in this country, only to the particular trans- lation that has been copyrighted, leaving the original free to the “ appropriation” of any unauthorised reprinter who may desire to take it up. Such a lack of copyright protection con- stitutes, of necessity, 4 large additional ground for the general unwillingness of the American pub- lisher to invest in Continental material. What I want to make clear is, however, that the amend- ment, if it should become law, will not give to the Continental author any “advantage” over his English rival, but will at best fall short of placing his book on as favourable a basis for consideration as that now available for the similar English work. It is the fact that with a certain group of English authors, as with similar groups of the American authors, the returns from the American market have been smaller, and are from year to year smaller, than these authors would like to be able to depend upon. Such a complaint reminds one of the grievance that came up in the boarding- house of Mrs. Todgers. “There never was a joint that could yield as much gravy as the young gentlemen expects.” Before the enactment of the law of 1891, the mass of English fiction of what may be called the “third” or “ fourth grade” which came into print for American readers with- out the necessity of any payment to the authors, constituted a very serious hindrance to the publica- tion and sale of American fiction of the same rade, It is undoubtedly true that since the law of 1891, the American writers, who address them- selves to the wider popular circles, circles whose literary standard is not very high, have secured a fuller measure of consideration in the publishing offices, and much more substantial successes with the public at large, than was possible when their books had to compete with literary productions that had not been paid for. It is quite possible also that the development of this class of writing on our side of the Atlantic (and the market for fiction is, | may say, in an  THE AUTHOR. 197 overcrowded and unsatisfactory condition), has, since the enactment of the law, stood in the way of the production of American editions of a large number of perfectly reputable English novels which are deserving of coming into print, but which do not possess what the publishers call a ‘‘ commanding interest.” There is, in fact, more than enough of such material produced on both sides of the Atlantic, and, to put it frankly, there is no present need as far as the literary wants of American readers are concerned, for any large additions to the mass. It is doubtless true, therefore, that the literary agents who have such books to dispose of, have been obliged to advise a number of their English authors that it was not practicable to secure from the American market the rates of royalty and the cash advances for which these authors were hoping. The authors of the first class, however (I am still using the term in the publishing or commercial sense), whose books are fitted to secure a world-wide reputation and which possess a commanding interest, have a larger assured market in the United States than had ever before been possible, and, as suggested, this market is, in the case of a number of books, sufficiently remunerative to produce larger returns than could be secured from the same books on the other side of the Atlantic. There is also, as ought naturally to be the case, an increasing sale in Great Britain for the works of American authors, and particularly of American writers of fiction which possesses (to use the pub- lishing phrase before quoted) a ‘“ commanding interest.” These writers belong (speaking still from the point of view of the publishing office) to what may be called the first group. It is, how- ever, the experience of American publishers that it is by no means easy to secure the favourable atten- tion of English book-buyers, and particularly of English readers of fiction, for American books of the lesser degree of importance, using the term “importance” either in the literary sense or as expressing the quality which secures a popular appreciation. From my own knowledge of condi- tions on both sides of the Atlantic, I doubt whether there is any adequate evidence for the statement that American books are being “dumped” in large quantities on the English market, or that the English market is being “swamped” or even interfered with to any material extent by such importations. The interest on the part of English readers of American books is increasing, and ought to increase, but the increase is very much slower than had been hoped for, and by no means rapid enough to meet the very general expectation on the part of American writers that they were going to secure large transatlantic returns. The imposition of a tariff duty on books (and I may add, although not directly pertaining to the present discussion, the similar duty on works of art) which has come into force under our Dingley system of protection is in my judgment an inex- cusable barbarism. Such duties are not required as income for the treasury. They are certainly not asked for on the part either of the American pub- lishers or of American authors. They are the result of the contention of the Labour Unions and of cer- tain manufacturing concerns that they are entitled to their share of the spoils of the public treasury, spoils which, under a protective system, are divided not with regard to the interests of the community, but in proportion to the greed of the claimants and to the effectiveness of their organisation. The duty on the materialsrequired for the production of books is, of course, a still more serious burden upon the higher educational interests of the community than is the duty on the books themselves. Such duties cause an unnecessary increase in the cost of nineteen twentieths of the books sold in this market, while the duty on the books themselves affect the selling price only of the remaining twentieth. According to my understanding, however, the inevitable tendency of the system of “ protection ” that originated with the taxes of the Civil War, and has been retained with steadily increasing rates, and irrespective of the requirements of the national income, shows an increasing disregard on the part of the legislators for the interests of the consumer. Under the protective system, legisla- tion is dictated and controlled by well organised business interests that secure, or that believe they secure, a direct advantage to themselves through the shaping of legislation. I may add that the Authors’ Copyright League and the Publishers’ Copyright League have now in train a plan for the revision of the American copy- right statute by means of a commission to be appointed for the purpose under an act of Congress. We believe that through the labours of such a commission composed of experts, who shall be allowed the necessary time for the collection of information and for the sifting of opinions, it ought to prove practicable to secure a more con- sistent and satisfactory copyright measure than that which is now on the statute book. It is intended that this commission shall comprise from eleven to thirteen members, and shall include, in addition to representatives from both Houses of Congress, representatives of the authors, the artists, the publishers, the book manufacturing interests and the other interests that have a direct concern with copyright, or that, under the present system, have established a claim to be heard in connection with copyright.  198 We should be glad to learn that, by the time we have in train a satisfactory revision of the American statute, steps are being taken to secure for Great Britain also a more consistent and effective law than that which now controls copyright for the British Empire. : I am in accord with your correspondents in the conclusion that the United States could have no legitimate ground for complaint,or for criticism, if Great Britain might decide to place upon American books a duty similar to that which is imposed on this side on English books ; or if the British copy- right law might be so modified as to impose a manufacturing restriction similar to that in force on this side. The only question that Englishmen have to consider in regard to such a radical change from the present British policy, is whether the change would be likely to prove of any direct service to English readers or to English authors and publishers. : 5 My apology for the length of this report is the fact that it naturally takes longer to give informa- tion in regard to the matters complained of than to state the complaint. Trusting that the suggestions here submitted may prove of some service in connection with the interesting discussion that has taken shape in your columns, I am, Yours faithfully, Gro. HAvEN PUTNAM. The American Publishers’ Copyright League, 27 and 29, West 23rd Street, New York. TE An Act to AMEND Section ForTy-NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO OF THE REVISED STATUTES. E it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Section forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows : Sec. 4952. The author, inventor, designer, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or photograph, or negative thereof, or of a painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models or designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of any such person shall, upon complying with the provisions of this chapter have the sole THE AUTHOR. liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, com- pleting, copying, executing, finishing, and vending the same; and, in the case of a dramatic compo- sition, of publicly performing or representing it, or causing it to be performed or represented by others. And authors or their assigns shall have exclusive right to dramatize or translate any of their works for which copyright shall have been obtained under the laws of the United States. Whenever the author or proprietor of a book in a foreign language, which shall be published in a foreign country before the day of publication in this country, or his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall deposit one complete copy of the same, including all maps and other illustrations, in the Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia, within thirty days after the first pub- lication of such book in a foreign country, and shall insert in such copy, and in all copies of such book sold or distributed in the United States, on the title page or the page immediately following, a notice of the reservation of copyright in the name of the proprietor, together with the true date of first publication of such book, in the following words : ‘‘ Published , nineteen hundred and Privilege of copyright in the United States reserved under the Act approved : nineteen hundred and five, by ,” and shall within twelve months after the first publication of such book in a foreign country, file the title of such book and deposit two copies of it in the original lan- guage or, at his option, of a translation of it in the English language, printed from type set within the limits of the United States, or from plates made therefrom, containing a notice of copyright, as provided by the copyright laws now in force, he and they shall have during the term of twenty-eight years from the date of recording the title of the book or the English translation of it, as provided for above, the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, vending, translating and dramatizing the said book ; Provided, That this Act shall only apply to a citizen or subject of a foreign State or nation when such foreign State or nation permits to citizens of the United States of America the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens. Approved, March 8rd, 1905. The amendment printed above is a copy of the text as it was signed by the President. It will be seen that this differs considerably from the draft printed in the last number of The Author, which appeared to be inadequate on @ good many points. The redraft is by Mr. Thor- vald Solberg, the registrar of Copyrights of the Library of Congress, and was undertaken upon the request of the Senator in charge of the Bill.  THE AUTHOR. 199 Members who desire to compare the two should refer to the last number of The Author. They will see that to protect the foreign author securely during the interim period of twelve months this Bill now requires that one copy of the original book—not necessarily printed in the United States—shall be lodged within thirty days after the first publication, at the Library of Congress with certain notices printed in it. In the letter of explanation which Mr. Solberg has written to the Society, he states that this will give complete warning to persons interested to keep their hands off such literary property during the interim period of twelve months. He further shows that the deposit within the thirty days will save the foreign author from the embarrassment of the pro- vision of the present law requiring the copy to be deposited on or before the day of publication. Further the amendment effects the protection of the foreign author without it being absolutely essential for him to publish a translation of his book. The author is allowed during the interim term of twelve months to deposit American made copies either of his original work or of a translation of it. Protection is given against infringement, during the interim term of copyright, and during this term of twelve months the foreign author is allowed free access to the American market. His book can be exported to the United States ; intro- duced into that country and sold without payment of any duty. Mr. Solberg continues: “This privilege of importation should give the author an opportunity to demonstrate such a market for his book as to justify refabrication of it in the United States. If, therefore, the foreigner reproduces his original work, complying with the statutory formalities now in force in regard to filing title, depositing two copies of the American type-set book and printing notice, he then secures not only possible protection for forty-two years, but the absolute reservation of the right of translation for the same period of time.” We must thank Mr. Solberg very heartily for his kindness in putting before the Society this full information. <p 4 —- MAGAZINE CONTENTS. So MARCH, 1905. BLACKWOOD’s MAGAZINE, At the University. Claverhouse in Literature. By Michael Barrington. A Plea for the Abolition of All Learning. By Marcator Anglicanus, BOoOKMAN. Benjamin Disracli. By Thomas Seccombe, 300K MonTHLY. Lubbock on Books. By J. M. What Greater Britain Reads. Harrison Ainsworth as the Real Father of the English ‘Penny Dreadful.” By Archibald Sparke. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Shall We put the Clock Back in Biblical Criticism. A Remonstrance. By Canon Cheyne. Science and Education. By Sir Edward Fry. Early Friends of Robert Browning. By W. Hall Griffin. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Ibsen in His Letters. By William Archer. A Forgotten Soldier Poet. By May Bateman. Was Bacon a Poet? By George Stronach, Eugene Fromentin. By C. G. Compton. Harrison Ainsworth. By Francis Gribble. French Life and the French Stage. Macdonald. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW. A Levantine Messiah. By H. N. Brailsford. Watts and National Art. By Laurence Binyon. A Farm School in the Transvaal. By An English Teacher. Myers’ Posthumous Writings. By Arthur Sidgwick. By John F, LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. At the Sign of the Ship: United States Copyright. By Andrew Lang. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Profession of Art. By Lewis F. Day. The Fellow Workers of Voltaire: Dierdot. By S. G. Tallentyre. MontH. The Scientific Frontier. By The Rev. John Gerard. The Battle of the Schools in Belgium. By Pierre Verhaegen. MonTHLY REVIEW. Edward Burne Jones. By Julia Cartwright, NATIONAL REVIEW. Street Music. By Miss Virginia Stephen. NINETEENTH CENTURY, George Frederick Watts: From the Utmost to the Highest. By Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B. The Experiment of Impressionism. Burne Jones, Bart. Greek Mysteries and the Gospel Narrative. By Slade Butler. By Sir Philip PALL MALL MAGAZINE. Personalities of the Paris Press. By Charles Dawbarn. Some Popular Novels and Why they are Popular. By James Douglas. TEMPLE BAR. From South to North Spain. By Miss H. H. Colvill. Wor.p’s WorK, An American Artist : John W. Alexander. By Charles H. Caffin. There are no articles dealing with literary, dramatic or musical subjects in Cornhill or Chambers’ Journal,  200 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCER OF BOOKS. — ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (8.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book, General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :-— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong tothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —__+—_2—____—_- WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. Lge EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties («.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5, Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, om account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. —_————_1—_—_e—__—_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —»—— + —— ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that,. as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part. cular consideration the warnings stated above. i HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. es i VERY member has a right toask for and to receive BK advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements, must be done within fourteen days of first execution, Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members, 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. _10, The subscription to the Society is’"£4 41s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. 201 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. TS Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ——$_+~— THE READING BRANCH. —+~o + EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. ‘The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. ++ ____ NOTICES. —_1+— HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Hvery effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —1~< +. The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Oe LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. a Dae to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  200 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCER OF BOOKS. — to ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. ll. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IVY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other. forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ————_+——_+____- WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. Se EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- __ petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.¢., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, 0B account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ——__—_.——_—___<_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_.— 1 — ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that,. a8 a rule, the musical publisher demands from the music composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part. cular consideration the warnings stated above. Oo HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. i 1, VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a” pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinarysolicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is'"£1 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. 201 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. she: Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. —_—_+—~@—.+—____ THE READING BRANCH. —_t——» —_ EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience, The fee is one guinea, —————+—_—_+ NOTICES. + HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever, Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. St The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. — LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. — 4 ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, P either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C.  202 AUTHORITIES. — In recognition of the work the Society has done in copyright matters, Mr. George Haven Putnam has forwarded to the office the original of the letter which, in a curtailed form, appeared in the Slandard. He thought that the members of the Society might like to have before them a full statement of his opinion on the subject of the amendment to the United States Copyright Law. We have much pleasure in carrying out Mr. Putnam’s wishes, even though the session has closed. There are many points of interest dealt with in the letter, and it is possible that many may not have had the opportunity to study the communication which appeared in the Standard. Russta remains one of the few countries in Europe that stands outside the Bern Convention, and no copyright treaties exist with the Russian Government. It is interesting, therefore, to find that in the Treaty which has just been arranged between Germany and that country there is a clause referring to copyright property. By this clause, the Russian Government binds itself “ within three years from the date of the Treaty to enter into conference with Germany for the conclusion of a convention for the reciprocal protection of the rights of authors in Germany and Russia, in works of Art, Literature and Photographs.” Whether such efforts will come to anything it is impossible to say, but it is, ab any rate, a step in the right direction. The main reason why Russia is at present unable to enter into any Treaty consists in the fact that its internal copyright law is in a chaotic state. It would be necessary for the Russian Government to take this matter into consideration before they could bind themselves by any firm arrangement with another country ; but the fact that the Russians are willing to enter into a conference with Germany has aroused the wrath of their allies the French, and justly so, as the following statement will show :— We learn from the Echo de Paris that in 1904, 2,800 theatrical pieces were represented in Russia under the protection of the Society of Dramatic Authors. Of these, 500 alone were essentially Russian ; 218 were German, and the rest, about 2,000 in number, were French. It is quite clear, then, that the French have a sound cause for complaint. The same paper states that for every nine volumes published in Russia, three are Russian, six are French. It is to be hoped that if Germany is able to make some arrangement with the Russian Government, THE AUTHOR. other European countries will do so also, and that finally, Russia will join the Bern Convention. Tus annual meeting of the Royal Literary Fund was held at the society’s rooms in Adelphi Terrace on March 8th. The report showed that during the year 1904 £2,680 was granted to 33 applicants. Mr. Edmund Gosse, who took the chair, in pro- posing the adoption of the report, made some ex- ceedingly interesting remarks on the purposes of the fund. He stated that the managers of the fund were trying to correct as far as they could, and in strict relation to literary merit, the injus- tices of fate and accident. No one need consider it an indignity to accept the help of the fund. He pointed out that it was too commonly supposed that there was no method of drawing attention to a case save that of a direct appeal from the author who wanted help. That was not so. In the majority of instances it was from the report of others that the council learnt of those misfortunes which appealed most vividly to its sympathies. ok it was that friends could most practically elp. What.Mr. Gosse stated in his remarks applies with equal force to the Pension Fund of the Society of Authors. It often occurs that those who are most in need of assistance retire from the publicity of a per- sonal appeal. It is essential, therefore, that their friends should take the matter up and give the assistance that their more intimate knowledge affords. All the details of the cases which come before both the Royal Literary Fund and the Society’s Pension Fund are treated in the strictest confidence, and where the aim and object of both funds is to help the most worthy, it would be a pity if, at any time, those aims and objects were turned aside owing to the lack of reliable information. We would, therefore, strongly urge those who know, to give their assistance to the management of the two funds who want to know. —_—_—_———__+—>_ + F. R. DALDY. ot - HAVE been asked to write a short account of Mr. F. R. Daldy for The Author, and I gladly avail myself of the opportunity of placing on record some account, inadequate though I. fear it 2 may be, of one with whom I had worked on very close terms for nearly thirty years, and for whom L had a very genuine regard and respect. some years For before I knew him, and  THE AUTHOR. continuously to the end of his life, Mr. Daldy’s energies were devoted mainly to the cause of copy- right, and there has been no one, during the past quarter of a century, to whom that cause owes so much as to him, and this doubtless is the reason why the Editor of 7he Author desires to pay some tribute to his memory. His latter years, in this connection, were so intimately associated with the Copyright Association that it is impossible to give any account of them without a brief mention of that body. In 1870 the need of a new Copyright Bill was urgently felt ; the Act of 1842 had been found to be inadequate to the needs of the craft of letters, which had undergone a rapid development in the intervening period. Not only did the authors require fuller protection and advantages at home, but the growing needs and aspirations of the Colonies had raised difficulties and complications which did not exist in 1842. In 1870 there were no Authors’ Society and Publishers’ Association to devote themselves exclusively to the affairs of these two classes respectively, so authors and publishers combined in 1872 to form an association to “ watch over the general interests of owners of copyright property, and to obtain early information of all measures affecting copyright property, and as opportunity offers to suggest and promote improvements in existing copyright laws.” Lord Stanhope, a veteran who had done mach to bring about the Act of 1842, was the first chair- man, and among the original members who took an active part in the proceedings were Lord Houghton, Lord Lytton, Sir Arthur Helps, Sir Charles Trevelyan, Dr. William Smith, Robert Browning, Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, J. A. Froude, and Henry Reeve, while the publishers were represented by the late Thomas Longman, George Bentley, Alexander Macmillan, my father, and others. Mr. Daldy was appointed honorary secretary, a post which he held till the time of his death, which occurred only a day or two after he had attended a meeting of the Association in my house last month, For the past thirty years the relations of the Imperial Government with Canada have given rise to the chief difficulties which have beset the preparation and passing of a new Copyright Act, and in many of the negotiations which have passed between the Mother Country and the Colony, Mr. Daldy has acted as the principal go- between. He paid three visits to the Dominion “between 1872 and 1894 on behalf of the Copyright Association, for the express purpose of carrying on the negotiations, or settling some point which had arisen on emergency, and on nine different 203 occasions he crossed the Atlantic on similar errands. He was in close touch with successive officials of the Colonial Office, the Board of Trade, the Canadian Executive, and other departments responsible for some part of the transactions, and I am sure Lord Thring would bear testimony to the unwearying and valuable service rendered by him in the preparation of the Bill which passed the House of Lords in 1900. Mr. Daldy was indeed a mine of information in all that concerns copyright; not only had he studied all the books and State papers (in them- selves a voluminous mass) dealing with the subject, but having been in personal touch with all that was passing for many years, he was acquainted with the views of all the influential men, and could at once give an account of every turn and phase of the complicated negotiations which have taken place. I have often been surprised by the ease and readiness with which he could unravel the tangled skein in which some point or other calling for discussion, was involved. His methods were those of suaviter in modo rather than fortiter in re, and placed as he was, his success was doubtless in a great measure due to this fact. Inever heard an ill-natured or impatient word from him, in circumstances which might try the temper of any man, and I never knew him spare himself when he was called upon to assist in promoting the interests of copyright holders. In 1897 the members of the Copyright Associa- tion subscribed to present him with a service of plate in recognition of the valuable aid which he had rendered to the cause—practically gratuitously, for except.the payment of his expenses in going to Canada, he received no remuneration for his work. The gift, together with an address signed by a large number of leading authors and publishers, was formally presented to him by Lord Avebury. Mr. Daldy claimed descent from the famous Aldine family, after which his house at Belvedere was named. At the time of his death he was within a few months of completing his eightieth ear. ? Copyright owners have lost a staunch and true ally in Francis Daldy, and I do not see at present how the special position which he occupied is to be adequately filled. JouN Murray. I should like to add to the above tribute a few words referring to Mr. Daldy’s services to the cause of International Copyright. At the time of the negotiation of the Bern Convention, Mr. Daldy supplied the British Dele- gates with the most complete information in regard to the complicated matters under discussion. He was present at Bern throughout the negotiations,  204 and it is not too much to say that the successful result was in great part due to the complete know- ledge of the subject which he placed unreservedly at the disposal of the British delegates. For a long period of years all those who had been officially connected with the question of International Copyright have learnt to rely upon Mr. Daldy’s knowledge and experience, which have always been given with perfect sincerity and single-mindedness. He has sought no reward nor public acknowledgment of the services thus rendered—services which were given gratuitously, and even enthusiastically, to promote the cause which he had at heart. His place will not readily be filled. H. G. Berane. —_____—_—>__—__ UNITED STATES NOTES. — 1 —_ ISCUSSION seems to be in the literary atmosphere of America just now. Mr. Howells’s half-serious attack upon the International Copyright Act at the end of last year was naturally not allowed to pass, his con- tentions being riddled through and through by Mr. Putnam and Mr. George Platt Brett, not to speak of various leader-writers in the literary journals. One of these last, not content with confuting the rash novelist and reproving him for the manner in which he had raised “this buried subject of discussion,” proceeded to advo- cate an amendment of the law in favour of the further protection of English and Continental authors. It was pointed out that the double type-setting provision was inserted at the bidding of mere class-interests, and that the case of trans- lated works was still unsatisfactory. Then the question of the ethics of book-selling has been on the carpet. A correspondent of the Publishers’ Weekly put the purely business view point with refreshing vigour, inveighing especially against the impolicy of recommending books to customers on any ground but that of their recorded sales. One fears that he may be right ; but his conclusion that he would prefer the epitaph ‘‘ Here lies a successful bookseller” to the proposed “ He died an honest man” is surely a shade too cynical. Again, we have Mr. Charles Leonard Moore in the Dial making a venomous onslaught upon the American literary instinct, which he finds expressed in the formula “to live better and save more,” taken from an insurance prospectus. According to this writer, it is all the fault of women, commer- cialism, and the absence of outside pressure that things are so bad with our people. ‘The result is THE AUTHOR. that members become college professors, and so “ dry up and blow away,” whilst “ poets are driven into business and artists into exile.” This is indicting a nation with a vengeance. But, as yet, we haye seen no reply to it. = The very latest hare to be started is the condition of poetry—is there a “slump” in it, and, if so, why ? This, of course, began on your side with the poet Laureate’s address. Here it has been set on foot by that vivacious periodical, the Critic, which, by the bye, has amalgamated with the Boston Literary World. As in most symposiums, the issues became rather confused, some contributors taking into con- sideration poetry, both classic and contemporary, others only the latter ; whilst to some the criterion of health is sales, to others quality also. One is glad to find on the side of those who deny the slump Messrs. Houghton, Miffin & Co. and Mr, Richard G. Badger. Mr. Clinton Scollard gives up the puzzle set him by the editor ; but most of the others are dogmatic enough. Amongst the slum- pers, Mr. Maurice F. Egan puts down the débddcle to the decay of the art of home reading, the con- ventionality and academicism of the poets, and the lack of seriousness of the press. There is no doubt something in the first two causes, but the last, which is insisted upon by Mr. Cale Young Rice, but is best put by Robert Underwood Johnson, is to our thinking, the most cogent reason. Com- petent criticism of verse is badly needed in America. Not that this is sufficient to call poetry into being, if it be true that the spirit of the age is against it, and that the “gradual sophistication of the young” destroys the taste for it. One comment dropped in the course of the dis- cussion arrides us not a little. After the mournful statement that style in prose counts for almost nothing to-day, Mr. William C. Wilkinson proceeds + “When I was a youth, successful business men deferred to authors. Authors nowadays are apt to defer to successful business men.” We confess we should enjoy the experience of being deferred to by a successful business man ; but we have our doubts as to whether there was ever author who sayoured this particular morsel. The short story competition in connection with Collier’s Weekly, the awards in which}were announced a short time since, presented some features of interest. Mrs. Wharton, Margaret Deland, and Mr. Alden were among the prize-winners ; but a good proportion of the nine were unknown names. Senator Lodge disagreed with his colleagues, Mr. White and Mr. Page, as to the adjudication of the first two prizes, holding that Mrs. Wharton’s “The Best Man” to be by far the best composition sent in. The fact that only four writers wrote “what might be called foreign stories” was, in Mr. White's view, “the most hopeful thing for real literature  Qo ed OS pepe CD oq eE if 16 toh 199 THE AUTHOR. in America. (We may remark parenthetically that “a foreign book” figured at the top of the “biggest sellers” last month). Other features of the competition were the com- plete absence of civil war stories or Indian fighting tales, and the comparative rarity of historical setting of any kind. Modernity, in fact, largely prevailed. The judges encountered two auto- mobiles, a battleship, a big prairie-type engine, a pianola, a police scandal, a freak-woman reporter ; besides innumerable trained nurses, five o’clock commuters’ trains, and telephone buzzers. The favourite locale was New York, the desert west of the Rockies coming next, followed by New England and California. There was one war story, placed in the Philippines, whilst J apan and Alaska were the theatre of action in single tales. There is not much to record of the literary pro- ducts of the present year so far as it has gone yet. The highest native “big seller,’ Mr. Thomas Dixon’s “The Clansman,” is a story of the South during the Reconstruction period.” It has slight literary merit and is full of anachronisms, but contains some good chapters dealing with the conspiracy of the Ku Klux Klan. Much superior as literature is another Recon- struction tale, Emerson Hough’s “The Law of the Land.” It is curious as being the work of a northerner. “ Bethany,” a novel of Georgian life just pre- vious to the Civil War and touching upon it in its early stage, has the merit of sincerity and some pictorial power. The author, in this case, Thomas E. Watson, hails from the south, Burton E. Stevenson’s “ The Marathon Mystery,” is a capital detective story, though the accuracy of its dialect has been impugned. “ Cabbages and Kings,” by O. Henry, a book of Central American short stories, has humour and spirit, as well as an excellent background. A notable book announced for immediate publi- cation by McClurg is the autobiography of the late Theodore Thomas, the musician. “The Self-made Man” is not yet disposed of ; “His Wife’s Letters to Her Son” is the latest pendant promised to Mr. Lorimer’s work. Mr. G. W. Winkley has published “Personal Reminiscences of John Brown, the hero,” with an introduction by Frank B. Sauborn. The new edition, for which Mr. Herbert M. Lloyd is responsible, of Lewis Morgan’s “ League of the Ho-de-no-saunee or Troquois,” is an excel- lent reprint of aninvaluable work. It has personal reminiscences of Morgan by Charles T. Porter, his 08 collaborator, and embodies his own corrections. oM Morgan’s ethnological investigations are well i known, and _ their ‘976 over-estimated. importance can scarcely be 205 William Canfield’s “Tegends of the Troquois” has a more purely literary interest. But both books deserve more than a specialist’s public, The latest complete exposition of “The Monroe Doctrine” comes from T. B. Edgington, of the Memphis Bar. He illustrates its most recent phases, as seen in the Venezuela Boundary Case and the Panama Canal Treaty. There have appeared two volumes of Professor G. Santyana’s “The Life of Reason ” ; vol. xi. of Dr. Reuben Thwaite’s « Early Western Travels,” containing Part I. of Faux’s “ Memorable Days in America ” (1819-20) ; and vol. xxi. of “The Philippine Islands,” edited by Emma H. Blair and James A. Robertson. Mr. T. Nelson Page in “The Negro ” great racial question calm consideration. “The Future of Road Making in America” is a symposium on an important subject by Archer B. Hulbert and others, published by the Clark Company. Mr. Henry James has consented to a kind of informal interview during his visit to America, He has been much written about of late as a matter of course. The obituary list of 1905 already includes Theodore Thomas, the creator of modern American music, whose best work was done at Chicago, but was begun at New York ; John White Chadwick, the biographer of Channing and Theodore Parker ; L. Clarke Davis, father of Richard Harding Davis, and some time editor of the Ledger ; Alpheus Spring Packarel, many years Professor at Brown University, and author of some 400 scientific monographs, many of them of international repu- tation ; and William Cowper-Prime, vice-president of the New York Metropolitan Museum, whose fine collection of wood engravings is destined for Princeton. Nor must we omit General Lewis Wallace, best known as the author of “ Ben Hur,” but who also wrote, amongst other works, “The Fair God,” a fine Mexican story, and a life of President Benjamin Harrison, a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars. He was some time United States Minister to Turkey. gives the Oo AUTHORS AND THE STAGE SOCIETY, —— 1+ — HOSE members of the Society of Authors, fe whose ambitions lie in the direction of play writing would do well to bear in mind the use which they may make of the Stage Society. One of the great difficulties which beset the path of the new dramatist is the impossibility of getting his plays produced. This is not entirely the fault  204 and it is not too much to say that the successful result was in great part due to the complete know- ledge of the subject which he placed unreservedly at the disposal of the British delegates. For a long period of years all those who had been officially connected with the question of International Copyright have learnt to rely upon Mr. Daldy’s knowledge and experience, which have always been given with perfect sincerity and single-mindedness. He has sought no reward nor public acknowledgment of the services thus rendered—services which were given gratuitously, and even enthusiastically, to promote the cause which he had at heart. His place will not readily be filled. H. G. BERGNE. —__—_—_—_—_——_1—__+—___——_ UNITED STATES NOTES. —_1—~>—+—_ ISCUSSION seems to be in the literary atmosphere of America just now. Mr. Howells’s half-serious attack upon the International Copyright Act at the end of last rear was naturally not allowed to pass, his con- tentions being riddled through and through by Mr. Putnam and Mr. George Platt Brett, not to speak of various leader-writers in the literary journals. One of these last, not content with confuting the rash novelist and reproving him for the manner in which he had raised “this buried subject of discussion,” proceeded to advo- cate an amendment of the law in favour of the further protection of English and Continental authors. It was pointed out that the double type-setting provision was inserted at the bidding of mere class-interests, and that the case of trans- lated works was still unsatisfactory. Then the question of the ethics of book-selling has been on the carpet. A correspondent of the Publishers’ Weekly put the purely business view point with refreshing vigour, inveighing especially against the impolicy of recommending books to customers on any ground but that of their recorded sales. One fears that he may be right ; but his conclusion that he would prefer the epitaph ‘“ Here lies a successful bookseller ” to the proposed ‘“ He died an honest man” is surely a shade too cynical. Again, we have Mr. Charles Leonard Moore in the Dial making a venomous onslaught upon the American literary instinct, which he finds expressed in the formula “to live better and save more,” taken from an insurance prospectus. According to this writer, it is all the fault of women, commer- cialism, and the absence of outside pressure that things are so bad with our people, The result is THE AUTHOR. that members become college professors, and so “dry up and blow away,” whilst “poets are driven into business and artists into exile.” This is indicting a nation with a vengeance. But, as yet, we have seen no reply to it. ee The very latest hare to be started is the condition of poetry—is there a “slump” in it, and, if so, why ? This, of course, began on your side with the poet Laureate’s address. Here it has been set on foot by that vivacious periodical, the Critic, which, by the bye, has amalgamated with the Boston Literary World. As in most symposiums, the issues became rather confused, some contributors taking into con- sideration poetry, both classic and contemporary, others only the latter ; whilst to some the criterion of health is sales, to others quality also. One is glad to find on the side of those who deny the slump Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. and Mr, Richard G. Badger. Mr. Clinton Scollard gives up the puzzle set him by the editor ; but most of the others are dogmatic enough. Amongst the slum- pers, Mr. Maurice F. Egan puts down the débacle to the decay of the art of home reading, the con- ventionality and academicism of the poets, and the lack of seriousness of the press. There is no doubt something in the first two causes, but the last, which is insisted upon by Mr. Cale Young Rice, but is best put by Robert Underwood Johnson, is to our thinking, the most cogent reason. Com- petent criticism of verse is badly needed in America. Not that this is sufficient to call poetry into being, if it be true that the spirit of the age is against it, and that the “gradual sophistication of the young” destroys the taste for it. One comment dropped in the course of the dis- cussion arrides us not a little. After the mournful statement that style in prose counts for almost nothing to-day, Mr. William C. Wilkinson proceeds : “ When I was a youth, successful business men deferred to authors. Authors nowadays are apt to defer to successful business men.” We confess we should enjoy the experience of being deferred to by a successful business man ; but we have our doubts as to whether there was ever author who savoured this particular morsel. The short story competition in connection with Obilier’s Weekly, the awards in whichiwere announced a short time since, presented some features of interest. Mrs. Wharton, Margaret Deland, and Mr. Alden were among the prize-winners ; but a good proportion of the nine were unknown names. Senator Lodge disagreed with his colleagues, Mr. White and Mr. Page, as to the adjudication of the first two prizes, holding that Mrs. Wharton’s “The Best Man” to be by far the best composition sent in. The fact that only four writers wrote “what might be called foreign stories” was, in Mr. White’s view, “the most hopeful thing for real literature epntrnioneeR Ro wins  THE AUTHOR. in America. (We may remark parenthetically that “a foreign book” figured at the top of the “biggest sellers ” last month). Other features of the competition were the com- plete absence of civil war stories or Indian fighting tales, and the comparative rari ty of historical setting of any kind. Modernity, in fact, largely pevailed. The judges encountered two auto- mobiles, a battleship, a big prairie-type engine, a pianola, a police scandal, a freak-woman reporter ; besides innumerable trained nurses, five o’clock commuters’ trains, and telephone buzzers. The favourite Jocale was New York, the desert west of the Rockies coming next, followed by New England and California. There was one war story, placed in the Philippines, whilst J apan and Alaska were the theatre of action in single tales. There is not much to record of the literary pro- ducts of the present year so far as it has gone yet, The highest native “big seller,” Mr. Thomas Dixon’s “The Clansman,” is a story of the South during the Reconstruction period. It has slight literary merit and is full of anachronisms, but contains some good chapters dealing with the conspiracy of the Ku Klux Klan. Much superior as literature is another Recon- struction tale, Emerson Hough’s “The Law of the Land.” It is curious as being the work of a northerner. “ Bethany,” a novel of Georgian life just pre- vious to the Civil War and touching upon it in its early stage, has the merit of sincerity and some pictorial power. The author, in this case, Thomas KE. Watson, hails from the south. Burton EE. Stevenson’s “ The Marathon Mystery,” is a capital detective story, though the accuracy of its dialect has been impugned. “ Cabbages and Kings,” by O. Henry, a book of Central American short stories, has humour and Spirit, as well as an excellent background. A notable book announced for immediate publi- cation by McClurg is the autobiography of the late Theodore Thomas, the musician. “The Self-made Man” is not yet disposed of ; “His Wife’s Letters to Her Son” is the latest pendant promised to Mr. Lorimer’s work. Mr. G. W. Winkley has published “Personal Reminiscences of John Brown, the hero,” with an introduction by Frank B. Sauborn, The new edition, for which Mr. Herbert M. Lloyd is responsible, of Lewis Morgan’s “ League of the Ho-de-no-saunee or Troquois,” is an excel- lent reprint of aninvaluable work. It has personal reminiscences of Morgan by Charles T. Porter, his collaborator, and embodies hig own corrections. Morgan’s ethnological investigations are well known, and _ their importance can scarcely be over-estimated. 205 William Canfield’s « Legends of the Troquois” has a more purely literary interest, But both books deserve more than a Specialist’s public. The latest complete exposition of “The Monroe Doctrine” comes from T. B, Edgington, of the Memphis Bar. He illustrates its most recent phases, as seen in the Venezuela Boundary Case and the Panama Canal Treaty. There have appeared two volumes of Professor G. Santyana’s “The Life of Reason” ; vol. xi. of Dr. Reuben Thwaite’s « Early Western Travels,” containing Part I. of Faux’s “ Memorable Days in America ” (1819-20) ; and vol. xxi. of « The Philippine Islands,” edited by Emma H. Blair and James A. Robertson. Mr. T. Nelson Page in “'The Negro” gives the great racial question calm consideration. “The Future of Road Making in America” is a symposium on an important subject by Archer B. Hulbert and others, published by the Clark Company. Mr. Henry James has consented to a kind of informal interview during his visit to America. He has been much written about of late as a matter of course. The obituary list of 1905 already includes Theodore Thomas, the creator of modern American music, whose best work was done at Chicago, but was begun at New York ; John White Chadwick, the biographer of Channing and Theodore Parker ; L. Clarke Davis, father of Richard Harding Davis, and some time editor of the Ledger ; Alpheus Spring Packarel, many years Professor at Brown University, and author of some 400 scientific monographs, many of them of international repu- tation ; and William Cowper-Prime, vice-president of the New York Metropolitan Museum, whose fine collection of wood engravings is destined for Princeton. Nor must we omit General Lewis Wallace, best known as the author of “ Ben Hur,” but who also wrote, amongst other works, “The Fair God,” a fine Mexican story, and a life of President Benjamin Harrison, a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars. He was some time United States Minister to Turkey. ——_+~>—- AUTHORS AND THE STAGE SOCIETY. —— HOSE members of the Society of Authors, T whose ambitions lie in the direction of play writing would do well to bear in mind the use which they may make of the Stage Society. One of the great difficulties which beset the path of the new dramatist is the impossibility of getting his plays produced. This is not entirely the fault  206 of the theatrical managers. The work of the beginner, even when most promising, is apt to be unsuited for obtaining solid financial success In the theatre. In play-writing, experience—especially the experience gained from an actual production— counts for so much. And if the beginner cannot get a production, how is he to get experi- ence? This is where the Stage Society can be of assistance to him. For the Stage Society does not exist to make profits but to foster and encourage drama. It gives performances of the best examples of the contemporary Continental stage in order to give its members an opportunity of seeing works of artistic value which would otherwise never see the light in a London theatre. And it also gives performances of the work of English writers who thave not hitherto had plays produced and to whom the practical instruction in technique to be learned from a production will be of value. During the -six years of its existence the Society has produced thirty plays, and of these nearly a third have been the work of English dramatists who had not previously had a play produced. It is impossible for those who have not had -experience of dramatic writing to understand the fall value which this opportunity of seeing his work performed under proper stage conditions by a picked professional cast may be to the young play- wright. To watch one’s own play day after day through rehearsal, to realise with growing clearness -where the dialogue is weak or strong, which are the the situations which “ get across the foot-lights,” -and why they do s0, is a training in the art of play- writing such as nothing else can give. Much may be gained by a careful study of good models— Ibsen, Sudermann, Brieux, Hauptman, Augier and the younger Dumas—much by constant attendance at theatres and a critical examination of the plays presented, and the way they get their effects. But nothing is quite so instructive as the discipline of watching the performances of one’s own play. ‘Owing to the cost of production, and to some extent also to the timidity of the ordinary manager where the work of a beginner is con- cerned, this discipline for the new playwright is practically unattainable in London at any of the regular theatres. It can be gained at a Stage Society production, and authors who wish to work for ne theatre would do well to bear the fact in mind. The office of the Stage Society is 9, Arundel Street, Strand, W.C., and plays should be addressed to the Hon. Librarian. All plays sent in are sure of careful consideration by the Council, and if they decide to produce a play the whole cost is borne by the Society. It is not necessary to be a member of the Society to have a play considered or performed, but all persons who are interested in the higher THE AUTHOR. drama, and wish to show their interest in a practical way, would do well to join. The subserip- tion of one guinea gives one seat at each of the Society’s productions, usually five in the year, and the entrance fee isone guinea. Further particulars and forms of application for membership may be obtained from the Secretary at 9, Arundel Street. ——_1——_ + CANADIAN POSTAL RATES. st AST year some articles appeared in The Author on the question of Colonial postage, with special reference to the introduction of United States magazines into Canada. These articles produced one or two questions in the House of Commons, but the answer of the Post- — master-General was not encouraging. At the time the Committee wrote to the Society 4 of Authors in Canada and asked them to do what they could to assist the movement, and the Canadian Society has just forwarded the following resolution which has been passed by their Executive Committee : “That we, the Executive Committee of the Canadian Society of Authors, would respectfully urge upon the Postmaster-General of Great Britain the desirability of considering the question of @ cheaper postal rate on newspapers and periodicals between Great Britain and the Colonies. During the last fifteen years United States periodicals have almost entirely displaced British periodicals in this market, owing to the low rate of postage charged by the United States Government. The influence on this country once exercised by British periodicals has been displaced by an influence which cannot be said to be in the interests of Imperial understand- ing and solidarity, and is hostile to the extension of British trade throughout the Colonies.” The Canadian Authors’ Society is still in its infancy, but, no doubt, will be able to accomplish vigorous work on behalf of the authors of the Dominion if it continues as it has begun. Prof. Goldwin Smith is the honorary president of the Society, the Honble. G. W. Ross is the president. The treasurer is Mr. J. A. Cooper, the editor of the Canadian Magazine. : That the Canadians do not desire the matter lie idle is evident from the following article whi appeared in the Zoronto Globe :— IMPERIAL AND AMERICAN POSTAGE. Sir George Drummond started an interesting discussion in the Senate a few days ago by moving a resolution to call the attention of the Government to the discrimination favour of American and against British periodicals 1 Canada, and to affirm the principle that postal charges © bs THE AUTHOR. periodicals within the Empire should be lower than those on matter passing between it and any foreign country. Sir George gave specific instances of glaring discrimination, and pointed out the inevitable political and commercial effect of the impetus thus given to the importation of American literature and advertisements. Asa matter of fact, many magazines are sent from the United States into Canada as freight, and are distributed nere by agents, the country receiving little or no revenue from their circulation. It would be easy to make these dutiable, and go some way toward equalising conditions as between British and American magazine publishers. Those sent into this country by mail pay no postage to our Government, being carried free under the postal convention of 1875. To cancel this convention and put the country under the international postal union would considerably reduce the annual deficit of the post office department, which at present handles an immense volume of foreign periodical literature at the expense of Canada. All who took part in the debate on Sir George’s resolu- tion—Senator Scott, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, and Sir Richard Cartwright—agreed with the mover in his attitude, depre- cated the advantage afforded to the American publisher over his British competitors, and regretted the persistence of the British Government in refusing to aid in removing the discrimination against the latter. Canadians have no objection to receiving United States magazines at a cheap tate, but they would like to get British magazines of the same classes at no greater cost. It certainly does not tend to promote either Imperial feeling or British trade in Canada to have British periodicals handicapped in their circulation while American magazines with their advertise- ments are freely distributed at our expense. The Canadian Government, which forced on ocean penny postage, should be equal to finding a remedy that would be at once popular and effective. —_———_+——_2—_______ BUTTER, MUSIC, AND COPYRIGHT. — + UNDRY startling reflections are suggested by the last speech from the Throne. “A Bill,” said that speech, “ will be introduced for amending the law for the prevention of the adulteration of butter.” Good: butter should certainly not be adulterated. Our masses should have good butter—or what does civilisation amount to? We are all agreed as to this; and the Bill will be passed without opposition. But then comes in the parodox: Why make a law to prevent people stealing a part of our butter, and make no law to prevent other people stealing the whole of it? You reply that such a law already exists. Butter, you point out, is well looked after, well understood. Our millions use it—or something like it—every day. Butter is quite safe. It cannot be stolen. That depends. If you permit people to steal from a man his power of purchasing butter, you permit them to steal his butter ag certainly as if they took it directly away from him in firkins or pound packages. The only difference is that, in the latter case, the theft is removed a single step from the direct taking. Mark thatstep. For that 207 single step, so easy to understand—the pun was not intentional—itself so easy to remove, one would also think, makes, when it comes to practice, the most profound difference for practical politics, becomes an insuperable barrier. A casual observer, watching our legislature at work, would miss the point. He would say that the manifest object of our legislature was not to prevent acts of stealing generally, but only the stealing of particular things in a particular way ; since it does not prevent the same things being stolen if they are stolen in a roundabout way. Music, for example, may thus be the means of butter being stolen, and bread and butter. I have no excessive sense of the importance of music ; I am only an ordinary lover of it. But music afforded to me a very interesting case of this curious anomaly in our midst: that as a practical and highly-civilised nation we seem quite unable to get over that step which divides the direct stealing of our butter from the indirect stealing of it by way of music. As the case#of music illustrated this more and more for mefI began, some years ago, to be more and more fnterested in music and music-stealers. I began some time in the last century, but I shall not go further back than the year 1902. In that year, certain music publishers and others interested in music, by dint of tremendous efforts, managed to get a sort of Bill passed to prevent people stealing music, to put an end to the music-pirate. And an end to him I thought had been put when the Bill passed into law. But, as ill-luck or incompetence had it, the Bill omitted to include certain provisions which rendered it practically nugatory as a remedial measure. After all the trouble involved this was fiasco indeed. The stealing of music went on just as before; and the gentlemen interested in music—a noble Earl as their leader—put their heads together once again. Next year, 1903, they introduced another Bill which got as far as its second reading in the Lower House, and there expired of suffocation in the way we are used to seeing Bills expire. Not to be daunted, these gentlemen tried yet another Bill last year. A sort of remnant of it survived many a stormy passage till it got as far as the ‘‘ Report” stage, when it also was talked out. Its promoters had the consolation of knowing that, even had it passed, it would have been almost as useless as the Act of 1902. They finally relinquished altogether the hope of getting a private measure passed, and invoked the aid of the Government. Just before the present House met, it was, therefore, rumoured that the Home Office was to take the case of music-stealers into its charge. The House meets, plunges into the sea of fiscal, Irish, and other controversies, and we hear no more of music. The  208 Government has to look after more important things, including its own precious existence,’ yet not forgetting even butter. gos That, up to the present, is the case for music, In which, as I said, I am not overwhelmingly interested. It only illustrates what a practical and highly-civilised nation we are. Butter— everybody’s need, the poor man’s especially—no part of it must be stolen from us. But music— one step aside from butter—resists all attempts to deal with it, to prevent people stealing it. ‘And if that is the case with music, what is likely to be the case with the whole law of Copyright in which I am greatly interested, of which music and the care of it forms only a single but significant item? To speak of it as affording any hope of present amendment seems absurd. Yet the fact of its embracing the whole subject of the due regu- lation of literary and artistic property, the fact of its largeness and importance, might lead one to imagine that it would have its vastly greater claims publicly recognised. Vain idea! The Publishers’ Association, the Copyright Association, the Authors’ Society, the majority of authors themselves, and, lastly, the very gentlemen most likely to gain by its present inadequacy, to lose by its amendment, the lawyers, all are practically unanimous in desiring its amendment. We need not go into further details. We may take it that these individuals and associ- ations represent all the important interests con- cerned. ‘They include men of such distinguished names, men of such light and leading in the world, that not only are they not likely to be wrong in their desire, but, being right, it is inconceivable that such men should have now been agitating to get a reform of copyright for more than ten years and should up to the present have got absolutely nothing. Lord Thring’s Bill recasting the whole law passed the House of Lords in 1899 and 1900. It was then sent to the Colonies for their assent, recasting, as it also did, our relations with them. Australia expressed her approval of it. Canada— our never-never land for copyright purposes—was still demurring when we last heard of it. It had been mentioned in the Speech from the Throne at the opening of Parliament in 1901. It has not been mentioned since. It appears to have expired of senile decay. Meantime, the world outside passes us by. Other nations codify their law. Little countries like Den- mark and Sweden make a step forward. Even Russia—Russia, mark you !—talks about copyright reform. Our Parliament alone, including within it several distinguished authors, the Premier himself amongst them, says nothing, does nothing. Now and then, once a year or so, to show that we THE AUTHOR. are still alive, an author will burst out sporadically and start some side-issue—should we retaliate on America for her treatment of us? and so forth— like a red-herring across the trail. This consoles us. And, of course, we always have the consolation of knowing that we are a practical and highly- civilised nation. W. ——_——_0—>_+—___——_- NOTES ON AGREEMENTS. —1—~>— + — Il. To THE PUBLISHER. That in consideration of your bearing the whole of the expenses in producing and publishing the novel written by me and _ provisionally entitled , I hereby convey to you the copyright and all rights in the said novel, and further I agree to give to you the first refusal of the next ten new and original novels I may write suitable for publication in volume form on the following terms :— 1. A royalty of ten per cent. on the trade selling price of all copies sold of the English edition, thirteen copies count- ing as twelve. 2. A royalty of one penny per copy on all sales of the Colonial edition, thirteen copies counting as twelve. 3. Ten per cent. on any sum received for the foreign rights. 4. Ten per cent. on any sum received for the American copyright with simultaneous publication. 5. In the event of any cheaper editions being published a royalty of five per cent. on the trade selling price thirteen copies counting as twelve. 6. No royalties shall be paid on any copies given away for review or other purposes. 7. In the event of the publisher disposing of copies or editions of the said novels as remainders, a royalty of five per cent. of the net amount received. 8. I guarantee to you that the said novels shall be in no way whatever violations of any existing copyrights, and that they shall contain nothing of a libellous or scandalous character, and that I will indemnify you from all suits, claims and proceedings, damages and costs which may be made, taken or incurred by or against you on the ground that the said novels are infringements of copyrights, or contain anything libellous or scandalous, From the AUTHOR. The agreement printed above will prove to all those who are versed in the usual arrangements made for the sale and purchase of literary property, the ignorance of an author of the possible value of what he is selling when he endeavours to find a publisher for his book. It is only fair to preface the following remarks by stating that in the open market the buyer will always buy as cheaply as possible, and that, there- fore, the publisher, if he be so inclined, can enter into any agreement—even the one set out above—if he can find an author willing to affix his signature. But a serious cause for complaint would arise should the publisher, before purchasing the work from the author at a ridiculously low figure, mis- represent or misdirect the author as to the value  Sook 3 py ee THE AUTHOR. of what he is selling, or lead him to suppose that an agreement which he would not otherwise make is an ordinary form of contract. There is no such evidence in the present case. The agreement has been printed in the hope that its details may reach those who have not yet written a book, but intend uo do 0, or those who have written a book and are about to enter into an arrangement for its production. However bad and however worthless an author’s first book may be, he should under no circum- stances bind himself to a publisher for a series of books under any contract, good or bad. If the book is bad and worthless, it is fair that the pub- lisher should make a contract by which he should protect himself from the chance of loss, for this is merely ordinary business caution. If any pub- lisher cares to issue from his house bad and worth- less books as a business man, there is no reason why he should lose by the transaction, but the one book should stand or fall by itself. The first book, however, with the bad contract is frequently neither bad nor worthless ; it catches the public taste and has a considerable sale. In consequence the publisher reaps a share of the profits far larger than the author’s. The book referred to in the present agreement can hardly be worthless, otherwise the publisher would not have con- sented to undertake all the cost of production. The business man does not rashly throw his money away. For a book which, presumably, at the lowest estimate is passable, the present agreement cannot be said to be satisfactory. Ten per cent. is to be paid on the ¢rade selling price of all copies sold, 13 copies counting as 12. Everyone who has-any dealings with literary property is aware that royalties, however small, frum whatever house they issue, are always paid on the published price of the book. The difference between the two stands at the ratio of about seven to twelve, or nearly fifty per cent. difference, so that if the author is paid on the /rade selling price he would get about fifty per cent. less than if he were paid on the published price of the book. The royalty is small and inadequate if paid on the published price. It is absurdly insufficient when paid on the trade selling price. On the Colonial sales a royalty of 1d. per copy is paid. This, again, is an exceedingly low royalty. The ordinary payment, when Colonial sales are made is 8d. or 4d. on every copy in sheets. One penny per copy would make the agreement between twenty-five per cent. and thirty-three and one-third per cent. lower than the usual payment. For the foreign rights the author is to receive ten per cent. Over and over again it has been 209 necessary to point out in The Author that these rights should not lie with the publisher, but should be under the control of the author. Again, in Clause 5 the royalty in the case of a cheaper edition is paid on the trade selling price, 13 copies counted as 12. The same remarks passed with regard to Clause 1 refer to this clause also, Five per cent. is an absurdly low royalty in any event; and again, it is paid on the trade selling price, which makes it almost mfinitesimal. In Clause 6 no royalty is paid on copies given away for review or other purposes. No one desires a publisher to pay royalties on copies given away for review, but it is certainly advisable to have some closer definition of the two words “other purposes.” As a reward for this brilliant contract, and the sums that may accrue to the author therefrom, he is bound to indemnify the publisher in an ex- ceedingly liberal clause—Clause 8—from infringe- ment of copyright and libellous and scandalous matter. If the one book had a large sale the author would obtain no benefit, not even a royalty rising with its circulation, but this is not the only fault. The author is bound for ten books at the same price. It has come to our notice from time to time that some publishers have bound authors to them for two, or even three books, and it has been pointed out frequently what a severe tax this is upon the author—either when the contract is made on the same terms as the original contract, as in this case, or when, as sometimes occurs, the pub- lisher is to have only the option of publication of the next two or three books. It has also been shown that such an agreement is not a smart bit of business from the publisher’s point of view, for as soon as the tax is recognised by the author, and the contract at an end, he leaves the publisher. Whereas, if there had been no such clause, and the author had met with fair treatment, he would of a surety go back to the same publisher. No contract, with the exception of the present, has come before the Society by which the publisher has bound the author for ten books. If the author is bound toa publisher under an increasing royalty, or an improved agreement, there might be some temptation to enter into such a contract, although constant experience at the Society’s office would show what a heavy burden this is on the author’s powers; but the contract printed above, from the author’s point of view, wholly unsatisfactory for a first book by itself, becomes ludicrously impossible to contemplate for a series of ten. No author could make a living wage out  210 of an arrangement which would bring him in such a paltry return. No words are strong enough to condemn such a disadvantageous contract from the author’s standpoint. Gee. ———_- > + —___ THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 1 TPNHE Librarian of Congress at Washington has issued his annual circular setting forth the amount of business done in 1904. The increase, year by year, has been steady and continued, and it must be satisfactory to the office to find that the fees collected exceed the expenditure on salaries. The fees received during the past year amount to 75,520 dollars, and the total paid in salaries to 72,531 dollars. Not only this ; but the value of the property which the United States obtains in books, maps, and other filed matter is increasingly valuable. The total number of entries during the past year were 106,577 ; books, volumes and pamphlets number 16,690; periodicals 21,041 ; and musical compbsitions 28,740. It will be seen, therefore, that musical composi- tions yield the highest total. This may be accounted for by the fact that musical compositions need not be lithographed in the United States. The publishers, therefore, taking advantage of the reciprocity, obtain copyright to a larger extent. The largest number of entries during one day occurred on January 2nd, when 4,031 titles were registered ; the smallest number on a day in June, when only 107 titles were recorded. The increase n the total of entries over those of 1908 is 7,141. The most satisfactory point which the foreign writer should note is the smoothness with which he office undertakes its enormous task. It makes no unworthy boast in stating that at 4.30 p.m. on January 3rd, 1905, all applications received during 1904 were acted upon, all registrations made, all certificates mailed. To give some idea of the extensive labour involved in carrying out this enormons work, the number of letters received at the office during the past year was 85,365—87,000 of these contained remittances—and the number of mailed matter despatched from the office was 133,244 letters. Again, these figures show an increase on the 1903 mailed matter by 7,607 letters received, and by 19,000 letters despatched. —— + THER AUTHOR. LITERATURE AND LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. * 1 [ConcLUDED. ] HE recent decision of a Paris Court that phonographs infringe the musical author’s rights makes every case that has been tried either here or in America of interest. Phonographs are of so recent introduction that we have to look for previous decisions to cases analogous to them. In our case of Boosey v. Whight it was decided that a perforated musical scroll was not a “ copy” within the meaning of the Act. This followed the earlier American decision of Kennedy v. IcTammany to the same effect. Phonographs themselves then came up for judgment in the American case of Stern v. Rosey (1901), in which the defendant took two copyright songs, and had them sung into a phonograph in the usual way, thereby obtaining a “‘ master-record ” from which other records were then made. The Appeal Court held that such a record did not constitute a “copy,” basing its judgment on the fact that the marks upon the wax cylinders could not be read by the human eye, nor utilised in any way except as part of the mechanism of the phonograph. But, observe, that in such cases as these a Court is strictly confined to answering the question : Is or is not the copy alleged a “copy” within the meaning of the Act? Or, in other words, can redress be obtained by invoking the copyright law against infringers of this kind? since it cannot reasonably be contended that the rights of the composers of music are not to some extent encroached upon by means of these mechanical instruments. Indeed, the learned American judges in giving their decision felt it necessary to invoke the judgments in the previous analogous cases to support their view that there was no infringe- ment. In the German Statute, of 1901, especial cogni- sance is taken by that up-to-date people of phono- graphs, and it is provided that reproduction by means of them shall noé be held to be an infringe- ment of the right of reproduction provided that the reproduction do not as regards “strength and duration, tone and tempo, resemble a personal per- formance.” Observe the reasonableness of the German method of dealing with copyright, and * Copyright Cases: A Summary of leading American Decisions on the Law of Copyright and on Literary Property, from 1891 to 1903 ; together with the Text of the United States Copyright Statute, and a Selection of Recent Copyright Decisions of the Courts of Great Britain and Canada. Compiled by Arthur 8. Hamlin. Published for the American Publishers’ Copyright League by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 1904. $2. bt, a P  THE AUTHOR. 211 how very little is left by it to the wltima ratio of the law. For the German Statute provides that the communication of the essential contents of a work is an infringement: This covers everything. Then come its exceptions, amongst which are placed phonographs. Such mechanical means of repro- duction it excepts because they cannot, in its opinion, resemble a personal performance. But these fast-moving times, we shortly find, get in front, even of Germany. What about the pianola ? Does it not resemble a “ personal performance”? It certainly creates a contentious something betwixt and between, not quite mechanical, not quite personal. Now with us there are two definite rights open to infringement: (1) the copyright ; and (2) the performing right. We have seen that a perforated musical scroll is not a “copy.” We cannot get any redress at law by pleading that a copyright has been infringed in this way. Well, then, can we not get redress by pleading that performing right is infringed? We come back to the Germans, who say that mechanical reproduction is to be excepted from their general rule, that any method which reproduces the essential spirit of a work is an infringement. Why ? Because “as regards strength and duration of tone and tempo” it does not resemble a personal performance. But there is, lastly, our new friend the pianola! It seems to fulfil all these conditions, certainly strength is not lacking to it. Is it not a ‘ personal per- formance ?” The fact is, what we want, what inventive brains are gradually driving us towards, is a copyright law which makes any means by which the substance or the spirit of any literary, artistic, musical, dramatic or other copyright work is repro- duced, an infringement of the author’s right. Until we get this law, aimed at protecting the substance or the spirit of the work, we shall have no peace, but be up to our necks, as we now are, in arguments about mechanics. Ishall stop here. Mr. Hamlin’s admirable book seems, to at least a student of copyright, worthy of even a more unconscionably long notice than I have given it, for I find that, all said and done, I have only touched the leading cases in it. I have left untouched a large body of by-path cases, many of them of great interest to the student. I have not even mentioned the “ Decisions of the Treasury Department on Questions of Importation,” reveal- ing such interesting facts as that English music need not be set up in the United States in order to enjoy copyright ; and that a book, set up in the United States, may be printed elsewhere from plates [also made elsewhere? ] and yet enjoy copyright there. Nor have I touched the great questions hanging on the copyright in and impor- tation into America of foreign classics—other than English ; which would have to form the subject of a special article all to itself. For light on these- subjects, students and business men must go to Mr. Hamlin’s book. One question, however, I must not leave un- answered. ‘The courteous Editor of The Author asks me to express an opinion as to whether our Society should publish decennially, or at least quin- quennially, a compilation similar to Mr. Hamlin’s American one (whether for sale at a nominal price to “authors” or for free distribution amongst them) which would, like his, afford them an easy means of reference to what has been done in the way of copyright litigation during the preceding five or ten years. If it were a simple question of publishing such a book, or publishing none at all, [ should be dis- tinctly in favour of publishing one. Yet there would be certain objections to such a publication. The chief one is the expense it would involve falling upon a single year of the Society’s finances. The second one is almost as important: it is the inevitable tendency of cases which occurred ten, or even five, years ago to become stale and unprofit- able after such a lapse of time. This would to some extent militate against the sale of such a book supposing it to be offered for sale. There are other less striking objections with which I shall not deal at present. But these two chief objections I would propose to remove entirely by the publication, not of a book, but of a four or eight-page pamphlet, not to be published every tenth or fifth year, but every year. This, in my opinion, has everything to be said for it—very little to be said against it. It would be inexpensive ; its contents would be fresh; if it failed of support (though indeed it might well be given away to “ authors”), well, then, the experi- ment would not be repeated, and very little would have been lost. Also, the yearly parts could be bound, if desired. Not only do I see no objection to the publication of such a pamphlet, which would carefully condense, under clear titles of the actual questions at issue, the cases decided during the year, with the Society’s comments upon them, but T believe such a pamphlet would be of immense assistance to all engaged in literary or artistic work ; would enhance the value, by assisting the objects of the Society; and would, lastly, by keep- ing the subject of copyright continually before our eyes and the eyes of the public, tend to become a weighty factor in our getting at last that for which we all look so anxiously—a reform of our copyright law. CHARLES WEEKES.  212 MUSICAL COPYRIGHT. —— R. SOUSA, in a letter to Zhe Times, is justly indignant at the unauthorised sales of copyright musical pieces which daily occur in the streets of London and other large towns, and we are thoroughly in accord with him so far as his indignation is levelled against the present legislation that exists in England. M. Messager, the author of “ Veronique” has also made a complaint on the same lines in the same paper. The question of musical copyright and the laws dealing with the subject have been so fully dis- cussed in Zhe Author that there is no need to repeat the points on which the present Acts are inadequate; but whatever righteous indignation Mr. Sousa may show he is clearly at fault when he comes to discuss the question of the Bern Con- vention and the United States Declaration. He suggests that Great Britain does not fulfil the terms of her Agreement as far as foreigners are concerned. It is a pity that the article which appeared in the Law Journal dealing with the same subject was not printed in Zhe Times also, in order that the fallacy of Mr. Sousa’s arguments might be made evident. Inthe Law Journal it is clearly pointed out that under the Bern Convention the rights granted to foreigners are the same rights as are granted to natives, and there is no doubt what- ever that inadequate as these rights are, the foreigners obtain exactly the same protection as English composers. ‘he complaints that have been raised by the two gentlemen named have been raised with an equally loud cry on former occasions by all musical composers natives of this country. This is so far as the Bern Convention is concerned, but Mr. Sousa refers to the Agreement between the United States upon terms of International Copy- right with the countries comprising the Bern Convention, including Great Britain. Every one who has studied the question of copyright knows that there is no formal agreement. United States rights are granted by a Declara- tion of the President to citizens of a country that “permits to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as its own citizens.” The Proclamation of the United States President has declared England to be such a country. When, however, Mr. Sousa goes further and talks of reciprocity as existing between England and the United States, he rather oversteps the mark. After the letters that have appeared in The Standard there is no need to raise the point again. THER AUTHOR. While, however, it is clear that Mr. Sousa’s impression—that England is treating foreigners unfairly—is unfounded, we do not in any way desire to commend the present Copyright Acts as they exist. Let Mr. Sousa cancel the declaration of his President and his last state would be worse than the present. The Society has for many years been endeayvour- ing to bring about alterations, and has, on one or two occasions, obtained a certain limit of success. It is hoped that the time is not far distant when not only the British author, the British artist, the British dramatist, and the British musical com- poser will have no complaint, but that the foreigner also, who obtains advantage of our existing laws, will find them adequate. ee THE PRODUCT OF THE INTELLECT. —1+~> + BRIEF account of the origin of this most valuable work will form the best introduc- tion to our notice of it. Messrs. Podesta and Scotti had acquired from the authors, A. Aroztegui and F. Pizano, two plays, “ Julian Giménez” and “Nobleza Criolla.” A certain Don Luis Anselmi thereafter produced two plays entitled, “ Julian Giménoz,” and “ Nobleza de un Criollo.” Podesta and Scotti brought an action against him for infringement of copyright, and alleged that the titles were but specimens of the species of piracy that existed in every part of Anselmi’s plays, in which the works had been very slightly altered, though in a manner by which they had been ridiculously marred. Anselmi as- serted that the works were not his, but from the pen of a “young man,” Juan J. Garay—who was not forthcoming. He also declined to submit the text of these two plays to the court. He had pre- viously refused the payment of the 10 per cent. royalties on the gross receipts, which Messrs. Podesté and Scotti had claimed ; declaring them- — selves contented to accept this customary Spanish dramatic author’s royalty without making further claims for compensation. The cause was tried, in the first instance, before on Dr. Ernesto Quesada, who gave sentence for the plaintiffs, with costs. Subsequently, this sentence was quashed, on technical grounds, by a superior court, but an appeal allowed. Pending this appeal Dr. Ernesto Quesada has published his judgment = —which forms the first and most important part . Dr. Ernesto Quesada. pp. xvi., 496. “La Propriedad Intellectual en : el derecho Argentino.” Buenos Aires. J, Menedez, 8  THE AUTHOR. of the work—together with a mass of documents in support of the sentence. The learned judge has had the courtesy to send us a copy of his book, and we have no hesitation in saying that no more luminous, valuable, or sug- gestive work on literary piracy has ever been laid before us. That the judge’s sentence is lucid and masterly is but a small part of its merit. With an intellectual insight, too often conspicuous by its absence in legal declarations, Dr. Quesada unfolds widely elemental views of the essential nature of property, and of the logical essence of proprietor- ship and of its rights in the case of intellectual productions. His theses are such that we shall not be surprised if his work becomes, among Southern American jurists, the classical authority on copy- right and piracy. The valuable nature of his conclusions will be more fully appreciated when it is mentioned that the Argentine Republic has no statute law ruling copyright. Nothing daunted by this, Dr. Quesada lays down the doctrine that literary property is implied by Article 17 of the Constitution—that in the application of the civil law to civil delinquen- cies affecting copyright, the dispositions of the Constitution must be interpreted in an extensive, and not ina restrictive sense—and that the absence of statute must not be interpreted to mean that no rights exist, because their existence is involved in the terms of the Constitution, whose articles cannot be set aside. He further appeals to the Convention of Montevideo, to which the Argentine Republic is a signatory, with the consequence that its provisions now have legal force in the Republic. And he then continues : “Liberty of intellectual theft has two conse- quences. It propagates, generally, by means of detestable translations, an unwholesome literature of an inferior character, not alone perfectly inade- quate to raise the national intelligence, but inade- quate even to maintain it at its present level. And it prevents national productions in the way of arts and letters from meeting with support and oppor- tunities of development ; because they are crushed in the competition with the foreign matter of the kind above mentioned.” Equally deserving of attention is another passage, for which the Argentine Society of Authors tendered their special thanks to Dr. Quesada, acknow- ledging the service that he had done the cause of ‘literature. “When a man has passed sleepless nights in con- ceiving and shaping a piece for the theatre, and has brought his work to a successful result, it is an indefensible action for some scribbler to snatch the fruits of his labour in some underhand way, by ‘Inaking pro pane lucrando a travesty of his work in which it is barely disguised. It is impossible to 218 leave actions of this kind unpunished ; it is indis- pensable that the law should strike with implacable rigour all persons guilty of similar proceedings, placing them in the same category as highwaymen who rob the traveller of his money and laugh at his expostulations, under the impression that no power exists which can punish them.” Whilst expressing our admiration for the insight that abounds in Dr. Quesada’s judgment, we should be doing his work an injustice did we not add that the appendix contains a mass of matter whose interest is second only to the actual sentence which it is adduced to support. Here we find various appreciations of Dr. Quesada’s judgment, expressed in influential quarters ; and then under the head of “General Bibliography,” a vast and carefully digested mass of documents that cover the whole of the law of the Republic, bearing in any way upon the subject under dispute, together with’a collection of cases of a similar character. In a word this is an addition to the literature of copyright of primary importance ; and one that will be found equally valuable to the legist, and to the student of the wider questions which are involved in the conception of intellectual property. —_———_—__>—__—_. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.* —+ VERYONE who is interested in international publication and copyright—whether his point of view is commercial, literary, or social—naturally often feels the need of some handy volume which will furnish him with the main facts of the home, colonial, and international enactments of the various countries which have legislated on copyright. Professor Réthlisberger, of Bern, in his littie manual above named, of which the second edition is lying before us, has compiled exactly the sort of work which was wanted to meet these requirements. Here are set forth all the principal enactments of the various legislations, thus gathered into a repertoire that amply furnishes all the information that will be in any ordinary circumstances required, and indeed in most cases sufficient to spare the enquirer the trouble of consulting any more extensive work, Anyone with Professor Réthlisberger’s book in his hands will have need to turn to official documents and lengthy legal treatises only where troublesome minutize are involved, or when a necessity arises * Ernst Rothlisberger. ‘ Gesetze iiber das Urheberrecht in allen Liindern nebst den darauf beziiglichen Inter- nationalen Vertrigen und die Bestimmungen tiber das Verlagsrecht.” Zweite Auflage, Leipzig. G, Hedeler, 8°.  914 for bringing matters under the jurisdiction of the courts. In the earlier part of the work the legal enact- ments of the various countries of the world are arranged under the name of the States placed in alphabetical order. After this follow various international conventions; _ first, that of Bern, and then that of Montevideo, each one of which comprises a considerable number of different States, and then the particular conventions between various pairs of countries. Thus the British author can at a glance learn from the book with which States Great Britain is treaty bound, what are the exact terms on which copyright can be secured in the United States, and that the only other direct convention affecting Great Britain is the particular convention (1893) with Austria- Hungary. Indirect obligations which might arise between different countries will be also seen to bea more complicated matter. Thus England is by the Bern Convention bound up with Italy. Italy has conventions with Mexico, Montenegro, and Paraguay. A delicate problem might in conse- quence arise respecting the status in these dominions of an Italian translation of an English work. Great Britain is bound by no copyright treaty with the Union of Montevideo. But France, to which Great Britain is bound by the Bern Con- vention, has given her adhesion to the South American Union of Montevideo. How would that affect English translations of French works, made in London, if introduced into the States signatory to the Montevideo Convention ? Professor Roth- lisberger’s little work can, of course, only reveal the possibilities of these complications. In reality, no satisfactory solution of them will be found until the whole world is united in one uniform and all- embracing agreement. The various statutes of different countries, with their extraordinarily different provisions, present interesting phenomena—often revealing characteristic features. The Turkish Empire allows an author the imposing privilege of a copy- right (transferable to his heirs and assigns), which lasts four years—if the work is of large size. It must contain not less than 800 pages, nor less than thirty-five lines on a page. Great Britain alone enjoys a complicated method of calculating the duration of copyright, based upon alternatives, and capable of vying in inconvenience with her “weights and measures.” France, Germany, and Spain are by far more liberal in the protection accorded intellectual work ; Spain the most liberal of all. And Guatemala sets the whole world an example of equity in her enactment, “ The right of literary property is not time-bound : on the death of the author it passes to his heirs.” It is sad to - effect that more prominent States have not yet THE AUTHOR. discovered that the labour of a man’s brain is entitled at least to rank as high as the labour of his hands. But the work abounds with instances of that peculiar pusillanimity or superstition of the legal mind which seems to be incapable of looking beyond what has once been set down in a statute. Should Professor Réthlisberger’s work reach a third edition, which we sincerely hope that it may, we would suggest that its value would be enhanced by the mention of leading works in which further information can be found if desired. A complete legal bibliography would be equally out of place and impossible in a manual. But we think that under the heading of each state, a brief reference: to one or two authorities, such as is to be found at at the conclusion of the articles of a high-class encyclopedia, would, without adding much to the length of the book, render its usefulness still more universal. oo THE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.* — T is twenty-six years since the first monthly instalment of Sir George Grove’s “ Dictionary of Music and Musicians” appeared, and the fact that it came out in monthly parts caused many more musicians and amateurs to buy it than would otherwise have been the case. By issuing the revised edition of that remarkable work im volume form only, we fear Messrs. Macmillan will appeal to a smaller public of purchasers than did Sir George. This is to be regretted, because as & work of reference the new edition, judging by the first volume just published, is a great improvement on its predecessor. Without tampering with the masterly notices of Beethoven and other great composers of the original issue, glaring omissions, — such as the biography of Bononcini, Handel's — rival, have been corrected. The present edition oe contains a most interesting article on acoustics — which should never have been omitted from the | first issues ; and Bach, Berlioz, Brahms, and Chopin, — inadequately treated in the first edition, are noW — as is their due, dealt with at greater length. | The editor in his preface states that the average country organist will not find his name in the new edition more than in the old. Every editor of @ book of this kind is bound to meet with com-— plaints of omission and of inadequate treatment. But, if the remaining volumes are edited with the care and diligence of the first, even the most — captious critic ought to be satisfied. No one — really interested in music should be without such a * “Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians,” edited — : by Fuller Maitland. Macmillan & Co. : Foe RS THE AUTHOR. awork of reference. But what is of special interest to members of the Society—both musical com- posers and authors—is the article dealing with musical copyright. Six columns have been devoted to this subject, and the difficulties surrounding musical publication are clearly explained. The rights of the composer are more complicated than the rights of the author, owing to the fact that he holds the performing right as well as the right of publication ; and more complicated than the rights of the dramatist, for, although the dramatist owns both the right of publication and the right of performance, the former is not very often used, and the latter is more easily dealt with owing to the fact that there are fewer people who are able to conduct a dramatic performance than there are able to play a piece of music on a piano or some other instrument. These two rights—the copyright, that is, the right of duplicating copies and the performing right—are clearly and definitely separated. In order to obtain copyright in music it is essential that it must be original, but the courts have interpreted the word “ original” in a wide sense. As in the infringement of literary copyright everything must depend upon the particular facts of each case, so here to quote all the leading cases in order to convey a fair idea of the decisions would have been impossible, the necessary explanation is therefore somewhat cur- tailed. The author of the article maintains that publication before performance does not deprive the composer or his assigns of the performing right. We agree with him in adopting this view of the case, and think this is the proper interpre- tation of the law, but some writers on the subject have doubted this. Although the book is dated 1904, it is difficult to know the exact dates on which the different articles went to press. In referring to inter- national copyright, no mention is made of Denmark and Sweden’s adhesion to the Bern Convention. The omission of Sweden is, perhaps, excusable, as it only joined in August, 1904, but Denmark should certainly have been included among the countries named. The author refers to the decision in the courts which declared that the manufacture and sale of instruments for the mechanical reproduction of copyright airs is not a breach of musical copyright. This decision is clearly correct. ‘The infringement was, without doubt, an infringement of the per- forming right, and if musicians and composers took the same care of preserving their performing rights that dramatists do, they could, no doubt, make a considerable income, but many are very indifferent in this matter, and freely assign to the publisher what they ought to retain themselves, and the publisher, more intent on the reproduction 215 of the copyright than on the preservation of the performing rights, takes little interest in the issue. There is one advantage that musical composers obtain with regard to reproduction in the United States, namely, the fact that the copies to be sent to the Library of Congress in accordance with the United States Act, need not be printed in the United States. This must have been an uninten- tional omission on the part of the Government of that country, as it has clung so tenaciously ever since the Act was passed to what it erroneously considers to be the protection of the printing trade. The second part of the article refers to the infringement of musical rights. The infringe- ment of copyright follows the same lines as the infringement of literary copyright, but the infringe- ment of performing right, owing to the facts which we have already mentioned, has especial legislation. For the benefit of the public anyone is entitled to perform a piece unless a notice specially reserving the right is printed on every copy published. ‘he statutes necessary to carry out this regulation are fully explained. Finally, the article deals with the Musical Summary Proceedings Act, 1902, and explains how those desirous of acting under that inadequate statute should carry out their intention. G. HT, ee SENOR MANUEL GARCIA, C.V.O. T is appropriate that the Centenary of Sefor Manuel Garcia should have occurred in 1905 at the time of the celebration of the Ter- centenary of Cervantes, “ Don Quixote,” and when Spain is congratulating herself that her veteran dramatist, Echegaray, shares with the Provengal poet, Mistral, the last Nobel prize for literature, So much has the success of Sefior Garcia as a teacher of singing been drawn attention to by the press, that it is fitting to note, in these columns, that the maestro, who has been a member of the Society of Authors for some years, owes not a little of his distinction to the power of the pen. It was his treatise entitled “Mémoire sur la Voix Humaine” (afterwards given in London as ‘“¢ Physiological Observations on the Human Voice’) presented to the French Institut in 1840, which brought him the formal congratu- lations of the Académie, and was the foundation of most of the later investigations into the vocal organ. His international reputation, as the most famous teacher of song of our own time and the generation preceding our own, was, moreover, considerably enhanced by the publication of his “ Traité complet  914 for bringing matters under the jurisdiction of the courts. In the earlier part of the work the legal enact- ments of the various countries of the world are arranged under the name of the States placed in alphabetical order. After this follow various international conventions; first, that of Bern, and then that of Montevideo, each one of which comprises a considerable number of different States, and then the particular conventions between various pairs of countries. Thus the British author can at a glance learn from the book with which States Great Britain is treaty bound, what are the exact terms on which copyright can be secured in the United States, and that the only other direct convention affecting Great Britain is the particular convention (1883) with Austria- Hungary. Indirect obligations which might arise between different countries will be also seen to bea more complicated matter. Thus England is by the Bern Convention bound up with Italy. Italy has conventions with Mexico, Montenegro, and Paraguay. A delicate problem might in conse- quence arise respecting the status in these dominions of an Italian translation of an English work. Great Britain is bound by no copyright treaty with the Union of Montevideo. But France, to which Great Britain is bound by the Bern Con- vention, has given her adhesion to the South American Union of Montevideo. How would that affect English translations of French works, made in London, if introduced into the States signatory to the Montevideo Convention ? Professor Réth- lisberger’s little work can, of course, only reveal the possibilities of these complications. In reality, no satisfactory solution of them will be found until the whole world is united in one uniform and all- embracing agreement. The various statutes of different countries, with their extraordinarily different provisions, present interesting phenomena—often revealing characteristic features. The Turkish Empire allows an author the imposing privilege of a copy- right (transferable to his heirs and assigns), which lasts four years—if the work is of large size. It must contain not less than 800 pages, nor less than thirty-five lines on a page. Great Britain alone enjoys a complicated method of calculating the duration of copyright, based upon alternatives, and capable of vying in inconvenience with her “weights and measures.” France, Germany, and Spain are by far more liberal in the protection accorded intellectual work ; Spain the most liberal of all. And Guatemala sets the whole world an example of equity in her enactment, “ The right of literary property is not time-bound : on the death of the author it passes to his heirs.” It is sad to - eflect that more prominent States have not yet THE AUTHOR. discovered that the labour of a man’s brain ig: entitled at least to rank as high as the labour of his hands. But the work abounds with instances of that peculiar pusillanimity or superstition of the legal mind which seems to be incapable of looking beyond what has once been set down in a statute, Should Professor Réthlisberger’s work reach a third edition, which we sincerely hope that it may, we would suggest that its value would be enhanced by the mention of leading works in which further information can be found if desired. A complete legal bibliography would be equally out of place and impossible in a manual. But we think that under the heading of each state, a brief reference: to one or two authorities, such as is to be found at at the conclusion of the articles of a high-class. encyclopedia, would, without adding much to the length of the book, render its usefulness still more universal. ————_—_ + ——_-—__—__— THE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.* + T is twenty-six years since the first monthly instalment of Sir George Grove’s “ Dictionary of Music and Musicians” appeared, and the fact that it came out in monthly parts caused many more musicians and amateurs to buy it tham would otherwise have been the case. By issuing the revised edition of that remarkable work im volume form only, we fear Messrs. Macmillan will appeal to a smaller public of purchasers than did Sir George. This is to be regretted, because as & work of reference the new edition, judging by the first volume just published, is a great improvement on its predecessor. Without tampering with the masterly notices of Beethoven and other great composers of the original issue, glaring omissions, such as the biography of Bononcini, Handel’s rival, have been corrected. The present edition contains a most interesting article on acoustics which should never have been omitted from the first issues ; and Bach, Berlioz, Brahms, and Chopin, inadequately treated in the first edition, are now as is their due, dealt with at greater length. - The editor in his preface states that the average country organist will not find his name in the new edition more than in the old. Every editor of @ book of this kind is bound to meet with com- plaints of omission and of inadequate treatment. But, if the remaining volumes are edited with the care and diligence of the first, even the most captious critic ought to be satisfied. No one really interested in music should be without such * “@rove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians,” edited by Fuller Maitland, Macmillan & Co.  iy THER AUTHOR. a work ofreference. But what is of special interest to members of the Society—both musical com- posers and authors—is the article dealing with musical copyright. Six columns have been devoted to this subject, and the difficulties surrounding musical publication are clearly explained. The rights of the composer are more complicated than the rights of the author, owing to the fact that he holds the performing right as well as the right of publication ; and more complicated than the rights of the dramatist, for, although the dramatist owns both the right of publication and the right of performance, the former is not very often used, and the latter is more easily dealt with owing to the fact that there are fewer people who are able to conduct a dramatic performance than there are able to play a piece of music on a piano or some other instrument. These two rights—the copyright, that is, the right of duplicating copies and the performing right—are ciearly and definitely separated. In order to obtain copyright in music it is essential that it must be original, but the courts have interpreted the word “ original” in a wide sense. As in the infringement of literary copyright everything must depend upon the particular facts of each case, so here to quote all the leading cases in order to convey a fair idea of the decisions would have been impossible, the necessary explanation is therefore somewhat cur- tailed. The author of the article maintains that publication before performance does not deprive the composer or his assigns of the performing right. We agree with him in adopting this view of the case, and think this is the proper interpre- tation of the law, but some writers on the subject have doubted this. Although the book is dated 1904, it is difficult to know the exact dates on which the different articles went to press. In referring to inter- national copyright, no mention is made of Denmark and Sweden’s adhesion to the Bern Convention. The omission of Sweden is, perhaps, excusable, as it only joined in August, 1904, but Denmark should certainly have been included among the countries named. The author refers to the decision in the courts which declared that the manufacture and sale of instruments for the mechanical reproduction of copyright airs is not a breach of musical copyright. This decision is clearly correct. The infringement was, without doubt, an infringement of the per- forming right, and if musicians and composers took the same care of preserving their performing rights that dramatists do, they could, no doubt, make a considerable income, but many are very indifferent in this matter, and freely assign to the publisher what they ought to retain themselves, and the publisher, more intent on the reproduction 215 of the copyright than on the preservation of the performing rights, takes little interest in the issue. There is one advantage that musical composers obtain with regard to reproduction in the United States, namely, the fact that the copies to be sent to the Library of Congress in accordance with the United States Act, need not be printed in the United States. This must have been an uninten- tional omission on the part of the Government of that country, as it has clung so tenaciously ever since the Act was passed to what it erroneously considers to be the protection of the printing trade. The second part of the article refers to the infringement of musical rights. The infringe- ment of copyright follows the same lines as the infringement of literary copyright, but the infringe- ment of performing right, owing to the facts which we have already mentioned, has especial legislation. For the benefit of the public anyone is entitled to perform a piece unless a_ notice specially reserving the right is printed on every copy published. ‘he statutes necessary to carry out this regulation are fully explained. Finally, the article deals with the Musical Summary Proceedings Act, 1902, and explains how those desirous of acting under that inadequate statute should carry out their intention. G. der. a eee ae SENOR MANUEL GARCIA, C.Y.O. T is appropriate that the Centenary of Senor Manuel Garcia should have occurred in 1905 at the time of the celebration of the Ter- centenary of Cervantes, “‘ Don Quixote,’ and when Spain is congratulating herself that her veteran dramatist, Echegaray, shares with the Proyengal poet, Mistral, the last Nobel prize for literature. So much has the success of Sefior Garcia as a teacher of singing been drawn attention to by the press, that it is fitting to note, in these columns, that the maestro, who has been a member of the Society of Authors for some years, owes not a little of his distinction to the power of the pen. It was his treatise entitled ‘‘Mémoire sur la Voix Humaine” (afterwards given in London as ‘ Physiological Observations on the Human Voice’’) presented to the French Institut in 1840, which brought him the formal congratu- lations of the Académie, and was the foundation of most of the later investigations into the vocal organ. His international reputation, as the most famous teacher of song of our own time and the generation preceding our own, was, moreover, considerably enhanced by the publication of his ‘ Traite complet  216 de PArt du Chant,” which was translated into English and nearly every other European language. It is easy to understand why, if a giant of physique—such as the Russian exhibited daily at one of the London music halls—is attractive to the multitude, a giant of longevity, of the intellectual distinction of Manuel Garcia, should be so exceed- ingly interesting. That the sovereigns of Spain, England, and Germany have bestowed honours on him when giving their congratulations was to be expected. To Englishmen of the present day it seems incredible that we have, living amongst us, in good mental and physical health, a naturalised compatriot, who was born in the year of Trafalgar, when Pitt and Fox were living and George Ill. was King. Garcia was ten years of age when Waterloo was fought, fourteen when Queen Victoria was born, nineteen when Byron and twenty-seven when Scott died. Consequently, when he feels inclined, he can talk about Keats, Shelley, Charles Lamb, Tom Hood, Edgar Allan Poe, Wordsworth, Sam Rogers, de Quincey, Thackeray, Dickens, and other of his long since departed contemporaries, as if they lived but yesterday. To the musician of to-day, who shakes the hand of the illustrious maestro, that hand appears to be a connecting link that is even more wonderful, for Manuel Garcia was born at Zafra (not Madrid, as stated by Grove) in the year when Beethoven’s only opera, “ Fidelio,” and the great “‘ Eroica” symphony were first produced at Vienna. Haydn was then living. Garcia came into the world before either Balfe or Wallace, who seem, to the musician of to-day, to have lived in almost antediluvian times. Think of it! He was senior to Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Thalberg, and that other great teacher of singing, Lamperti, who lived to a good old age, but went over to the majority thirteen years since. When Verdi and Wagner were born, Garcia was already eight years old. He was eleven when Sir William Sterndale Bennett came into the world. Consequently, he was a good deal older than Gounod, and was already fifteen when his most famous pupil, Jenny Lind, drew her first breath. She died eighteen years ago at the age of sixty-seven. Then, Garcia was seventeen when Sims Reeves was born. When one thinks of the interesting volumes of reminiscences which have been given to the world by comparatively minor musicians, the hope is that this famous centenarian, whilst his memory is still active, will not omit to record his impressions of and correspondence with the great ones of the artistic world whom he has met. The distinguished son ought to have much interesting matter to tell the world concerning that extraordinary singer, THER AUTHOR. his father, Emmanuel Garcia, who was born in 1775. To the veteran whom King Edward has recently honoured, his father’s recollections of Mozart, Haydn, Cherubini, Paganini, Auber, and the great singers of the eighteenth century, must be familiar. And, if the centenarian himself is now disinclined to undertake the labour of writing an autobiography, his grandson, who is well known as a singer, would doubtless readily act as amanuensis, ALGERNON Ross. CORRESPONDENCE. ——>— + — PUBLISHERS’ DELAYS. Sir,—I think it will help to interest your readers, and to emphasise the importance of what you are always urging, if I mention three “ tricks” which have just been played on me :— 1. After a promise to publish immediately, and urgent letters requesting the MS. at once, a pub- lisher delays the publication for many months. Nowadays a book runs the risk of being not the best expression of the author's views if it is delayed even three months. 2. Owing to the author’s usual six presentation copies being taken for granted, the publisher refuses to supply them. 3. “Advance on royalties,” assumed by the author to have its usual sense of advance on receipt of MS., or on passing of proofs, or on publication, is interpreted as meaning “ (?) advance when books are made up ”—which is nearly a year, in this case, after receipt of MS., and nearly six months after publication. Moral.—Never tolerate a general agreement. Insist that every detail, however commonplace and obvious, shall be down in black and white. Do not lead the publishers into temptation. E. M. Wis’ “ CHARLES THE First.” Sir,—Sir Henry Irving must have forgotten that “ Qharles the First” was published (by Blackwood, I think,) when it was first produced at the Lyceum, I had a copy but have mislaid it. It is Wills “ Olivia ” I am hoping some day to see in print. 8. M. Fox. 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. 15 Issue 07 (April 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 07 (April 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-04-01-The-Author-15-7 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/505/1905-05-01-The-Author-15-8.pdf f9fd14b10ccf89ac5156b3bd0a85355a PDF Text Text ���������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-05-01 Volume 15 Issue 8 Pages Page range in volume 217–248 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050501 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 8. May ist, 1905. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ————_—~<+-— NOTICES. ta OR the opinions expressed in papers that are RK signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. + List of Members. Tux List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. Set tae oe ee The Pension Fund of the Society. THE Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in February, 1904, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the Mvestments of the Pension Fund at present Vou. XV. , standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consols 24% £1000 0 0 EO AOE ee es 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 14 Waroan 201. 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- LOte StOCK 3 6, 250 0 0 Total: oe £2,243 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. & is. ad. Jan. 12, Anonymous . 0 2 6 Donations, 1905. a Jan. , Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 0 Jan. , Bolton, Miss Anna : - 0-5 6 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . : - 07 6 0 Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert : : - 0 5 6 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. . . 010 0 Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. . +0 10 0 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. . . tf 0 0 Mar. 28, Kirmse, Mrs. : - 010 0 April19, Hornung, E. W. . : “25 0 6 ————" o> —_____—__ COMMITTEE NOTES. Bie HE April meeting of the committee was held at the offices of the society on the 8rd ult., at four o’clock ; Sir Henry Bergne was in the chair. The agenda comprised a large number of matters and the sitting lasted over two hours. After the minutes of the last meeting had been read and approved, the members and associates whose names were before the committee were elected. The total number of elections during the year amounts to 74. The number elected at the April meeting was 23. The list is printed below. The committee then considered two cases against  18 THE the same publisher who, for certain reasons of his own, had withheld from authors payments shown to be due on his accounts. As the authors could not obtain a settlement they invoked the assistance of the society in order to enforce their demands. In the first case the matter had to be adjourned. It was necessary for the committee to be more fully informed respecting the exact terms of the agreement before they could come to a decision. The member, unfortunately, is resident abroad. In the second case, the committee decided to com- mence action if the author would undertake to bear a third of the expenses. This he has undertaken to do. Some months ago a judgment was obtained on behalf of one of the members of the society against a travelling theatrical manager. The solicitors of the society have, on one or two similar occasions, experienced great difficulty in making the judg- ment debtor pay. The member in this case com- plained that the judgment had only been partially satisfied, and he seemed to get no further. The committee decided to instruct the solicitors to exhaust all legal methods with a view to obtaining the amount still due, and it is hoped that, with renewed activity, the member and the judgement will be satisfied. The next case before the committee arose out of the difficulty of an author, who had paid for the production of his work, to possess himseif of his property, when the publisher became bankrupt. The binder claimed a general lien on the stock. The committee discussed the question very fully, but adjourned the matter, in order that they might gain fuller information which would enable them to decide whether or not action could be taken with advantage. The question of United States copyright was again brought forward. As the Amending Billhad passed into law at the end of the session, before it had been possible to make any satisfactory protest, the committee decided to adjourn the question until a fitting opportunity should arise. It has been reported that at the next session of congress a consolidation in the United States Copyright Laws will be taken in hand. If this information is correct, it is possible that an opportunity will then arise for taking action. In the meantime, any movement will be carefully watched. ‘The com- mittee are in a position to receive the fullest infor- mation from the most reliable sources. ‘The chairman reported that the secretary of the society had been offered the solicitorship in Eng- land of the famous French Society “la Société des Gens de Lettres,” and that as the position was practically honorary, he had sanctioned tle secre- tary’s acceptance of it. The committee approved the course the chairman had adopted. AUTHOR. A question of international copyright was placed before the committee, arising from the adherence of Sweden to the Bern Convention of 1886. Sweden has signed the Convention, but not the additional Act of Paris of 1896. Article 7 of the Bern Convention of 1886 runs as follows :— “ Articles from newspapers or periodicals published in any of the countries of the Union, may be reproduced in original or in translation in the other countries of the Union, unless the authors or publishers have expressly forbidden it. For periodicals it is sufficient if the prohi- bition is made in a general manner at the beginning of each number of the periodical. This prohibition cannot in any case apply to articles of political discussion, or to the reproduction of news of the day, or current topics.” This Article was altered by the Additional Act of Paris of 1896, so as to run :— “Serial stories, including tales, published in the news- papers or periodicals of one of the countries of the Union, may not be reproduced, in original or in translation, in the other countries, without the sanction of the authors or their lawful representative. This stipulation shall apply equally to other articles in newspapers or periodicals, when the authors or editors shall have expressly declared in the newspaper or periodical itself in which they shall have been published, that the right of reproduction is prohibited. In case of periodicals it shall suffice if such prohibition be indicated in general terms at the beginning of each number. In the absence of prohibition, such articles may be re- produced on condition that the source is acknowledged. In any case, the prohibition shall not apply to articles on political questions, to the news of the day, or to miscel- laneous information.” It will thus be seen that in those countries which have not signed the Additional Act of Paris, works which have not the notice “ All Rights Reserved” printed either generally in the periodical, or pat- ticularly with the article, may be reproduced with- out the consent of the author. The society's correspondent in Sweden has brought before the notice of the committee the fact that Swedish newspapers have taken advantage of this, and in consequence, the committee desire to impress upon all members of the society who desire to maintain their market in Sweden, the importance of having the notice printed with the serial use of short stories, essays, &c. ‘They also decided to issue a letter to the editors of the important magazines, periodicals, and newspapers, pointing out the diffi- culties that might arise if no notice were printed, owing to the fact that Norway and Sweden had — joined the Bern Convention without signing the Additional Act of Paris. The question of Canadian Copyright was further discussed. Readers of Zhe Author may remember that im the March issue, it was reported that the com mittee had decided to place the papers relating to a claim ’  Pee Son Caen een of one of the members of the society in the hands of a German lawyer. They have now decided to carry the case through the German courts if neces- sary. It is hoped, however, that the publisher will make some reasonable offer of settlement without this step being necessary. The Secretary reported that the chairman had sanctioned three county court cases, two of which, however, had not gone into court, one because the member, at the last moment, refused to commence action. (This is a difficulty which arises from time to time, and-sometimes with serious consequences to the society on account of its loss of prestige). The other owing to the fact that the publisher said the debt before the summons was issued. The third action is in the course of settlement. eg Cases, Since the last issue of The Author, although the business before the Committee has been heavy, the cases which have passed through the secretary’s hands have been but few. There have been two questions concerning contracts for publication between authors and publishers. One of these has been satisfactorily settled. The other may take some time, for the member involved resides in Australia. There have been two cases in which members have desired the return of their MSS. In both cases the MSS. have been returned by the editors and forwarded to the members. Three cases where money due to authors has been in arrears. In one of these the money has been paid in full; in another the secretary has received part payment; in the third no answer has been obtained owing to the fact that it has been impossible to find any trace of the debtor. There has been one case of accounts which has been satisfactorily settled. This makes eight cases in all during the month. All the matters in hand before April have been _ cleared up with one exception, which is still in the hands of the society’s solicitors for advice, and one case where money is due. The chairman of the society has given leave to place the latter in the solicitors’ hands in order to enforce the members’ rights. It will be a county court case. One of the county court cases referred to as unsettled in last month’s statement is now ended. The magazine paid the amount due before the issue of the summons. —_—t—> + April Elections, Bayliss, Miss Ellen . Blackmore, Gecffrey , Sander- Sander- “ Glenwood,” stead load, stead, Surrey. THE AUTHOR. Collins, J. Hawksworth . Cunynghame Francis, J. de M. Davies, A. T. Dryden, Miss ‘ Farrer, Reginald . Hills, Miss Katherine Tmeson, W. E. James, J. Barnard ‘ Jebb, Richard Kay, Richard Kindler, Mrs. : : Langan, The Rev. Thomas, D.D. Maxwell, W. B. . . y Rackham, Arthur. ; Robson, A. W. Mayo, DAS: : : : Sanders, Miss E. K. Scheu, Mrs. (Chris Sewell) Sewell, Mrs. (Christobel Hulbert) . : : Talbot, Miss L. Agnes . Worsley, Miss Alice. Weale, G. L. Putnam 219 The Glebe, Cranbrook School, Kent. 12, Lincoln Chelsea, S.W. Avon House, Kenysham, near Bristol. Kingsfield, Bradford- on-Avon, Wilts. 50, Ennismore Gardens, Ingleborough, Lan- caster. 11, Collingham Place, Kensington, S.W. Street, Clevedale, Downend, Gloucestershire. The Higher Grange, Ellesmere. Berrington Priory, II- minster, Somerset. 420, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Australia. Abbeylara, Granard, Treland. Lichfield House, Rich- mond, Surrey. 3, Primrose Hill Studios, Fitzroy Road, N.W. 8, Park Crescent, W. Park House, Curzon Park, Chester. Towerhurst, Leigh Woods, Clifton, Bris- tol. The Fourth House, The Stourport Road, Wrib- benhall, near Bewdley. todney Lodge, Clifton. Two of the members elected in April do not desire either their names or addresses published. ie BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. —_+—~—-_—_ (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) ART. sy DuDLEY Hratn, 208. Tl. MINTATURES, 101 x 74. 320 pp. Methuen.  220 BOOKS OF REFERENCE, Tue STATESMAN’S YEAR Book, 1905. Edited by J. Scort KnLTie, LL.D. 74 x 43. 142 pp. Macmillan. 10s. 6d. n. AurHorR AND Printer. A Guide for Authors, Editors, Printers, Correctors of the Press, Compositors and Typists. With full list of abbreviations. By F. Howarpb CoLLins. 74 X 5.° 408 pp. Frowde. 5s, EDUCATIONAL. Tun STORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE. A Simple Intro- ductory Historical Reader. By JOHN FINNEMORE. 7x 43. 167 pp. Blackie. 1s. 6d. FICTION. QuEER LaDy Jupas. By “Rita.” 72 x 43. 345 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. A Frontier Mystery. By BERTRAM MITFORD. 72 x 5. 307 pp. White. 6s. THE YOUNGEST Miss BrowN. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 72x 5, 320 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. A Sporter oF Men. By RicHARD MARSH. 72 xX «5. 306 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. SoRREL-Tor. By E. CRAWFORD (Mrs. J. A. Crawford). 73 x 5. 351 pp. Drane. 6s. CAPTAIN BALAAM OF THE “ CORMORANT,” AND OTHER Sea ComepiEs. By Morney ROBERTS. 73 X 5. 228 pp. Nash. 3s. 6d. Li TING oF LONDON AND OTHER STORIES. By Gro. R. Sims. 64 x 33. 222pp. Chatto & Windus. 1s. 6d. THE OLD CANTONMENT. By B. M. CROKER, 7] x 5. 294 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE GOLDEN Poon. By R. AUSTIN FREEMAN. 7} X 5. 341 pp. Cassell. 6s. Aw INSTINCTIVE CRIMINAL. By GILBERT COLERIDGE. 74x 56. Treherne. 6s. DUKE’s Son. By Cosmo HAMILTON. 7} x 5. 279 pp. Heinemann. 6s. MonarcH, THE Big BEAR OF TaLLAc. By ERNEST THOMPSON SETON. 73 x 6. 214 pp. Constable. 5s. n. Grounp Ivy. By Myra Swan, 73 X 5. 332 pp. Brown, Langham. 6s. HEARTS OF WALES. By ALLEN Rate. 7} x 5. 347 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. A CouRrER oF FortunE. By A. W. MARCHMONT. 73 x 5. 384 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. THE Master MumMMeR. By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM. . 7% x5. 815 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. A Liypsay’s Love. By CHARLES LOWE. 420 pp. Werner Laurie. 6s. THE MANITOBAN. By H. H. BAsHForD. Lane. 6s. 8 x 5h. A Town ROMANCE, OR ON LONDON STONES. By Cc. C. ANDREWS (“CARL SWERDNA”). 73 X 5. 397 pp. Messrs. James Clarke. Cheaper edition, 2s. HISTORY. Tuer CHURCH IN MapRas; being the history of the Ecclesiastical and Missionary action of the East India Company in the Presidency of Madras in the 17th and 18th centuries, chiefly from the company’s own records preserved at the India Office. By the Ray. FRANK PENNY, LL.M., late Chaplain His Majesty’s Indian Service (Madras Establishment). 33 illustrations, demy 8vo. 9 x 6. 700 pp. including index. Smith, Elder & Co. 21s. n. MEDICAL. Tur Foop Inspectors’ Hanppook. By F. VACHER. 4th Edition. Illustrated. 73 x 5. 231 pp. The Sanitary Publishing Co. 3s. 6d. THE AUTHOR. MISCELLANEOUS. CHANGE FOR A HALFPENNY; being the Prospectus of the Napolio Syndicate. By E. V. Lucas and C. L. GRAVES. 81 x 64. Alston Rivers. 1s. n. POETRY. PENTHESILEA. By LAURENCE BINYON. 7} X 5. 63 pp. Constable. 3s. 6d. n. POLITICAL. RACIAL SUPREMACY. Being Studies in Imperialism. By J.G. GopARD. 8 x 54. 323 pp. Edinburgh: Morton; London: Simpkin. 6s. STUDIES IN COLONIAL PATRIOTISM. By RICHARD JEBB. 9 x 58. 336pp. Arnold. 12s. 6d. n. REPRINTS. THe WoRKS OF CHARLES AND Mary Lame. Vol. vi. Letters 1796—1820; Vol. vii. Letters 1821—1834. Edited by E. V.Lucas. 9 x 6. 1,025 pp. Methuen, 7s. 6d. each vol. SCIENCE. A StTuDENT’s TEXT Book oF ZooLoGy. By A. SEDGWICK. Vol. Il. 94 x 6}. 705 pp. Sonnenschien. 21s. SOCIOLOGY. A PECULIAR PEOPLE, THE DouKHOBORS. By AYLMER MaupeE. 8} xX 5%. 388 pp. Constable. 6s. n. A MopErN Utopia. By H. G. WELLS. 7} x 5}. 393 pp. Chapman & Hall. 7s. 6d. SPORT. An AnGurr's Hours. By BH. Tf. 8i x 54. 264 pp. Macmillan. 63. SHERINGHAM. THEOLOGY, THE BIBLE IN MopEeRN ENe@uisH. Old Testament, Four Vols. Introduction and Critical Notes (2nd Edition). 214+187+245+346 pp. New Testament in Modern English with some Critical Notes. One Vol. (8rd Edition of the Gospels and Seventh of St. Paul's Epistles translated afresh), 255 pp. By FERRAR FENTON, F.R.A.S. 73 x 5. Partridge. THE TRIAL OF JESUS. By G1ovANNI Rosapi. Trans- lated from the third Italian edition. Edited by Dr. Emin Reicw. 73 x 54. 342 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. 0. THe CHRIST IN THE TEACHER. Four Addresses given in the Chapel of Keble College, Oxford, January 14th. and 15th, 1905. By J. HUNTLEY SKRINE. 7} X 43. 46 pp. Simpkin, Marshall. 1s. 6d. n. —————_—_o ro —_— LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. — > E understand that the annual dinner of the London Shakespeare League will be held on the 6th of May. honorary secretary to the-dinner, at the price of 8s. 6d. to members and their guests and 10s. 6d. to non-members. All enquiries concerning Tickets may be — obtained of Mrs. Gomme, who is acting a8  THE AUTHOR. ¢) the dinner should be made of Mrs. © 24, Dorset Square, N. W. “The Irish Bee Guide,’ by the Rev. J. C. ‘| Digges is a new book on bees and bee-keeping, containing 150 illustrations. It can be obtained, in“a paper cover, for 2s, nett, and in art linen for /© 3s. nett, from Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., «i in London; and Eason & Son, Ltd., Dublin. Mr. J. M. Stuart Young is accumulating material o| for a new negro novel. Mr. Fisher Unwin has recently published a new work by Mr. Barry Pain, entitled ‘‘ The Memoirs of Constantine Dix.” The book narrates the career of a professional thief who keeps three banking © accounts as well as houses in Bloomsbury and Brighton, and is, moreover, a philanthropist v2 greatly interested in the reclamation of the lower > classes. “The Double Rose,” by J. W. Boulding, is the 29 title of a play, originally performed at the Adelphi i= Theatre, which Messrs. Jarrold & Son, have now we issued at the price of 1s. The play is of historical ‘ai interest, dealing with the fortunes of the houses of of York and Lancaster. : ““Marjorie’s Mistake” is the title selected by * Miss Bertha M. M. Miniken (author of “Where ) the Ways Part,” “Through Life’s Rough Way,” .* “An English Wife,” etc.) for her new novel, 6 dealing with life in the south west of England, “© mainly. It will be issued about May 18th, by Mr. ») George A. Morton, Edinburgh. ; “The Young Preacher’s Guide,” by the Rev. 1) Gilbert Monks, with a preface by the Archdeacon _1- of London, which was published recently by Mr. 19 Elliot Stock, is divided into two parts, the first part * dealing with the preparation of the sermon, andthe © second part with the mode of delivery. t Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., have recently “a: published a work entitled “Darwinian Fallacies,” % by John Scouller. As its title indicates, Mr. © Scouller’s book is mainly devoted to an exposure of “19 what, in his opinion, are the fallacies inherent in 4%) Mr. Darwin’s theory of evolution. He has, how- ¥ ever, in addition, given a demonstration of those szomme, at “principles which, he considers, will bring the. ef doctrines of modern science into complete harmony 10) with the teachings of Christ. a Rennie Rennison, the author of “ George’s o> Georgina,” has written another novel ‘“ Mixed ) Relationships,” which Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall ¥ + & Co. published in April. The story is one of > recent times, the Jocale changing from the worsted 2) districts of Yorkshire to the cotton districts of “® Lancashire ; mill life—as viewed by the manager “rather than the operative—is to a certain extent ' discussed. ‘The “Minor Masters of the Old British School of Painting” is the title of a work by George H. 221 Shepherd, which contains the name, birthplace, date of birth and death, and branch of art of over one hundred artists. It is published by Messrs. Shepherd Bros., 27 King Street, St. James’s, Messrs. J. B. Lippincott Co. have recently published a work entitled “The Diseases of Society ” by G. Frank Lydston, M.D. The special object of Dr. Lydston has been to indicate the origin, development, and influence of the anarchist, criminal and sexual pervert, and that class of offenders against the moral law who frequently do not fall under the ban of criminal or civil law. Mrs. F. E. Penny, whose last year’s novel “'The Sanyasi ” is now in a second edition, is publishing through Messrs. Chatto and Windus another novel called “Dilys.” It is a South Indian romance, in which some typical old soldiers of the East India Company, pensioners living in the cantonment bazaars, play a part. The sale of the first edition of Mr. Howard Collins’s “ Author and Printer, a Guide for Authors, Editors, Printers, Correctors of the Press, Com- positors and Typists” (Henry Frowde) was so satisfactory that within five days of publication the second edition—or rather impression, as there will be no alteration in it—was put in the hands of the printers, the Oxford University Press, and it is hoped will soon be ready for sale. That the work is of practical use, may be gathered from the fact that in one of the largest printing establishments in the provinces--employing nearly a thousand hands—-the compositors have requisitioned the principals to adopt and use it all through the works. Mademoiselle Helene Vacaresco has published with Harper Bros., London and New York, “Songs of the Valiant Voivode,” collected from Roumanian peasants. The author states in her preface that she has wandered through Roumania from village to village and gathered the strange stories that grow there like flowers in the country. The tales are drawn from Latin, Dacian and Asiatic sources, while the mysticism of the Slavonic race may sometimes be traced in them. Mr. Morton has recently published a new novel by Mr. Robert Aitken, author of ‘‘ Windfalls.” The title of the work is ‘The Redding Straik.” The Early English Text Society is now bringing out Part II. of Mrs. Mary L. Banks’ edition of the ‘“Alphabetum Narrationum” formerly attributed to Etienne de Besancon. Part III. will contain glossary and notes and is to come out later. Messrs. Smith, Elder have had to go to press with a third impression of Mrs. Humphry Ward’s novel, “The Marriage of William Ashe,” with a fifth impression of ‘ Peter’s Mother,” by Mrs. H. de la Pasture ; and with a fifth and thoroughly revised edition of Mr. Sidney Lee’s “ Life of Shakespeare.”  222 The scene of “The Dryad,” by Justin Huntley M‘Carthy, is Athens, but not the classic Athens, nor the Athens of to-day, which have often found their chroniclers. Mr. M‘Carthy has chosen the dawn of the fourteenth century, when Greece was governed by splendid French adventurers, whose courts were centres of wealth and chivalry. Messrs. Methuen & Co., are the publishers of this work. The same firm have also issued “ Miniatures,” by Dudley Heath, a history of the Art of Miniature Painting from its earliest origin and development in the I!luminated Manuscript under Byzantine, Carlo- vingian, Celtic, and Saxon influences, and in the French, Flemish, and Italian schools of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, showing the growth of realistic expression in the Miniature, and tracing its subsequent history as an indepen- dent art of portraiture “in little” down to the present day. Messrs. Constable & Co. have recently published, at the price of 6s., a book by Mr. Aylmer Maude, entitled “A Peculiar People: the Doukhobors.” The work, which contains seventeen illustrations, is a history and description of the remarkable Russian peasant sect, more than 7,000 of whom have settled in Canada, and whose virtues and eccentricities have attracted much attention. “ Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire,”’ by J. M. Barrie was produced at the Duke of York’s theatre, on Wednesday, April 5th. The piece, which is whimsical in tone, shows how an extremely young lady, applied her knowledge of human nature— derived from five visits to the theatre—to an entirely innocent action of everyday life, with un- fortunate results, which are not set right till the fall of the curtain. The caste included Miss Ellen Terry, Miss Irene Vanbrugh and Mr. Aubrey Smith. An original farcical comedy in three acts entitled “Daniel Dibsey,” by George Blagrove, , will be produced at the Royal Albert Theatre, on Monday evening, May Ist. —__—_—_+—<——__—_. PARIS NOTES. — HE name of Jules Verne has for years past been a household word in many countries. His books have been translated into most languages, including Arabic and Japanese. It appears that he commenced his literary career by publishing in a review some stories imitated from those of Edgar Poe. One of them, “ Un Drame dans les Airs,” attracted attention and, encouraged by his success, he at once commenced a novel. M. Hetzel was so convinced of his talent that THE AUTHOR. he advised him not to depart from the style he had adopted, and offered to sign a contract with him — for two novels a year. ‘This was agreed upon, and Jules Verne from that time forth produced the two books annually. In spite of the Revolution, the Franco-German War, and all other outside events, the work was accomplished scrupulously. He was a most conscientious author, and the despair of his printers, as he sometimes revised and corrected ‘ passages nine or ten times before finally approving ae them. Strange as it may seem, the writer of such —— #'" adventurous stories was not a traveller. He wrote most of his books at his home in Amiens, and his _ longest journey was probably an excursion in his aff yacht to the Mediterranean and the English Channel, at He owned a planisphere on which he had com menced to trace the voyages of all the heroes of hi piel books. He had a well-filled library, and quantiti of journals of travel and scientific publications 0 all kinds, both French and foreign. M. Adolphe Brisson tells us that “ Twenty tho sand Leagues under the Sea” was suggested to hi by George Sand in one of her letters to him. “T hope,” she writes, “that you will soon take us down into the depths of the sea, and that yo will let your personages travel in a diving apparat which with all your science and imagination yo will be able to improve for the occasion. . . Thanks a thousand times for the happy moments I have spent with your books in the midst of my troubles.” Some critics in France declare that Jules Ve had the gift of second sight. He prophesied admirably, fifty or twenty-five years ahead, about many of the most marvellous scientific inventions. Before there were any railways he affirmed that voyage round the world would require eighty da and at present it requires seventy-five. At about the same time his Captain Nemo goes down into the depths of the sea in his submarine boat, and in another of his books, “‘ Robur le Conquérant, we have the conquest of the air for travelli purposes. In an article on the works of Jules Verne, : Rzewuski says : “He shows us in his marvellow series of paradoxical studies how interesting @ picturesque this modern world is, in spite of all vulgarities and injustices, and how many elements of beauty, originality and activity manifested, changing every day the aspect of ti lobe.” M. Adolphe Brisson considers that there is som thing more than this in the books of J ules Ver' “ By taking his young readers into all parts of world,” he says, ‘he awakens their intelligence showing them something of life, and he gives the an idea of the relativity of things, which in 108 is the source of all wisdom and kindliness.  THE AUTHOR. ogo) teaches his readers that in every climate and conntry oi} the eternal terrestrial comedy is always being played, and that everywhere mankind aspires to a happier fature of justice and love, to some far-off ideal which may be chimerical like that of Captain Hatteras, but the prestige of which we cannot (se entively abolish. For forty years Jules Verne has os¢ been more than a savant, vulgarising his science ' a0) for the younger generation. He has been a novelist ow who at the same time was an idealist.” I He led an extremely simple life. He was an ise early riser, and had finished the greater part of his ‘ysh day’s work before luncheon. In the afternoon he ses read, and then went to do his duty as a citizen, 640) for as a member of the Municipal Council of Amiens se he took a keen interest in public matters. Twice »ow & & week he accompanied his wife to the theatre, and ) ed: the other evenings he usually retired early. ‘1. His long list of books are too well known for ‘mec comment. At the time of his death he had a book | @ in preparation entitled “ L’{nvasion de la Mer,” » ofl the subject of which occurred to him on seeing » 9d; the crumbling of the cliffs of Normandy and of seo those between Dover and Folkestone when on a i998" recent yachting excursion. oo: A subscription is being raised for a monnu- iaoa ment to Jules Verne by his young readers and us admirers. i? “ Le Serpent Noir,” by Paul Adam, is one of the ,joeP strongest and, at‘thesame time, most delicate of this oMmauthor’s novels. The scene is laid in Brittany oo: and the story is essentially modern. A doctor » es{ has discovered a marvellous serum, but has no -<0@ money to spend on the necessary publicity for sls making the most of his discovery. The serpent “iit enters his paradise in the form of a certain man oly who is always on the look-out for commercial |i enterprises. By specious arguments he endeavours ‘7 ® to persuade the doctor into a divorce in order to “%8@ marry a wealthy young widow. The great interest | of the book lies in the psychology of the chief ‘a characters. The devotion and self-sacrifice of the ¥wife, the utter unscrupulousness of the financial ‘onS schemer, and the struggles of the scientist and “i husband. In the end the doctor realises the base- » “9sness of the other man’s arguments, and appreciates eithe devotion and abnegation of his wife. ‘The wy dénouement is a triumph over the individualism ‘which tramples ruthlessly over all obstacles in its Yes way. __ Among the new books are: “ Le Millionnaire,” -Tby J. H. Rosny; “La Conquérante,” by Georges aeohast , “ L?Impossible,” by Jean de la Brete ; al me *Drames de l’Histoire,” by M. le Comte Fleury ; “1 * La Société francaise du XVI° au XX° Siécles,”’ y M. Victor du Bled ; “ Bonaparte et Moreau,” «yoy M. Picard ; “Memoires du Comte de Ram- /Miputeau,” published by his grandson; “ Sophistes 223 francais et la Reévolution européenne,” by M. Th. Funck-Brentano ; “Le Pape et l’Empereur (1804—1815),” by M. Henri Welschinger ; “ Au Service de lAllemagne,” by M. Maurice Barrés ; “Une Année de Politique Extérieure,” by M. René Moulin ; “Quatre Cents ans de Concordat,” by M. Bandrillart. In the reviews M. Emile Ollivier writes in favour of the “Concordat ” in the Correspondant. In the Nouvelle Revue Gilbert Stenger writes on “Le Clergé sous le Consulat.” The Marquis de Ségur publishes in the Revue des Deur-Mondes “ lies Années de Jeunesse de Julie de Lespinasse,” and M. Pierre Leroy Beaulieu examines “ La Situation et les Perspectives écono- miques de la Chine.” The Revue de Paris continues the publication of Wagner’s letters from Paris and from Vienna. In the theatrical world we have had “ Scarron,” by Catulle Mendeés, a great success at the Théatre dela Gaité ; “L’Age d’aimer,” a comedy in four acts, by Pierre Wolff, at the Gymnase; “Le Meilleur Parti,” by Maurice Maindron, a piece in four acts, at the Théatre Antoine. La Duse has had the triumphs of the month at the Nouveau Théatre. Madame Sarah Bernhardt, after “ Angelo,” has been giving a series of performances of ‘ Esther.” “ Monsieur Piégois,” by Alfred Capus, is another success for the author of “ La Veine.” ALYS HALLArp. SPANISH NOTES. — HE recent catastrophe of the bursting of the reservoir in Madrid has plunged the city in mourning. Senor Vadillo, the Minister of Works, will institute a searching inquiry into the reason of the disaster, as it has been said that it was preceded by many ominous signs. However, amid all the tragic scenes of the disaster, the fact that the young sovereign, in company with the Prince of Asturias, hastened in his motor-car to give his personal assistance to the rescue of those sub- merged in the ruins, and subsequently visited the sufferers in the hospitals, and added his royal mother’s and sister’s names to his liberal donations on their behalf, has been a ray of sunshine in the panic and gloom which has pervaded the city, _ A catastrophe often gives rise to reforms, and in this case the well-known engineer Don Carlos Santamaria was appointed to present plans for the new reservoir which is so urgently required in Madrid.  224 It was thought that the national disaster of the bursting reservoir might have led to the postpone- ment of the royal visit to Valencia, but the King rightly decided that a delay would cause a great deal of expense to the city when the preparations were so far advanced. Moreover, it was not only in such fétes as the beautiful battle of flowers, etc., that the Valencians did honour to their sovereign, but they had begged his Majesty to lay the first stone of the lighthouse on the dike to the north of the harbour ; and it was a great satisfaction to Don José Canalejas, the eminent politician, who has combined with General Pando and Don Ramon Castro in the institution of thirty-six perfectly sanitary houses at a moderate rent for workmen, to show the successful result of the labours to the king. Don Benito Galdos is generally associated with the historical romances which have become classics in Spanish literature, but his comedy Realidad marked him as a dramatist some time ago, and the judgment recorded by the well-known critic, Leopold Alas, who came from Oviedo on purpose to be present at the performance, set the seal to its success. So it was with great interest that it was heard that a new play from the pen of “dear Don Benito,” as he is generally styled in Madrid, was to be performed. The drama shows the power of the great writer to set forth the small details as well as the ruling passions of life ; and it is thus that the play, which takes its name from the heroine, “ Barbara,” never ceases to interest the audience, although her crimes naturally savour of Sicilian life in the nineteenth century, in which epoch it is laid. The story goes that the lady, in desperation at her husband's prutalities, managed to compass his death, and although the fact of the murder of this governor of Syracuse was known to the deputy Horace and two others, they all preserved silence in the hope that Barbara would marry the murdered man’s brother, who had returned from the East with a great fortune. The heroine’s love for Leonardo, an unpractical mystic, was a serious barrier to this plan, but the obstacle was removed by the plotters accusing the unhappy man of the murder of Barbara’s husband, and after a powerful scene between the two lovers, Leonardo suffers the result of the crime of his beloved, while she ultimately marries the rich man from the East. It is only the acute suffering of Barbara which seems to counterbalance in any way such “triumphs of the wicked,” and it requires the pen of a genius, with very powerful acting, to show that such triumphs are not synonymous with happiness. The present illness of Don Juan Valera, the well- known writer, is evoking much sympathy and interest in the social as well as the literary THE AUTHOR. world, where the veteran author is a well-known figure. ‘ Pepita Jiménez” was one of his books, which had an immense influence in society. When an illustrious lady, who was known for her worldliness once complained to the author that she could not put the work into the hands of her daughters, who were two veritable angels, the author replied: ‘‘I have not written the book, madam, for daughters such as, yours, but for mothers such as you are.” Valera has always had a contempt for politics, and when some years ago Canovas and Castelar were using their opposing influences with regard to the Restoration, Valera remarked that Canovas was stimulated in the struggle by the clever speeches directed by Castelar against his scheme, and that Castelar’s eloquence would never have reached such perfection had it not been brought to bear against such a powerful opponent, without whom he would have been like a fiddler with no audience. When approached by America to write a treatise on the reason of the decadence of Spain, Valera refused the offer, lucrative as it would have been. “No,” he replied, “ you ask me to write a satire on my mother. I have no pen with which to do it, and if I had, it would pierce my heart.” Valera was taken ill whilst engaged on a scientific work on Cervantes, and it will be a loss to the literary out- put of this season, so filled with tributes to the seventeenth century author, if it cannot celebrate the result of a student of such renown on the subject. It is interesting to note the stride now made by woman in Spain in literature. “Mis Flores” (My Flowers) is the title of a book just published by a poetess of the name of Concha Espina de Serna, and in the prologue from the pen of Enrique Menendez Pelayo, the writer says: “These verses are the spontaneous outcome of a woman's sensible, tender, loving, and ductile mind, swayed — by the breeze of life, and responding like a sensitive — plant to the emotions of the spirit.” Ricardo Leon, moreover, remarks that this authoress has the gift of Andersen for seeing stories in the — commonplace things of life, so that an old clock, a _ table, or a girl reading at a window, assumes & new interest under the magic power of her pen. “To posible,” now placed on the boards ab — Madrid, shows that Linares Rivas has by Ro ~ means exhausted his versatility. Eusebio Blasco’s last volume of verses entitled — “ Poesias Festicas” has just been published, and as — one of the critics says, “ He is, indeed, a poet, and | moreover, a modern human poet, who idealises the things of every-day life in a way unknown to the uneducated. His style is untrammelled by being that of any particular school, and it has am attraction peculiar to itself.”  -against 2,072 new editions for 1903. THE AUTHOR. 225 The ovation just accorded to Luis Morote shows that the Spaniards are very ready to give tribute to intelligence and pluck, and if I gave the names of all the celebrities assembled to do honour to the writer on his return from Russia, it would take two columns of print ; and the fact of Canalejas, the well-known democratic and liberal monarchist, making a speech in favour of the guest of the evening, shows the broad-minded nature of the assembly. The journalist’s accounts of his inter- views with Tolstoi, Gorky, ete., were listened to with the deepest interest, and as he told in simple language the story of his efforts in pursuit of his profession, it was felt that the Socialist only spoke the truth when he declared that whereas Valencia is his country, his life lay in the Spanish Press. RAcHEL CHALLICE. $$? > —_______ UNITED STATES BOOK PRODUCTION IN 1904. ——+ (Reproduced from the United States Publishers’ Weekly.) HE number of books recorded by The Publishers’ Weekly in 1904, through its “Weekly Record of New Publications,” was 8,291. The new editions of standard works, and the additions to series are included in this total, of which 6,971 are new books and 1,320 new editions. The whole number of books put on record in 1904 by the Weekly exceeded the number for 1903 by 426, when the total was 7,865. The table shows 1,178 more new books than in 1903, when the figures were only 5,793, and 752 less new editions ; that is, 1,520 new editions for 1904 The in- creased proportion of new books over all previous years illustrates in a marked degree the steady, normal growth of the publishing business in a year—a Presidential year—when great things were not looked for. The analytical table, dividing the year’s output into twenty classes, betrays few notable changes. Fiction keeps its old place at the head of the list, with one of the largest majori- ties it has had in many years. Theology and Religion, which in 1903 lost its position as the second in number to Fiction, regained it in 1904, being followed closely by Literature and Collected Works, Education and Law. Juvenile books were not as abundant as in 1903, Poetry and the Drama -and Biography both taking a step above this class. Physical and Mathematical Science moved to a position above History, while Description, etc., fell two steps lower than it has usually held. TABLE No, 1. CLASSES. Fiction ... oe se ae oe a S16 644 | 1,007 $14 Theology and Religion ee 233 280 | 7B de Literature and Collected Works 8| 331] 644] 538 Education = < a Db]. 721 6991 36 Law se re i i 98 | 606 | s Poetry and the Drama ao 25) 530 | 8 Biography, Correspondence ... 45 | 416 21 Be 42/ 408] 11 land Mathematical Science 245 322 | 52 Bae oe ote is 7 315 42 Political and Social Science See 12 297 | 39 Medicine, Hygiene... aes 97 186 92 Fine Arts: Illus. Gift Books 13 230 23 Description, Geography, Travel 25 215 | 25 Jseful Arts ae ae 26] 144) 3) sand Amusements 16 110 4 Works of Reference 17 87 1 Domestic¢ and Rural 15) 72) 8 Philosophy ae 8| 54] 4 Humour and Satire 4) 6] | 4 Totals 9,793 | 2,072 | 6,971 | 1,320 2,072 | 1,320 | 7,865 | $,291 | | There was little Philosophy in the year’s make-up, and even less Humour. Out of the whole total of 8,291 books recorded, 3,750 were received at this office, against 3,549 of 1903, being an increase of 201. The balance represents titles gathered from copyright entries, from information sent by publishers, and in various other ways. ‘There were of these 4,541 against 4,316 of the same class in 1903, an increase of 225. Table No. 1 gives in classes the figures, approximately, of the book production in this country in 1904, with those of 1903 for comparison. Table No. 2 attempts to show the number of books manufactured in the United States in 1904— first, those by American authors ; second, those by English or other foreign authors made in this country according to the demands of copyright law; and third, the books in English imported bound or in sheets, these three classes comprising the book production of the United States in 1904. The first and second classes are almost all copyright books. This table, like the former, scarcely claims to be exactly correct, as it is impossible always to trace the history of a work, from its author to its final publication. The table shows 5,978 books by American authors against 5,621 of 1903 ; 1,288 books by English or other foreign authors (made here), against 1,356 of 1903; and 1,025 books or sheets imported, against 888 of 1903. The reprints were, as usual, the largest in fiction, amounting to 491, far less, however, than in several years previous, when almost double that number of English or other  226 foreign novels were reprinted. The most evident fact demonstrated by this table is the great number of books by American authors published in 1904 in all classes of literature. TaBLe No. 2. CLASSES. Fiction .... os a Theology and Religion... ee Literature and Collected Works Education : ee Si Law es ae oN Poetry and the Drama... ane 68 Biography, Correspondence, «Xe. 121 Juvenile ... ave os a tes 35 Physical and Mathematical Science... 79 History... oe Ses, aes a 75 Political and Social Science ... 51 Medicine, Hygiene aS oe 13 Fine Arts: Illus. Gift Books 94 Description, Geography, Tra vel 75 Useful Arts a Fon a 36 Sports and Amusements is Works of Reference 8 Domestic and Rural 4 Philosophy ae 13 Humour and Satire 1 Totals Oo RUSSIA AND POLAND: THEIR AUTHORS AND THEIR COPYRIGHT LAW. —_——+— § Russia had given birth to such eminent poets as Puschkin, Lermontoff, and Kryloff, such dramatists as Griboedoff and Gogol, such novelists as Dostoyevsky, Turgenief, and Nekrasoff, in the first part of the past century, it was natural to believe that after such splendid promise the future should bring even more eminent authors to the knowledge of mankind, but the result of these expectations was rather disappointing. To-day there is neither poet nor dramatist of any exceptional merit, and the novelists and short story writers are not so numerous as the huge develop- ment of. literature gave a right to expect. Outside the writers best known to the English public, Tolstoy, Tschechof, Korolenko, and Gorky, there are only a few who merit special mention : H. Jasynsky and the well-known war correspon- dent, Nemyrovytz-Datschenko, and perhaps Mrs. Nadejda Vladimirovna Yakovlef, better known ‘ander her nom de plume of “ Lanskaya,” who is the THE AUTHOR. authoress of an excellent novel translated into many European languages, “ Obrusyteli.” There is algo the humourist Leykin, who in his excellent sketches gives, very well indeed, satirical and comic pictures of various classes in Russian society. The development of the Russian press at the end of the last century and in the present one has been very great, when we consider the colossal number of the illiterate in Russia. Over 700 periodicals have been issued, and out of these over 100 dailies, which command a large sale. Out of about one hundred millions of people* who can speak Russian, no more than twenty millions can be taken into account as readers of books and newspapers. The develop- ment of the press was helped by the cheap postal rates, and there are newspapers published and sent post free for a year for the sum of 8s. 6d., the postal payment being taken monthly, 20 per cent. of the subscription price for dailies, and even less: for other periodicals. Such an enormous journalistic output followed by large demands for books, without an adequate supply of original works, created the necessity of translating the work of foreign authors. The first in the field, of course, were the Polish novelists and playwrights whose writings were adapted; practically there is not a single Polish novelist, playwright, or short story writer worth mentioning, whose works were not published in the Russian papers or in book form. Next came the adaptation of the works of French and English authors, and these are translated and published in Russia, not only in single volumes, but in complete editions, accompanied sometimes by copies of the original illustrations which appeared in the English edition. The most popular English author in Russia at present is Mr. Jerome K. Jerome, whose books are: issued in Russia immediately after their produc- tion in England, often by several publishers. With the production of plays by foreign authors the same practice obtains. The Government stage is the first to set the example of pirating operas, comic operas and plays, without dreaming of paying any royalty ; of course, this malpractice is imitated by others. : But while in the case of the novelist the name of the author remains in the Russian adaptation, the adaptor or rather the translator of the play often omits to mention the name of its author, or the language from which he has taken it. Occasionally he may make some alteration to avoid detection, and will pose as an original play- wright. os ee * Out of a total of 125,680,682 persons living, in Russia, only 55,667,469 axe really Russians according to official statistical returns from census of 1897 just published.  THE AUTHOR. Lately, on the same principle, a good many scientific works have been published at very low prices to popularise science. A society called “the Union ” formerly existed, composed of authors and journalists, whose aims were similar to those of the members of our * Authors’ Society,” but for political reasons it was closed last year by the Government. *The existing copyright law does not materially protect authors, as it is very difficult to prove plagiarism or infringement of copyright. According to the law, one sheet, equal to sixteen pages of an ordinary-sized book, can be quoted without in- fringement of copyright, and as no special size of type has been settled upon as legal, even this law may entail much controversy. Articles and short stories can, of course, be borrowed legally ; trans- lation from foreign languages is sanctioned by law even of books and publications issued in Russia in the numerous languages of the various peoples conquered by the Russian nation. Only in the republication of original books more than one sheet is forbidden ; the performance of plays as long as they are not published in book form can be forbidden, if the original language in which the play was written is used. Knowing that the author of “Madame Sans Géne” + had taken all strict precautions when the play was produced in Paris to prevent any Russian theatrical managers from obtaining copies of the work, M. Korsch, the richest theatrical owner in Russia, travelled specially to Paris. Finding the price asked for the right of performing the play in Russia too high, and having been refused a copy of the work by the prompter (although he offered a thousand francs for it), the disappointed purchaser attended the theatre during a few performances, wrote down the play, and afterwards produced it in Moscow. Usually foreign operas and plays for the Imperial stage are bought from prompters ; the musical scores of “the Geisha” were bought from a touring company in Austria for a few pounds. When the Government leads the way in dishonour- able transactions, no wonder that its imitators are equally unscrupulous. Notwithstanding this unenviable condition of affairs in Russian Poland, owing to the strict censorship which rules there, Polish literature is prospering, and may justly claim the third place, after English and French, in European literature. Not only does the number, but the quality, of its authors give it this right. Unfortunately the world at large knows little of * .A book on Russian copyright law was published some years ago by an eminent lawyer, Spasovitch. t+ The English version is called, I think, “ Duchess of Dantzig,” 227 the rank which Polish authors have attained in the sphere of letters, for, with the exception of all the works of Sienkiewicz, one novel of Glowacki, and two novels of Miss Rodziewicz, nothing has been translated into English. Two novels of an eminent author are at this moment in course of publication. The yearly output of Polish books is over two thousand, and is considerably above a million of copies. There are over five hundred Polish periodi- cals, of which eleven daily papers and ninety-two weeklies and monthlies are published in Warsaw alone. In the United States, seven dailies and forty-three weeklies are published ; in Brazil three weeklies, two in Paris, one in Switzerland, and one in Italy ; all the rest are issued in provincial towns of Russian, Ausfrian, and German Poland. If it is said that the figures quoted are not large for a nation of over thirty millions of people, out of which twenty millions are in Russia, three millions in America, and the remainder divided between Austrian and German Poland, let the political situation be remembered, especially the fact that in nine provinces of Russian Poland no Polish publications are allowed, that even in Warsaw there was a time when permission for new publica- tions was refused by the Government, and that even now this is difficult to obtain; then it will be conceded that the results are astonishing. The development of Polish literature under such depressing circumstances is wonderful. Its many shades are well represented ; history and fiction have authors of standard va'ue as well as the largest number of representatives. Towards the end of the third quarter of the last century, between 1870 and 1900, the output of Polish fiction was not only meagre in quantity, but in value, for some of the greatest novelists, like Joseph Korzeniowski, had died; Kaczkowski was silent ; Kraszewski (the father of the novel in Poland, who had written more than 750 volumes of romances, poetry, and history) was in exile ; Sigismund Milkowski, another great writer of fic- tion, though still alive, had been forced to live in Switzerland, for he was a member of the late National Government of 1863. At this moment the first book of Henry K. Sienkiewicz, the author of “Quo Vadis,” appeared, and simul- taneously those of Alexander Glowacki, the Polish Dickens, Clemens Junosza Szaniawski, the writer who has faithfully described the nobility of the country as well as the country Jews in Poland, and Adolf Dygasinski, an excellent novelist, whose special art consisted in describing the heroism of animals, and who is unique in the world’s literature. Historical novels were represented in addition to the above by Adam Krechowiecki and T. Jeske- Choinski, all of them standard authors, whose  228 works were translated into many foreign languages, especially Russian and German. If we do not reckon Sienkiewicz, only one novel, the last of Alexander Glowacki’s, ‘‘The Pharaoh and the Priest,’ has been published in the English language and appeared in America three years ago ; all the others are unknown to the British public. At the same time, Mrs. Elize Orzeszko began to write. Some of her best novels, as “ Eli Makower” and “ Meir Ezofowicz,” are mainly concerned with descriptions of Jewish society. The subject is treated without prejudice and with great talent. The number of ladies who are novelists is very large, but two names merit special mention: Mrs. Gabriel Snieszko-Zapolska, the Polish George Sand, and Miss Mary Rodziewicz, whose novels ‘‘ Anima Vilis” and “ Distaff” are known to the English public, having been brought out*in English by a London publisher. The appearance of so many first-class stars on the Polish literary horizon had its effect on the previously large output of French novels, and the development of the literary movement was followed by an increasing demand of unprecedented strength, The end of the last century was marked not only by the appearance of a very large number of authors, but by their extraordinary talent, so that were one asked to name the greatest novelist in Poland, it would be impossible to select one from a dozen whose genius is pre-eminent. Dombrowski’s novel “ Death” is a masterpiece of its kind. Un- fortunately his other works suffer by comparison, and he will be celebrated as the author of one book. Waclaw Gasiorowski has written a whole series of novels from the time of Napoleon, two of which, one dealing with a descendant of the Stuarts and another called “‘ Countess Walewska ” (the mother of the Prime Minister of Napoleon III.), are in course of publication in London. The Polish Manchester “‘ Lodz” has been immortalised by Wladislaw Rejmont as “The Promised Land.” The Government, by sending Waclaw Sieroszewski to Siberia, unwittingly gave to that region a Polish Kipling, who discovered unknown nations in that vast country and depicted them with great talent in his novels and stories. Stefan Zeromski is the Polish Gorky, except that he has no personal experience of slum life. With the addition of the names of Baron Weyssenhoff and Casimir Glinski and Tetmajer, the list of great Polish authors may be complete. The most popular author of all is of course Sienkiewicz, but not as the author of ‘Quo Vadis,” but of “With Fire and Sword” and other historical novels which were found in the houses of the poorest peasants, and are the best defence against the Germanisation and Russification THE AUTHOR. of Poles. In this respect Sienkiewicz stands alone ; his work is partly shared by Alexander Glowacki, some of whose books are very popular among the working classes in the towns of Poland. One peculiar fact should be noted, viz., that all the leading novelists belong to the very oldest noble families of Poland, and in other branches of litera- ture the same class is conspicuous among the chief authors. History mostly dealing with national events is a very popular study in Poland, and the number of writers is extensive. The authors most widely known are ‘Tadeusz Korzon, Szymon Askenazy, Oswald Balzer, and Alexander Briickner. Essayists and critics are also numerous, Julian Klaczko, who is not only well known in Poland, but also in France, where his work on Pope Julius IJ. won him Continental fame, deserves special mention. Dr. Matlakowski’s work on Shakespeare belongs to the best of its kind in world literature, and most able studies may be found on Tennyson as reviewed by Dr. Swiecicki, Byron and Shelley by Matuszewski, French literature by Wladyslaw Jablonowski, Polish poets by Ferdi- nand Hoesick. All the English leading authors are not only well known to the reading public in Poland, but their works are discussed in periodicals and hand- books of literature, while many have their merits reviewed in essays, even such modern writers as. Hall Caine, Kipling, Hardy, and others. An excellent book on England was written: by Tadeusz Smarzewski entitled “Holidays in England.” It is by far the best study of life and manners in this country which has appeared in Poland; its judgment is sound, and the author's. appreciation is correct. Poetry also has many representatives, the leaders being Mrs. Konopnicka (also a very gifted short-story writer), Miss Jadwiga Luszczewska,. and Miss Terpilowska, whose poem ‘ Borys,” being unfortunately banned by the censor, is little known, but is a work of rare merit. As it dealt with the history of Rome, it was supposed to affect the Tzardom injuriously, and was therefore forbidden. Among the men the chief poets are A, Lange, K. Glinski, Arthur Uppman, Kasprowicz, and others. As arule short poems are the more numerous. Comedy is in course of revival. has many gifted authors who deal generally with local subjects. Of these the principal are Feldman, Jaroszynski, Kisielewski, Swietochowski, K. Zaleski, and Wyspianski. There is not a subject which has not been dealt with by distinguished authors. Even the cats found a historian in M. Jacques de Vermond Leonard, a Polish writer with a foreign name. In former — years Poland had her Moliére in Fredro ; now she — THE AUTHOR. The statement made in the Evho de Paris con- cerning the predominance of French literature in Russia caused me to look up statistics relating to foreign books published in Poland. The catalogue of Messrs. Gebethner and Wolff (large Polish pub- lishers) gives 1138 works, of which 222 are trans- lations. This makes two in ten to be foreign, more than half of which are English, a little less than a quarter French, the remainder being trans- lations from Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian, Russian, or other languages. The majority of foreign books are not novels, but publications for children or scientific works. Polish literature is very poor in popular scientific books or those which deal with trades of all kinds, as well as manufacturers’ manuals. In Poland there are more than 600 booksellers and above 100 publishers; over 2,000 works are published by the authors themselves, and given to Messrs. Gebethner and Wolff or any other leading book- seller (who also publishes on his own account) for sale on commission. The method of dealing between authors and publishers is exceedingly primitive: no agreement is made, but the author receives a certain amount of money in advance, gives a receipt for it in which he says that he has sold his book, or an edition of it, for such a price. The number of copies in an edition is usually limited, but no one can control the number the publisher may choose to issue. The publisher gives no written agreement to the author, but after five years from the publication of the work the author may legally sell it for the issue of a second edition to another publisher. The majority of authors are not professional writers ; they are landowners or have other means of living. Those who earn their bread by their pen are few, unless they work as journalists. Mr. Barrie’s two novels brought him larger profits than all Sienkiewicz’s works put together yielded to him, or indeed the combined publications of any vther five leading Polish novelists. With the exception of Sienkiewicz, no author would refuse £500 for a novel, most would accept £200 with pleasure, while the majority would sell their book for from £30 to £50. Ifan author is fortunate enough to secure the publication of his novel serially in a daily paper in Austrian or German Poland, and simultaneously in a Warsaw daily, he may hope to make from £150 to £200 in addition to what the publisher will pay. Many authors after aserial run are unable to find a publisher. With the exception of one daily, the Warsaw Courier, in most publications there is usually one original novel by a Polish author and one foreign one, generally an English one, as at the present time outside England there are not Many great novelists on the Continent. A trans- lator is only paid from £5 to £10 for his work ; 229 such novels, even of the best authors, are gel- dom published in book form. At the present moment “The Prodigal Son” is published by a Warsaw weekly, and a Warsaw daily is about to give serially “The Return of Sherlock Holmes.” Some of Kipling’s short stories are published in Lemberg. In book form I have seen the works of J. M. Barrie, T. Hall Caine, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, A nthony Hope Hawkins, E. Hornung, Marion Crawford, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Gilbert Parker, and Mrs. Humphrey Ward. In Poland one may find many reference books. This is not the case in Russia. “The only Russian encyclopedia is about to be issued by Messrs. Brockhaus in Leipzig, but the Poles possess not only many general encyclopedias, but different ones on special subjects, as education, agriculture, Church, ete., and also many dictionaries of the Polish language, while the Russians have only one, and this was edited by a Pole, Dr. Baudoin de Courtenay, who is also editor of the new dictionary of the Polish language. Poland can also boast of the largest encyclopedia in the world, far larger than that published by the Zimes. The publica- tion of this work began in 1890, and up to the present forty-five volumes have been brought out, yet practically only a little over half the work has been achieved. The most wonderful fact is that the book is now published without a publisher! The Polish Harmsworth, Mr. Granowski, who from £20 made a fortune of £50,000 in a few years by the publication of various periodicals and farthing (not halfpenny) dailies, seeing that the encyclopedia did not pay, made a gift of it to the editors, who continue its publication. The work itself will be of great value, but owing to the lack of capital, with about 4,000 subscribers, the illustrations are scarce, and most of the contributors write for the credit of helping such a splendid pub- lication to a successful end. The work not only surpasses any other encyclopedia in the world, but has many original articles by 300 of the best Polish specialist authors. The Poles have in addition to this a good “ Literary Year-book,” in which not only the names and addresses of authors, periodicals, and publishers are given, but also those of the corps de ballet. The editor probably had heard something of the criticism of the Routledge Year-book, and to avoid a similar notice gave more than was wanted. One valuable fact given in the book is the particulars of all Polish libraries. A Polish weekly is published in St. Petersburg, but, being a pro-Government paper, is despised by the Poles. Unfortunately it is a masterpiece of editorship, and is read by all who desire reliable information as to what is going on in Poland and in the world. Really the Kraj is the best edited weekly paper in the world, being  228 works were translated into many foreign languages, especially Russian and German. If we do not reckon Sienkiewicz, only one novel, the last of Alexander Glowacki’s, “The Pharaoh and the Priest,’ has been published in the English language and appeared in America three years ago ; all the others are unknown to the British public. At the same time, Mrs. Elize Orzeszko began to write. Some of her best novels, as “ Eli Makower ” and “ Meir Ezofowicz,” are mainly concerned with descriptions of Jewish society. ‘The subject is treated without prejudice and with great talent. The number of ladies who are novelists is very large, but two names merit special mention : Mrs. Gabriel Snieszko-Zapolska, the Polish George Sand, and Miss Mary Rodziewicz, whose novels ‘‘ Anima Vilis” and “Distaff” are known to the English public, having been brought out* in English by a London publisher. The appearance of so many first-class stars on the Polish literary horizon had its effect on the previously large output of French novels, and the development of the literary movement was followed by an increasing demand of unprecedented strength. The end of the last century was marked not only by the appearance of a very large number of authors, but by their extraordinary talent, so that were one asked to name the greatest novelist in Poland, it would be impossible to select one from a dozen whose genius is pre-eminent. Dombrowski’s novel “ Death” is a masterpiece of its kind. Un- fortunately his other works suffer by comparison, and he will be celebrated as the author of one book. Waclaw Gasiorowski has written a whole series of novels from the time of Napoleon, two of which, one dealing with a descendant of the Stuarts and another called “ Countess Walewska ” (the mother of the Prime Minister of Napoleon III.), are in course of publication in London. The Polish Manchester “Lodz” has been immortalised by Wladislaw Rejmont as “The Promised Land.” The Government, by sending Waclaw Sieroszewski to Siberia, unwittingly gave to that region a Polish Kipling, who discovered unknown nations in that vast country and depicted them with great talent in his novels and stories. Stefan Zeromski is the Polish Gorky, except that he has no personal experience of slum life. With the addition of the names of Baron Weyssenhoff and Casimir Glinski and Tetmajer, the list of great Polish authors may be complete. The most popular author of all is of course Sienkiewicz, but not as the author of “Quo Vadis,” but of “With Fire and Sword” and other historical novels which were found in the houses of the poorest peasants, and are the best defence against the Germanisation and Russification THE AUTHOR. of Poles. In this respect Sienkiewicz stands alone ; his work is partly shared by Alexander Glowacki, some of whose books are very popular among the working classes in the towns of Poland. One peculiar fact should be noted, viz., that all the leading novelists belong to the very oldest noble families of Poland, and in other branches of litera- ture the same class is conspicuous among the chief authors. History mostly dealing with national events is a very popular study in Poland, and the number of writers is extensive. The authors most widely known are Tadeusz Korzon, Szymon Askenazy, Oswald Balzer, and Alexander Briickner, Essayists and critics are also numerous. Julian Klaczko, who is not only well known in Poland, but also in France, where his work on Pope Julius IJ. won him Continental fame, deserves special mention. Dr. Matlakowski’s work on Shakespeare belongs to the best of its kind in world literature, and most able studies may be found on Tennyson as reviewed by Dr. Swiecicki, Byron and Shelley by Matuszewski, French literature by Wladyslaw Jablonowski, Polish poets by Ferdi- nand Hoesick. All the English leading authors are not only well known to the reading public in Poland, but their works are discussed in periodicals and hand- books of literature, while many have their merits reviewed in essays, even such modern writers as Hall Caine, Kipling, Hardy, and others. An excellent book on England was written by Tadeusz Smarzewski entitled “Holidays in England.” It is by far the best study of life and manners in this country which has appeared in Poland; its judgment is sound, and the author's. appreciation is correct. Poetry also has many representatives, the- leaders being Mrs. Konopnicka (also a very gifted short-story writer), Miss Jadwiga Luszczewska, and Miss Terpilowska, whose poem “ Borys,” being unfortunately banned by the censor, is little known, but is a work of rare merit. As it dealt with the history of Rome, it was supposed to affect the Tzardom injuriously, and was therefore forbidden. Among the men the chief poets are A, Lange, K. Glinski, Arthur Uppman, Kasprowicz, and others. As arule short poems are the more numerous. Comedy is in course of revival. In former years Poland had her Moliére in Fredro ; now she has many gifted authors who deal generally with | local subjects. Of these the principal are Feldman, © Jaroszynski, Kisielewski, Swietochowski, K. Zaleski, and Wyspianski. There is not a subject which has not been dealt with by distinguished authors. Even the cats found a historian in M. Jacques de Vermond Leonard, a Polish writer with a foreign name.  THE AUTHOR. The statement made in the Evho de Paris con- cerning the predominance of French literature in Russia caused me to look up statistics relating to foreign books published in Poland. The catalogue of Messrs. Gebethner and Wolff (large Polish pub- lishers) gives 1138 works, of which 222 are trans- lations. This makes two in ten to be foreign, more than half of which are English, a little less than a quarter French, the remainder being trans- lations from Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian, Russian, or other languages. The majority of foreign books are not novels, but publications for children or scientific works. Polish literature is very poor in popular scientific books or those which deal with trades of all kinds, as well as manufacturers’ manuals. In Poland there are more than 600 booksellers and above 100 publishers; over 2,000 works are published by the authors themselves, and given to Messrs. Gebethner and Wolff or any other leading book- seller (who also publishes on his own account) for sale on commission. The method of dealing between authors and publishers is exceedingly primitive : no agreement is made, but the author receives a certain amount of money in advance, gives a receipt for it in which he says that he has sold his book, or an edition of it, for such a price. The number of copies in an edition is usually limited, but no one can control the number the publisher may choose to issue. The publisher gives no written agreement to the author, but after five years from the publication of the work the author may legally sell it for the issue of a second edition to another publisher. The majority of authors are not professional writers ; they are landowners or have other means of living. ‘Those who earn their bread by their pen are few, unless they work as journalists. Mr. Barrie’s two novels brought him larger profits than all Sienkiewicz’s works put together yielded to him, or indeed the combined publications of any other five leading Polish novelists. With the exception of Sienkiewicz, no author would refuse £500 for a novel, most would accept £200 with pleasure, while the majority would sell their book for from £30 to £50. Ifan author is fortunate enough to secure the publication of his novel serially in a daily paper in Austrian or German Poland, and simultaneously in a Warsaw daily, he may hope to make from £150 to £200 in addition to what the publisher will pay. Many authors after aserial run are unable to find a publisher. With the exception of one daily, the Warsaw Courier, in most publications there is usually one original novel by a Polish author and one foreign one, generally an English one, as at the present time outside England there are not Many great novelists on the Continent. A trans- lator is only paid from £5 to £10 for his work ; 229 such novels, even of the best authors, are sel- dom published in book form. At the present moment “The Prodigal Son” ig published by a Warsaw weekly, and a Warsaw daily is about to give serially “The Return of Sherlock Holmes.” Some of Kipling’s short. stories are published in Lemberg. In book form T have seen the works of J. M. Barrie, T. Hall Caine, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, Anthony Hope Hawkins, E. Hornung, Marion Crawford, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Gilbert Parker, and Mrs. Humphrey Ward. In Poland one may find many reference books. This is not the case in Russia, "The only Russian encyclopedia is about to be issued by Messrs. Brockhaus in Leipzig, but the Poles possess not only many general encyclopedias, but different ones on special subjects, as education, agriculture, Church, etc., and also many dictionaries of the Polish language, while the Russians have only one, and this was edited by a Pole, Dr. Baudoin de Courtenay, who is also editor of the new dictionary of the Polish language. Poland can also boast of the largest encyclopedia in the world, far larger than that published by the Zimes. The publica- tion of this work began in 1890, and up to the present forty-five volumes have been brought out, yet practically only a little over half the work has been achieved. The most wonderful fact is that the book is now published without a publisher ! The Polish Harmsworth, Mr. Granowski, who from £20 made a fortune of £50,000 in a few years by the publication of various periodicals and farthing (not halfpenny) dailies, seeing that the encyclopedia did not pay, made a gift of it to the editors, who continue its publication. The work itself will be of great value, but owing to the Jack of capital, with about 4,000 subscribers, the illustrations are scarce, and most of the contributors write for the credit of helping such a splendid pub- lication to a successful end. The work not only surpasses any other encyclopedia in the world, but has many original articles by 300 of the best Polish specialist authors. The Poles have in addition to this a good “ Literary Year-book,” in which not only the names and addresses of authors, periodicals, and publishers are given, but also those of the corps de ballet. The editor probably had heard something of the criticism of the Routledge Year-book, and to avoid a similar notice gave more than was wanted. One valuable fact given in the book is the particulars of all Polish libraries. A Polish weekly is published in St. Petersburg, but, being a pro-Government paper, is despised by the Poles. Unfortunately it is a masterpiece of editorship, and is read by all who desire reliable information as to what is going on in Poland and in the world. Really the Kraj is the best edited weekly paper in the world, being 230 a kind of weekly Review of Reviews, with the best bits of other papers, in addition to contributions of some 200 correspondents from all parts of the world, and good literary original articles. « ALMAR.” +—~<>_ -—__- IMPERIAL POSTAL CHARGES. —— INCE the short article that appeared in the last number of Ze Author on Canadian Postal Rates was written, the report of the debate in the Canadian Senate has come to hand from our Canadian correspondent. We have taken the liberty of reprinting Sir George Drummond’s speech as it puts forward much more clearly and lucidly than we could attempt to do, the exact position of Canada as regards the United States and as regards Great Britain. It is hoped that the action of Canada will once again arouse some interest in this discussion in Parliament. The resolution proposed was : ‘“‘ That the atten- tion of the government be directed to the local, foreign and imperial postal charges, with the view of remedying certain ‘inequalities therein, and the Senate affirms the principle that the conveyance of letters, newspapers, books, periodicals, &c., should be at a lower scale of charges within the empire than at the time ruling with any foreign country.” Sir George Drummond spoke as follows : “In rising to propose this resolution I have to ask the indulgence of honourable members while I sub- mit some facts and figures bearing on the case. I desire to draw the attention of this House to one or two of the existing charges between this country and the United States and the United Kingdom, and to show, if itis possible to do so—as I think you will agree it is—that there are very wide and serious discrepancies in the rates current as between these countries. In Canada two cents per ounce is the present rate for the conveyance of letters all over the continent, both in this country and in the United States, while to England and the empire two cents covers only half an ounce; in other words, the rate is double that charged on letters to the United States. My resolution calls for an ex- pression of the opinion of this honourable House that the rates within the empire should be lower than those at the time ruling with any foreign country. The same discrepancy exists with regard to post cards. In Canada and to the United States they are conveyed for one cent each, while to England and the empire generally, the rate is two cents, again double. But the most serious discrepancy occurs in the postage rates for newspapers, magazines, and periodicals, which THE AUTHOR. Canada conveys to England at the rate of half cent per pound, while the rate from England to Canada is no less than eight cents per pound, and the rate from the United States to Canada is one cent per pound. It is difficuit to imagine on what principle the imperial government proceeds in charging a rate of eight cents per pound. It is in itself a monstrous rate, equivalent to $175 per ton, or say £36 per ton. In these days of cheap convey- ance such a rate is absolutely unjustifiable. It is quite true that mails from the United Kingdom have to cross the ocean, but it is equally true that the cost of conveyance across the ocean is much less than land conveyance, and if you take the extent of the United States and of Canada itself, if a rate of one cent per pound covers the cost of the land carriage, there is certainly something seriously wrong in charging eight cents per pound for con- veying the mails across the ocean. But I shall proceed to show that this rate, which the Post- master-General of England iniagines is a source of revenue, is evaded in substance and in fact. I am rather amused, and you will be I have no doubt, at the following remark of the Postmaster-General in the 49th report of the Post Office Department in 1903, the last bearing any reference to the subject. The Postmaster-General says :— “In reference to representations from the Cana- dian Post Office, I have agreed to accept news- papers and other periodicals from Canada for delivery in the United Kingdom prepaid only, at the Canadian domestic rates of postage. I regret that I have been unable to recommend to your Lordship the adoption of these very low rates in the reverse direction. I am of opinion that any rate of postage adopted for Canada must be eventu- ally applied to all other parts of the British Empire and I do not see any present justification for so wide and costly an extension of this unremunerative post. I have already said that I really believe that instead of the rate being unremunerative, it is such an exaggerated rate that, as in all such cases, it is sure to be evaded, and evaded it is. An institution called the American News Company, doing business in New York, imports all this literature by express at two dollars per hundred pounds to New York, that is two cents a pound, and then posting it by the United States post at one cent a pound, delivers _ it in Canada for three cents a pound, so that the Postmaster-General is to this extent cheated out of his revenue. Probably, if he reduced the rate to three cents, he would command the business and — make a handsome profit, but he charges eight cents — a pound and kills the goose that lays the golden eco, I ask this honourable House to consider the effect of this prohibitive rate, as compared with  THE AUTHOR. the rate charged by the United States, on the Canadian bookseller and distributors. The Cana- dian bookseller has this before him: If he accepts an order for a subscription for an English magazine or illustrated paper, he is in the first place charged eight cents a pound by the British Post Office, and then he has to pay to the Canadian Post Office one cent a pound in addition for the purpose of having his wares distributed, unless, indeed, he and the subscriber happen to be in'the same city, when he can do it by hand without the intervention of the post office. So he has to compete with an institution which can do business for three cents a pound, while if he employs the legitimate post office facilities, the postage on his wares amounts to nine cents a pound. Now that is a very serious thing. You ask, probably, as it occurred to me, cannot the Canadian bookseller evade the English Post Office in the same way that the United States bookseller does ? but he is met by the express company, which is, so far as I know, a United States institution ; while they carry such wares to New York for two dollars per hundred pounds, they charge four dollars to Montreal, and a proportionately high rate to other parts of the Dominion. Altogether, it appears to me that this rate is destructive to the business of the Canadian bookseller. It affects other classes also. I call every member of this House to witness, if he has not observed for himself, that the supply of read- ing matter of alight character is almost entirely monopolized by United States publishers, and the majority of English papers and magazines which come into this country are reprints coming from the United States and filled with United States advertisements. A Canadian magazine is almost an impossibility. Canada is flooded with United States literature and Canadian manufacturers are met with the free distribution of the advertisements of United States wares. This outrageous condi- tion of things is productive of many serious con- sequences. The United States magazine comes in filled with advertisements of the United States wares illustrated freely and distributed gratis, because out of the one cent a pound charged for the conveyance by post, the Canadian Post Office gets nothing. The charge of one cent a pound goes entirely to the United States government. If the publisher of a magazine in this country, with a limited circulation, struggling with the opposi- tion so improperly created by the flooding of the country with United States literature, has to im- port materials of any kind, type plates, prints or process plates, which are now so common, he is charged duty on them, but if a book is made up and printed on United States paper it comes in free. An arrangement made with the United States for the conveyance of this literature seems 231 a very easy thing. It seems fair to say to this country, as no doubt they do, if you will exchange rates with ourselves, we will carry all your maga- zines that you may send to us, and you will carry all we can supply to you; but in working it out, look at the discrepancy which results. The num- ber of publications, including newspapers, maga- zines and periodicals of all kinds, published in the United States, according to the census of 1900 was 22,072, of magazines monthly and quarterly 8,181 ; while the total number of publications in Canada is 1,227, of magazines, 169, so in entering into an arrangement of that kind we have to consider this difference. In addition, I have looked up some facts with regard to some of the magazines which circulate in this country. I am_ not going to trouble the House with details or statistics of the whole or even any considerable number of them. I will take only two. One magazine weighs 14 ounces, and is carried, as above stated, for seven-eighths of one cent to all parts of Canada. It contains 159 pages of reading matter and 106 of advertisements, on which there are 303 advertisements. Another magazine weighs 19 ounces, is carried for one and three-sixteenths cents, contains 112 pages of reading matter and 183 pages of advertisements, on which are pub- lished 457 separate advertisements. The more popular of the English magazines are now printed in the United States, and while they do not have anything like the number of advertisements to which I have alluded, they still have a fair pro- portion of United States advertisements. As against that we have nothing to offset, no quid pro guo, and I must say that it appears to me the manufacturers and producers in this country have a reasonable cause for complaint when they see the advertisement of rival wares to their own distri- buted at the expense of our government gratis, while if they, on their side, attempt to distribute advertisements or catalogues, they have to pay to their own government two cents per ounce. The difference is very material, but if they are satisfied with it, I have nothing more to say. A strong representation made to England, backed by the weight of this Senate, might probably fortify the hands of our government in dealing with this question, and do infinite good. I have no cog- nizance of the representations which have been made to the British Post Office on the subject, but the inference is very plain that if we are willing to carry our magazines and literature of that kind to England for one-half cent per pound, as against the eight cents per pound charged by the imperial government, our government is not to blame. I. have, in my resolution, made this statement, that— 232 THE AUTHOR. The Senate affirms the principle that the con- veyance of letters, newspapers, books, periodicals, &e., should be at a lower scale of charges within the empire than at the time ruling with any foreign country.’ Does that require any long argument? To my mind, it does not. This country has already shown how it stands by its preferential tariff, which, while I have always maintained it was rather a crude method of settling the difficulty, at least showed what the feeling of this country was, and I know that the country was behind the Government when it established that preference. It shows that the doctrine that there should be a preference within the bounds of the empire was the practically unanimous sense of this country ; not only so, but we led the way in the policy of reprisals adminis- tered to a powerful European government, a policy which was, in 1867, inaugurated by Bismarck him- self, when the German government had to deal with other countries. He put it in the most specific shape that resorting to reprisals, as he termed it, was the only way of dealing with foreign countries which discriminated against the exports of Germany. I am not going to deal with the general imperial question, but this I will say, that imperial sentiment, which is the deliberate policy of this country as affirmed, is the strongest and most effective bond of union in the empire.” Hon. Mr. Scott—‘ Hear, hear.” Hon. Sir George Drummond—“ And that in dealing with it in the miserable haggling way the British post office does, they are trifling with an important factor in the spread of imperial feeling and sympathy. The facts above stated prove that the present rates are in their operations unjust, partial, and prejudicial to the interests of several classes of our fellow citizens :— Ist. To the booksellers and distributors of literature who are sacrificed in favour of American organisations having the same business ends ; 2nd. To our manufacturers and producers who find the wares of their rivals in the United States advertised broadcast and distributed at the expense of the government of Canada ; 3rd. To the British publishers who have to meet the competition in this market of literature arti- ficially cheapened at the expense of the American and Canadian governments ; 4th. To the literary men and publishers of our own country, who have to maintain an unequal struggle against a flood of foreign productions ; Finally. In regard to the motion I have placed on record and hope to obtain the acceptance of by this honourable House, the imperial note with which it concludes is, I think, in strict accord with the present policy and practice of this country. Every one of my hearers knows that our rela- tions with the motherland and other portions of the empire are largely governed by sentiment. The debates now going on in England are almost entirely taken up with this subject, and the col- lateral one of retaliation. Now in this country we are in both subjects in advance of the parent state, we are in the fore- front in the practical adoption of a preferential tariff. We have shown the way to a policy of reprisal in our tariff relations with a great Euro- pean power, and I cannot conceive that any reasonable objection can exist to the terms of my motion. The party debates now running their course in Great Britain, centre on the proposal to give a fiscal preference within the bounds of the empire. Both sides recognise the value of the imperial sentiment evinced by the colonies, or affect to do so, but while one party advocates a tariff preference as a means of fostering this bond of union, by the consolidating influence of mutual interest, the other scouts any such step as a needless sacrifice, preferring to leave things to their own course. Indeed, the leader airily waves aside all such pro- posals as ‘ squalid bonds.’ Needless to say the latter view is not the view held in this country, but having made our prefer- ence and maintained it for years, having shown the practical value of the principle, even at some con- siderable sacrifices, we wait the answer of the mother country without excitement or haste. Now, I have nothing to say about the quality of the supplies we receive ; there are good, bad and indifferent examples, with, I am prepared to say, a preponderance of the best; but it is not Cana- dian nor is it English in tone, temper or tendency, occasionally very much the reverse, and generally and quite naturally, exhibiting a spirit of propa- gandism of American ideas and influences. The extent to which this supply has monopolised our market is largely due to the absurd, even monstrous, exactions of the English post office. I thank God that the good sense of our people has hitherto resisted and kept them immune to in- fluences of this kind, but I cannot believe that any statesman ean regard with indifference the continu- ance of this condition of things. ‘ Continual dropping wears the stone’ is a very old and a very true saying. You will observe that I do not advocate any exclusion of American reading-matter, but I do most earnestly protest against the practical ex- clusion—so far as prices can exclude—of the literature and news of our own country by postal regulations and imposts which are not justifiable, and which benefit the revenues of neither our own nor the mother country.” i ‘ 4 dg slag 4 THE AUTHOR. 233 MR. GRANT RICHARDS’ os UMMARY of the debtor’s statement of affairs at 17th January, 1905, date of receiving BANKRUPTCY. preparation for his autumn productions was greatly In arrear, and that to supply the necessary funds he borrowed £8,000 of the creditors, now treated as fully secured, on charges covering the series of order :— books entitled “The World’s -Classics ” ; the Gross LIABILITIES. | Expected to rank | SSETS istimate liabilities. (As stated and estimated by debtor.) for dividend. | (As stated ee ee by debtor.) pres La | | a | £ sll d. fc sd. ee) 44,301 | 0 | 8 | 368 Creditors unsecured... .| 44,301 | 0 | 8 | Stock-in-trade Ae ee STi 0 0 8,000 | 0 | 0 | 2 Creditors fully | bo | (Estimated cost £23,000.) : Lo secured £8,000 0 0 | Trade fixtures, fittings, utensils, | | | Estimated | &e. ee 150} 0 | 0 fed value of Copyright and publishing rights | 12,514 | 4 | 6 I securities... 16,920 10 8 | Lease of Smartt’s Building ~ 700] 0/0 | ——_——_ | Shares in a company ete 200/010 Surplus, to 1,004 Book debts— pet contra £8,920 10 8 | Good .--£6,994 6 10 | | — Doubtful 1,285 19 10 | 1 Liability on 3 Bad 108-12: 1 | Bills discounted SS other than (Charged to fully secured | debtor’s own | creditors. ) be | acceptances for | | Estimated surplus from securities | 620 | 0 | Oj cvalue cc. £620 0 0 | | held by creditors fully secured 8,920 |10 | 8 a | ————_— |_| Of which it is expected will | 41,195 |15 | 2 rank se i 250} 0 | 0 | Deduct Creditors for distrainable | } | rent, and for preferential rates, 3 Creditors for rent, | &ce., per contra ... 213 | 0 | 6 213 | 0 | 6) rates, &e. | es bo = | 40,982 |14 | 8 | | | Deducted contra. | Deficiency 3,568 | 6 | 0 ie i | a nee eee | 1} 2 | £44,551 | 0 | 8 44,551 | 0|8 | | | OBSERVATIONS. 1. The receiving order was made on the petition of creditors, the act of bankruptcy being notice by the debtor at a meeting of his creditors on the 10th November, 1904, that he had suspended, or was about to suspend, payment of his debts. 2. The debtor states :— (i) That from 1888 to 1890 he was employed by a firm of publishers, and between 1890 and 1896 was on the staff of The Review of Reviews ; that in 1897, with £1,400 borrowed of a firm of bankers and a friend, and since repaid, he commenced to trade as a publisher at 9, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, W.C., and that from time to time, as the necessities of the business demanded, fur- ther sums were advanced to him by friends and others, some of whom are now creditors of the estate. Gi) That the business grew very rapidly, the net profits since its establishment amounting to nearly £19,000 ; that in February, 1904, he was taken seriously ill, and for four months was unable to attend to business ; that on returning he found his sales had considerably decreased, and the work of leases of 2, Park Crescent, and 48, Leicester Square ; two life policies, and the book debts, and an accommodation bill for £1,000. (iii) That his illness caused certain firms to restrict his credit, and his expezses having been greatly increased by the rent of a new warehouse and a larger staff, he was unable in October, 1904, to meet his engagements ; that he then consulted his principal creditors, but owing to their inability to agree as to the proper course to be adopted, and to the mortgagees having obtained the appoint- ment of a receiver, negotiations for an arrange- ment broke down, and these proceedings were taken. 3. The debtor attributes his failure and insol- vency to his want of capital, over-trading, loss of profits owing to illness during the season of 1904, the refusal of his largest unsecured creditors to consent to a moratorium of sufficient length to enable him to recover his position, and household and personal expenditure, which, although ap- parently warranted by the profits, proved to be too heavy a draft on working capital. The debtor’s deficiency account is inaccurate, but he has under- taken to amend it.  234 4. The usual books of account have been produced. Many entries in the cash book require further and better explanation, which the debtor has been required to furnish. 5. The unsecured liabilities include £6,916 in respect of money lent; £11,259 for printing ; £10,913 for binding ; £4,713 for paper ; £1,576 for other trade supplies and expenses ; £5,048 for royalties due to authors; £1,220 for household accounts; £2,000 due to the trustees of the debtor’s marriage settlement, and £685 for sun- dries. A number of the creditors claim general and special liens over stock in their hands for binding and printing, and these liens are now under investigation by the trustee. 6. The debtor has been adjudged bankrupt. 7. The Official Receiver will be glad to receive from creditors any information respecting the debtor and his affairs. 8. The first meeting of creditors was held on the Ist February, 1905. Mr. A. H. Moncrieff, of 19, Ludgate Hill, E.C., accountant and trade valuer, was appointed trustee, with a committee of inspection. Ecerton 8S. GREY, Official Receiver. —_—____—__+—~>—_ FOREIGN PRESS-CUTTING AGENCIES. aes A USTRIA-HUNGARY. Concordiaplaz. BeLaium.—Bruxelles, European Press, 3, Place Royale. DrnmaRK.—Copenhagen, On Dit, Hobrogade, 13. France.—Paris, Le Courrier de la Presse, 21, Boulevard, Montmartre. GermAny.—Berlin, Berliner —_Litterarische Bureau, 127, Wilhelmstrasse, 8.W., 48. Hotianp.—Amsterdam, Handels Bureau Marcurius, Steenmeyer et Cie. Norway.—Christiania, Norske Argus, 21, Pruss- engade. : Sparn.—Madrid, Prensa de Madrid, 28, Calle de Serrano. SweEDEN.—Stockholm, Argus, Mlle. Andreson Observator, 5, Hamngaten. SwiTzERLAND.—Geneva, Agence de coupures de journeaux, case Stand 57. Unrrep States.—New York, American press information bureau, World Building, 61, Park Row. Vienna, Observer, Informatie A. IL. ~—_+____—- MAGAZINE CONTENTS. 1 BLACKWooD’s MAGAZINE. The Kingdom of Bath. By J. H. Lobban. The Scottish Religious Revolution. By Andrew Lang. THE AUTHOR. Book MONTHLY. 3y W. P. Ryan. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. The Grammarian of York. On Tavas’ Hill. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. The Bankruptcy of Higher Criticism, IT. Reich. The Reconstruction of Belief. Py W. H. Mallock. Liberal Chnrchmen and “The Reproach of Christ.” By A. W. Hutton. Parliamentary Reporting : A Reply. By A. P. Nicholson, CORNHILL MAGAZINE. Autor d’Evelina: Some Unpublished Letters of Fanny Burney’s. By Walter Frith. Reprints and Their Readers. By Joseph Shaylor. Compulsory Classics. By the Hon. John Collier. By Dr. Emit Sa ee OE Schools and Colleges: A Dialogue. By Magister Artium. Mr. G. B. Shaw and the British Public. By Stephen Gwynn. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Maxim Gorky and the Russian Revolt. By R. L. Japanese Poetry. By T. C. Balet and L. Defrance. The Poetry of Thomas Moore. By Arthur Symons. Sir Thomas Lawrance’s Love Affairs By J. B. Firth, INDEPENDENT REVIEW. The Tragedies of Voltaire. By G. 8. Strachey. Stanzas to Tolstoy. By Herbert Trench. “ De Profundis.” By G. Lowes Dickinson. The Appeal to the First Six Centuries. Huntley Skrine. Caidan. By E. M. Forster. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. Matthew Arnold as a Critic. By H. H. Dodwell. The Fellow Workers of Voltaire. By 8. G. Tallentyre- II.—D. Alembert. Ruskin at Hawarden. By W. Sinclair. The Ladder of Education. By Geo. Bourne. MONTH. Freethought. By the Rev. John Gerrard. “ De Profundis.” By M. D. Petre. MONTHLY REVIEW. Beethoven. By Arthur Symons, Popular Songs of Old Canada. By Geo. Stewart. The Later Bourbons. By G. W. P. Sainte-Beuve. By Ferdinand Brunetiere. NINETEENTH CENTURY, Musical Hours. By H.M. the Queen of Roumania (Carmen Sylvia). The Heart of the Mikado. By Suyemutsu. The Commemoration of Shakespeare. By Sidney Lee. The Public as Seen from the Stage. By Gertrude Kingston. The Luminists. By Arthur Nicholson. ‘An Artists’ Love Story. By Eliza Priestley. The Art of Classical Quotation. By J. H. C, Welldon. TEMPLE BAR. Hans Christian Andersen. By Arthur L. Salmon. The Last of Les Jeunes. By Laurence Jerrold. WorRLp’s WORK. Commerce in Literature and Music. Standing. There are no articles dealing with literary, dramatic or musical subjects in the Bookman, Longman’s Magazine, National Review, or Pall Mall Magazine. ‘ By John By Perey Cross  THE AUTHOR. 2 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCER OF BOOKS. 3 — ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an H agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a@ proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society, IJ. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement), In this case the following rules should be attended to: C1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the trnth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.). Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Seezetary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. a WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. Se EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. [t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. 235 3. There are three forms of dr in three or more acts :— a i * . : (4.) vo the Pesformiing right. This a cane So ie ww who enters into f act sh stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills, (2.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on toss receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (¢.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.e., fixed nightly fees). ‘his method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are ey to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0, oly also in this case. oo 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event, It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. ‘I'he legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. amatic contract for plays ee ee WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. 5 eae ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. ‘he musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  236 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement,and should take into part.cular consideration the warnings stated above. 1 HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. --—<>— + — 1, VIERY member has a right toask for and to receive K advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of thesafe. ‘The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society ; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —+— + HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. 1 +-_____- THE READING BRANCH. —+——» — EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. Bg NOTICES. = HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of a the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 2ist of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. very effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. — 1+ The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ——_—_——_+—>—_+___——_- LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE 2 SOCIETY. — + ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City — Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, B.C. a  THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. — + THE Dinner of the society has been fixed for May 16th, at the Hotel Cecil. Members will by now have received notice to this effect. As this is the twenty-first anniversary of the incorporation of the society, it is hoped that there will be a good attendance in order to celebrate the event. The first beginnings of the society took place in September, 1883, when a small company of fifteen men met in Mr. Scoones’ chambers in Garrick Street in order to form an association for the protection of literary property. The society was actually incorporated on June 30th, 1884, so that on June 30th, of this year it will have been in existence in its incorporated form for twenty-one years. It is unnecessary to put before the members the steady growth of the society and its constant increase. The larger its membership the ereater the power possessed by the society not only in moral force; but also in those very necessary sinews of war, capital and subscriptions. In 1892 the society numbered 870 members. It has now almost doubled that number and is still steadily increasing. The aim of the founders of the society will, however, not have been completed, until all those who write, whether composers, dramatists, or authors, technical or otherwise—whether they adopt writing as a sole means of livelihood or as a means of supplementing their income—have joined its ranks. This would mean a membership of not less than 3,000. We appeal to the good fellowship of those who write, and to that esprit des corps which ought to exist, amongst those who adopt the art of letters, as amongst the followers of any other art or profession. We hope that long before the society reaches its jubilee this by no means improbable dream will have become an actual reality. During the last three months we have had reason to comment on some exceedingly bad agree- ments which have been submitted to authors. The fact presents itself that on many occasions authors come to the society after they have entered into their agreements, and after they have bound themselves to accept unreasonable terms. There is no excuse for members of the society who get into this difficulty, for not only are warnings printed every month in “ 7e Author,” explaining some of the many difficulties, but these warn- ings are constantly repeated in different forms in ‘articles which appear in the columns of this paper. 237 There is, however, some difficulty in reaching the younger field of authors. It not infrequently happens that those young in authorship are ignorant of the society’s existence. Even when they have produced their first book it is almost impossible to find out their address. Publishers do not make it an invariable rule to forward letters addressed to their care. We must therefore request members to insist that their friends whom they hear of in the springtime of authorship, should join the society. ON another page we publish some interesting details of the Book Market, taken from the United States Publishers’ Weekly. During the past year the output of books has largely increased. During the same period in England also the activity in the Book Market has been considerable. ‘One point in the list is especially interesting—the statement of those books in English and foreign languages manufactured in the United States, and particulars of those works of English authors im- ported in editions. Of the latter there were 1,025. It is quite possible if the Government of the United States had joined the Berne Convention, or had thought fit to rescind the printing clause or simul- taneous publication, that these books imported in sheets might have been actually produced by the printers of the United States. When once the copyright is lost it is useless going to the expense of printing across the water, and it is cheaper to. introduce sheets. REFERRING to the authority printed in the April number of Zhe Author on the question of Russian piracy, a Polish member is kind enough to send us the following paragraph :— “In the last Author the statement made in the French paper, Lcho de Paris, was repeated oe that out of every nine books published in Russia six are French; this is far from correct. In the months of March and April, 1904, 298 books and pamphlets were published in Russia, of which 30 were translations from English authors (four books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and one by Jerome K. Jerome, etc.) 25 from German, 21 from different European languages—Polish, Italian, Scandinavian, Spanish, etc.—and only 17 from French. Thus in all, 93 books were of foreign origin, or more than three out of every ten published in Russia and more than one in ten was English. These statistics applied to the whole year of 1904 will give exactly the same figures. In periodicals, English authors also lead, followed  238 German and Polish and then only by French The most popular novelist in Russia is by authors. 1 not a Frenchman but Mr. Jerome K. Jerome. Next to him stands Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One reason that fewer French works are translated into Russian than English and German is that publica- tions in these languages generally embrace not only novels but books on scientific subjects, and in this field the French are not regarded as authorities; another explanation may be found in the fact that a great part of the Russian reading public can read French authors in the original, therefore the demand for Russian translations is comparatively small. “What the Echo de Paris says regarding plays is more correct, although I do not know where the 2ussian found five hundred essentially Russian plays, and he omits to mention the number of English, Polish, and Italian plays which are also in the Russian repertoire. Is it necessary to look for them among French plays, or those essentially Russian ?” So much has been written in the papers during the month of April about Hans Christian Andersen and his position in the world of literature that the repetition of his life work is superfluous. We think, however, it is our bounden duty to insert a paragraph drawing attention once again to the fact that April 2nd, 1905, was the centenary of the birth of the great story teller. There is no writer of fairy tales possessed of the same poetic instinct. There is no writer of fairy tales who has been able to write with such deep insight into human nature. There is hardly a story which has not two meanings—its conscious meaning and its sub- conscious meaning. As in the parables of old so in these stories. Those who desire to remain ignorant of their hidden beauty can read them with infinite delight merely as children’s fairy tales, but those who search for truth can find the beautiful reality beneath. To the latter class of readers Hans Andersen’s stories will always be a valued treasure house. It is needless to quote examples, but some of the most self-evident are stories like “The Emperor’s New Clothes” or “The Ugly Duckling” or ‘The Snow Queen.” From whatever source he may have obtained his suggestions he still possessed a power in his treat- ment, entirely his own, and entirely beautiful. In the same way as Shakespeare was a plagiarist Hans Andersen was a plagiarist, but plagiarism in the hands of a genius is one of the greatest proofs of originality. Hans Andersen’s special appeal to future genera- tions will be made through his fairy tales. THE AUTHOR. THE GENERAL MEETING. oe HE meeting of the council (the shareholders) of the Society of Authors, was held at 20, Hanover Square, on March 30th, at 3.45, to consider and to pass the annual report. After the meeting of the council, the general meeting of the members of the society was held, when the following members were present :— A. W. « Beckett, the Hon. Mr. Justice Ameer Ali, Harold Avery, Mrs. Ada 8. Ballin, J. Tyrrell Baylee, the Rev. F. W. Bamford, Miss Clementina Black, R. Warwick Bond, C. E. Buckland, Miss Rachel Challice, Miss E. E. Charlton, Miss Ellen Collett, Miss Marian Roalfe Cox, Basil Field, R. Austin Freeman, Miss Hain Friswell, Walter M. Gallichan (“Geoffrey Mortimer”), Hubert Haes, C. Gasquoine Hartley (Mrs. W. Gallichan), Eyre Hussey, the Rev. H. N. Hutchinson, C. T. Jacobi, A. M. Jasienski, Mrs. Lechmere, the Right Hon. Sir Alfred Lyall, P.C., Miss M. M. Macpherson, Aylmer Maude, Miss Jean Middlemass, Miss K. L, Montgomery, W. Booth Pearsall, Mrs. Romanes, Charles Weekes, and J. H. Yoxall. Sir Henry Bergne, the chairman for 1905, opened the proceedings by proposing that, as usual, the report, which had been circulated to members of the society, should be taken as read. He then proceeded to comment on the most salient items. He thought the members might congratulate themselves on the satisfactory position of the society, for during the past year 233 members had been elected. This was the largest number of elections during any year with the exception of 1892 and 1893, when the elections totalled 260 and 246 respectively. The present membership of the society had reached the high figure of 1630. Sir Henry next dealt with the subject of copyright, and stated how fully the committee realised its importance to members of the society; that it had been impossible with any advantage to bring forward the question of domestic copyright during the past year, and that even if a favourable opportunity occurred, there were many great difficulties surrounding its dis- cussion, especially those connected with the position of the self-governing colonies. Turning to international copyright, he con- gratulated Sweden on its recent adhesion to the Bern Convention. ‘The list of countries which are now signatories to the Convention is as follows :— Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Switzer- land, Japan, Luxembourg, Tunis, Haiti, and Monaco.  THE AUTHOR. The society had, through the government, en- deavoured to persuade Roumania to join the Con- vention, but, unfortunately, without success. He regretted that one country whose market was of vast importance to English authors, was as yet outside the Convention. He referred, of course, to the United States. In this case, as in the case of domestic copyright, Sir Henry pointed out the many difficulties that had to be met, and explained that the committee earnestly desired to place the members’ interests prominently forward with a view to a solution of the problem whenever an oppor- tunity should arise. He considered that the gradual education of public feeling in the United States might, however, prove a surer means to a_ change in the present United States law than any representations from this side, and he certainly thougbt it would be highly inexpedient that any steps should be taken which could possibly provoke international controversy on the subject. Turning to the domestic affairs of the society he drew attention to the fact that the memorial to Sir Walter Besant had been placed on the Embankment. Finally, he dealt with the question of the society’s finances, and explained that the heavy expenses attending the loss of the action of Aftlalo v. Lawrence and Bullen, had made severe inroads on the society’s resources, but he was glad to announce that the matter had been met without the sacrifice of any of the society’s investments. He drew attention to the sum of £512 due to the society’s Solicitors. Of this amount £200 had already been paid, and it was hoped to pay a further instalment before the expiration of the year 1905. It had been necessary for the accountants to obtain an approximate estimate of the solicitors’ charges to the end of 1904, but as a matter of fact the bills for that year had not yet been delivered and would, probably, not be delivered till the autumn. It might, therefore, fairly be stated that this unex- pected strain on the society’s resources had been met without any serious inconvenience, and ex- pressed the hope that it might, ere long, be wiped out altogether, when the society would be financially _ stronger than ever. In confirmation of this statement he showed that although the balance against the society appeared in the balance sheet at £862, yet this was in reality covered, as the liabilities—legacy account £450, and life membership account £615—existed for the accountant’s purposes and could not be recognised as actual liabilities. He paid a well deserved tribute to the zeal and ability of his predecessor, Mr. Douglas Freshfield, for the manner in which he had conducted the affairs of the society during his two years of office. 239 Finally, he mentioned that in the case of the bankruptcy of Mr. Grant Richards, through the action of the society, an author’s representative— Mr. Aylmer Maude—had been appointed to the committee of inspection. This was the first time that the position of 7'he Author had been recognised In a question of this kind, and he congratulated the society on the event. He concluded by asking for any comments or suggestions from the members, which he stated would be carefully considered by the committee. : As no one desired to make any comments, he proceeded to the next matter on the agenda—the election by the members of the society of their representative to the pension fund committee. Mrs. Alec Tweedie, who withdrew under the rules of the fund, submitted her name for re-election, and was unanimously re-elected. Mr. A. W. a Beckett proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman, pointing out how important it was for the society to have as its representative, one so intimately acquainted with Copyright and international affairs. The vote was carried unanimously and the pro- ceedings terminated. ee UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT. 4 T the beginning of the year there was a con- siderable stir among those interested in copyright property, owing to the fact that the United States proposed to pass an amendment to the Copyright Act, giving foreigners a delay of twelve months in which they might secure copy- right for translations. This produced a series of letters in The Standard from English authors on the present position of United States copyright as far as it dealt with the works of English writers. This correspondence again gave rise to considerable discussion in publishing circles and among those allied trades that were interested in the production of books in the United States. Mr. William Heinemann, the English publisher, happened to be in the United States at the time, and he was overwhelmed with questions, discussions and arguments in connection with the whole con- troversy. He explained to Mr. George Haven Putnam and other publishers that Great Britain naturally resented the unreasonable treatment English authors had received in the matter, and pointed out the lack of real reciprocity between the two nations. He was referred by the publishers to the heads of the typographical unions, which really could do more to push forward fair reciprocity than  240 anyone else in the United States. At present the dread on their part of losing the printing business stood in the way of reform. There are over four hundred typographical unions in the United States, the most important lying in New York and Philadelphia. Mr. Heine- man commenced his negotiations by entering into communication with typographical Union No. 6, which is the New York typographical union, and endeavoured to demonstrate that he, as well as they, were desirous of making money, and that their present attitude was against his and their best interests. After he had gone into the matter in some detail with the heads of Union No. 6, it was decided to hold a meeting and call together the representatives of all those trade combinations in- terested. Accordingly, on March 2nd a meeting was held at the Aldine Association, at which the following gentlemen were present: Mr. Scott (Century), President American Publishers’ Asso- ciation, in the chair; Mr. George Haven Putnam ; Mr. Charles Scribner ; Mr. Sullivan, International Typographical Union, Washington ; Mr. Donnelly, Typographical Union No. 6; Mr. Jackson, Typo- graphical Union No. 6; Mr. William Green, President Typothete, City of New York; Mr. 8. H. Eggers, chairman executive committee, Typo- thete; Mr. H. V. Boyar, recording secretary, Typothete ; Mr. William Heinemann. Mr. Scott opened the proceedings. He stated they had met to discuss certain proposals which had been made to them with regard to the obtain- ing of American copyright on English books and he would ask Mr. Heinemann to outline the plan. Mr. Heinemann said that he found on arriving in New York a good deal of curiosity with regard to the apparent indignation of English authors as expressed in a recent correspondence in the Standard. It would appear that under the amendment concerning copyright in translations which passed congress on February 28th, foreign authors would be at an advantage over English authors inasmuch as they would have twelve months grace before a copyright need be completed. As a matter of fact the amendment as passed gave only a very moderate sort of protection, although in its original form it certainly would have seemed as if it favoured continental authors over English authors. Mr. Heinemann expressed an opinion that, if a provisional copyright could be obtained by entering a work at Washington, with the option of completing the copyright within a period of say two or three months, that would be a very helpful measure and one which would certainly reduce the feeling of injustice that many English authors and publishers cherish at the present moment. THE AUTHOR. Mr. Putnam, who had been instrumental in getting most copyright acts passed in the United States, suggested that the only means of obtaining such a measure of relief would be by enlisting the co-operation of the typographers of America and he suggested that as Mr. Heinemann was in America at the present moment that he might advantage- ously meet the representatives of the different typographical unions and see what reception they would give to such a plan. Mr. Heinemann thereupon wrote to typo- graphical union No. 6, requesting a representative of that Union to meet him, and after meeting first Mr. Jackson of typographical union No. 6, and then Mr. Jackson again, and also Mr. Donnelly, representing the typographical No. 6, it was thought well to call a meeting representing all the interests at stake and ask Mr. Heinemann to out- line the suggestion which he had originally made to Mr. Putnam. The present meeting was the outcome of this invitation, and Mr. Heinemann wished to empha- size the fact that this meeting was an entirely informal one and that none of those present were in any way able to pledge their Associations, so he also, although vice-president of the publishers’ association of Great Britain and Ireland, spoke in his private capacity and with no mandate from the publishers’ association of Great Britain and Ireland. Mr. Heinemann pointed out that his wish would be that a copyright could be applied for in America in the same way that a patent was applied for—on specification with a period of say to or three months to complete the copyright. He pointed out that the typographers of America could only benefit by supporting this proposal and, in order to show it, developed the theory that whereas books, the sale of which was quite assured, would always be copy- right in America, those commanding only a limited sale or exceedingly expensive in manufacture would always be manufactured in the country of their origin as they are now—so that the only books which it was necessary to discuss in this relation were those which had a moderate success assured (not sufficient to warrant two independent settings) and experimental books. Of the latter a few might, if Mr. Heinemann’s suggestion was adopted, be lost to American printers, but he had found only a very small number, and a decreasing one, of such books which were experimentally published in England and had proved sufficiently attractive to be reprinted unauthoritatively in America. There remained then the large number of books which were set with no view to American copyright under the present manufacturin clause. These generally published in Englan with no reference to the American edition were LEELA RE RI  : i THE AUTHOR. 241 usually under the present arrangement, imported either in sheets or in the shape of English plates, whereas in many cases it would be worth while to take out American copyright after the market had been tested in England, could in the firsst instance a provisional copyright be obtained. This then was what Mr. Heinemann asked for, aud he dwelt on the fact that it would constantly enable the English publishers to bring out a book at the psychological moment, which under present conditions was frequently lost through the delay in taking out American Copy- right. Most frequently this was the case, of course, in the rush of Christmas business, when it very often happened American copyright had to be sacrificed in order to place the book on the market in time for the season’s sales. Mr. Heine- mann contended that a great deal of type-setting would be acquired by American printers, and a great advantage given at the same time to English authors and publishers by the adoption of his suggestion. ~ Mr. Scribner suggested that it would be quite necessary, if such an amendment were proposed to the copyright act, that some provision should be made for the supply of the English edition during the interim period, and he thought that the words “with the consent of the owner of the copyright ” should be added to the section of the present copy- right Act permitting the importation of two copies of any book for use but not for sale. Mr. Putnam drew a comparison to the present proposal with the proposal which now had become a law concerning the rights of translation, and he was not sure whether the period that ought to be allowed should not be thirty daysrather than longer. A general discussion ensued in which it seemed to be generally agreed that the period of sixty days was the most practical period. In conclusion Mr. Scott, on behalf the American publishers, intimated that they would support such a measure, provided a proper means could be found to regulate the importation of the English edition during the period between application and completion of copyright. Mr. Sullivan, on behalf of the typographical unions, intimated that the typographers would equally support such a measure, which was bound to bring printing into the country, and which would foster the good feeling and business relations between English publishers and authors and American publishers and printers, so long as no attempt was made to place the English edition on the market in the interim period and then try to obtain American copyright. It would be necessary to make quite clear that the measure was asked in order to give the fullest possible latitude to those wishing to obtain copyright without the risk of infringing the manufacturing clause to which they always would most jealously adhere. Mr. Green, on behalf of the typothete, agreed with Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Heinemann, in con- clusion, assured the meeting that it had:never been his intention to ask for. this present measure with a view to circumventing the manufacturing clause, irksome as it was and always would be to English publishers and authors. —_—————+ += — ROBBING PETER TO PAY OUT PAUL. — HE Music Publishers’ Association on Friday, 7th April, unanimously agreed, as a protest against musical piracy, to issue no further new works by composers, to make no more con- tracts with executive musicians to exploit such publications, and to cease advertising the pieces already on their hands. This, assuredly, is a very drastic measure. Because certain tatterdemalions have made them- selves obnoxious by hawking about cheap and nasty reprints of copyright music, it is monstrous to turn round and smite the innocent composer by way of expressing disapproval of the law or conduct of the gutter-merchant. Mr. Carnegie has stated that Great Britain is not organised for commerce. With greater truth, he might have said that it is not organised for art. So taken up are composers in evolving harmonious effects from combinations of notes that they seem to give no thought to the value of social combina- tions for the protection of their business interests. Unfortunately, musicians have no Sir Walter Besant amongst them. Sir Arthur Sullivan, had he been alive now, would surely have taken up the cudgels on their behalf, not alone because of his sympathy with his professional brethren, but also on account of the pride he took in the dignity of his calling. To judge by the comments one hears, Sir Arthur, had he now been with us, would have resented the helm of the musical ship being taken possession of by the tradesman. The composer of the “Golden Legend” at this juncture seems to exemplify in the minds of a good many people the personage of whom the Waterloo veteran, Daddy Brewster, was so fond of saying, “ By Gosh! It wouldn’t ha’ done for the Dook ; the Dook would ha’ had a word to say over that!” There is no question here of the writer having any private axe to grind. THe is on friendly terms with several music publishers. In his limited dealings with them he has been satisfied with the results. The question of these lines being written ' 242 with any hostile intent against music publishers as a body may consequently be dismissed, together svith the idea which certain composers entertain, that, because they have come off second best in their dealings with publishers, the latter have an individual spite against them. Again, it must not be thought that the writer sides with Mr. Caldwell or approves of the tricks of the pirates. The point is that if wholesale infringements of copyright are grossly unfair to publishers, there is no reason to be unjust to the creators and originators of the works in question. A big meeting was recently engineered by the publishers at Queen’s Hall. At it much was said about the crusade against the music-pirates being mainly in the interests of the composer. It was necessary to emphasise this in order to create public sympathy. But does anyone imagine that the publishers, if they had not been primarily affected by the pirates, would have incurred the expense of organising a monster gathering simply to draw benevolent attention to the grievances of composers ? If so, the most credulous should be undeceived by the unanimous agreement now come to by the Publishers’ Association to stop summarily the sale of any new works. What with the devilish tricks of the pirate king on the one hand, and the deep schemes of Associated Publishers on the other, it would appear that the unenviable Briton, who happens to live by composing music is, at the present time, between the devil and the deep sea. Hitherto, nothing has prevented his casting his bread upon the waters of the deep sea on the chance of its being returned to him after many days in the guise of royalties. Now even this small consolation is ruthlessly taken from him. Composers themselves have a right to inquire whether the trade received the sanction of the heads of the musical profession before discharging such a bomb-shell in their midst. Have Composers BEEN CONSULTED ? Can it be possible that the trade have been counselled by musicians as a body to place this Mount Ossa of their (the latter’s) unpublished works upon the Mount Pelion of the pirates in order to enable the publishers to scale the heavens of their business with more facility ? Robert Adam, the Scots writer, many years ago, maintained that “we show wisdom by decent conformity to social etiquette.” If there is no “ Dook” to say a word for composers, the Publishers’ Association would have shown wisdom, when announcing to the world their decrees regarding what they intended to do with the brain productions of musicians, if they had been able to preface the display of their own names by stating that the resolution come to had been THE AUTHOR. recommended by Sir Hubert Parry, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Sir Frederick Bridge, Sir Villiers Stanford, Sir Edward Elgar, Dr. Cowen, Dr. Prout, Dr. Cummings, Dr. José, Dr. Culwick, Messrs. Macfarren, Algernon Ashton, German, Hamish McCunn, Tosti, Stephen Adams, Lionel Monckton, Sidney Jones, Leslie Stuart, and other distinguished men, who, in reality, ought to steer the ship of music in this country. Had this been done, it would have given to the manifesto what Dr. Johnson calls ‘‘ the true effect of genuine politeness.” Yet it is scarcely to be believed that composers as a body would have voted in favour of this resolution. If, thoughtlessly, individual musi- cians, on being assured that all the others have sanctioned the step taken, have agreed to it, it would appear that the recent valiant talk at Birm- ingham and elsewhere, about the coming school of British composers, has been naught save a vain flow of idle words. Assuming that the firms constituting the Music Publishers’ Association are able to do as they please with the composers, the instinct of self-preservation should impel the latter to cultivate more of the spirit of self-help which the late Samuel Smiles declared ‘‘ constitutes the true source of national vigour and strength.” It is futile for the com- poser, whose source of income can be cut off at any time by the fiat of the Publishers’ Association, to cry out that “nothing can be done against the publishers.” It were better for him if he remem- bered how Beethoven altered the pious inscription put by Moscheles at the end of his arrangement of “Fidelio.” It was “Finale, WITH GOD’s HELP.” To this Beethoven added “O man, help thyself.” This is precisely what the publishers are doing. Being men of business, they are helping them- selves. If the rank and file of composers were more wide-awake, they would do the like. They will not realise that limited liability business houses are not philanthropic institutions. The business man is in trade to make money, and indi- viduals born with the money-making gift take advantage of every circumstance to that end. When Cecil Rhodes arrived at Kimberley and witnessed hundreds of competitive miners engaged in extracting carboniferous gems from the earth, he realised that, under such circumstances, the supply would soon exceed the demand. It was evident to him that, as soon as the gems were no longer precious, they would go out of fashion and the mining community would suffer. What did he do? He persuaded the many competitive firms to combine as certain of the publishing houses have combined. Then some of the mines were closed down, even as, at the present time, the publishers have drastically stopped the output of new music. By thus controlling the market the  THE AUTHOR. prices of Kimberley diamonds were raised, and Mr. Rhodes, together with his associates, realised enormous fortunes. In doing this they inflicted no sufferings on dead diamonds ; but the clever com- poser happens to be a living creature. If his activities are stopped, mental and physical distress follows. An apt parallel in regard. to the stoppage of artistic output obtains to-day in Paris. According to Frances Keyser, “it is an open secret that the Autumn Salon is, in a great measure, manceuvred by the picture dealers.” The Rue Laffitte virtually controls the output of the artist. From among the hundreds of talented and obscure painters living in garrets called studios, one is selected by the fraternity of dealers, who possesses the qualities of originality and prolificacy. A couple of fur- coated delegates visit the poor artist and make a bid for all his work. The canvasses which have been accumulating in his garret after rejection by everyone to whom they have been shown, are will- ingly sold. A contract to buy up prospectively at a price all pictures the artist can paint is gladly entered into. The dealers next proceed to make a market for these productions. Invitations are sent to a select circle of amateurs to view privately the new “impressionist ” paintings. Public curiosity is aroused by paragraphs in the newspapers. Next, one of these much talked about pictures is included in a collection offered at a fashionable auction. The dealers bid against each other. They buy the picture at a high price, dividing the loss amongst themselves. Such tactics are pursued until a genuine bidder intervenes, and a huge profit is made. The syndicate, who possess all the pictures by the same artist, then proceed to reap their harvest. “This,” says Frances Keyser in her article, “ Parisians of Paris,” published in Zhe King some months ago, “has occurred with the unfortunate and talented Dutch painter, Jongkind, with Sisley and others, who died in poverty whilst the Rue Laffitte filled its coffers.” I cite these examples with no hostile spirit towards any person in the music trade, but merely to emphasise how, in business, it is to the interest of composers to look after themselves. It takes two to make a bargain. If it is to the advantage of dealers or publishers to get the control of the output of certain composers, and shut down the market as regards all the others, it is equally the concern of the creators of musical works to take care that no such injustice to the profession as a body can possibly happen. From the stand- point of the tradesman who is in business to make money, and therefore to buy at the lowest possible price and sell at the highest figure, he is perfectly justified in taking advantage of cir- cumstances to make a corner in any commodity, 243 whether it be wheat or music. If his conscience is troubled he has merely to repeat mentally the dictum of Diogenes that ‘ No man is wronged but by himself.” I maintain that the composer is being wronged at the present time by himself. If his leaders are asleep and utter no protest against the publishers for arrogating to themselves the right of vetoing the creations of the musical mind being made public, those adversely affected may well exclaim with old Daddy Brewster, “It wouldn’t ha’ done for the Dook! No, by Jimini! the Dook would ha’ had a word there.” Some years ago Sir Walter Besant gave a dinner at the Saville Club. It was attended by Sir Hubert Parry, Sir Villiers Stanford, Sir Alex- ander Mackenzie, and other stars of the musical firmament. Amongst the guests, if I mistake not, was the Secretary of the Incorporated Society of Authors. For the enlightenment of musicians I beg to be permitted to note here that he is a solicitor, who, for thirteen years, has devoted him- self to the study of intricate questions of copyright, and the way they affect producers of literary, pictorial, dramatic, or musical works. Seeing how much writers and dramatists had benefitted by the work of the Society of Authors, Sir Walter Besant was anxious that the aid given to creators of literary, pictorial and dramatic works should be extended to musical composers. In the course of his duties with the members of the Authors’ Society, the Secretary had noticed not one but many agreements between composers and publishers—for a few musical composers are members—which showed that most musicians lacked even a rudimentary knowledge of business whatever their artistic abilities might be. It was apparent that certain composers were unable to protect their own interests, because they failed to understand the wording of the documents they signed, and the legal effect of many of the technical phrases. The outcome of that meeting at the Saville Club was the formation of a music sub-committee in connection with the Incorporated Society of / Authors. Its purpose was, before composers had their works published, to advise them in an expert manner, so that, while they made the best bargain possible, their interests should be legally pro- tected. In addition the Society undertook to check and sign, on behalf of composers, all copies printed by publishers before they were offered for sale. In cases of infringement of copyright the machinery of the Society was also placed at the disposal of musicians. Surely there was some practical advantage to be derived by the musical community from such a proposal. Yet, the fact remains that, whilst the sub- committees dealing with Literary Copyright, Art 244 _ and Drama have done good work and prosper, the | Society being strongly supported by many in these branches of art, the sub-committee on music has died through lack of interest or inability to under- stand its importance. That this should have happened seems strange, when it is difficult, at the present time, to meet a musical composer who has not some sort of grievance or dissatisfaction with regard to his published works which weighs heavily on his mind. It would appear that whilst the soul of the musician organises his brain and fingers to give shape to the most artistic dreams imaginable, he is so obsessed by these dreams that he wilfully disregards the desirability of collective organisation with his fellows in order that, when it comes to negotiating matters of business which affect the pocket, he may be regarded as belonging to a strong instead of a disunited and weak community. MusicaL ORGANISATIONS. I shall perhaps be answered that the Union of Graduates in Music, the Musical Association, The Incorporated Society of Musicians, the Musicians’ Company, and the Orchestral Association already provide all the necessary organisation. Do they ? Those institutions, indeed, command respect. First, the “ Union of Graduates” worthily upholds the dignity of all who have taken University degrees and, under the energetic leadership of Mr. Southgate, exposes anyone who lays claim in public to bogus honours. Secondly, the learned “Musical Association,” which devotes its attention to the reading, discussing and publication of addresses dealing with the history, principles and criticism of music, is a dignified body which has done, unostentatiously, good work. ‘Thirdly, the “Incorporated Society of Musicians,” with its two thousand members, provides valuable opportunities for social intercourse between qualified professional musicians. It maintains an orphanage, gets re- ductions from railway companies and at hotels for its members, conducts excellent examinations throughout the Kingdom, advocates the registra- tion of all bond fide music teachers, and has made itself indispensable in many ways to those who belong to it. Fourthly, the Musicians’ Company, especially of late, has accomplished a good deal in promoting the cause of music by holding an exhibition of priceless manuscripts and ancient instruments, supplementing these by a series of lectures at Fishmongers’ Hall. It also bestows yearly a coveted reward alternately on the best student of the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College, and Guildhall School. Lastly, the “Orchestral Association”? busies itself with the THE AUTHOR. affairs of orchestral musicians, and is a very useful body, But the executive of none of these organisations has taken up the work of giving legal advice to composers regarding questions of musical copy- right, the drawing up of mutual business-like agreements with publishers, or of obtaining redress when the rights of composers have been infringed. To carry out such work successfully requires special knowledge and proper legal machinery, and none of the societies in question possesses among its officers an expert in the laws of copyright and cognate matters whose chief duty it is to advise individual members of the organisations alluded to. This fact seems to strike home to not a few musicians at the present time, when the Pub- lishers’ Association have decided to do as they please with composers. The want of legal pro- tection against street piracy is, of course, a matter calling for remedy. For the grievance to be re- dressed by the publishers making a scapegoat of the guiltless composer shows that the chief need of the latter is his lack of a business knowledge of how to take care of himself. It is as bad as if a bank manager, because a burglar pilfered the safe, turned round and gave his senior partner a black eye Surely, if forcible measures had to be taken, the first people to have been asked about it should have been the composers. Perhaps it was not to the interests of publishers to ask for such per- mission, music trade houses being run with the object of making money and not as benevolent institutions. Creators of literary, dramatic and other, works of commercial value have already found that out. Until those producers protected themselves, tradesmen had a tendency to take the affairs of the artist into their own hands and do with them as they pleased. There are other ways of amending copyright laws than by taking away the bread and butter from the composer. How Composers CAN REMEDY THEIR GRIEVANCE. To establish a new and representative society to deal with this matter is out of the question at a time when taxation and local rates press more severely on the composer of average merit and ability than on almost any other class, he having to keep up appearances, codite que covite. To expect the most prominent men in_ the musical world, whose time is fully oceupied, to worry over the business and legal affairs of their less fortunate brethren is unreasonable, and advice on such subjects is of little use unless it is given by an expert.  THER AUTHOR. What is wanted is that a representative of a responsible office, acquainted with business routine, who understands the requirements and views of composers and has their confidence, should be available for consultation at stated hours. The office of the Incorporated Society of Authors is always available for that purpose, whether it is supported by a musical sub-committee or not, and its exceptional knowledge of copyright law could be utilised by the musical community. They would then find themselves able to give expression to their wishes in a collective way, as they ought to be given at the present time, so that their rights, as a body, could neither be played with nor ignored. Perhaps the most practical step would be for the leading composers again to come together, and asking the Society once more to elect the musical sub-committee to joinina body as members. They would by this means not only strengthen the position of themselves and other members of their profession, but they would possess a united strength which they do not now. ALGERNON SIDNEY. $< —e_____ REVIEWS AND REVIEWERS. ae T seems as if it were becoming the fashion for women writers to attack the reviewers. We have been made acquainted with Miss Marie Corelli’s opinion of the latter folk: they are venial or incompetent, or both. Last year in a weekly paper appeared a series of articles in which the novelist who hides her identity under the pseudonym of “ Rita,” to quote the title, “exposes critics.’ Even more aggressive is Lady Florence Dixie, who has delivered herself of an onslaught in the March number of Zhe Author on what she calls “The Reviewing Sham.” Lady Florence Dixie asks if it is not time that reviewing should cease, inasmuch as it is a sham. She assures us half the books noticed are never read, “being merely skimmed through, quoted from, condemned or praised, at the whim of the reviewer.” She tells of a bundle of books sent her for review, which she returned, having neither time nor inclination to read them: ‘To have read conscientiously through each and pro- nounced an honest opinion of the contents would have taken me three hundred and sixty-five days instead of three hundred and sixty-five minutes, which is about the usual time allotted by the ordinary reviewer to the same number of books.” 245 _ Now, in the name of Truth—with a capital T, just out of her well—how has she made this calculation? Is it based upon fact? or is it a guess inspired by prejudice? And who, in her opinion is the ordinary reviewer? Is it Mr. Andrew Lang, or Mr. M. H. Spielmann, or the writer of notices for a small provincial newspaper ? Really I cannot help thinking we have some right to expect further disclosures. But Lady Florence Dixie excels herself when she continues : “I am not blaming the ordinary reviewer. ‘This personage reviews for cash.” How true! But why stop here? Why not tell us that the novelist writes novels for money, and the dramatist plays, and that the poet and even the poetess write verses without being averse to the receipt of mundane reward? But perhaps Lady Florence Dixie would prefer that only those who possess a competence should be permitted to pursue the literary calling. Does the reviewer ‘“‘scamp” books? I am inclined to think the man who writes for a high-class paper does not do so. This is an age of specialists, and books are sent to writers versed in the different subjects. A book on Dickens is sent to an authority on the life and writings of that novelist, who does not require to read every line of the volume to discover its merits and defects. Much old material will be included, and he will naturally pass by the letters and quotations with which he is familiar. Remember, too, the reviewer's business is with books. He reads quickly : some would say with incredible rapidity. It is a matter of training. The child spells his words, the lad reads a word at a glance, the critic sentences. In the case of novels the reviewer, by long practice, detects “padding” and can quickly arrive at the conclusion whether or no the book be worthy of serious consideration. If the book be valuable it will not be ignored. He has to peruse so much trash that a story above the average is read with avidity. It is an axiom that the reviewer is anxious to discover and proclaim talent, if only for the selfish reason that it redounds to his credit. He has the advantage over the publisher’s reader that it is not his business to consider whether it will sell. “Rita” complains, and with justice, of the reviewer who fills the space allotted to him with a list of misprints. ‘The man who does this irritates the reader, for he is so occupied with the compilation of the catalogue of trifling errors that he forgets to say anything worth hearing about the book. I think this class of reviewing is dying, as I trust is that which devotes itself chiefly to falling foul of the author’s preface to the exclusion of a discussion of the merits of the work.  246 Belated criticism is another of “ Rita’s” griev- ances. But all books cannot be noticed at once, if for no other reason than that of the limitations of space; and, if a review have any value, it will secure the desired effect even a month or two after the issue of the work. I have said, ‘if a review have any value,” because “ Rita” holds it valueless. “Does it not stand to reason that an author is quite aware of his own merits as of his own limita- tions ?”’ she asks. Well, I think there are few who will agree with her Some readers are excellent judges of their books, but as a guide for my reading I would rather follow the critic than the author. But ‘ Rita’ goes on to tell us that the author could never be laudatory, because the book written that seemed as perfect in accomplishment as it seemed in inspiration would never be written by any possessor of genius, “ for genius means that sublime discontent with achievement which praise cannot satisfy or blame discourage.” I fear I do not number any geniuses among my friends, but when any writer has proved he is the possessor of genius I will be guided by him as to the merits of his books. In the meantime I will pin my faith to the critics, as, I think, most readers will do. Much has been said concerning the effect of advertisements upon the reviewing columns. “Rita” assures us that an editor who receives a large and steady income from a firm of publishers takes good care that the books issued by that firm are tenderly handled by his staff. Perhaps there may be such editors. My experience as a reviewer is comparatively small, but so far I can say I have never been asked to judge a book gently because the publisher’s advertisement appeared in the paper, nor have I ever been handed a book to “cut up”; and, though I number among my acquaintance many critics, I cannot find one who has met with either practice. Reviewers are no longer, if indeed they ever were, the men who have failed in literature and art. ‘To attack reviewers is practically to indite the entire literary calling, for to-day the majority of writers are critics. There is the great man of letters who steps down into the arena to praise some book that has delighted him; there is the author-reviewer, who maybe is only an occasional critic ; and there is the journalist-reviewer. But there are few who live by reviewing alone. There- fore, when I read the attack of an author upon critics, I always want to know what papers he has been reading, Take the quarterlies, the best class of monthlies and weeklies: Zhe Mortnightly, Contemporary, Nineteenth Century, Speaker, Spec- tator, etc.; the great dailies: Z%mes, Chroniele, Telegraph, News, Morning Post, Standard. It is difficult to find fault with the vast majority of - aims. THE AUTHOR. reviews in these organs. An individual critic may be too easily pleased or too severe, but he writes to the best of his judgment. Those who complain forget that the literary editors would not tolerate dishonest reviewers on their staff. They will not send a book to a critic, who is a personal friend or enemy of the author, nor will they hand a work to a man who is notoriously out of sympathy with its Of course, when a man on a minor journal has to take all literature for his field, there may be cause for complaint ; for, though he may be an excellent judge of some class of work, he may not be able to form an opinion of any value concern- ing another. But, just as one does not derive one’s opinion of current fiction from the novels of Mr. or Miss Dash, so it is distinctly unfair to point to “ The Blankshire Herald” as a typical critical journal. I believe, however, that criticism is more honest in England than in any other country in the world, and the critic less likely to give expression to personal dislike of the author. Reviewers, being human, have likes and dislikes for different schools of writings, as every man of letters has his literary prejudices. To expect a reviewer to have tastes so catholic as to be in sympathy with all works of literature is to ask for the unattainable. Lewis MELvVILLE. 1+ “ K NEW BOOK FOR AUTHORS AND PRINTERS.* —_— R. HOWARD COLLINS has certainly done | \ this job extraordinarily well—so well, that there is really nothing to be said about it except to recommend his book unconditionally to all authors and printers, journalists and typists, proof-readers and compositors. In the matter of technical treatises authors have been half spoiled and half starved. Dictionaries, encyclopedias and gazetteers have been heaped on them ; imper- tinences about style and grammar come in a con- stant stream from people who cannot write to people who can ; but a codification of typographic usage has hitherto been lacking, except in Mr. — Hart’s little pamphlet, which was not in the general market. As to the ordinary school text- books of English composition (some of them * « Author and Printer: A Guide for Authors, Editors, Printers, Correctorsof the Press, Compositors, and Typists.”” With full list of abbreviations. An attempt to codify the best typographical practices of the present day. By F. Howard Collins, author of “ An Epitome of the Synthetic Philosophy of Herbert Spencer.’ (London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, New York, and Toronto: Henry Frowde, 1905).  THE AUTHOR. 247 actually in use at the universities), and the catch- penny guides to correct punctuation and the like, most of them would set every purchaser ridicu- lously and disastrously wrong if it were humanly possible to remember—or indeed in any real sense tc read—their ignorant and arid lessons. What was wanted was a man with literary faculty enough to write a bearable book, with judgment and common sense enough to hold the balance between usage and logic, with that rather special technical sense which enables a man to see the importance of apparently little and dry tidinesses, with an en- lightenéd appetite for socially useful work, and with means and leisure to devote himself to it. In short, a man in a million. Fortunately, he has been found; and his name is Howard Collins. The book is well planned technically. It is not a heavy shelf book of reference, useless to nomadic authors. It weighs only fifteen ounces, fits in the jacxet pocket, and yet contains éver four hundred well packed pages, more legible without spectacles than most dictionaries. In form it is a dictionary and literary encyclopedia, set in double columns. If you write “beleiveable,” and it strikes you as not looking all you expected, you turn the word up and find “believable—nof -able.”’ If you are in a difficulty about punctuation, or do not know how to mark corrections in your proof, you turn up Proofs or Punctuation, as the case may be, and find as many rules on these subjects as anyone can safely claim authority for. There are blank pages at the end of each letter to supply new references, or make good omissions, if you can find any. The price is five shillings. It is impossible to give a complete list of all the headings under which the references fall, for Mr. Collins has employed that elusive gift of the born indexer, an imaginative divination, often apparently whimsical, of the puzzles presented by the prepara- tion of books for the press, so that he helps you not only in your rational difficulties (which experience soon provides for), but in those addleheadednesses which often paralyze an author without rhyme or reason, Just as Roget’s Thesaurus is valuable because Roget was an oddity, so is Mr. Collins, too, in that sense, an oddity who knows that the right station for a lifebuoy is not always the most obvious place for falling into the water. As I began writing for the printer thirty years ago, [have not approached Mr. Collins’s book in the spirit of a learner; yet the first thing my eye lit on was something I had never noticed before: namely, that I have never in my life spelt M‘Gregor according to usage, always using the apostrophe instead of the turned comma, which, it appears, is right in O'Neill. I say “according to usage”, because in this, as in many other matters, there is neither right nor wrong. If there were, I could have argued the case out for myself. Usage in printing is like etiquette: it is mostly a matter af usage, not of morals or manners. The thing to be done is not important ; but it is highly impor- tant that everybody should do it, and be able to depend on everybody else doing it in the same way. In matters where reason enters, Mr. Collins does not hesitate to vote with the reasonable minority against the thoughtless majority. Take for example the usage as to whether inverted commas should follow or precede stops. In a sentence in which a quotation occurs there can be no question that it is simply a logical error to place stops belonging to the main sentence within the quotation marks instead of after them. But the contrary usage is so common that I have hardly ever had my copy accurately followed in this respect. Mr. Collins prescribes the correct way, following the careful usage of the few and not the thoughtless usage of the many. I do not praise Mr. Collins’s rules because they are invariably my own. ‘They are not. Every writer of dramatic dialogue soon finds that usages founded on the art of the essayist and historian defeat his attempts to convey a vivid impression of excited speech: for instance, that a torrent of questions and explanations cannot be represented by the stately series of separate sentences into which an inquiry into the characteristics of Marcus Aurelius can be broken. Yet even here I find that on the points at issue, Mr. Collins qualifies his rule so as to provide for me. Then again, every author with an eye for the appearance of a page of type (if any such there be) must by this time have several artistic quarrels with usages which have grown up during the period of desolating Philis- tinism which separates Caslon from Morris. Ever since Morris awakened our artistic con- science to the fact that a book has to be looked at as well as read, and that the most enchanting poem or absorbing story in the world may be made into a disgusting spectacle by vile manufacture and base materials, or, even more effectually, by elaborate and costly snobbishness, certain typo- graphical practices which are rational enough (however unnecessary), have become less and less bearable. Jor instance, inverted commas and apostrophes are so ruinous to the appearance of a printed page that people with cultivated eyes will finally refuse to buy editions in which The Merchant of Venice is printed ‘he Merchant of Venice’’; and don’ts and won’ts and haven’ts and: didn’ts (all quite harmless, pretty, and characteristic without the apostrophe) are peppered all over the page. Since Morris’s death the finest books produced in England, as far as I know, are the Ashendene Press books of Mr. Hornby, and the Doves Press books of Cobden Sanderson and Emery Walker.  248 But why did the Doves Press begin with a Latin Text to shew the noble type it designed on the lines of Jensen? And why did it go on to the Doves Bible now in progress ? No doubt because Latin and Scripture do not require the pepper pot. Mr. Collins leavesall this out of account. He even prints his title page in at least six different types, an outrage for which Morris would have slain him where he stood. But whilst I note the omission I do not blame it : on the contrary, I highly applaud the judgment and resolution with which Mr. Collins has resisted the enormous temptation to give a helping hand to pet reforms under the pretext of codifying usage. But he has not made the necessary rule an excuse for countenancing the slipshod abandonment of old usages, which are both handsome and correct. He insists on the use of z instead of s in the termination ize. He points out that £ should follow the pounds figure instead of preceding it. Both these usages are traditional as well as correct. Yet Mr. Collins is human enough to commit one crime. The blood-curdling vulgarism of pro- gramme for program is expressly prescribed by him. I must really send him a telegramme containing an appropriate epigramme on the point. G. B.S. 0 —— 0 CORRESPONDENCE. —1-—~— Tar ExtRAVAGANT DINNER. Srr,—It may be remembered how, in the spring of 1899, considerable dissatisfaction was expressed inthe columns of Zhe Author anent what was then regarded as the excessive cost of tickets for the Society’s annual dinner. I imagine such objec- tions will be renewed more forcibly, and with even greater reason, this year, when the coming of age of our popular combine is to be celebrated. It certainly seems to me, as it may occur to some fellow-members, that for so noteworthy an event reduction rather than increase in price would have been desirable. Thus the great army of scribes to whom half a guinea, with trimmings, is a distinct consideration might find it both con- venient and comfortable to attend in force so pleasant a function. I fear the price for many must prove prohibitive. Is it too late to hope that the cry of the less affluent penman be heard and suitably answered ? Authors’ Club, S.W. —— 9 —— Oup Birp. WantTED—— ! Sir,—When reading 7he Author I have often been struck by the want of something, which THE AUTHOR. may have occurred to other readers, though I have never seen any allusion made to it. We have the most interesting ‘“ Paris Notes,” from time to time we have the “ American Notes,” or “Cape Notes,” and latterly there have been the equally interesting ‘‘ Notes from Spain ;” but how does it come to pass that there are never any “Notes from Germany”? We surely owe a debt of gratitude to Germany for her literature, as well as for her deep scientific and philosophic research, and it is a matter of some surprise that no allusion should ever be made in the pages of The Author to the productions of modern German literature. Is there no member of the Society who could con- tribute a monthly paper on the subject, similar to. the French and Spanish papers which we already have? One of our highest aims should surely be to become more international—wider in our views. and opinions, and two of the strongest forces. towards the attainment of this end must ever be science and art. These know no limitations of race, and although literature—expressing itself as. it does through the medium of language—must be at a slight disadvantage in comparison with the other arts, yet in these days of rapid trans- lations even that barrier has been practically removed. There is one other form of literature upon which a competent paper would surely be welcome, though probably far more difficult to obtain, and that is the literature of modern Japan; not the old romances or living impressionist lyrics to which, for instance, B. H. Chamberlain and Lafeadio Hearn allude, and which they sometimes quote, but the war literature, the expression of the sentiments of an artistic people, with whom loyalty is nothing short of a religion. This were surely worth having, could we but obtain a reliable account of it, since in no other way can we, who have slowly evolved our civilization through centuries of experiment and failure, hope in the remotest degree to. enter into the feelings of a nation new-born from medigvalism, a child-prodigy amongst the grey- beards of the west—a true people of the Rising Sun. And by this entering into the heart and thought, the very soul of other nations, we join in and help to advance that great work for which so many are striving nowadays, the unifying of the nations. Not only every international congress, arbitration, or commission of enquiry, not alone — every welcome to some foreign soverign, shall help 5 2 towards this end, but—though more silently, it may be even more efficiently—the deepening of individual interest in the thoughts and ideals of other nations, the realisation of the deep underlying unity which is ours by virtue of a common humanity. M. Twycross. 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. 15 Issue 08 (May 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 08 (May 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-05-01-The-Author-15-8 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/506/1905-06-01-The-Author-15-9.pdf 2310a2bd6bc138b90a9ba908490b3b3c PDF Text Text ������������������������������������ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-06-01 Volume 15 Issue 9 Pages Page range in volume 249–280 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050601 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Euthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. JUNE 1st, 1905. [Prick SIXPENCE. Vou. XV.—No. 9. TELEPHONE NuMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_§_-—<—_e NOTICES. — OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7he Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. ——+->+—— List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —1—~ The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum of £230. When the purchase Vou. XV. is complete the amount will be added to the investments at present standing in the names of the Trustees, which are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— ON ae £1000 0 0 teal boeken 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 War Doan 201 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- bare Siecle 250 0 0 Motels. £2,243 9. 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £8. d. Jan. 12, Anonymous . : : 70 276 Donations, 1905. Jan. Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 0 Jan. Bolton, Miss Anna 0 5 0 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 0 5 0 Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert 0.5.0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 0 Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 010 O Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. 1 0 9 Mar. 28, Kirmse, Mrs. 010 0 April19, Hornung, H. W. . . 25.0 0 May 7, Wynne, C. Whitworth . 5 0.0 May 16, Alsing, Mrs. J. E. : ? Y May 17, Anonymous . — se COMMITTEE NOTES. + HE committee of the society met at 389, Old Queen Street, on Monday, the 8th day of May, with heavy agenda for their consideration. After the minutes had been signed, the first matter dealt with was the election of members and 250 associates. ‘Twenty-five new members and asso- ciates were elected, making the total for the current year ninety-nine. The list is printed below. Then followed the discussion of a difficult question between a member of the society and a publisher. The secretary read a long report of the case which had been received from the solicitors, who had gone very carefully into all the papers and details. After full and serious consideration the committee decided they were unable to take the matter up, put were willing to accept, subject to the member's consent, the suggestion put forward by the pub- lisher, to appoint an arbitrator to settle the division of profits. The question of the general lien which the binders claimed on stock in their possession, brought forward at the last meeting, was further considered. A dispute arising out of Mr. Grant Richards’ bankruptcy, between a member of the society and the trustee, was also discussed. The secretary read the documents and the solicitors’ opinion upon the point, but as the questions in- volved were difficult and complicated the com- mittee decided to obtain counsel’s opinion, and to reconsider the case when this opinion came to hand. Another curious matter dealing with the right of an author to the publication of his name was carefully considered, and a long report of the solicitors was read to the committee, who decided from the information before them that it would be impossible for them to take action, but that if the member was willing to take counsel’s opinion, they would then reconsider the case. It has been the habit for the chairman for the current year to take the chair at the general meetings, although it often occurred that the questions dealt with in the report had arisen during the chairmanship of his predecessor. It was decided, therefore, that although the election of the chairman should be made at the customary time, that is, during the first month of the year, it should not take effect till after the general meeting. The appointment of correspondents in Canada and Sweden was discussed. ‘The secretary was instructed to make full inquiries with a view to appointing suitable representatives. The committee decided that the chairman of the committee should, on behalf of the society, sign the petition of the Music Defence League, in the hope of inducing the Government to pass an Act to stop the present musical piracy. There were various other matters of minor importance before the committee, but no further contentious work. The meeting lasted for two hours. THE AUTHOR. Cases. Five new cases have been in the secretary’s hands during the past month. The number is very small. ‘This should be taken as a good omen. Three were for money due, one for the return of a MS., and one related to a question of infringement of copyright. The money has been paid in one case. In the other two cases it turned out, on demand being made, that one paper was in bankruptcy, and that for the other a receiver for the debenture holders had been appointed. It will be impossible, therefore, to bring these cases to any satisfactory conclusion at present until the liabilities have been clearly set forth. In the matter dealing with MS., the MS. has been returned and forwarded to the author. The question of infringement of copyright is still in course of negotiation. ‘All the cases open from former months have been closed with the exception of a question of contract, where the member resides in Australia. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining information, this matter must necessarily be delayed. Mr. Grant Richards’ bankruptcy is still moving forward, but the progress is slow. The trustee at one time expected to be able to sell the business as a whole, but it would appear that the negotia- tions have fallen through, and there is considerable difficulty in arranging for the transfer of each book separately. “he society, through its secretary and solicitors, is doing everything it can on behalf of its members. —-——+— May Elections. Alsing, Mrs. J. E. The Cottage, Kopling, Sweden. 45, West End Avenue, Harrogate. c/o E. Marlay Carolin, Esq., Assistant Loco. Superintendent, 0.8. A. Railway, Volks- rust, Transvaal, 81, Westbourne Ter-. race, W. 6, Boundary Road, Hampstead, N.W. Heberton Hall, Leiston, Suffolk. Braithwaite, Miss Alice Carolin, Mrs. De la Rue, E. A. . Donaldson, 8. H. (Sid- ney Hunter) Doughty, Miss Gertrude Essex, John Ridgwell . Gordon, Major Evans, M.P. Gibson, Miss L. V. 4, Chelsea Embank- ment, S.W. 9, Gray’s Inn W.C oe Square, Griffith, Miss Lucy G.  Grylls, A. C. Glynn Inglefield, H. B. . Latham, Edward . Lobley, Prof. J. Logan, F.R.G.S. Masefield, J. E. (J. M.) Mosely, Miss Ettie I. Peacey, Howard Russell, Lady . Synge, Miss M. B. Tanner, James T. : Taylor, The Rev. R. H., D.D. Underwood, F. J. . THE AUTHOR. 117, Elgin Avenue, W. 24, Cadogan Place, S.W. 61, Friends Road, Croydon. 36, Palace Street, Buckingham Gate, S.W. 1, Diamond Terrace, Greenwich. Gloucester House, Kew. Rydal Mount, Meads, Eastbourne. South Woodfield Park, Reading. 15, St. Loo Mansions, Chelsea, 8.W. Savoy Mansions, W.C. Goddington _ Rectory, Bicester. Three of the members elected in May do not desire either their names or their addresses to be printed. —+-—<>— + —__ WE regret that in the last issue of The Author Mrs. Christobel Hulbert Sewell’s pseudonym, “ Chris Sewell,” was, in error, attached to Mrs. Charles Scheu’s name, also published in that issue. ——_—?+———___ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. ——+ (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) ARCH AOLOGY. EHNASYA. By W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE. With Chapter, By C. T. CUNELLY, M.A. Twenth-sixth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund. Roman EHNASYA (Herakleo- polis Magna). Ehnasya. Plates and Text. By W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE. Supplementary to 12 x 10, 41 + 15 pp. Plates. Offices of the Egypt Exploration BIOGRAPHY. Fund. JoHN KNox AND THE REFORMATION. Longmans. Lane. 93 x 6. 281 pp. By ANDREW 10s. 6d. n. DIARY AND LETTERS OF MADAME D’ ARBLAY (1778—1840), as Edited by her niece, CHARLOTTE BARRETT. a Preface and Notes by AUSTIN DoBsoNn. 524 pp. Macmillan. VOL V. 9 x bE. A Lire of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 8 x 54. 495 pp. Smith, Elder. 7s. 6d. Fifth Edition. NApoLeon: THE First PHASE, With In Six Vols. 10s. 6d. n. By SIDNEY LEE. Some Chapters on the Boyhood and Youth of Bonaparte, 1769—1793. By OscaR BROWNING. 8% 10s. 6d. n. x BS; Lane. 315 pp. 251 CLASSICAL, HARVARD LECTURES ON THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING. By JoHN EpwIn Sanpys, Litt.D. 7 x 5, 212 pp. Cambridge University Press. 4s. 6d. n. DRAMA, Mrs. DANE’S DEFENCE. By HENRY ARTHUR JONES. 63 x 48. 127 pp. Macmillan. 2s. 6d. INDISCRETIONS. By Cosmo HAMILTON. 7% x 5. 268 pp. Treherne. 1s. THE GREEK KALENDS: a Comedy in Verse. By ARTHUR DILLON. 64 x 5. 123 pp. Mathews. 3s. 6d. n. EDUCATIONAL. STORIES FROM THE NORTHERN SaAGAs. Selected from various translations, and Edited by A. F, MAgor and K. E, SpercHr, With a Preface by the late Pror. YorK POWELL. Second Edition. Revised and Enlarged. 73 x 5. 282 pp. Marshall. 2s. 6d. GIPsy STORIES (112 pp.) THE STORIES OF ANTONIO AND BENEDICT MOL (120 pp.). FRom Borrow’s BIBLES IN SPAIN; HAWTHORNE’S TANGLEWOOD TALES; THE GOLDEN FLEECE, &¢. (English School Texts), Edited by W. H. D. Roose, Litt.D. 63 x 4}. Blackie. 8d. each. FICTION. THE REDDING STRAIK. By RoBERT AITKEN. 7} x 5. 324 pp. Edinburgh: Morton ; London: Simpkin, Marshall. 6s. Dorset Dear. By M. E. FRANcts (Mrs. Francis Blundell). 8 x 5}. 332 pp. Longmans. 6s. GrorRGE EASTMONT: WANDERER. By JoHN LAW. 73 x 5. 243 pp. Burns & Oates. 3s. 6d. THE ErRRoR oF Her Ways. By FRANK BARRETT. 7% x 5. 321 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. RosE OF THE WORLD. By AGNES AND EGERTON CASTLE. 7% x 5. 379 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. THE PHANTOM ToRPEDO Boats. By ALLEN UPWARD. 7} x 5. 326 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. MIXED RELATIONSHIPS. By RENNIE RENNISON. 7} x 5. 381 pp. Simpkin, Marshall. 6s. THE Hint. A Romance of Friendship. By H. A. VACHELL. 8 x 5. 319pp. Murray. 6s. MARIAN SAx. By E. MARIA ALBENESI. 72 x 5, 370 pp. Hurst & Blackett. 6s. WAVES OF Fate, By E. NoBLE. 72 Blackwood. 6s. MARJORIE’s MistaAKE. By BertTHA M. M. MINIKEN. 74 x 4%. 424 pp. Edinburgh: Morton; London: Simpkin, Marshall. 6s. STINGAREE. By HE. W, HORNUNG. Chatto & Windus. 6s, THE FRIENDSHIPS OF VERONICA. 7% x 5. 296 pp. Rivers. 6s. THE PRIDE OF Mrs. BRUNELLE, By ARTHUR H. HOLMES, 74 x 5, 312 pp. Burleigh. 6s. LITERARY. Freely Expressed on certain phases of By MARIE CORELLI. x 6, 3846 pp. Te x 43. 324 pp. By THOMAS COBB. FREE OPINIONS. Modern Social Life and Conduct. 7% x 5. 353 pp. Constable. 6s. AUCASSIN AND NICOLETE. Done into English, By ANDREW LANG. 8 x 54. 91 pp. Routledge. 3s. 6d. n. MISCELLANEOUS, A HANpDBOOK of FREE STANDING GYMNASTICS. By E. ADAIR ROBERTS. 10 X 7}. 138 pp. Sherratt & Hughes. 3s. 6d. n. THE STAMP FrEenp’s Kalb. 28 pen and ink sketches by the Author, 2s, 6d. By W. E. Imeson. With Horace Cox.  252 PHILOSOPHY. THE PRINCIPLES OF Hprepiry. By G. ARCHDALL REID, ‘M.B. 9 x 53. 359pp. Chapman & Hall. 12s. 6d. n. POEMS. ‘+ PEACE AND OTHER Poems. By A. C. BENSON, 7 x 44. Lane. 5%. n. THE DANCE OF OLIVES. By ARTHUR MAQUARIE. 63 x 4. Dent. 4s. n. POLITICAL. Russia IN REVOLUTION. By G. H. Perris. 9 x 53. 359 pp. Chapman & Hall. 10s. 6d. n. REPRINTS. Kine RicHarp III. (The Red Letter Shakespeare). 6} x 38. 173 pp. Blackie. 1s. 6d, n. SPORT. FIsHING IN DERBYSHIRE AND AROUND. By W. M. GALLICHAN (Geoffrey Mortimer). 74 x 5. 184 pp. Robinson. 3s, 6d. n. THEOLOGY, St. JoHNn: The Revised Version. Edited with Notes for the Use of Schools. By the Ruv. A. CARR, M.A. 8vo. Sv. MATTHEW : The Revised Version. Edited with Notes for the Use of Schools. By the Rev. A. CARR, M.A. With three maps. Cambridge University Press. ls. 6d. n. TOPOGRAPHY. Lonpon Town. By EprIc VREDENBURG. Illustrated with 40 views in colour and black and white (photo- graphs). 9} x 7}. 29 pp. Raphael Tuck. 1s. n. A GARDEN OF EDEN: Kempton Park once upon a time. By EpirH A. BARNETT. 7$ x 5. 147 pp. Constable, 5s, 0. TRAVEL. By JOHN FosTER FRASER. 8 x 53. 6s. CANADA AS IT IS. 303 pp. Cassell. —__—_———_e—>__—__—_ LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. \ | R. MURRAY is publishing “The British hs Trade Year Book,” edited by Mr. J. Holt Schooling. The aim of the work is to show in a thorough and lucid fashion the course of British trade in each important section, and more broadly the average yearly results during each successive decade. Mr. G. W. Forrest, O.I.E., is engaged on the Life of Field-Marshall Sir Neville Chamberlain, who was one of the “Illustrious Brotherhood of the Punjaub,” and who, at the time of the mutiny, kept a personal diary and wrote home very full and interesting letters. The work will be published by Messrs. Blackwood. Mr. Richard Bagot has now finished a new novel entitled “The Passport,” which will. be THE AUTHOR. eden in book form in Great Britain and the nited States in the early autumn of this year. Mr. Justin Huntley McCarthy is engaged on a novel which will be ready for publication in the autumn of this year or in the spring of 1906. “The Conflict of Owen Prytherch” is the title of a novel dealing with modern Welsh life, which Mr. Walter M. Gallichan is publishing shortly through Mr. George Morton. The story, which deals with the experiences of a Welsh Noncon- formist minister who is too “advanced” for his flock, contains a reference to the religious revival in Wales. A new novel by Sydney C. Grier will appear in The Graphic as a serial, prior to its publication in book form. A third edition of “How the Steam Engine Works,” by Randal McDonnell, has been issued at the price of 2s. 6d. Copies can be obtained from Messrs. Sealy, Bryers and Walker, and Messrs. M. H. Gill & Son, of Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, and O’Connell Street, Dublin, respectively. In a preface to the work, the author states that his aim has been to give a clear and concise account of the steam engine, and one free from all unnecessary detail. “ Qccasional Verses ” is the title of a collection of poems by E. Urwick reprinted from London and provincial journals. They are mainly of a humorous character, though one referring to the death of President McKinley reveals the serious side of the writer’s art. Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co. have recently published in 2 vols. a work by Dr. F. E. Hare, entitled ‘Common Humoral Factor of Disease.” The work is described as a deductive investi- gation into the primary causation, meaning, mechanism and rational treatment, preventive and curative, of the paroxysmal neuroses (migraine, asthma, epilepsy, etc.), gout, high blood pressure, circulatory, venal and other degenerations. The same publishers have also published poems by E. Nesbit, under the title of “ The Rainbow and the Rose.” Messrs. Constable’s list of forthcoming books includes “Extinct Animals,” by Prof. E. Ray Lankester. The work is the substance of a course of lectures which Prof. Lankester delivered at the Royal Institution to a juvenile audience during the Christmas season. Messrs. Methuen published last month, at the price of 2s. 6d. net, “ An English Church History for Children,” by Miss Mary E. Shipley, with a preface by the Bishop of Gloucester. | They have also published a re-issue of Mr. Baring Gould’s “Strange Survivals and Super- stitions,” at the same price. : Miss Netta Syrett’s novel, “‘ The Day’s Journey, . THE AUTHOR. recently published by Messrs. Chapman & Hall, is a story of temperament, revealing the effect of disillusionment after marriage, and the gradual working towards reconciliation which ultimately is effected. _ We are informed that Mr. Poultney Bigelow has been appointed by the Boston University to ‘act as their delegate at the International Congress called by the King of the Belgians to discuss matters of Colonial expansion. The Congress meets on September 25th, 1905. ‘““A Child of the Shore,” which some of the papers have erroneously described as the first work of a new writer, is, in fact, by the author of the play “The Waters of Bitterness ” (produced by the Stage Society two years ago), and of “Verses for Granny,” ete. The frontispiece to the work is from a statuette of the author’s. Mr. Egerton Castle’s new book, “Rose of the World,” which was published in England early last month,has already gone through two editions in America, where it was published on April 10th. “Zelia” is the title of a story by Miss Etta Buchanan Bennett, author of “A Scottish Blue Bell.” The price is 3s. 6d., and the publishers Messrs. Jarrold & Sons. It is a straightforward story of an old-fashioned kind, with a plain record of loves and hates. The scene is laid first in the Southern States of America and then in England. Mr. Anthony Hope, lecturing at the Queen’s Square Club on May 9th, compared the classic with the modern novel, and stated that what struck him most in the latter was the tendency towards . working philosophy into the story. Whilst the great writers of former days gave expression to their philosophy in explanations and asides, the modern method was to use the characters of the story in order to achieve this object. Hitherto, the main question had been what happened. In the new-style story, however, that point was of secondary importance, the real question being why did it happen ? or ought it to have happened at all ? Mrs. Craigie (‘John Oliver Hobbes”) will deliver a lecture on “Plato and Dante,” under the auspices of the Dante Society, on June 7th, at 3.30. Sir Theodore Martin, K.C.B., president of the society, will take the chair. “The Stamp Fiend’s Raid,” by W. E. Imeson, has been published by Messrs. Horace Cox at the price of 2s. 6d. The work—which contains 28 pen and ink sketches by the author—is an inoffensive skit on many of the hobbies of the day, chiefly philately. It is written on popular lines, with a view to interest equally the general reader and those collectors whose pursuits are introduced. Messrs. Blackwood have published “ Elizabeth Grey,” by E. M. Green, which is the journal of an author written in a Somerset farmhouse. 253 Mr. Thomas Burleigh has recently publishe novel by Mr. Arthur H. Holmes, ander tik ne “The Pride of Mrs. Brunelle.” : Messrs. Chapman & Hall have recently pub- lished, atthe price of 12s. 6d. net, Dr. G. Archdall Reid’s new work, “The Principles of Heredity.” Whilst the work ig designed to supply the want of a text-book on the subject, the author expresses the hope that it may not be found lacking in general interest to the professional biologist and general reader. Mr. John Jackson has published, through Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co., a work dealing with “ Ambi- dexterity.” Specimens of ambidextral writing and drawings are given in the book, which contains an introduction by Major-General Baden-Powell. The price is 6s. net. Mrs. Katherine 8. Macquoid’s novel, “A Village Chronicle,” recently published by Messrs. Digby, Long & Co., is a record of joys and sorrows, comedies and tragedies of the inhabitants in a well-cared-for English village. The volume con- tains four full-page illustrations by Forestier. Mr. Oscar Browning’s work, «“N apoleon, the First Phase,” published by Mr. John Lane, deals with the youth and upbringing of the Emperor. | “The Friendships of Veronica” is the title of Mr. Thomas Cobb’s latest. novel, published by Mr, Alston Rivers. The story, whilst not entirely political, relies for its plot on an election campaign. In her new book, entitled “ It’s a Way They have in the Army,” Lady Helen Forbes has drawn a picture of regimental social life in India, which, though not always pleasing, may provide the public with food for thought. Messrs. Duckworth & Co. are the publishers. The sixth and concluding volume of Macmillan’s Madame D’Arblay’s “Diary and Letters, 1778— 1840,” will shortly be issued. It contains a lengthy postscript to Mr. Dobson’s preface in Volume [. explaining the principle of the edition. It also includes a Bibliography of the previous issues, a long Appendix on Rear-Admiral James Burney, and an Appendix on the recently published letters regarding “ Kvelina.” The volume is illustrated by photogravure portraits of Mrs. Crewe, Chateau- briand, Mme. de Staél, and Dr. Burney, and has also photographs of Madame D’Arblay’s house in Bolton Street, Piccadilly ; of Rogers’s house in St. James’s Place ; of Walcot Church, Bath, where Madame D’Arblay is buried, and of the memorial tablet to her in that church. A full general index terminates the volume. Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. are projecting a new series, the “ Dryden Library,” in eighteen-penny cloth volumes and two shillings leather. The first issue will be a selection of fifty pieces from the “Collected Poems” of Austin  254 Dobson, and it will include a photogravure frontis- piece reproducing a pen-and-ink drawing by the late George H. Boughton, R.A. The Rev. G. W. Allen, Vicar of St. James’s, Bradford, and author of “The Mission of Evil,” “Wonderful Words and Works” (Skeffington), is editing a new quarterly magazine, called 7'he Seeker, devoted to the search for God and the true self, The magazine will deal with the deeper spiritual apprehension of religion, and will include piblical interpretation, the relation of doctrine to life, the influence of thought on health and power, and why it is that Christianity has so little effect on the world. The first number has just been issued. It contains 28 pages, which will in future numbers be increased to 32. The subscription is Qs. 6d. a year, post free. The publisher is Mr. Philip Wellby. Mr. Sydney Grundy’s play, “ Business is Business” (adapted from M. Octave Mirbeau’s “ Les Affaires sont les Affaires”), was produced at His Majesty’s Theatre on May 13th. The main character in the piece is a modern financier, whose success in business has been achieved by methods which cause him to be loathed by his children. After driving his daughter from home for having frustrated his attempt to arrange a marriage between her and the son of a poverty-stricken earl, the financier learns of the death of his son, whom he adored. This last blow shatters all his ambitions and causes him to break down completely. The caste includes Mr. Beerbohm Tree and Miss Viola Tree. Mr. Louis N. Parker’s one-act play, entitled “The Creole,” was produced on the afternoon of May 6th., at the Haymarket Theatre, in front of Capt. Marshall’s play, “ Everybody’s Secret.” Mr. Parker’s piece deals with the domestic life of Napoleon Bonaparte, and shows how an estrange- ment between Napoleon and his wife, Joséphine, was terminated through the instrumentality of the daughter. Mr. Cyril Maude appeared as Napoleon, and Miss Alice Crawford as Jos¢phine. “Daniel Dibsey.” A farcical comedy. By George Blagrove. Was produced at the Royal Albert Hall Theatre on May 1st, before a crowded audience. 9 PARIS NOTES. —— 9 — HE third volume of “ 1815 : La Seconde Abdi- cation: La Terreur Blanche,” by Henry Houssaye, is one of the most interesting of recent books. The author has the great gift of knowing exactly what to omit, the art of selection. The subject he has taken is a huge one, and the amount of historical documents which must have THE AUTHOR. been studied for such a work must certainly have been enormous, and yet there is not a word too much in this volume. After reading it carefully from the first chapter to the last, a book of nearly six hundred pages, one has a remarkably clear idea of the period of history depicted, of the questions of the day, of the motives which actuated other European nations and of the terrible struggles, the individual ambitions and jealousies, and finally the heroic reaction of the French nation. It would be difficult to find any book giving in so few words so faithful an account of all that the whole nation endured during the period between the second abdication of Napoleon and the treaty of peace when “kings crept out again to feel the sun.” The whole story is given of Napoleon’s return to Paris after Waterloo, of the opinion in France, the intrigues of Fouché, of La Fayette’s speech to the Chamber, of Napoleon’s various messages and final abdication. ‘Then comes the departure of Napoleon to La Malmaison and the return of King Louis XVIII., the occupation of Paris by the Allied Armies and Napoleon’s decision to leave for America, the treachery of Fouché, the confidence of Napoleon in the English, and the ignoble story of the Bellerophon, St. Helena, and Hudson Lowe. The final chapters of the book are styled by the author “Crucified France.” In one part he treats of the exigencies of the Allies, and we have @ picture of France occupied by the English, Prus- sians, Austrians, Russians, Dutch, Belgians, Bavarians, and Spanish, so that in fifty-eight departments the French were supplying the enemy with money and provisions. Lord Castlereagh esti- mated that this occupation cost France 1,750,000 francs a day. For the English army alone the city of Paris had to provide 114,000 lbs. of bread a day, 76,000 lbs. of meat, about 30,000 pints of wine, etc. Wellington was finally indignant at the abuses of the Allies, and he wrote to Castlereagh to request that the sovereigns should be told that the oppression must cease and that the troops must not be allowed to pillage and destroy for the pure pleasure of it. Finally, after the treaty of peace was signed and the enormous indemnity agreed upon, France was in the most pitiable condition. With justifiable pride the author concludes : “ When a country can resist so many times similar © catastrophies, when it can triumph over such @ crisis, it must be that it possesses miraculous — vitality and inconceivable reserves of strength and energy. How can one have any doubts with regard to the destinies of a nation which for tea centuries has gone from one resurrection 0 another resurrection ?” After reading this book one is not surprised that the author should lay down his pen with “a stronger and more ardent faith in the fortunes of France.”  THE AUTHOR. The Napoleonic era is always a favourite period, and M. Gilbert Stenger’s series of books has had great success. The whole work is entitled “Histoire de la Société francaise pendant le Consulat.” The first volume was “ La Renaissance de la France,” the second “ Aristocrates et républi- cains ; les emigrés et les complots ; les hommes du Consulat.” The volume just recently published is entitled “ Bonaparte. Sa Famille. Le Monde et les Salons.” It is, perhaps, the most interesting of the three, and shows Napoleon in a light which will surprise many readers. The first chapter treats of his childhood, his early education and his life until the age of seventeen. We read of his studious habits, his poverty and pride, his devotion to his family, and his great ambition. We have, too, the story of Joséphine, and of her marriage with Napoleon. The next part of the book is taken up with an account of each member of the Bonaparte family, and the third part is devoted to an account of the society of that period, each chapter treating of the various sdlons, including those of Madame Récamier, Madame de Stael, Madame de Genlis, Madame de Houdetot, the Marquise deCondorcet, the Duchesse de Luynes, and the Marquise de Custine. It is a book which gives an excellent idea of the social life of the times, serving as a key to much that seems complex in modern French society. One sees the difference between the old salons and the new ones, and one learns to understand better the line of demarcation which Napoleon was so anxious to efface. There are two more volumes yet to appear before M. Stenger will have accom- plished his task. Another book by Pierre Loti, dedicated to his companions on the Redoutable, and entitled “La Troisieme Jeunesse de Madame Prune.” It was written three years ago, before the Russo- Japanese war had commenced. It describes another journey to Japan, to the city of Madame Chrysanthéme. Fifteen years in the history of most nations do not count in the same way as that period has counted in Japan. It is one long series of surprises and regrets for the poet who had formerly sung of the mystery and charm of the extreme Orient. Instead of the picturesque junks there were now boats of all kinds, such as one might see at the Havre, or at Portsmouth. Instead of the “mantle of verdure covering the rocks and giving to the bay the charm of Eden, a road bordered with manufactories and coal stores.” High up on the mountain, letters ten yards long, an American system of advertisement for some alimentary pro- duct! Fifteen years ago, the author tells us, there were no drunkards in Japan except the European At present the Japanese sailors have Sailors. 255 adopted Western customs and—alcoholic beverages. The tea-rooms are dirty and smell of absinthe 5 one may enter without taking off one’s shoes, and instead of cushions to sit upon there are chairs placed around tables, and there are rows of bottles containing whisky, brandy, and pale ale. The whole book has the charm of description, the melancholy poetry peculiar to Pierre Loti, but the things described now seem to have lost much of their charm. The practical West has invaded the East and sweptaway much of the mystery and poetry. Yokohama, with its electric wires everywhere, is, we are told, like an immense spider’s web, a mascarade a faire pitieé. Everything is changed, ‘‘ Kuropeanised,” and in despair when a yellow- faced journalist with a black coat and tall hat attempts to interview Loti he escapes to his ship, ne voulant plus rien savoir de ce Japon-la. He managed to find some spots, however, which were still charming, and he lingers over these. Itisa volume of impressions, a series of word-pictures given in the style that makes all Pierre Loti’s works so fascinating. “La Beauté d’Alcias,” by Jean Bertheroy, a book which takes us away from all that is prosaic and gives us a picture of life in an antique setting. The secret of the success of this author is the way in which he can give us warmth and life in these stories of the past instead of merely cold, colourless sketches. Doris, the daughter of the perfumer, Alexandre, loves a Grecian youth named Alcias. He is an athlete and the most handsome of young men. The whole story turns on the girl’s deep love for him. After one of his great athletic victories he returns blind. The anguish of Doris is terrible, for, with her intense love of beauty, she is heart-broken that Alcias should lose his eyesight. She persuades him to allow her to take him to Epidaure and to beseech Péan, the son of Apollo, to have mercy on him. They join the procession of pilgrims and climb the holy mountain where so many miracles have been performed. The terrible part for the young girl is to feel that the grace of their gods has not touched her lover; he has no faith, and has only consented to the pilgrimage in order to please her. Her attempts to convince him are most touching. The miracle finally is accom- plished, and Alcias, while asleep in the temple, is roused by the glory of the sunrise, opens his eyes, and to the joy and amazement of himself and of Doris his sight immediately returns. The great charm of the book is its life. Such colouring and atmosphere arerarely obtained in stories of this kind. Among other new books are the following : — “Hommes nouveaux,” by G. Fanton; “ Les Revenantes,” by Champol ; “ La Grande Aventure,” by Georges Labruycre; “ Fatale Méprise,” by Henri Barande. 256 THE AUTHOR. “Les Derniéres Années de Chateaubriand,” by M. Edmond Biré ; “ Victor Hugo & Guernsey,” by M. Paul Stapfer. “Age d’aimer,” by M. Pierre Wolff, has been a great success for Mme. Réjane at the Gymnase Theatre, and at the Thédtre Antoine; “Le Meilleur Parti,” by M. Maurice Maindron. Auys HALLARD. ——-——_—_ THE DON QUIXOTE FETES IN MADRID, —_-—<— + T has been worth while coming to Spain to see how the whole country has been permeated with the desire to do honour to Cervantes and his ‘*Don Quixote.” In the capital itself the tri-centenary of the publication of the great Spanish classic has been celebrated with so much enthusiasm by the chief centres of art, science, education, music, literature, the army, and the church and the stage, that could Cervantes himself have returned to the city where he died in want and neglect three hundred years ago, he would have thought it was one of those dreams of his imagina- tion which so often played him false. For the past week the Puerta del Sol has resounded with the cries of the vendors of programmes of the fétes, ~ with flaring coloured pictures of “The Knight of the Sad Countenance ” and some of his adventures ; special stamps bearing the portrait of Cervantes and the “‘ windmill scene’ of “ Don Quixote” have been issued for use in Spain for the fourteen days of the centenary celebration. ‘The fétes were pre- faced by ten lectures from the leading literary Spaniards of the day on the origin and the different aspects of ‘‘ Don Quixote” and its relation to science, politics, art, poetry, music and metaphysics. It is difficult to do justice to the flood of eloquence which emanated from the Chair of the Atheneeum on each of these occasions. The attention accorded to Sefior Navarro Ledesma, the well-known writer on Cer- vantes, was very marked, and impatient signs of displeasure met any cough or sound which threatened to impede the hearing of the sonorous voice of the speaker, which, with the regularity and rapidity of an express train, gave unintermittent expression for an hour and a half to the rush of ideas on the subject ; and every evening saw the same large attendance to the other lectures of equal celebrity. Art added her tribute to the inaugura- tion of the fétes by an exhibition in the Crystal Palace of the Park of Madrid of the pictures painted for the “Don Quixote” competition; and the Marquesa de Villahermosa celebrated the occasion by presenting the Society of Artists with a mag- nificent silver trophy. The exhibition of literary objects of interest relating to Cervantes and his works was opened by King Alfonzo and Queen Maria Christina on Saturday, the 6th of May, at the Biblioteca Nacional. As he grows to manhood, the young King’s resemblance to the well-known Velasquez portrait of his ancestor, Philip IV., is so marked that it almost seems as if he had walked out of the frame of the picture at the museum in the Prado. When the Wednesday preceding the commence- ment of the fétes brought no sign of help from my co-delegate of the Authors’ Society, who lives in Madrid, it seemed time to commence opera- tions on my own behalf. So, armed with an article which had appeared in a Spanish newspaper of that morning publishing my qualifications, I repaired to the Ministry of Public Education and the Fine Arts. There I saw the minister himself, and through his influence and that of the celebrated Spanish authoress, Sefiora Pardo Bazan, to whom the Marquis de Villobabar in London had written on my behalf, tickets soon arrived for every one of the fétes ; and as my countryman’s promise of a ticket for the function at the Royal Academy came to naught, I was glad to receive three for the same occasion. On Sunday, May 7th, military bands paraded the city from early morning, and in the afternoon the battle of flowers took place in the beautiful Boulevard of the Castellana. The bitter east wind did not prevent crowds of people filling every available space under the trees, whilst ticket- ] holders had seats in the gaily decorated boxes erected down the centre of the drive which formed — the course. ‘he Royal Pavilion, gracefully fes- tooned with flowers, was the chief seat of warfure during the afternoon, for from thence the King — launched his floral missiles with unintermittent — energy for an hour and a half; and it was here that the shouts of laughter were loudest as the — carriages filed by. Scenes from ‘Don Quixote” were, of course, the prevailing features of the festive — cars—“ The Watch of the Arms,” ‘‘ The Marriage of Camacho,” “‘ The Lepanto Prison,” being among — the most successful of the realistic representations ; — and the “Crowning of Cervantes” by a flying figure of Fate met with loud acclamations of delight. The military torchlight procession commenced at ten o’clock that night, and to give more force to the lights borne by the troops the street lamps were extinguished. The view from the War Office of the glittering bands of soldiers, passing from the Prado into the street of the Alcali, was very striking ; and the regiments formed a wide, moving line of light as they marched down the Alcalé on their way to the Royal Palace. The place of honour in the procession was occupied by a white effigy of Cervantes, backed with an illuminated presentment of his book, “Don Quixote,” and topped with a large lamp of varying hues, which cast weird shadows on the rich tapestries hung from the windows of grandees’ houses on the route. Monday was the day of the state function at the Royal Academy, and that of the coronation of the Cervantes statue by the deputations and delegates _ of all the literary and educational societies inte- * rested in the centenary. It was only then that I sd heard my co-delegate had retired from action. For “ij the moment I shrank from publicly presenting the _ wreath which I had that morning purchased as the tribute of the Authors’ Society. But it seemed a pity that its glistening laurel wreaths and red, blue and white streamers, bearing the inscription in gold letters, “To Cervantes, from the Society of oO ai English Authors,” should be wasted. So when the ml) time came! left my friends in the carriage, whichtook ‘g@ up its position as near as possible to the course of the procession,and tacked myselfon tosome young people. wo) = For as the Spaniards still mostly class women ,* “with children and idiots,” I thought I could thus, without exciting any resentment, meekly make my way to the statue facing the Houses of Parliament, » decked with the gorgeous canopy of state occasions, is, and the boxes filled with the Royal Family, grandees, diplomats, &c., and there I deposited the tribute of the Society of English Authors. This 62 coronation of the Cervantes statue function followed of) the Royal Academy festival, when the discourse on J* “Don Quixote,” written for the occasion by Juan s¥ Valera, was read aloud by Sefior Pidal, as the author died a month ago when he had not quite finished the task to which he had been deputed by the learned society. The reading of the posthumous | pamphlet was followed by the King signing a decree for the erection of a monument to the memory of Cervantes. The Cervantes tri-centenary week was theoccasion * ‘cof a great gathering - from Catalonia, Galicia, me? Valencia, &c., of the Orfeones (Societies of Orpheus), + ae and therespective bright-coloured capsofthe musical ‘mh unions and the sweet strains of their music added “b@ much to the cheerfulness of the city during the “9)> fétes. But their great festival in the bull ring of ‘elf Madrid was not a great success. The vast arena, ‘which reminds one so much of pictures of the ose ancient Amphitheatre of Rome, was lighted for the / ‘| first time with electric lights, which failed to reveal | of the beauty of the decorations, as they did not act ' ley well, and there was such a want of organisation in of the proceedings that it was midnight before half of «| od the programme was over. However, the “ Gloriaa ‘n@@t Espafia ” and the “ Gloria d Cervantes ” were worth ‘so hearing in their perfect rendering by the well- ‘"bet modulated voices of the massed choirs under their THE AUTHOR. 257 respective banners beneath the countless pennons strung from side to side of the creat cireus open to the deep blue sky ; and the King waved his cap in enthusiastic appreciation of the performance. The commemorative funeral service to Cervantes was certainly a triumph in realism. The dim-lighted church of San Jeronimo was draped with purple, and the catafalque was surmounted with the author’s books and surrounded by candles. Ministers, officers, diplomats and grandees assembled in full uniform in honour to the obsequies, and the King came in state to the service. The funeral oration was preached by the Bishop of San Luis de Potosi in Mexico, who came over especially for the occasion. a The final function of the gala performance at ~ the Royal Theatre was a splendid exhibition of the gorgeous uniforms and the jewels and _toilettes which grace society in Spain; and the well- rendered scenes from “Don Quixote” of “The Watch of the Arms,” “The Convicts,” and “ The Knight of the Mirrors” were followed by an apotheosis to the great author to the music of Sefores Fernandez, Shaw and Maestro Caballero ; and the King and all the brilliant assembly were loud in their applause of this spectacular expres- sion of “Gloria to Cervantes.” Space forbids more than these notes of the “ Don Quixote” fétes this month, but I hope next time to give a short account of the glimpse I had into the literary life of Madrid, and to tell of the kindness I received from such Spanish celebrities as Silvela, Moret, Pando y Valle, Blasco Ibafiez, Palacio Valdés, &c., and I must not conclude without say- ing that I was much pleased at being presented by the Minister of Instruction and the Fine Arts with the official bronze medal of the Cervantes Centenary with a kind address of appreciation. RacHEL CHALLICE. i AN AUTHOR’S RIGHT TO HIS WORK. ee (Statement of the case reprinted from the United States Publisher's Weekly.) UDGE McCALL, of the Supreme Court Special Term, handed down a decision in the suit brought by Basil Jones against the American Law Book Company, to restrain the defendants from publishing an article entitled “Army and Navy,” in the second volume of their “ Cyclopsedia of Law and Procedure,” except under the plaintiff’s name. It appears that the American Law Book Company of New York City, in order to attract attention to its cyclopedia, caused articles written by young law writers to be  256 «Tes Derniéres Années de Chateaubriand,” by M. Edmond Biré ; “ Victor Hugo & Guernsey,” by M. Paul Stapfer. “L’Age d’aimer,” by M. Pierre Wolff, has been a great success for Mme. Réjane at the Gymnase Theatre, and at the Thédtre Antoine; “ Le Meilleur Parti,’ by M. Maurice Maindron. Atys HALLARD. ———1-——_o_—_—__- THE DON QUIXOTE FETES IN MADRID. ——> + T has been worth while coming to Spain to see I how the whole country has been permeated with the desire to do honour to Cervantes and his ‘‘Don Quixote.” In the capital itself the tri-centenary of the publication of the great Spanish classic has been celebrated with so much enthusiasm by the chief centres of art, science, education, music, literature, the army, and the church and the stage, that could Cervantes himself have returned to the city where he died in want and neglect three hundred years ago, he would have thought it was one of those dreams of his imagina- tion which so often played him false. For the past week the Puerta del Sol has resounded with the cries of the vendors of programmes of the fétes, * with flaring coloured pictures of “The Knight of the Sad Countenance ”’ and some of his adventures ; special stamps bearing the portrait of Cervantes and the ‘‘ windmill scene ” of “ Don Quixote” have been issued for use in Spain for the fourteen days of the centenary celebration. The fétes were pre- faced by ten lectures from the leading literary Spaniards of the day on the origin and the different aspects of ‘‘ Don Quixote” and its relation to science, politics, art, poetry, music and metaphysics. It is difficult to do justice to the flood of eloquence which emanated from the Chair of the Athenzeum on each of these occasions. The attention accorded to Sefior Navarro Ledesma, the well-known writer on Cer- vantes, was very marked, and impatient signs of displeasure met any cough or sound which threatened to impede the hearing of the sonorous voice of the speaker, which, with the regularity and rapidity of an express train, gave unintermittent expression for an hour and a half to the rush of ideas on the subject; and every evening saw the same large attendance to the other lectures of equal celebrity. Art added her tribute to the inaugura- tion of the fétes by an exhibition in the Crystal Palace of the Park of Madrid of the pictures painted for the “Don Quixote” competition; and the Marquesa de Villahermosa celebrated the occasion THE AUTHOR. by presenting the Society of Artists with a mag- nificent silver trophy. The exhibition of literary objects of interest relating to Cervantes and his works was opened by King Alfonzo and Queen Maria Christina on Saturday, the 6th of May, at the Biblioteca Nacional. As he grows to manhood, the young King’s resemblance to the well-known Velasquez portrait of his ancestor, Philip IV., is so marked that it almost seems as if he had walked out of the frame of the picture at the museum in the Prado. When the Wednesday preceding the commence- ment of the fétes brought no sign of help from my co-delegate of the Authors’ Society, who lives in Madrid, it seemed time to commence opera- tions on my own behalf. So, armed with an article which had appeared in a Spanish newspaper of that morning publishing my qualifications, I repaired to the Ministry of Public Education and the Fine Arts. There I saw the minister himself, and through his influence and that of the celebrated Spanish authoress, Sefiora Pardo Bazan, to whom the Marquis de Villobabar in London had written on my behalf, tickets soon arrived for every one of the fétes ; and as my countryman’s promise of a ticket for the function at the Royal Academy came to naught, I was glad to receive three for the same occasion. On Sunday, May 7th, military bands — paraded the city from early morning, and in the afternoon the battle of flowers took place in the beautiful Boulevard of the Castellana. The bitter east wind did not prevent crowds of people filling every available space under the trees, whilst ticket- holders had seats in the gaily decorated boxes erected down the centre of the drive which formed the course. The Royal Pavilion, gracefully fes- tooned with flowers, was the chief seat of warfare _ during the afternoon, for from thence the King — launched his floral missiles with unintermittent energy for an hour and a half; and it was here that the shouts of langhter were loudest as the carriages filed by. Scenes from “Don Quixote” were, of course, the prevailing features of the festive cars—“ The Watch of the Arms,” “‘ The Marriage of Camacho,” ‘The Lepanto Prison,” being among the most successful of the realistic representations ; and the “Crowning of Cervantes” by a flying figure of Fate met with loud acclamations of delight. The military torchlight procession commenced at ten o’clock that night, and to give more force to the lights borne by the troops the street lamps were extinguished. he view from the War Office of the glittering bands of soldiers, passing from the: Prado into the street of the Alcald, was very striking ; and the regiments formed a wide, moving line of light as they marched down the Alcalé om their way to the Royal Palace. The place of honour in the procession was occupied by a white effigy of Cervantes, backed with an illuminated presentment of his book, “Don Quixote,” and topped with a large lamp of varying hues, which cast weird shadows on the rich tapestries hung from the windows of grandees’ houses on the route. Monday was the day of the state function at the q Royal Academy, and that of the coronation of the ne) Cervantes statue by the deputations and delegates +0 of all the literary and educational societies inte- = rested in the centenary. It was only then that I 1 —sciheard my co-delegate had retired from action. For 1) the moment I shrank from publicly presenting the wreath which I had that morning purchased as the tribute of the Authors’ Society. But it seemed a pity that its glistening laurel wreaths and red, blue and white streamers, bearing the inscription in gold letters, “To Cervantes, from the Society of English Authors,” should be wasted. So when the ai time came] left my friends in the carriage, which took up its position as near as possible to the course of the procession,and tacked myselfon tosome young people. oo For as the Spaniards. still mostly class women 7 “with children and idiots,” [ thought I could thus, without exciting any resentment, meekly make my way to the statue facing the Houses of Parliament, decked with the gorgeous canopy of state occasions, _ and the boxes filled with the Royal Family, grandees, diplomats, &c., and there I deposited the tribute of the Society of English Authors. This coronation of the Cervantes statue function followed the Royal Academy festival, when the discourse on “ Don Quixote,” written for the occasion by Juan Valera, was read aloud, by Sefior Pidal, as the author died a month ago when he had not quite finished the task to which he had been deputed by the learned society. The reading of the posthumous ‘185 pamphlet was followed by the King signing a woe decree for the erection of a monument to the "6 memory of Cervantes. iT The Cervantes tri-centenary week was the occasion ' 4 of a great gathering from Catalonia, Galicia, ole” Valencia, &c., of the Orfeones (Societies of Orpheus), ba and therespective bright-coloured capsof the musical ia) unions and the sweet strains of their music added ‘se much to the cheerfulness of the city during the / fétes. But their great festival in the bull ring of ' Madrid was not a great success. The vast arena, which reminds one so much of pictures of the S ncient Amphitheatre of Rome, was lighted for the ' '*« first time with electric lights, which failed to reveal Jd of the beauty of the decorations, as they did not act Je. well, and there was such a want of organisation in _ 90 the proceedings that it was midnight before half of oc the programme was over. However, the “ Gloriaa Espafia ” and the “ Gloriad Cervantes ” were worth earing in their perfect rendering by the well- odulated voices of the massed choirs under their 1698 THE AUTHOR. 257 respective banners beneath the countless pennons strung from side to side of the great circus open to the deep blue sky ; and the King waved his cap in enthusiastic appreciation of the performance. ‘The commemorative funeral service to Cervantes was certainly a triumph in realism. The dim-lighted church of San Jeronimo was draped with purple, and the catafalque was surmounted with the author’s books and surrounded by candles, Ministers, officers, diplomats and grandees assembled in full uniform in honour to the obsequies, and the King came in state to the service. The funeral oration was preached by the Bishop of San Luis de Potosi in Mexico, who came over especially for the occasion. The final function of the gala performance at the Royal Theatre was a splendid exhibition of the gorgeous uniforms and the jewels and _ toilettes which grace society in Spain; and the well- rendered scenes from “ Don Quixote” of “The Watch of the Arms,” “The Convicts,” and “ The Knight of the Mirrors” were followed by an apotheosis to the great author to the music of Sefores Fernandez, Shaw and Maestro Caballero ; and the King and all the brilliant assembly were loud in their applause of this spectacular expres- sion of “Gloria to Cervantes.” Space forbids more than these notes of the “ Don Quixote” fétes this month, but I hope next time to give a short account of the glimpse I had into the literary life of Madrid, and to tell of the kindness I received from such Spanish celebrities as Silvela, Moret, Pando y Valle, Blasco Ibafiez, Palacio Valdés, &c., and I must not conclude without say- ing that I was much pleased at being presented by the Minister of Instruction and the Fine Arts with the official bronze medal of the Cervantes Centenary with a kind address of appreciation. RacHEL CHALLICE. Or AN AUTHOR’S RIGHT TO HIS WORK. a (Statement of the case reprinted from the United States Publisher's Weekly.) UDGE MoCALL, of the Supreme Court Special Term, handed down a decision in the suit brought by Basil Jones against the American Law Book Company, to restrain the defendants from publishing an article entitled “Army and Navy,” in the second volume of their “ Cyclopedia of Law and Procedure,” except under the plaintiff's name. It appears that the American Law Book Company of New York City, in order to attract attention to its cyclopadia, caused articles written by young law writers to be  258 nominally “edited” by famous judges and jurists, and then published such articles without giving credit to the real author, but under the name of the distinguished gentleman who looked over the proofs. Judge McCall in effect holds that both usage and inherent right gave an author the right to have his literary production published under no name other than his own. The court’s opinion is as follows: “This is an action on the equity side of the court in which the relief sought is an injunc- tion against the defendant, restraining it from publishing an article entitled ‘Army and Navy,’ found in yol. II. of defendant’s publication entitled ‘Cyclopedia of Law and Procedure,’ except under the plaintiffs name. The said article, it is claimed, was prepared and written by the plaintiff while under contract with the defendant to do work of this precise nature, and the grounds upon which the plaintiff asserts he is entitled to the relief prayed for are: First. That a custom or usage in the publication of law encyclopedias was a part of the contract entered into as between the parties herein, and as such gave plaintiff a contractual right to have his article published under his name. Second. That irrespective of any custom or usage, the right of an author to the public credit of his work and to the publication of his name in con- nection therewith is inherent and resides in him until waived or surrendered. It may be accepted that the right to literary property is as sacred as that of any other species of property, and as has been forcibly said : ‘The rights of authors in respect to their unpublished works have been so frequently and elaborately considered and carefully adjudi- cated by the courts of this country and England, and are now so well understood, that in considering first publications there can be no doubt. The author of a literary work or composition has by law a right to the first publication of it. He has a right to determine whether it shall be published or not, and if published, when, where, by whom and in what form.’ These rights were vouchsafed to authors at common law and statute has in nowise impaired them. What is true as general proposi- tions is not at all altered by the fact that the crea- tion of a man’s genius or mind may have developed while he was in the general employ of another. ‘For a man’s intellectual productions are peculiarly his own, and he will not be deemed to have parted with his right and transferred it to his employer unless a valid agreement to that effect is adduced’ (Boucicault v. Fox, 5 Blatchford, U.S., p. 95). There is nothing in the contract before the court out of which can be spelled any such waiver, It is true that he stipulated that whatever he pro- duced should be submitted to a process of editing, but it would be a wide stretch of the imagination THE AUTHOR. that would work out of that proposition a sale or waiver of his rights to ownership to or credit for the results of his labour. The case is replete with evidence of a custom developed almost into usage of the right of this particular class of writers to have their productions published under their names. This defendant’s published volumes teem with such instances, and this particular author, plaintiff herein, has his first article published under his name. ‘That he wrote a letter of thanks to the representative of the publisher for so doing is rather a proof of his understanding of proprieties, and it would be absurd to treat it as an expression of any views that he was treated in any other manner than he had a perfect right to expect. Some proof has been offered that this particular article is not solely the work of the plaintiff. That may or may not be true, but to protect a person under such circumstances the law does not require thatit = should be his exclusive work. The work maybe ©. the result of the labours of one or many actingin = co-operation. Whatever may be the case, the right = is substantially the same and equally entitled to protection of the court (Z'rench v. Maguire, vol. LY. ei How Pr., p. 479). Upon all the facts I believe the — pat plaintiff has made a complete case and is entitled =~ o to the relief he prays for. Decree and findingst0 © be submitted accordingly.” CoMMENTS. The case quoted has been reprinted from the United States Publisher’s Weekly. It is of com siderable interest to authors on both sides of th water; but we regret to say that the evidence out in the report of the case is meagre and unsatis factory, first, because the actual terms of the con- tract have not been printed, and, secondly, because the evidence adduced in support of the alleged custom has not been quoted. ‘The report, however if we understand it correctly, is of a decisio delivered in a court of first instance, and is pre- sumably subject to review upon appeal, in whicl case we may have the opportunity of reading further discussion of the subject. With regard to the custom, Judge McCall m have had a question of fact only to decide, and may take it that if there was evidence upon wh he could reasonably found his decision as to the court of appeal will not be able to inter with it. The judges in such a case would exp their views upon it, and possibly might hint t their finding would not be the same, but t would not disturb it. The wording of his judgm is rather peculiar. The claim of the plaintiff, he quotes it, is based upon a “ custom or usage the publication of law cyclopwdias.” If by this are to understand that law cyclopzdias stand u a different footing from that of other cyclope literature in the United States, they must be very much more numerous there than they are in this country, or it would hardly be possible to establish the existence of a custom with regard to the signing of the articles in them. In England it would be difficult to assert that a custom existed regulating the publication of law cyclopedias although customs relating to cyclopzedias generally or to the publi- cation of articles with names appended to them might conceivably be proved. Perhaps the most curious “ custom” however, if it can be called one, which the case shows, consists in the publisher employing a lawyer, learned pre- sumably but not famous, to write an article, and then having it read over and edited by a legal luminary, famous, but possibly not learned, and signed by the latter who apparently acquiesces in the arrangement. Whatever effect American cyclopedic enterprise may have had in this country, it has hardly yet, as far as we are aware, arrived at this point. We can imagine an excellent article on Marine Insurance, for example, being written by a young practitioner in the Admiralty Court, but we can hardly picture the President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, or one of the gentlemen who practice within the bar before him, appending his name to it. Honesty, 9%, we hope, would not need the fear of exposure and ridicule to support it in prompting a refusal. That an editor publishing an article with a name attached to it should use the name of the true author of the work is a custom which has nothing _ Surprising about it. We could prove such a usage =) in this country, but it would not be one peculiar to | law cyclopedias. Judge McCall, by the way, talks * of “a custom almost developed into usage,” a distinction of terms which, as far as we are aware, ‘om @ is not recognised in England either in law courts 1 © or in ordinary “usage.” — “s —_-‘ Turning to the portions of the judgment which | 199 seem to deal more exclusively with the legal aspect oi) 1 of the case, the absence of information as to the “09% precise terms in which Mr. Basil Jones contracted With the American Law Book Company leaves us ‘ila little perplexed as to what the finding really is. 200 Does it amount to this, that the author, even if he #/@ sells his copyright, has the absolute right to have | his name appended to his article whether the editor ishes it or not. Apparently Judge McCall so olds, on the strength of the custom which he nds to exist, so that if the editor wished to publish cyclopzedia entirely composed of unsigned articles, € could not do so without the consent of all their authors. This goes along way beyond the right of the author to have no other name but his own am employed. i With regard to the use of another name than hat of the author, should such a case arise in THE AUTHOR. 259 England, we have little doubt that the remedy could be found. Such a deception would be a fraud upon the public; it might be a source of damage to the real author, and it might be a source of damage to the author whose name was used. It certainly would give rise to so much scandal that no publisher could afford to risk the possible discredit and loss attaching to methods such as those described, and no self-respecting editor would condescend to such an artifice in order to attain the doubtless desirable use of a well-known name for advertising purposes. The feelings of the well- known personage, whether lawyer or not, who discovered that his editing of an article entailed his being made known to the world as its author would probably in the first instance be expressed in private, but in plain terms, to the editor. What his feelings would be when he learnt that the transaction was coming into court for review (in the case of a lawyer) before his brother lawyers we can hardly imagine, but certainly the publisher and editor of the cyclopedia would get but scant support from the scandalised celebrity. Many legal writers receive considerable assistance from friends, generally junior to themselves collabo- rating withthem. This, however, is quite a different matter, and in legal text books, as in medical and other professional works, whatever indebtedness there may be to others is always frankly and cordially acknowledged in the preface or otherwise. In conclusion we would warmly congratulate Mr. 3asil Jones upon his success, and recommend the study of the case to the readers of the American Law Book Company’s publications. i 9 LITERARY AGENTS, —t-——+- —- N opinion often expressed, but only in part true, is that a literary agent is invaluable to the man who has made his name, but of very little use to the beginner. Now, asa beginner —one of some years standing, yet still a beginner so far as the English Press is concerned—I am convinced that a literary agent of the proper sort would be of immense assistance both to the writer and to editors. ‘There are many men and women, whose duties take them to the uttermost parts of the world, who, if they keep their eyes and ears open and possess some little skill in the scribbler’s craft, could furnish matter which editors would be glad to take. They are, however, prevented from disposing of their literary wares by their ignorance of the proper market. : The writer who lives in England may acquire,  260 by the judicious expendittire of a few pence weekly at the railway bookstall, a wide and very thorough knowledge of the style of work required by the various monthly and weekly periodicals ; but those whose lives are spent in distant lands may have never heard of the papers most anxious to get the very thing which they are able to produce. Time and money are other and vital considera- tions. A man in China or Peru may write an article on some topic which is of pressing interest at the moment, but if it has to travel to and fro— when each journey means a month’s delay—until it has found its proper goal, the opportunity will have passed and the article be valueless. Now what is required by such a man is an agent who is an expert in the requirements of the monthly and weekly Press, and who for a matter of a couple of shillings, to cover postage, etc., would dispose of short stories and articles short and long, reserving to himself the right to return such as he considers unsaleable (but making no charge beyond actual expenses for doing so), and making his profit out of a percentage on all money received by him from publishers. There may be such agents, but one does not hear much about them, and the little one does sometimes hear is not, to their credit. Yet it appears to me that such a business could be run honestly and yet profitably. Some years ago, at the close of a short visit to England and before returning to my duties many thousand miles away, I applied to several literary agents whose advertisements I had noticed in various literary papers, for I had a small collection of articles and stories which I had written in exile, and I hoped by disposing of them to add materially to an utterly inadequate income. One firm replied that they did not undertake small matter of that description as it was not sufficiently profitable : another offered to buy outright any they approved of at one pound a thousand words, which, if my work was good, meant that they would give one- half of what it was worth, besides which I should never be able to discover my real value in the literary market. A third firm offered to try and dispose of my work for a payment in advance of five pounds for every half-dozen articles or stories, taking no percentage on receipts. This plan appeared to me to offer them no inducement to dispose of my work. Finally I left England without having effected anything and disposed of my manuscripts to papers abroad. The ideal agent for the beginner would be one who would make his profit by taking a percentage on sums received. He would have classified and tabulated the monthly and weekly — periodicals somewhat in this manner. The two main classes would be “illustrated” and “ unillustrated,” and these would be subdivided into sections according THE AUTHOR. to the class of work they require: topical, personal,. anecdotal, religious, philosophical, scientific, and: soon. Further sub-divisions as to style might be necessary, such as short and crisp, solid, humorous, literary, etc. The names of the papers would appear under the class-heads, and a paper might appear under various classes. The heads of the firm could decide in a few minutes, by skimming through the article, which class or classes it would suit, and they would mark it accordingly, say, ‘1 B. 3,” which might mean “ Not illustrated— personal—humorous.”” A clerk could then send it the round of the papers classed under that head. A quick reader could class from fifty to sixty manuscripts a day averaging two thousand words. and worth anything from fifty to a hundred and fifty pounds. Such an agency would supply “a_ long-felt want,” and if some firm of undoubted integrity were to take up such business there can be little- doubt that they would find it immensely profitable: once they became known. “sige range RE Henry FRANCIS. a AUTHORS AND INCOME TAX. += —— N one of the past issues of Zhe Author there = appeared an article under the above heading, —_ 1! containing a case put before counsel for his = opinion by the Committee of Management of the = Society (summarised in the five questions with, — which it concluded) and counsel’s opinion on the case, with a reference to the Act under which income tax is levied, and his answers to those questions. — It is not here the intention to dispute the correctness of counsel’s opinion, but, assuming that,. to show the absurdity and insufficiency of the law in so far as it relates to the levying of income tax. on payments made for literary work, to show what should be the underlying principle which would place the question whether any such. payment should be regarded as capital or income beyond all. doubt, and finally, to suggest that there be intro- duced into any new Copyright Act a definition 0 what constitutes capital and what income payments made for literary. work. ‘According to counsel, all payments, whether fo copyright or “minor” rights, are to be treated 1 exactly the same way; they are all to be lumped together as income from which the expens incurred for the earning thereof are to be deducted in calculating the amount.on which income tax 1 payable. Under “minor” rights. are specifie serial rights, rights of translation, right. of drama: tisation, There is “etc.” added, but it is difficult to conceive what. rights.are.included thereunder. — Taking this as correct, then, the Government regards all payments for literary work, whether for copyright, serial rights, rights of translation or right of dramatisation in one light ; it is all income: thence it follows that, from the Government point of view, there is no such thing as capital in pay- ment for literary work. Now, no one, I think, will dispute that the value of a land freehold is capital. A freehold is a property from which income can be derived from leasing or hiring it out, from letting someone else have the use of it to enjoy or to derive a profit from. Now a literary work, a musical work, a sculpture, a picture, an invention, or any other work of the imagination ig really an intellectual d freehold; and that it is this is acknowledged by the } copyright or patent granted for it as a matter of justice. Every such work is a portion of the domain of the intellect reclaimed for mankind, and, as such, the universal freehold of the person acquiring it (rightly of limited duration). That being the case, it follows that payments for the copyright of literary works are really payments made for the purchase of freeholds, of properties from which profit is expected to be derived from if letting others have the enjoyment of their contents; ij thus, then, the value of an intellectual freehold, a © _ Copyright, is capital as much as is the value of .@ a land freehold. A literary work being an intellectual product, and not immoveable like land, is the author’s freehold for the whole surface of the earth ; his one creation is capable of being dressed in the garb of every nation into which the inhabitants of the earth divide themselves ; but it is still one and the same production, in whatever national garb, #.¢., language, it may be clothed. Therefore, then, an author has, in justice, as many copyrights as there are nationalities. From this it follows that when he sells a right of translation into any language he sells the freehold in one of the other countries than the native one; he sells a copyright which exists because mankind is divided into different nationalities ; and, as he sells a copyright + when selling a right of translation, any payment 1) for a right of translation is also capital. A literary production, besides being capable of changing its dress, is also capable of altering its 6) form without altering its essence; it may be “ist transformed from some other form into a drama, o & or froma drama into some other form. In whatever ‘ig form the work may originally exist, the right of “oe% transforming his own production is as much the ilat right of the originator of the work as is that to it © in its original form ; and, when a literary work is transformed, it is not the original work that is »iialtered on the original site, as would be the case if “7 e8the work were standing on the earth, but the old THE AUTHOR. 261 form is left existing and the new one created without interfering with it. A new portion of Intellectual domain is reclaimed—a new copyright is created. The right of dramatisation, or vice versa, is thus the right to a freehold or copyright, a right from which a profit can be made in an entirely different way from the original form of the work. The right of dramatisation is, in justice, as extensive as the copyright of the work in its original form; it is universal, and carries with it the right of translating the drama into every language. When, therefore, a writer sells the right of dramatisation he sells the right to create a copyright in a new form of hig work, and, that being so, what is paid for the right of dramatisa- tion is also capital. When a writer sells serial rights, whether for one country, one language, or more, he sells the right to use his property in a specific manner or for a. specific period. When that purpose has been carried out, or when that time has elapsed, he has made a profit from having thus sold a limited use of his property, but the freehold or copyright is still his to sell. Having, thus, still in his own possession the copyright, by utilising which only can a profit be made, what he receives for the use of his copyright in the form of serial rights in one or more languages or countries is income and not capital. Tncome tax is a tax upon one’s income, As it is levied yearly, the inference is that it is a tax upon the income obtained during the year for which it is levied. But whether it is go or not, that is what it should be, as it is called income tax and is levied yearly ; and, therefore, the income obtained during any one year should not be taken into consideration in any other year when the assessment for income tax is being made, because one’s income may in- crease or decrease, and an annual income tax can take notice only of the income of the year for which it is levied. The object of an income tax is to be a tax proportional to one’s income, to take cognisance of any increase or decrease therein, so that it may remain proportional, and, therefore, to calculate an annual income tax on a three-year or any other than an annual basis, is not only to depart from the very purpose for which an income taxis levied, but also to make the term a misnomer and what is done under it an act of injustice. In accordance with what is stated above, the questions propounded to counsel should, then, be answered as follows :— : (1) The sum received by an author in respect of a work of which he retains the copyright should, in all cases, be considered as income. (2) The sum received on the sale of a copyright is always to be considered as capital. “A lump payment for such minor [?] rights as serial use, 262 right of translation, dramatisation ”” is income to the extent of that portion of it which is paid for serial rights, whether for one country or the whole world ; the balance, being that portion paid for the right of translation and or of dramatisation, is capital, whether the former includes the right of translation into one language or into more ; the right of dramatisation carries with it the right of translating the drama throughout the world. (3) It can make no difference in an author’s liability to pay income tax in what manner payment is received for the copyright, a right of translation, or the right of dramatisation, whether “ (a) by a lump sum in full discharge ; (6) by a share of the profits ; (c) by a royalty ; (d) by a sum in advance of royalty”; because payment for all these rights is capital. With regard to payment “(e) by a lump sum on sale of serial use to a magazine, periodical, or paper,” it must be divided, as stated above, into payment for serial use, which is income, and payment for any other right or rights, which is capital, income tax being leviable only on the former. (4) An author has (in justice) the right to make deductions for expenses incurred in his literary work “ (a) directly, as railway journeys, purchase of books, purchase of photographs, stationery, typewriting, etc.; (4) indirectly, for rental of portion of his house as office.” (5) The amount received in any one year by an author for his literary work has no right to be calculated on a three-year basis when the assess- ment for income tax is being made. The income tax, being levied yearly, is a tax upon the income obtained during each one year, and, therefore, each year’s income is quite independent, the object of an income tax being the levying of a tax propor- tional to the income. Husert Hazs. —_—_———_-—>——__—_ A NEW MARKET FOR ENGLISH BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS. ee oot ee HE introduction of a postal order service between Russia and England opens a new and a great market for the output of English literature. Till last October it was impossible to send small amounts of money from Russia to England; thus the Tsar’s subjects were obliged to buy books from local booksellers only. ‘There was scant attention paid to the wants of customers, and the vendor had no catalogues of English publications ; the only catalogues obtainable were published by German booksellers, such as Messrs. Brockhaus & Co., of London and Leipzig. Notwithstanding the slight difference in value THE AUTHOR. between a shilling and a German mark—the mark being counted at 50 kopecks (real value 46), and the shilling at 60 kopecks (real value 47)—the six- shilling book was usually sold at 7s. 114d., and it was necessary for the customer to wait a month to obtain his book or to pay an additional 2s. for postage. As for cheap editions, their existence was unknown to the general public on this account. English books being difficult and costly to buy, the Tauchnitz edition of English authors was generally sought for, unless the purchasers could afford to pay the higher price. For this reason” the sale was small. The introduction of the postal order system between Russia and the United States has brought American literature on the market, and such publications as Success, Frank Leslie’s Monthly, Harper's Weekly, Every- body’s, and scores of other magazines may be found everywhere, subscribed for directly by the public through various American agencies. But still much time is lost in transit, and all advertisers are not honest. Some people have given orders to unprincipled -traders, or there has been a difficulty where the Post Office has altered the name in the Postal Order Exchange Office, and after payment was made no books or magazines were sent to the purchaser. ‘This naturally deterred many from giving orders. The Polish and Russian booksellers publish regularly a list of various English magazines, which, notwithstanding the fact that it is issued from rival houses, is practically the same list. : The selection seems to have been compiled by Messrs. George Routledge or their “ Literary Year- Book” editor, and how fanciful is the arrangement | of prices the following extract will show :— Annual Subscription, Roubles. £ 6d. Weeklies— Black and White... ee Oe 2 Country Life on ut 2e 2 Graphic eee oe a. | 20 2 Queen... en os ve) 2 1d, Weeklies— Golden Penny 6°50 0 Tit-bits As ee 6°20 O41 Penny Illustrated ... eee 5:50 0 Good Wordsand Leisure Hour 6:0 0 6d. Magazines— Cassell’s Family | 10°50 1 Family Herald Bee ae 90 0 Pearson’s Mag. ne 6°40 0 Windsor Mag. ve ee 50 0 1s, Magazines— Cornhill a a 9°75 1 Macmillan ... ae oe 9-0 0 2s. 6d. Reviews and Mags.— Blackwood ... <e aed pee 2 Fortnightly ... tae ot ee 2 Nineteenth Century eal 48 2  THE AUTHOR. It is only natural that most people will prefer to pay to Grumiau, Hanson, or any other American agency, 15s. for Country Life than to a Warsaw or St. Petersburg bookseller £2 12s. 1d., or for Pearson’s Magazine 7s. 6d. instead of 19s. 64d. ; and to have the right to buy the best American dollar-and-a-half book post free for 2s. 6/., rather than to give a local bookseller for the same book 8s. to 10s. There are few people in Poland or Russia who can speak English, bus many can read English and understand what they read, and they will seize very gladly an opportunity of buying English books and publications at a reasonable price if they can be sure of receiving them quickly and in proper order, At present publications and books are ordered from London in the following manner :—The Polish or Russian bookseller sends the order to his agent in Leipzig ; he, through Messrs. Brockhaus or any other German house, sends it to London, whence, once a week, the parcel is sent to Leipzig ; but previous to this all the advertisements are torn out by the Germans to save the weight. From Leipzig the agent sends the publications to the bookseller, who receives them at the censor’s office and then posts them to the customer, who thus receives a copy which has already been spoiled by German hands. Should he protest against this destruction of his property, he is told that it was torn at the censor’s office, but this is untrue. Most of the magazines which the censor knows do not contain articles on Russia or of a socialistic or immoral description he will pass without look- ing at. Some years ago a novel by Mr. Max Pemberton, I think in the Pearson or some such magazine, treating of Nihilists, passed the censor’s office, as he did not suspect the magazine would publish a tale dealing with such matters. Of course, The Clarion, Free Russia, J ustice, can under no circumstances pass the censor’s office, and various reviews may often be cut in half by his scissors. Books of the type of “The Woman who Did ” have not always passed under his favour- able criticism, but there are thousands of books with which the censor would not interfere. Now, then, is the opportunity for the introduc- tion of English literature. The literature of France has an enormous sale, not only in book-form, but also as periodicals. It is mostly directly sub- scribed for by customers from Paris, notwithstand- ing the fact that the French books and publications are everywhere on sale, and the price is reasonable, owing tothe competition of a few French booksellers who in Warsaw, St. Petersburg, and other towns, opened shops, and have cut down the price of books. It only remains to state what kind of books are likely to command a sale. 263 First, owing to the large number of English governesses who live not only in Warsaw, but everywhere in the provinces, all kinds of children’s books and publications for the young people of both sexes will meet with a ready sale ; secondly, novels and magazines, especially cheap novels ; then illustrated high-class papers. There is no restaurant or café where you will not find Black and White, the Graphic, or the Illustrated London News, which, with the Cornhill Magazine and Family Herald, are now universally popular. These five publications most probably have a larger sale in Russia than all other publications put together, even including the Review of Reviews. It would be difficult to start an English book- seller’s shop in St. Petersburg or Warsaw, but if a reliable English bookseller would take the trouble to publish a catalogue of well-selected publications and a catalogue of cheap English half-crown and six- penny books, even including in the catalogue scientific or literary books at an expensive figure, and would advertise the list in a few Russian and Polish papers, as Novy Mir, Kraj, Petersburgskye Vedomosty, in St. Petersburg, and Kurjer Warszaw- ski, Slowo, Gazeta Polska, Tygodnik Llustrowany, in Warsaw, in a few weeks he would see a splendid result from his advertisement. Customers would come in large numbers, and notwithstanding that the local booksellers would expect to improve their own trade, he would make a profitable and ever- increasing business. Many French publishers spend a good deal of money in advertisements in Russia every December, and certainly they reap great profits thereby. Now it is a question whether the English booksellers will seize the opportunity or will leave it to the Americans. Before the introduction of the postal order system there was no practical use in advertising, but now the whole position is altered. If English publishers were only to send their catalogues regularly to the principal newspapers and booksellers, or even their publications on commission or approval, as the Germans do to booksellers of standing and repute like Gebethner and Wolf, Wende & Co., J. Fisher, M. Borkowski, and I. Hoesick, in Warsaw, or N. Kimmel in Riga, and M. O. Wolf, Ltd., in St. Petersburg, it would help to a certain extent to push forward the sale of books and publications ; but advertisements in local papers are more likely to serve the purpose, even though the booksellers, a very conservative class, seeing business escaping from their hands, would also try to push their sales for- ward. Austrian or German Poland has no market for French or English books. Few people know English or French, and English governesses are scarce. The introduction of cheap English books  264 on the market would prevent their being adapted, translated into Polish or Russian, and pirated, as is now so often the case. “ ALMAR.” ——_—_—__+—>—_+-—___—__ FOREIGN PRESS-CUTTING AGENCIES. — + USTRIA-HUNGARY. Vienna, Observer, Concordiaplaz. Bupaprst.—Fygielo, 8, Nyar Ut. BreLGrum.—Bruxelles, European Press, 3, Place Royale. DENMARK.—Copenhagen, On Dit, Hobrogade, 13. Francr.—Paris, Le Courrier de la Presse, 21, Boulevard, Montmartre. GrerMANy.—Berlin, Berliner Litterarische Bureau, 127, Wilhelmstrasse, 8.W., 48. Hoiuanp.—Amsterdam, Handels Bureau Marcurius, Steenmeyer et Cie. Iraty.—Milano, Eco della Stampa. Mex1co.— Mexico, Camacho David, 8, Apartado postal, 37. Norway.—Christiania, Norske Argus, 21, Pruss- engade. Russta.—St. Petersburg, Université Populaire, 17, Nadezhdinskaja. Sparn.—Madrid, Prensa de Madrid, 28, Calle de Serrano. Swepen.—Stockholm, Argus, Mille. A. L. Andreson Observator, 5, Hamngaten. SwITzERLAND.—Geneva, Agence de coupures de journeaux, case Stand 57, and Argus Suisse de la Presse, Rue de Mont Blanc. Unrrep States.—New York, American Press Information Bureau, World Building, 61, Park Row. Informatie ———__+—_+____—_- MAGAZINE CONTENTS. + — BOOKMAN. Frederick von Schiller. By Elizabeth Lee. More Wampum. By Y. Y. Book MONTHLY. “To Be Continued,” or The Gentle Art and Craft of Writing Serial Stories. By Ernest Treeton. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. Social Pioneers of Science. By T. H. 8. Escott. A Journey with Sir Walter Scott in 1815. By A. Francis Steuart. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Hans Christian Andersen. By George Brandes. Has the Clock Stopped in Bible Criticism. By the Rev. Canon Cheyne. THE AUTHOR. The New Trend of Russian Thought. By the Count S. C. de Soissons. . Church Reform in Russia: Witte versus Pabedonosteff. By Laicus. The Scientists and Common Sense. By Professor E, Armitage. The Interpretation of Nature. By Professor C. Lloyd Morgan. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. The Real Chrysanthemum. By Ethel M. M. McKenna, The Calling of the Actor. By H. B. Irving. A Valuation of Mr. Stephen Phillips. Wodehouse. Journalism New and Old. By Edward Dicey, C.B. By E. A, Dramatic Thoughts —Retrospective—Anticipative. By Sir Squire Bancroft. A Causerie on Current Continental Literature. By S. W. The Irish University Question. By Stephen Gwynn. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. The So-called Science of Sociology. By H. G. Wells. The State and Secondary Education. By T. J. Mac- namara. “ Mere Technique”: An Answer by Simon Bussy. The Optimism of Browning and Meredith. By A. C, Pigou. Mr. Henry James and His Public. By Desmond MacCarthy. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. Sydney Smith. By the Rev. Canon Vaughan, The Demeter of Cnidos. By St. John Lucas. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, Western Influence on Japanese Character, Moyna. The Quest of the Dactyl. The Fellow Workers of Voltaire : I1I.—Galiani. By 8, J. Tallentyre. By E. G. T. MONTHLY REVIEW. Music as a Factor in Everyday Life. Somervell. Walter Savage Landor. By Walter Sichell NINETEENTH CENTURY. The After Dinner Oratory of America. Crilly. What is the Raison D’Etre of Pictures. By H. Heath- cote Statham. Some Noticeable Books. By Walter Frewen Lord. Church and State in France. By Comte de Castellane. By Daniel PALL MALL MAGAZINE Real Conversations Recorded. By William Archer! J. Churton Collins. TEMPLE BAR. Nine Letters from Edward Fitzgerald to Mrs. Kemble. A God-Daughter of Warren Hastings. Grier. UNIVERSITY REVIEW. The University Movement: Introductory Note. Right Hon. James Bryce. | Shakespeare and Stoicism. By Professor Sonneschien. There are no articles dealing with literary, dramatic oF musical subjects in the Cornhill Magazine or The World's Work. By the << By Arthur By Sydney G. —  THE AUTHOR. WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. oe ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for ‘office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author, (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this.is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —___+—_+—<>—e —___—_ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. ge N | EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. {t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. 265 ; 3. There are three forms of dramatic contr: in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This IS unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. ().) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (¢.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are ae? to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (8.) ¢ also in this case. aide 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights’ can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7, Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘’hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10, An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative : that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11, An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. act for plays ——____ + WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. eps ITYLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  266 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. o> — HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —_e I. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) T'o enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. > HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. o—~D> THE READING BRANCH. —e EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach, ‘he term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. <> NOTICES. ge HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. > The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. OO LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. a ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can — be obtained from this society. : Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance _ Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C,  THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. —— 4 HE Manchester Guardian has paid the society the compliment of writing a leader upon it on the occasion of its twenty-first birthday. The article is not merely laudatory, but shows an accurate grasp of the work that the society undertakes. It says: “The Society of Authors is more akin to a Trade Union. It aims at dealing with all questions affecting literary property, either as regards copyright or the commercial relation between authors and publishers.” This article has roused some remarks from a contributor to The Sphere, who writes over the initials “C. K.8.” With his expressed opinion on Mr. Kipling or Mr. Barrie’s work, however erroneous, we do not desire to deal, nor with his suggestion that literature is divorced from the drama ; but the following paragraph needs some explanation : ‘When Sir Walter Besant spoke of literature he really only thought of fiction, which is the least important factor of our literature to-day. Our best literature, our poetry— which the illiterate man in the street calls ‘‘ minor” because he thinks that Tennyson was the last of the poets—our history, our biography, and our criticism are none of them helped in the least by the Society of Authors or by the literary agent. The opening statement is entirely erroneous, as anyone who was an intimate friend of Sir Walter’s for many years could readily have informed the writer. But the latter part of the paragraph is altogether misleading, and, taking the mildest view, shows an absolute ignorance of the work of the Society. As a writer in The Academy phrases it when dealing with the matter : “Tt is no part of the functions of the Society of Authors to ‘help literature,’ whether good, bad, or indifferent. It exists to define and protect literary property, which is quite another matter. Does the writer mean that the Society refuses to admit poets, biographers, and critics to membership? Or that it takes the guineas of poets, biographers, and critics, but denies to them privileges which it accords to its other members? Or what does he mean? We have a strong suspicion that he has been : > é ; using at random words which mean nothing at all.’ But a further point: biographers, poets, essayists, critics, historians, all make contracts for the pub- lication of their works either with editors or publishers. It is of the utmost importance, since, according to the view of “0. K.8.,” they cannot make money by their work, that they should lose as little as possible. To attain thisend the Society can and does give most valuable assistance. But consider for a moment, is this statement of the commercial value true? Surely in a great many cases it is utterly untrue, although it may be for the benefit of both publishers and editors to persuade these biographers, poets, and critics that their labours must be financially unsuccessful. 267 Ir appears that a question has been raised in Italy concerning the reproduction of music by gramophones and phonographs. The information before us shows that such reproduction has been held not to be an infringement of copyright. France, we know—always the most forward country where copyright legislation is concerned — has held such reproductions to be an infringement of copyright. The English Courts have held that the stamped cylinder was not an infringement of copyright ; but, surely, the reproduction of music by this means, as we have pointed out in Zhe Author on former occasions, is an infringement of performing rights. Unfortunately, owing to the lax way in which music composers deal with their performing rights and owing to the control which publishers have obtained over musical property, these rights are seldom turned to account. Thereby much valuable property is lost. The matter is one of serious importance, when we take into consideration the fact that composers in England are unable, as a general rule, to live by the product of their compositions only, but are bound to teach or obtain some other appointment in order to gain a livelihood. Publishers have sneered at the French method of collecting royalties on performing rights. This is not surprising to those who have knowledge of the method by which they obtain control of the composer’s property in England and the means they use to market the same. We have received an interesting and amusing letter from the manager of one of the leading music-publishing houses in London, whose ire has been roused by the article that appeared in the last issue of Zhe Author. ‘The publisher sets out in glowing language what he and other publishers have done for composers in the matter of securing sound copyright legislation. It is very interesting to see the trade posing as the saviour of the com- poser. This will deceive no one who has any knowledge of music publishing. The composers at the present time are in a much worse way than the authors. As a matter of fact, there are very few in a position to make, and there is no combina- tion strong enough to insist on the making of agreements which will prevent the copyright and performing rights being transferred to the pub- lishers. In consequence, all these statements about the energetic and generous action of the publishers are not for the benefit of the composers, but for the benefit of the trade. Our correspondent concludes his letter by saying ‘‘ we have been fighting for the cause of copyright alone and unaided for five years, consequently we are unable to feel the respect and veneration for Mr. Algernon Sidney’s  268 Society of Authors which we might otherwise have oeen disposed to entertain.” As we have already pointed out, this struggle for reasonable copyright legislation is at present for the benefit of publishers only, to enable themselves to market and safeguard their own property. It is clear that our correspondent, though he may have some knowledge of his own business, is in woeful ignorance of the methods of the society, of what it has done and is willing to do for composers. Composers should strike at the root of the evil. At the present time it is not so much a matter of importance to them that these works, the outcome of their brains, in the possession of the publisher, should be protected for the benefit of the publisher, as that they should strive for better agreements and for more effective control and management of their own property. If they obtained this, then the copyright question would be to them one worth fighting for, and the society is anxious to show them what methods they should employ in order to obtain a more satisfactory position. We must take it as a compliment, therefore, that our correspondent is unable to feel respect and veneration for the Society or its work. This expression of opinion was frequently in the mouths of the book publishers when the Society was first started. Music publication has to pass through the same phase of evolution. A RATHER curious case of re-issue has come under our notice. Hight or nine years ago Sir Herbert Maxwell and Mr. F. G. Aflalo jointly edited half a dozen volumes for Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen, under the name of ‘ The Anglers’ Library.” After the reconstruction of that firm, Mr. Bullen, it appears, sold the rights in the library to Messrs. Routledge, who are reissuing it in a new binding and at a lower price than originally. Neither of the editors has in any way resented this, but the transaction is somewhat complicated by the fact that the Press has with one accord accepted these as entirely new books, apparently forgetting that they reviewed the originals (not a line having been altered) many years ago. ‘This, in the case of technical books, in which the very latest information is always desirable, might have two results equally distressing to the original editors and contributors. In the first place, the angling public might think itself hoodwinked into. buying old books as new. In the second, the angling writers who contributed to this library may justly deprecate their stale information of nine years ago being reviewed as if it had been written within the year. Such results would obviously be grossly unfair to the editors, who had no intimation of the proposed re-issue. THE AUTHOR. THE COMING OF AGE. —-— + Tue Soctety’s Work. a twenty-first anniversary of the incorpora- tion of the Society of Authors takes place on June 30th. It is not unfitting, therefore, that at its coming of age, a short retrospect of its aims and the work that it has done should be placed before the present members. The first meeting recorded in the books took place at a private house in Kensington on the 28th day of September, 1883, where the following gentlemen assembled with a view to making arrangements for its foundation. Sir Walter Besant (then Mr. Walter Besant), in the chair, Ulick Ralph Burke, A. Egmont Hake, Prof. Fleeming Jenkin, the Rev. W. J. Loftie, Wilfrid Meynell, 8S. G. C. Middlemore, J. Henry Middleton, Walter Herries Pollock, W. R. S. Ralston, W. Baptiste Scoones. Tristram Valentine acted as honorary secretary. The next recorded meeting occurred on the 18th day of February, 1884, in a room lent by Mr. Baptiste Scoones, and at that meeting, the first real meeting of the society, sixty-eight members were elected. In May of the same year Lord Tennyson accepted the presidency of the society, and Sir Walter Besant was elected chairman of the committee. In those days the society was composed of a president, vice-presidents, fellows and associates. This arrangement, under the present constitution, has been varied. There is a president and council, members and associates. The managing committee is elected from the members of the council, and in the hands of the managing committee the work of the society lies. The following is the first list of vice-presidents, which was afterwards much enlarged : R. D. Blackmore, Lord Crewe, R. G. Egerton- Warburton, F.S.A., Prof. Michael Foster, General Sir Frederick F. Goldsmid, His Eminence Cardinal Manning, Hon. Sir Henry Parkes, Sir William Frederick Pollock, Charles Reade, George Augustus Sala, Sir Henry Thompson, Canon Tristram, The Rev. Henry White and Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. — So that from the very first, with Lord Tennyson as president “and a representative list of the vice- presidents, the society reveived the substantial support of the literary profession. One of the first matters to engage the attention of the committee was the draft of a Memorandum and Articles of Association. When this was settled a Board of Trade licence under the Companies’ Acts was procured. The incorporation took place, as y  THE AUTHOR. already stated, on the 30th of June, 1884. In the same year the Lord Mayor of London (Sir Robert Fowler) invited the infant society to dinner at the Mansion House. In the early days of the society, meetings were held every week in order to get the work into shape, but it was soon found that weekly meetings were unnecessary. Since then, the committee have been called together once a month except in cases demanding immediate action, when they have met more frequently. On the death of the first president, Lord Tennyson, Mr. George Meredith was elected to fill the position, which he still occupies. Sir Walter Besant as the first chairman of the com- mittee was succeeded by Sir Frederick Pollock, father of the present baronet. Sir Frederick Pollock resigned the position in January 1888, and Sir Walter Besant was re-elected and held the post till November 1892. At that date he resigned with the full idea that the society was then able to stand by itself, and in order that those who desired to detract from the society’s work, might not, as was constantly their custom, state that the society was Besant’s Society. On his retirement, and till his death, Sir Walter Besant continued to act as Editor of The Author, and was aconstant attendant at the committee meetings, giving in both capacities a great deal of his valuable time to the general welfare. Sir Frederick Pollock, the present baronet, succeeded Sir Walter Besant. Then followed Sir Martin Conway, H. Rider Haggard, Anthony Hope Hawkins, Douglas Freshfield, and lastly, Sir Henry Bergne. These are the names of those who have so unselfishly given both time and money to help their follow workers, and to protect the property of their fellow authors. No one can appreciate how heavy and laborious is the work of chairman of the com- mittee, except those who have gone through the mill. Members of the committee may find the work a serious call on their time, but the comparison is as the chastisement with whips to the chastisement inflicted with scorpions. Dramatic authors and writers of books on all subjects, technical as well as essentially literary, were included as the first members of the society. The Memorandum and Articles of Association, how- ever, were drafted on wider lines in order to give the society scope—in the event of its success—for the protection of other kinds of copyright property. Since those early days its field has been somewhat widened. Now it deals with the works of musical composers and musical copyright, also artistic copy- right so far as refers to the illustration of books, for the artistic copyright of book illustrators is very closely joined to literary copyright. At present, 269 therefore, the society embraces four distinct classes, dramatic authors, authors of books, musical com- posers, and book illustrators. In the early days of the society, according to the old records, it appears that the committee were immediately overwhelmed with work, for many complaints were forthcoming, and much discontent was abroad, the copyright laws also were in a dis- graceful condition. There were many claims on the resources of the society, which at that time were very limited. In fact, in order to fight one or two actions, a special subscription was pro- posed, to which the members willingly con- tributed. Once or twice the balance at the bank ran perilously low. But the founders never despaired of the society’s ultimate success. To relate the early struggles of the society is not the purport of the present article. The record of unselfish labour on its behalf undertaken by many men of letters, and especially by Sir Walter Besant, is long. Instances of financial support, in addition to valuable time, freely and generously given, were many. To show in what manner and with what success the society has exerted itself to carry into effect the purposes of its original programme is the more immediate purpose of this paper. And here it may be convenient to record first what has been done for the consolidation and amendment of the law of domestic copyright and for the promotion of international copyright. The question of American copyright was one of the first to occupy the attention of the society. From the moment of its foundation the society threw all its weight and influence (by no means so great then as now) into obtaining a friendly understanding with American authors, and those other Americans who were interested in the passing of an equitable copyright law. New copyright legislation was obtained in America in 1891. As everyone knows, this law leaves much to be desired. ‘The society is still in constant touch with the promoters of equitable legislation in the United States, and will avail itself of every oppor- tunity to obtain a more generous legislation. To proceed with caution is, however, necessary. A false move might prove fatal. In the direction of the consolidation of domestic copyright, the society has been able to act more directly, and with important results. There existed no difference of opinion as to the unsatis- factory state of the law, and no need for hesitation. A copyright committee was appointed ; numerous meetings were held; other bodies interested in copyright were consulted, and finally a new copy- right law was drafted under counsel’s care. This was a full consolidating and amending bill, dealing with copyright property, literary, dramatic, artistic  270 and musical. To bring it before Parliament ultimately proved impossible, but it was found useful to have such a bill ready. Subsequent events have, it is true, demonstrated this bill to have been cumbersome and inadequate. The action of the society was, however, at the time sound, and beneficial to authors. In 1891, after the passing of the new United States law, the society found itself in a position to take a further step. Lord Monkswell brought forward a bill that had been drafted by the society. This bill reached a second reading in the House of Lords, but was not taken further. In 1896, a new copyright law committee was formed. This com- mittee, persuaded that the time for a consolidating Act had not yet arrived, decided to draft a small amending Dilf. This bill was drafted by counsel, and was, after much expense and labour, agreed upon in its final shape. Of this bill Lord Monkswell, always indefatig- able in questions of copyright, and ever willing to assist the efforts of the society, took charge. The pill passed its third reading in the House of Lords on the 23rd of July, 1897. In the autumn of the same year a consolidating bill was brought forward by the Copyright Association. The latter bill and the bill of the society ran concurrently at the beginning of 1898. Finally, however, the whole question was taken up upon a new basis. A bill was drafted by Lord Thring separating literary from artistic copyright. This bill was carefully studied by the members of the Copyright and Dramatic Committees of the society, and a number of valuable suggestions regarding it were offered, and the bill passed through the House of Lords. It was also adopted by the Government, but was finally put aside. In 1900, owing no doubt, in a great measure, to the persistent action of the society, the Government made a public declaration of an intention to take up the question of copy- right. It must be added with regret that since this declaration nothing in the shape of a draft bill has appeared from the Government offices, but the above record will suffice to show how perseveringly the society has laboured for the amelioration of domestic copyright. It need hardly be said that the expenses have been heavy, whilst the members of the committee and others have generously made ungrudging sacrifices in order to forward the interests of their fellows of the craft. Colonial copyright has, during the same period, presented serious difficulties. In this direction the importance of the society’s action can hardly be over-estimated. The committee of the society were the first body to perceive that the colonial position formed one of the chief impediments in the way of new copyright legislation on the part To put the matter on a more of the Government, THE AUTHOR. satisfactory basis became immediately one of the society's foremost aims. At one time Mr, Hall Caine was appointed delegate of the society during a visit which he paid to Canada. Subsequently, in 1899, the secretary of the society visited the Dominion. The persevering efforts of the society to solve the complex difficulties which existed were rewarded with some success when the Canadian Parliament in 1900 passed an Act embodying the ideas for which the society had been so long contending. Respecting international copyright, it may suffice to say that all its bearings, ramifications, and modifications have the society’s constant attention, and only last year the society endea- voured to obtain the accession of another country, Roumania, to the convention. The society is in touch with those interested in copyright property in France, Germany, Italy and other countries. All changes in the domestic or international copyright laws of different countries are carefully watched both from the domestic and international point of view. The information at the society’s disposal is kept strictly up to date, and everything of importance is duly chronicled in the pages of Zhe Author. To sum up, the society has done everything that it is possible to do in the way of procuring more liberal legislation in America. It has helped to bring about satisfactory legislation in Canada. Its perseverance has forced the question of the improvement of domestic legislation upon the English Government, and it is in constant touch with other countries on all questions relating to international copyright. On these grounds alone the society has a right to claim that such results merit the support of all members of the literary profession. The next point demanding consideration is what the society has done to maintain, define, and bela literary, dramatic, and musical property at 10me. It has, in the first place, published technical works on a number of questions of primary import- ance to authors. These works contain accurate information previously nowhere to be found. During the earlier years of the society’s existence, much time was devoted to the collection and due arrangement of a mass of statistics now embodied in these works. The publication of these books though a small undertaking when compared with the more important enterprises in which the society has been engaged, is one of serious moment to authors. Sir Walter Besant was the soul of this department of the society’s work. His time and labour were given without hesitation, and without prospect of return. His practical mind grasped and his mathematical talent enabled him to make  THE AUTHOR. plain what particulars were to be investigated, and how the results of the investigations could be lucidly presented. In both he was ably seconded by Mr. Squire Sprigge, whose name is associated with “The Cost of Production” and “Methods of Publication.” As copyright law is one of the most intricate and difficult laws to elucidate, so copyright property is one of the most difficult proper- ties to market to the best advantage. In conse- quence, members of the society are constantly seeking advice and assistance. The record of the reports for the past ten or fifteen years will show the enormons amount of money the society has spent in legal advice year by year, its annual bill with its solicitors amounting to about £300. The assistance the society must have given by this expenditure is easily gauged. The excellence of its solicitors, owing to constant practice in the special subject, must also be of very great benefit to the members. We should like to point out as an obifer dictum that all writers, dramatists, composers who are not members of the society, should hasten to join when they see a statement of this kind, for every legal opinion taken, every case fought, must benefit them as a body and bring them, indirectly, assistance. It is not fair, therefore, that they should increase their income from the subscriptions of their more generous fellow-craftsmen. An ordinary opinion upon an agreement would cost a writer from one guinea to three guineas. To obtain such an opinion is one of the commonest ways by which members make use of the society. A member can obtain opinions on as many agree- ments as he likes during the year for the fee of £1 1s. only, in addition to any other legal advice he may require on copyright questions. The benefit that must accrue to the member is clear, therefore, from this most sordid point of view. It would have been unnecessary to touch upon this point had it not been so frequently overlooked. The society has also, on several occasions, obtained opinions from counsel at great expense, and the record of the cases taken in hand during the past four years is as follows :— I. EL IT. 1901. 102 cases: 4 County Court. 5 High Court, 1902. 146 cases: 10 County Court. 8 High Court. 1903. 127 cases: 9 County Court. 4 High Court. 1904. 112 cases: 8 High Court, 6 High Court. No. 1 refers to those cases and disputes, in which the Secretary acts as between a member and the editor, publisher, or other delinquent ; No. 2 to those cases taken through the County Court ; No. 3 to High Court cases. Besides this list, again, there are many matters which, placed in the hands of the society’s solicitors, 271 are settled without being brought into Court—in fact, it may be stated that out of three cases placed in the solicitors’ hands for settlement only one will go to trial. It is not to the advantage of a trade defendant to obtain the publicity of a court of law. : _This record then may, on the whole, be con- sidered an honourable record of the society in carrying on the work of its founders. The society has been accused of being a bitter enemy to pub- lishers, editors and others. This, as Sir Walter Besant so often repeated, is not really the case ; but the members of the society when they have got a case which should be fought must be prepared to fight it, as the very vitality of the society must lie in its fighting strength. The general knowledge of this fact is the surest means of obtaining satis- faction for the author and fair dealing from the publisher. It is possible that at no distant date the time may arrive when the society will have no need to put this quality into practice; but although the society numbers fully 1,600 members, it is still far from the ideal laid before it by Sir Walter Besant and those others interested. It should have a membership of at least 3,000, and in proportion as. the society becomes more and more the association of all British authors and copyright holders, the more rapidly will it be able to accomplish the objects which it has set before itself. oe gg ge THE ANNUAL DINNER. Oe ‘ PFVYE annual dinner of the Incorporated Society of Authors took place on Tuesday, May 16th, at the Hotel Cecil, more than a hundred and fifty members and guests being present. The fact that the society was completing the twenty-first year since its incorporation, and was consequently celebrating its coming of age, added special interest to the occasion, and was a subject of frequent allusion in the speeches. These followed closely upon the conclusion of the last course, when the chairman, Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., proposed briefly the usual loyal toasts, followed by the permission to smoke, of which many of those present, not exclusively male members of the company, proceeded to avail themselves. In proposing the toast of the Incorporated Society of Authors, the chairman made reference to the twenty-one years which had elapsed since Sir Walter Besant had founded it, and inaugu- rated the policy afterwards followed during his lifetime and since his regretted death. In dealing with the objects of the society and indicating the  272 extent and manner in which these were being carried out, Sir Henry Bergne spoke first of the defence of literary property, conducted by the society throughout its existence. A defence which members were aware could be effected far better by combination and co-operation than by the isolated efforts of individuals. In carrying out this defence of literary property, the society had been taken in one of its actions to the House of Lords, with the result that at least a doubtful point of law had been settled. Secondly, in the Amendment and Consolidation of the Domestic Law of Copyright, the society had made and was continuing to make efforts on behalf of authors, and if not much had been actually achieved, a bill had been drafted, and the amendment of the existing law had been promised in a Speech from the Throne. Further progress, however, had been delayed by the difficulty of combining domestic with colonial law upon the subject. Possibly the best mode of dealing with that difficulty might lie in cordial consultation and co-operation with the great self-governing Colonies on the subject of Copyright, and he was not without hope that some progress in that direction might shortly be made. The first Government to succeed in passing a satisfactory Copyright Act would earn the lasting gratitude of authors. In the promotion of Inter- national Copyright, satisfactory advance had been made. Since the foundation of the society the International Copyright Convention of Berne and the additional Act of Paris had been signed, and a separate Convention concluded with Austria- Hungary. In speaking of this the chairman referred to the recent accession of Japan to the International Copyright Union. With regard to the recognition of the rights of British authors in America, good progress had also been made. This made a really good record in regard to International Copyright. Sir Henry Bergne expressed cordial appreciation of the co-operation and assistance of the Copyright Association, saying that wisdom, like water, took the form of the vessel into which it was poured, and that if, indeed, the wisdom of the Society of Authors differed sometimes in form from that of the Copyright Association it was at least certain that the endeavour of both societies had been directed to protect all the legal rights of intellectual property. He called attention, while upon this topic, to the presence of Mr. John Murray, who was seated near him on his right, and paid a ‘tribute of regret to the memory of Mr. John Daldy. In conclusion, he urged that the society had much left to do; and he specified three main objects for its efforts, namely : first, the securing of domestie copyright legislation ; second, the -obtaining of a more satisfactory position for authors with regard to their rights in the United States ; THE AUTHOR. and third, the obtaining of fresh accessions to the International Copyright Union. After the toast of the society had been duly honoured, Sir A. Conan Doyle, replying in a vigorous speech, expressed his regret that Sir Walter Besant had not survived to see the coming of age of the society, which in its younger days had had so much opposition to face and so few friends. It had ever fought the cause of the weaker brother against the oppressor, or still more so, that of the weaker sister. It had not, however, as some might think, to protect the fool from his folly, because the fool was so self-satisfied a person that he felt no desire to be enrolled as a member ; it was rather for the assistance of those handicapped by want of experience that the society existed. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle desired to say no word against publishers as a class, but referred to them as a profession, for which no qualification or licence was required before admission, and alluded humorously to the popularity due to Napoleon among authors for having once had a German publisher shot. In conclusion, he referred to the fact that all classes of writers were benefited by the society’s efforts, and appealed to members to support the pension fund. Mr. Egerton Castle next rose to propose the health of the “ Guests of the Society,” comparing them to the friends and neighbours assembled to do honour to a promising youth attaining his majority. He contrasted the position of author- ship in modern days with that which it once occupied, and referred to the man of intellect as recognising, in the words of Sheffield, that “Of all the arts in which the wise excel, Nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well.” Among the guests Mr. Castle first made reference to Sir Richard Henn Collins, the Master of the Rolls, whom he described as a ripe classical scholar, holder of every high university honour, chairman of the Historical Manuscripts Commission, arbitra- tor on the Venezuelan Boundary Commission, and the editor of “Smith’s Leading Cases,” with which he, Mr. Castle, confessed himself only acquainted in the metrical form known as “ Leading Cases done into English,” by Sir Frederick Pollock. Enumerating other distinguished men present, Mr. Egerton Castle named Mr. Fletcher Moul- ton, K.C., M.P., who, he said, had been defined as a rare example of the mathematical mind triumphant, and to whose connection with patent law, a kindred subject to copyright, he made special reference ; he also called attention to the presence of Mr. John Tweedy, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons ; of Sir Henry Howorth, K.C.1.E., whom he described as <P  5 THE AUTHOR. 273 an antiquary, a lawyer, a politician, and a dis- tinguished raconteur; of Mr. John Murray, the representative of the fourth generation of the great publishing house, a fifth generation of which, he mentioned, was now growing up. Mr. Castle referred to Mr. Murray as himself a scholar, a man of the highest culture, a past president of the Publisher’s Association, and a man of letters, and observed that no doubt many present would grate- fully acknowledge the invaluable intellectual help which he always so generously afforded to authors in the production of their books ; if all firms of publishers, he added, resembled that of John Murray in their methods, there would never have arisen any need for a Society of Authors. Among foreign guests by whose presence the society was honoured, Mr. Castle named Monsieur E. Pettileau, representing the Société des gens de Lettres, which suggested and formed the model upon which the Society of Authors was founded, and Mr. Hugenet, editor of La Chronique, the only French paper published in London, an instructor at Greenwich Naval College, an officer, a journalist, anda novelist. To the presence of these two gentle- men he referred as a contribution by the Society of Authors to the promotion of the entente cordiale destined to have such lasting and beneficent effect upon the peaceful progress of the world. Sir Richard Henn Collins, in replying on behalf of the guests, declared that he found it difficult not only to represent those whose distinguished names had been enumerated, but also to distinguish the large number of other guests unnamed among those present, and to do this without consultation and without hope of remuneration and reward, His real difficulty, however, lay, he said, not in voicing the thanks of his male guests, but of the ladies also. He humorously described himself as deeply impressed by the collective power of author- ship around him, which he averred inspired him with a sense of awe, and made him feel that the guests should have been provided at the door with slippers like worshippers entering a mosque. For the large output of printed matter for which judges were mainly responsible he disclaimed the title of “ literature,” but he was able to assert that judges and lawyers were much addicted to the study of novels. With regard to these he described the domain of fiction as having been conquered by lady novelists, who now no longer should be described, as they had been by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as the “ weaker sisters.” On the contrary he himself would predict that some day men would adopt feminine pseudonyms when publishing novels. He congratulated the society upon its attitude towards litigation and upon the satisfac- tion with which it viewed having obtained a binding decision in the House of Lords. Mr. A. W. A’Beckett, in conclusion, proposed the health of the chairman, and alluding to his own position as acting chairman of the committee of management, declared that with Sir Henry Bergne it had become a sinecure, as the chairman was never away. He also referred to the changed position of modern journalism in relation to litera- ture, making special allusion to distinguished literary men, members of the society, who were also journalists. The day was past when journalism could be described as the Cinderella of literature or as the grave of literary ambition. After the health ofthe chairman had been drunk with enthusiasm, and Sir Henry Bergne had briefly replied, an adjournment was made to another room, where the rest of the evening was spent. —_—_—t_—e— SOME REFLECTIONS ON CRITICISM. DES e VERY now and then—perhaps twice in the year—lI have noticed that the magazines and papers take it into their heads to dis- cuss the art and practice of reviewing. For some abstruse reason the public is supposed to enjoy these dissertations. Possibly, in the interests of fair play, they like to see the critics subjected to a taste of that discipline which they mete out to others : possibly, too, they enjoy getting a glimpse of the inner workings of journalism. I find, in most of these articles, a consensus of opinion as to the uselessness of Press notices (which 1s somewhat disturbing), and an equally strong conviction that the British public cannot do without its daily allotment of criticism (which is reassuring). For my own part, I like reading reviews. When I pick up a daily paper I generally turn to them as soon as I have satisfied myself that nothing very startling has happened in the world of politics or of sport. But then it must be admitted that I do not suffer myself to be influenced by what I read—to any great extent. [ have given up buying modern books: I do not even belong to a circulating library; but I probably read as many new novels in the course of the year as most people. The fact is—to be quite candid —I am myself one of the despised band of critics ; which may, or may not, make my opinion the more valuable on some disputed points. As a guide to purchasers, I dare say that reviews are useful enough. As a means of inducing the general public to buy, I believe them to be prac- tically useless. If we suppose that a man has already made up his mind to form a library of modern writers, it is conceivable that a good review might induce him to add a certain book to his collection ; but there are few indeed who are bitten with this mania. The mass of readers have to be  274 bullied, so to speak, into buying a book—they must run up against the name at every turn until it strikes them with an air of familiarity ; in most cases, even then, they will content themselves with borrowing the work from a more generous neigh- bour. Of course, I will allow that there may still be a considerable number who order books from their libraries on the strength of a flattering notice that happens to catch their eye, but these are chiefly ladies, exiled in the country, and the books they look for are lives of eminent men, reminis- cences (with plenty of anecdote), or, more rarely, a novel by some favourite author. It is very seldom indeed that they can be induced to venture upon a work by a new hand. Probably a series of favourable reviews (say even as many as twenty) scattered among what are generally considered the best papers, would not sell more than a very small edition of a new book by an unknown writer. The case of well-known authors is different. So long as the fact of their having produced a new work is given sufficient prominence, it matters little to their sales whether the reviews are good or bad. And as theirs are the only books (except in the rarest instances) that ever receive notices of a really useful length in any important paper, it must be admitted that reviewing does not exercise so great an influence, either for good or evil, upon an author’s career, as the world is apt to suppose. * I am speaking here of reviews properly so called —that is to say, reviews of a reasonable length, which may be defined as something over half a column in most papers. I suppose everyone is agreed that the short notices so liberally scattered about in many journals are almost entirely worth- less, except possibly for the purpose of quotation in publishers’ advertisements. Here, with the aid of judicious /acune, they often make a brave show enough. But in their original position they are not much regarded. In the eye of the public a short notice is evidence of mediocrity, at the best ; and, be it never so laudatory, it cannot hope to attract more than one or two casual purchasers. Not many people read these cursory comments at all: the few who do (with the exception of the author himself and the friends to whom he proudly displays them) read them merely in the hope of finding a touch of smart sarcasm. They are not infrequently well repaid for their trouble. Some- times it is possible to put quite a lot of venom into a few lines ; and when a hard-worked reviewer takes up a volume towards the end of a long day’s work, and finds himself with very little space to spare, this method certainly gives a quick and satisfactory finish to his labours. Many worthy books suffer because of the sins of their forerunners. And it is always easier to blame than to praise— when space is at a premium. THE AUTHOR. If short notices were entirely abolished, it is possible that good reviews might be of some value to the struggling author. But that would mean, of course, immensely increased labour in the matter of selection. As things stand, even now, the process of weeding out unworthy books is an extremely difficult one : it would become formid- able indeed (to a conscientious man) if a second and a third revision had to be undertaken in addition to the first. And then, there is always the personal equation of the selector to be con- sidered. Who is to attempt the ungrateful task ? Is the editor to go through the vanloads of new volumes delivered at his office personally, in order to separate the tares from the wheat, or is he to delegate this work to the reviewers themselves ? It is certain that very few editors could find time for this extra labour, in itself sufficient to occupy an able-bodied man pretty thoroughly. In most cases, at present, some member of the editorial staff settles, approximately, the amount of space to be allotted to each volume; but his ruling is commonly determined by matters quite foreign to the merit of the book submitted to him. Probably he is very much pressed for time ; he has a thousand other things to occupy his attention, and a very cursory glance at a new book has to determine its fate. If by an unknown writer, there must generally be something out of the common in its scheme, or it must bear the imprint of a good publishing house, in order to gain admission to his list at all. Sometimes, however, the reviewer has to do his own weeding. A parcel is sent out to him, with instructions to notice only such books as are worthy of remark. This practice, I have always thought, is alittle bit rough upon the reviewer, who feels the weight of added responsibility, and, in addition, is only too well aware that he is paid by the column. If he reads a book carefully from start to finish, and reluctantly finds it unworthy of discussion, he has an unpleasant feeling that he has wasted his time. Besides, it is undeniably easier to review a thoroughly bad book than a moderately good one. Most men, I fancy, enjoy writing a really severe critique, when they can assure themselves of the justice of their cause. I make no doubt that Macaulay enjoyed composing his onslaught on ‘Satan’ Montgomery more than his other contri- butions to the Edinburgh Review. Similarly, there is a certain gusto in Lowell's attack on Pro- fessor Masson’s ‘“ Milton,” which differentiates it, pleasantly enough, from his essay on Keats. Most reviewers, if they got the chance, would take the brightest and the dullest of their batch, and leave those that do not seem particularly interesting at first sight. This would be well enough, no doubt, from the reader’s point of view, but hardly from the  THER AUTHOR. 275 author’s. The brightest does not always mean the best. There is such a thing as solid worth, and it is not always very fascinating on a casual acquaintance. 1 apologise for uttering a commonplace when I say that the chief agent of the booksellers is the talkative lady who advises her friends to get the last book that has happened to catch her fancy. Conversation is the great factor in popularity, to an author; if he can get himself talked about at afternoon teas he is not far from success. It sounds degrading, but it is none the less true. And for that reason I take it that personal paragraphs are of more value to him than the best reviews. Somehow or other he must contrive to get his name known. When you come to consider it, sell- ing books is very much like selling mustard, or cocoa, or any other of the luxuries (or necessaries) of life. The public goes to the name it has heard of before ; and the oftener that name is repeated in the Press (in any connection or phrase) so much the better for its owner. It is true that authors do not, as yet, employ all the methods of advertise- ment used by manufacturers of soap and pickles. They say it would be beneath the dignity of a noble profession. But time will show. Methods of attracting attention have been used lately that would have astonished our fathers considerably ; it is not improbable that the hoardings of the future will be covered with pictorial recommendations to buy the immortal works of our descendants. <A few of the bolder spirits have inaugurated this new departure already. I am reluctant to enter into a debate here as to the competency, or the conscientiousness, of reviewers. Perhaps | am not altogether an unbiased critic of the tribe, and my opinion may not be worth much, but I will state my conviction that the common book-reviewer generally knows quite as much of his business as the musical and artistic critics do of theirs. This may not be a fulsome compliment, but it would not become me to say more. As to his conscientiousness, I believe him, in the main, to be sufficiently honest. “Log-rolling,” about which we used to hear so much some years since, is a moribund form of amusement, if not actually extinct. Frankly, I do not suppose that there were ever many reviewers who conspired together, of malice prepense, to puff each other’s wares. But, obviously, the per- sonal element must play its part in reviewing, as in other things. You may say that a critic should strenuously refuse to receive a book for review that chanced to be written by any personal friend—still more by an enemy—of his own. I can only reply that such a critic would have to live a very secluded life, or else to be content with very little work. Of course, most men will try to say something nice about a friend’s book—unless it is very bad : per- haps some of the less conscientious among us will even impart a trifle of personal animosity into a critique of an enemy’s book—especially if it be very good. But I fancy that there are not many critics who suffer their judgment to be warped to any great degree in this latter direction. We err, if at all, rather in the direction of undue kindliness. The critic is no longer the author’s natural enemy, as he was in the days of Pope, and Swift, and Sterne—who were never tired of having a fling at that “‘ most tormenting form of cant.” It is seldom now that you shall see an incompetent scribbler handled as he deserves. Perhaps we are afraid; perhaps we are more humane than our progenitors ; perhaps—and I fancy this is the most likely hypothesis—the critic is now almost invariably himself an author, and has a not unnatural sympathy with his victim. EK. H. Lacon Watson. ee se IF ONLY! aces By Onz wHo Dipn’t. ‘“ HAVE always said you were the coming man,” declared Ardale, with animation, “ and now you have come, my dear Lessing, no one rejoices in your good fortune more than I.” “Thank you,” said the man with a tired face who sat opposite to him, rolling a cigarette between thin, nervous fingers. “Only the other day,” pursued Ardale com- placently, “I was talking with Grantley about your stuff. He had just come across your first book and was effusing over it. Said he had never read such a first book. I told him that I had prognosticated your ultimate success from it, twenty-five years ago. You know I always boast that I discovered you.” “Yes,” said Lessing wearily. His face looked wan in the firelight, and his lips were strangely set. “One is always proud of having discovered genius before the great dunder-headed public realises it,” Ardale went on, warming with his subject. “Lord! what a time it takes to get anything into the common skull! I knew when I read your remarkable first book, that you’d get right there some day, sure enough; but it has taken the British public five-and-twenty years to recognise you.” He smiled in satisfaction at his own superior judgment, and flipped the ash from his cigarette as if it were vulgar opinion.  276 “You knew twenty-five years ago that I'd ‘ get there’ ; did you ?” said Lessing slowly. “JT did, by Jove!” declared the critic. “Then why the devil didn’t you say so, then?” demanded Lessing, with sudden fierceness. His friend gasped. “« My dear chap ’”’—he began. “Why didn’t you say so in print when I was fighting the uphill fight, longing and praying for the spark to set my name afire? What made you write columns about the men whose reputations were already established, who needed no aid to sell their thirty thousand copies? What?” “JT don’t remember ”—Ardale began to stammer. The content on his face had given way to a look of discomfiture. “No, you don’t; but I do. I remember well the time you were reviewing for the Daily Post, and I envied, with all my heart, your position on the staff of that important paper. I envied your power and those upon whom you bestowed it. I knew who wrote the notice of my first book in its columns. It was little more than a paragraph of commonplaces about ‘merit,’ ‘promise,’ and so forth, tucked away in a corner ignominiously as if to avoid the public eye. I knew, also, who wrote the two columns of pseudo-criticism and fulsome adulation that Sir Potter Patterson’s last novel received in the same issue. It was a silly, con- ventional pot-boiler, as you were well aware, but you treated it to an enthusiastic gush of applause that was read with an equally enthusiastic gush of acceptance from one end of England to another. Why did you do it? You knew the book was rot.” “My dear Lessing, how the deuce can I tell you now why I did idiotic things twenty-five years ago ! A boy like that—let me see—not more than six or seven and twenty—I s “You were no boy, Ardale. You held a responsible post as critic on a leading paper, and you were qualified for it. I’m not saying a word against your lack of ability. You had ability and knew your business. You knew then, as well as you know now, a good thing when you saw it. Why could you not say so then, as you say itnow ? Why could you not give me acolumn of support then, when I needed it a thousand times more than I need it now? You gave me two in the Pioneer last week. It was waste of time and space. Hveryone reads my books, they no longer need advertisement.” “But, my dear man, that has nothing to do with the case. What editor do you suppose would afford a column to a young and unknown writer, however great his merits ? Don’t you know better than that ? Pray, be reasonable.’’ “J am reasonable, and my common sense tells me that it is senseless to ‘ gild refined gold and THE AUTHOR. paint the lily’; that there is no earthly use in writing pages of gush about the work of an author whom everyone reads and judges for himself ; that it is worse than useless, it is degrading and abominable, to eulogise feeble work because the author of it has made a name; and that it is drivelling idiocy to write, as so many of you do, reams of abuse against some author you agree to despise. Your columns of vituperation against Ball Mayne’s last novel, a few weeks back, were as unnecessary and uncalled for as your adulation — of me.” “Upon my word, Lessing, you are in a strange mood to-day. What makes you so devilishly cornery ? Most men do not resent adulation, and as for Ball Mayne, he’s such a prig and self- advertising charlatan that a “You find it advisable to help advertise him by quoting yards of his stuff and exciting the curiosity of the public to know what has incurred your wrath! Really, Ardale, it surprises me that the absurdity of this does not strike any man with a sense of humour.” “Would you never, then, warn the public against rot?” demanded the critic testily. Lessing laughed. “Warn! Did you ever see a fence with ‘ Caution’ on it that you did not long to climb? Surely you, a man of the world, know the irresistible attraction of a warning. Every man Jack who read your savage onslaught the other day will have resolved, swr-le-champ, to read Mayne’s book, either to refute or agree with you. It’s human nature. ‘'There’s only one way to treat bad work—ignoreit. Or, better still, zive it the same kind of faint praise and patronage you gave my first book. That will help it to die comfortably !” “Tt is all very well,” said Ardale impatiently, “to talk in that strain, as if we poor servants of the Press had any voice in the matter. But you must be perfectly aware of the fact that we havn't, that we are the slaves of demand and of the men who employ us. The public like to read about its celebrities and notorieties. How can space be spared for new men whom nobody knows, or cares, anything about ?” “It is the manifest duty of the Press to make the public ‘know and care,’ to hail fresh talent when it appears. How else can it be discovered ? The critic’s function is to lead and guide opinion, not follow weakly in its train. Instead of that now-a-days, in England, at least, there’s a con- — spiracy against the new man, whatever his poten- tiality. He has to wrest his laurels from an unwilling Press, and if he has pluck and genius to succeed it isin the face of every obstacle the mind of man can devise. Whether this results most from ignorance, cowardice, jealousy or snobbery I can’t pretend to determine.”  .and I can’t have it. orange. THE AUTHOR. ‘Your candour is refreshing,” said Ardale, with tight lips, “ but you forget vi “‘T forget nothing. I only know, and I convict you out of your own mouth, that when I was a youth and showed, as you admit, distinct talent, you gave me no encouragement whatever ; you slowed me down, crushed me back, wasted my best years—you and your damned crew—when half a column of good, strong arresting criticism would have called attention to my work and given me my chance. Shall I tell you what I thought then ; what I think now? It is that you are all cowards— shrinking pitiful cowards! You dare not give an independent verdict until the world has applauded ; you are afraid to let your voices be heard above the crowd. Can you deny it?” Ardale was silent a few minutes. Then he spoke, gently, as if arguing with an angry and unreasonable chiid. “T can’t understand you, Lessing ; for the life of me, I can’t. If you were some callow youth just starting on a literary career, full of bumption and resentful of criticism, your attitude would be natural enough. We all think, at that period, that the world is conspiring against our marvellous genius. But you—you who have ‘arrived,’ the man of the hour, the talk of Europe—I’ll be hanged if I can see what you have to complain of. A great name, a great fortune, a great future—what more can you want ?”’ “JT want,” said Lessing slowly, “life, faith, enthusiasm. I want youth.” Ardale smiled. “Oh well, we all want that, when we’ve lost it. But it isn’t in the market.” “No; it isn’t in the market. It’s all I want, What I have, I don’t eare about. Under this flap,” he laid his hand upon his writing desk, ‘I have proofs of a new novel -and the last chapters of a serial ; I have requests for stories from several editors, on my own terms ; I have letters from foreign translators begging for right to translate my works ; I have offers from ' publishers that would make a young author's blood dance. I am getting royalties on all the books I ever wrote, and my plays are bringing me in seventy pounds a week. My income is fifteen thousand a year, and if I had time, or power, to write more words a day, I could double it. But what is the use of it all tome? I want nothing, need nothing, but peace and quietness.” “Oh come now,” protested Ardale. “T take little or no interest in my work. Some- times I hate it, and I know it is not so good as it was. I am wrung out, in fact, dry as an old And when I think of the days when one- hundredth part of what the world lavishes upon ‘me now would have made me deliriously happy— 277 more than happy—would have opened heaven’s gates for me on earth—when I think of this, the horrible irony of it eats into my very sonl. I want to stand up before my fellows and curse this damnable ‘scheme of things entire’ that ‘either gives a stomach and no food,’ or food and no appetite. It enrages me!” “No good getting enraged,” counselled Ardale, with a fatuous smile; “console yourself with the reflection that all the younger men envy you your good fortune.’’ : “Console myself!” cried Lessing, “It is the thought of them that stings and lacerates me. Are you prepared to listen to a short story of real life, or will it bore you ?” “Go on,” said Ardale, watching him anxiously. “You are always interesting, even when you're serious and truthful. Most men aren’t. Go on.” Lessing rose and poured some brandy into a glass. Ardale had begun to notice that his face was ash-coloured. “Help yourself,’ he said, drinking the spirit raw. “I forget the duties of hospitality in the ardour of this discussion.” He seated himself again, paused a few moments, and then began his story. “Twenty-five years ago,” he began, “I was full of ambition and enthusiasm. Moreover, I was in love—in the way one loves at twenty-two. There wasn’t any other girl in the Cosmos. But her people were in a good position and they were kind to me, trusted me. It was impossible to requite that kindness and confidence by a cool request that they would endow me with their only daughter and a sufficient income to keep us both. And my income was nothing a year, with occasional accidental windfalls. So I kept quiet and the girl and I were—friends.” He drew a long breath. a little uneasily. “Tt was at that time,” Lessing continued, “I put all my hopes, longings, even prayers, into the novel which you said just now was a remarkable first book ; from which you deduced my future success. It was remarkable. Crudeand unfinished, it yet had something in it that will never be in my work again. I could write nothing so power- fal and convincing now, though I have learnt all the tricks—to make much out of little. Well, it came out. The girl was enchanted, excited. 1 was in a burning fever of anticipation. ‘The reviews were all flattering, in that little easy, careless, patronising way which the young writer knows so well and finds so hard to bear. They were all nice, in fact, but they didn’t matter. They impressed nobody, least of all the most important persons— the autocrats and rulers of the market, those gigantic middlemen, the distributors upon whose Ardale shifted his seat  278 will and whim we rise or sink. So my ‘promising’ first book sank, buried under the heap of others that came out with it, Sir Potter Patterson’s silly pot-boiler atop. You, and others like you, might have saved it, might have run me, at least, into a second edition upon a wave of enthusiasm. But you dared not. I was a new man, and you distrusted your own discrimination too much.” “You do us an injustice, Lessing; we spoke well of the book, you admit that,” declared Ardale in a wounded tone. “JT admit that you poured a little stream of tepid praise upon it, while you exhausted all the complimentary adjectives in the language upon the work ofa well-known writer. Don’t be a humbug, Ardale. You know as well as I do that a certain sort of feeble praise damns a book more than any slating can. But to return to mystory. I was to receive a royalty of 10 per cent. on copies sold and £25 onaccount. I got the £25—and that was all. Then I began to debate with myself whether rat poison or the Thames offered the best mode of escape from a world that had no use for me.” “ Surely, it didn’t go as far as that with you!” said Ardale, shocked. “Just as far as that—the thought—but no farther. 1 accepted a post as war correspondent to a moribund paper, on very low terms. Some months later the girl wrote me a sweet, friendly letter asking advice. A nice man she rather liked, and her parents liked very much, had proposed to her. She did not wish to marry him, but she respected him, and might love him in time. Would I counsel her what to do. She knew I would understand and not think her horrid for writing. She would never be happy again if I thought her horrid. It was a pathetic little note, and tore me all to pieces. Of course I knew what she meant. There was no help for me. I wrote back and advised her to marry the nice man.” “You were a fool!” said Ardale with pleasure. lt gave him great satisfaction to return his friend’s candour. “T was—a proud fool. I ought to have told her the truth and left the matter with her. But you must remember I saw no prospects whatever of being able to keep a wife. The choice did not seem to lie between being a fool ora sensible man, but between being a rogue or a man of honour. So she married her nice man.” “ And you?” “J married, three years later, a writer, as you know. She was a journalist when we met, and we were excellent friends. But our wedded life wasn’t bliss. We did not often agree; we earned very little between us, and she hadn’t the remotest notion of engineering a frugal menage. We faced the sordid struggle, however, with some courage THE AUTHOR. for awhile. My second and third books came out, and each time we hoped afresh for the spark to fire it, the advertising puff that would give us some hold on the future. We even dared to have a child. But the books died and the child died, My wife lost heart—and faith in me. She left me for a bachelor existence, and I was not sorry. Since then I have lived alone. Five years ago she died.” “And now you are going to marry the most charming womanin London. Everyone raves of the beauty and goodness of Lady Evelyn. The masculine _ half of society envies you like the devil!” “Tt is true,” said Lessing, “that Lady Evelyn is charming. I think her the most perfect woman I ey ever met. But I am not going to marry er.” “Not!” Ardale laid both hands on the arms of his chair, and looked as if about to spring up in surprise. *« You are not going to marry her, after having the engagement announced in all the society papers! In Heaven’s name, why not ?” “Because,” replied Lessing, with quiet emphasis, “Tam not going to marry at all.” He paused, then went on, with some apparent effort : “T am dying.” “Good God !” The two men stared into each other’s eyes speechlessly. In Ardale’s face a ghastly horror appeared, but Lessing’s bore no expression of dread or panic. His eyes were dark with feeling, his face pale, but he was quite calm. “You don’t mean it,”’ Ardale breathed. ‘‘T do. To-day I have had the third verdict on my case. All three specialists are in accord, They wrap up the death sentence with infinite tact and assure me, in the most genial and cheerful manner that, with care and luck, I may live quite a time—perhaps even a year ! “Jt is horrible! horrible!” exclaimed Ardale, in sharp agony. ‘“ Just when you have made your name—when you have everything at your feet—I can’t believe it—I won’t.” The man of the world was thrown off his © balance, tears stood in his eyes, and he trembled. ‘Tt is true, nevertheless.” “ T have known men under the same verdict go on gaily into old age. Specialists often err. They are cocksure of necessity to preserve their reputa- tion. You'll live, Lessing, you must.” “ Why should 1?” asked Lessing, ‘since 've no desire for life.” “‘ No desire!” echoed Ardale faintly. “Not the least. I’m too tired to enjoy it, to care about it. Pain has worn me out lately. Don’t look so tragic, Ardale. You must not frighten me, you know. A person with acute heart disease must be soothed, calmed, and told *  THE AUTHOR. 979 lies about himself. You have no tact, man, or you would not look at me with such eyes.” j {His smile was whimsical; neither sad nor frightened, but a trifle nervous. For some time Ardale could not utter a word. Then he rose and held out his hand. “Tm sorry, Lessing,” he said in a voice that shook painfully. ‘‘ Forgive me for what I did not do, for the cowardice of which you so justly accuse me. But how should I know that you if only a “Tf only!” echoed Lessing. And the broken phrase, the most tragic in our language, melted like a twilight ghost into the silence of the room as Ardale went out with bowed head. se ee STORIES OF AUTHORS’ LOVES.* — 1 N writing “Stories of Authors’ Loves” Clara I E. Lauchlin has set herself no easy task. Perhaps such a subject is best treated lightly and sympathetically, without probing much below the surface, or “violating the fine reticences of life.” Even authors may be allowed some privacy, some plot of holy ground where'the public may not penetrate, where the intellectual man of science may not tear up the flowers with the questionable desire of seeing how they grow, or exhume long- buried bones of contention. The book contains much pleasant reading, though but little is added to the information already before the public to explain the motives or elucidate the mental development of those with whom the author deals. The style is easy and colloquial, almost too easy at times: for we are told tbat Byron was a “ preternaturally sensitive little chap,” and that his ancestors were a “ mixed lot.” By such phrases as these his subsequent lapses from virtue and general eccentricities are explained and condoned. Nowadays it is the fashion to whitewash every black sheep, but why should poor Lady Byron be dismissed with a few wordsof complacent ridicule for resenting his treatment of her; and Byron’s actions be gently alluded to as “very vexatious”? No early Victorian admirer could have said more for him. Shelley, on his side, might resent the playful raillery against his passions—such treatment re- minds us of a patronising Elder patting an excitable little boy on the head to calm him ;—with equal right he might object to the assumption that he was a child full of childishness up to the last hour of his life. But as the author states that “God only smiled * “Stories of Authors’ Loves,” by Clara E, Lauchlin. Published by Isbister & Co., London, patiently” on his blasphemy because he was so young: it is not for man—or woman—to take him seriously. Keats does not fare much better for another reason. His love was not ideal enough to save him from the tortures of jealousy, and, there- fore, loving in a low form, he was bound to be tormented where another would have found content. The tragedy of the Carlyles can hardly be dealt with adequately in a book which is intentionally superficial. ‘Therefore it is not surprising to find but a few pages devoted to their story. Love is the mainspring of the volume: it is natural, therefore, to find not only everything focussed on this point, but the character regarded as incomplete where that feeling is lacking or latent. Whilst acknowledging the truth of this view in the main, it does not quite reconcile us to the lofty pity extended to George Eliot’s earlier years any more than to the entire espousal of Byron’s cause on the plea that he had an early ideal in Thyrza, which led. him to find all other women who attracted him—and there were many—want- ing and unworthy of his fidelity. Surely the subjects under the author’s pen would infinitely prefer their original shortcomings left in all their bitterness and incompleteness : for they would then gain in strength what they Jost in sweetness. ‘The lack of strength is the principal fault in this book. The real success of the author lies in her de- scription of wedded bliss unmarred by storms or complications, though deferred by hard fate or obdurate fathers. The story of the Brownings affords an oppor- tunity for some charming writing and a real insight into a woman’s mind. ‘The Tennysons, too, have a graceful tribute to their love story, and a few lines at the close describing the wife who made his life so complete are worthy of quotation. “ Serene and sweet she walked by his side for more than forty years, quickening his insight, strengthening his faith, fulfiling his every heart’s desire : and when the eventide was come, “<«Pwilight and evening bell, And after that the dark.’ “She was still there, nor let go his hand until he put it in that of the pilot himself, when he had crossed the bar.” Other lives, not so fortunate, figure in these pages. Dickens, Thackeray, and poor Charles Lamb, who renounced so much for a different sort of love. The book has a wide range and aims high, but lacks the strength and breadth of a serious study for serious people. It would be an excellent book for girls if it were a little more bracing, but here also it fails. Whilst fall of high ideals and the praise of true love as distinct from  278 will and whim we rise or sink. So my ‘promising’ first book sank, buried under the heap of others that came out with it, Sir Potter Patterson’s silly pot-boiler atop. You, and others like you, might have saved it, might have run me, at least, into a second edition upon a wave of enthusiasm. But you dared not. I was a new man, and you distrusted your own discrimination too much.” “You do us an injustice, Lessing ; we spoke well of the book, you admit that,” declared Ardale in a wounded tone. “JT admit that you poured a little stream of tepid praise upon it, while you exhausted all the complimentary adjectives in the language upon the work ofa well-known writer. Don’t be a humbug, Ardale. You know as well as I do that a certain sort of feeble praise damns a book more than any slating can. But to return to mystory. I was to receive a royalty of 10 per cent. on copies sold and £25 onaccount. I got the £25—and that was all. Then I began to debate with myself whether rat poison or the Thames offered the best mode of escape from a world that had no use for me.” “ Surely, it didn’t go as far as that with you!” said Ardale, shocked. ' “Just as far as that—the thonght—but no farther. 1 accepted a post as war correspondent to a moribund paper, on very low terms. Some months later the girl wrote me a sweet, friendly letter asking advice. A nice man she rather liked, and her parents liked very much, had proposed to her. She did not wish to marry him, but she respected him, and might love him in time. Would I counsel her what to do. She knew I would understand and not think her horrid for writing. She would never be happy again if I thought her horrid. It was a pathetic little note, and tore me all to pieces. Of course I knew what she meant. There was no help for me. I wrote back and advised her to marry the nice man.” “You were a fool!” said Ardale with pleasure. lt gave him great satisfaction to return his friend’s candour. ““T was—a proud fool. I ought to have told her the truth and left the matter with her. But you must remember I saw no prospects whatever of being able to keep a wife. The choice did not seem to lie between being a fool ora sensible man, but between being a rogue or a man of honour. So she married her nice man.” “And you?” “TI married, three years later, a writer, as you know. She was a journalist when we met, and we were excellent friends. But our wedded life wasn’t bliss. We did not often agree; we earned very little between us, and she hadn’t the remotest notion of engineering a frugal menage. We faced the sordid struggle, however, with some courage THE AUTHOR. for awhile. My second and third books came out, and each time we hoped afresh for the spark to fire it, the advertising puff that would give us some hold on the future. We even dared to have a child. But the books died and the child died, My wife lost heart—and faith in me. She left me for a bachelor existence, and I was not sorry. Since then I have lived alone. Five years ago she died.” “And now you are going to marry the most charming womanin London. Everyone raves of the beauty and goodness of Lady Evelyn. The masculine half of society envies you like the devil!” “Tt is true,” said Lessing, “ that Lady Evelyn is charming. I think her the most perfect woman I have ever met. But I am not going to marry her.” “Not!” Ardale laid both hands on the arms of his chair, and looked as if about to spring up in surprise. «You are not going to marry her, after having the engagement announced in all the society papers! In Heaven’s name, why not?” “ Because,” replied Lessing, with quiet emphasis, “Tam not going to marry at all.” He paused, then went on, with some apparent effort : “T am dying.” “Good God!” The two men stared into each other’s eyes speechlessly. In Ardale’s face a ghastly horror appeared, but Lessing’s bore no expression of dread or panic. His eyes were dark with feeling, his face pale, but he was quite calm. “ You don’t mean it,” Ardale breathed. ‘‘T do. To-day I have had the third verdict on my case. All three specialists are in accord, They wrap up the death sentence with infinite tact and assure me, in the most genial and cheerful manner that, with care and luck, I may live quite a time—perhaps even a year ! “Tt is horrible! horrible!” exclaimed Ardale, in sharp agony. ‘Just when you have made your name—when you have everything at your feet—I can’t believe it—I won’t.” The man of the world was thrown off his ~ balance, tears stood in his eyes, and he trembled. ‘“‘ Tt is true, nevertheless.” «“ T have known men under the same verdict go on gaily into old age. Specialists often err. They are cocksure of necessity to preserve their reputa- tion. You'll live, Lessing, you must.” no desire for life.” “No desire!” echoed Ardale faintly. “Not the least. I’m too tired to enjoy it, to care about it. Pain has worn me out lately. Don’t look so tragic, Ardale. You must not frighten me, you know. A person with acute heart disease must be soothed, calmed, and told — * 4 ee ee eee “Why should 1?” asked Lessing, “since I've | | é  THE AUTHOR. lies about himself. You have no tact, man, or you would not look at me with such eyes.” f tHis smile was whimsical; neither sad nor frightened, but a trifle nervous. For some time Ardale could not utter a word. Then he rose and held out his hand. “Tm sorry, Lessing,’ he said in a voice that shook painfully. ‘‘ Forgive me for what I did not do, for the cowardice of which you so justly accuse me. But how should I know that you if only u “Tf only!” echoed Lessing. And the broken phrase, the most tragic in our language, melted like a twilight ghost into the silence of the room as Ardale went out with bowed head. ————_—__—>—_+-—___—- STORIES OF AUTHORS’ ee N writing “Stories of Authors’ Loves” Clara E. Lauchlin has set herself no easy task. Perhaps such a subject is best treated lightly and sympathetically, without probing much below the surface, or “violating the fine reticences of life.” Even authors may be allowed some privacy, some plot of holy ground wherethe public may not penetrate, where the intellectual man of science may not tear up the flowers with the questionable desire of seeing how they grow, or exhume long- buried bones of contention. The book contains much pleasant reading, though but little is added to the information already before the public to explain the motives or elucidate the mental development of those with whom the author deals. The style is easy and colloquial, almost too easy at times: for we are told that Byron was a “ preternaturally sensitive little chap,” and that his ancestors were a “ mixed lot.” By such phrases as these his subsequent lapses from virtue and general eccentricities are explained and condoned. Nowadays it is the fashion to whitewash every black sheep, but why should poor Lady Byron be dismissed with a few words of complacent ridicule for resenting his treatment of her ; and Byron’s actions be gently alluded to as ‘‘very vexatious”? No early Victorian admirer could have said more for him. Shelley, on his side, might resent the playful raillery against his passions—such treatment re- minds us of a patronising Elder patting an excitable little boy on the head to calm him ;—with equal right he might object to the assumption that he was a child full of childishness up to the last hour of his life. But as the author states that “ God only smiled LOVES.* *“ Stories of Authors’ Loves,” by Clara E. Lauchlin, Published by Isbister & Co., London, 279 patiently” on his blasphemy because he was so young, it is not for man—or woman—to take him seriously. Keats does not fare much better for another reason. His love was not ideal enough to save him from the tortures of jealousy, and, there- fore, loving in a low form, he was bound to be tormented where another would have found content. The tragedy of the Carlyles can hardly be dealt with adequately in a book which is intentionally superficial, ‘Therefore it is not surprising to find but a few pages devoted to their story. Love is the mainspring of the volume: it is natural, therefore, to find not only everything focussed on this point, but the character regarded as incomplete where that feeling is lacking or latent. Whilst acknowledging the truth of this view in the main, it does not quite reconcile us to the lofty pity extended to George Eliot’s earlier years any more than to the entire espousal of Byron’s cause on the plea that he had an early ideal in Thyrza, which led. him to find all other women who attracted him—and there were many—want- ing and unworthy of his fidelity. Surely the subjects under the author’s pen would infinitely prefer their original shortcomings left in all their bitterness and incompleteness : for they would then gain in strength what they Jost in sweetness. ‘The lack of strength is the principal fault in this book. The real success of the author lies in her de- scription of wedded bliss unmarred by storms or complications, though deferred by hard fate or obdurate fathers. The story of the Brownings affords an oppor- tunity for some charming writing and a real insight into a woman’s mind. The Tennysons, too, have a graceful tribute to their love story, and a few lines at the close describing the wife who made his life so complete are worthy of quotation. “ Serene and sweet she walked by his side for more than forty years, quickening his insight, strengthening his faith, fulfiling his every heart’s desire : and when the eventide was come, “* Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark.’ “She was still there, nor let go his hand until he put it in that of the pilot himself, when he had crossed the bar.” Other lives, not so fortunate, figure in these pages. Dickens, Thackeray, and poor Charles Lamb, who renounced so much for a different sort of love. The book has a wide range and aims high, but lacks the strength and breadth of a serious study for serious people. It would be an excellent book for girls if it were a little more bracing, but here also it fails. Whilst full of high ideals and the praise of true love as distinct from  280 expediency, or the “second best,” it is uncon- vincing, and leaves an impression of sweet senti- ments wanting tone. The idea is there, but the vigour is lacking. ——— + CORRESPONDENCE. —t——+ —— Is “AuTHor” A PROPER DESCRIPTION ? Srr,— In signing some legal papers recently I was surprised to have it objected by the solicitor then present that the term author was no proper “description.” “Journalist” and “ editor” he allowed were admissible, but not “author.” In fine, faute de mieux, there I was, reduced to brand- ing myself as “of no occupation.” I wish to ask, sir, whether the being reduced to so extenuated a condition does not, in duly qualified opinion, literally constitute a reductio ad absurdum. As a class, it seems to me, authors must be up to something ; and, if so, that something should be describable. Indeed, have they not, like Cowley’s wise man, “all the works of God and Nature under consideration,” and so more business than a first minister:of State? Can it be, then, that there is no name for so comprehensive an occupation as this ; and that, contrary to the rule, a man may be veritably in the midst of the most important affairs, and yet nominally ‘of no occupation ” at all? Shakespeare in his will describes himself briefly asa “gent.” That is not bad ; but too general to serve as a precedent here. ‘Thoreau, to make a. skip, experienced more difficulty in the matter “T don’t know”—he wrote in answer to a circular —‘T don’t know whether mine is a profession or a trade, or what not. ... It is not one, but legion. . . . My steadiest employment, if such it can be called, is to keep myself at the top of my condition, and ready for whatever may turn up in heaven or earth.” Consulting ‘‘ Who’s Who,” I find much the same uncertainty. Some writers call themselves writers, some authors, some men of letters, some novelists, some critics, some poets ; and, of course, there is a heavy percentage of the legitimate “ journalist ” and “editor,” with possibly a stray essayist, philosopher, or publicist thrown in. But, apart from too fine a specialization, the question is, what should be the accredited and authentic designation of a person who writes, not for any paper or magazine, nor exclusively in any way, but, in general, publishing a book every now and again? Further, the mere publishing of a book only makes one half an author (which is worse than none). Unless the public ratifies the title, it has a savour of presumption to appropriate There seems something it without more ado. THE AUTHOR. spurious about the “author” who, for all the reading world knows of him, is none. Yet what is such a one to call himself meanwhile ?—author- prospective, author-presumptive ? Norman ALLISTON. —-—~<> + SatomE: A REMINISCENCE. Sir,—The belated performance of Oscar Wilde’s play must have recalled forcibly to the minds of many of us the events of a certain evening just thirteen years ago when the inaugural dinner of the Authors’ Club was held at its first home, 17, St. James’ Place. Unless I am much mistaken the ban of the censor had been issued against Salomé that very afternoon. still smarted under the prohibition when he joined us on that memorable night in June. Those who listened to his speech on that occasion can scarcely have doubted this, or have been deceived by the “J don’t care” with which the dramatist announced the fact, as he waved his cigarette in the air with seeming indifference to a decision which, you may depend upon it, was very keenly felt. To-day, as things have gone, one is tempted to reflect how it might have been more wise and kindly to have still accepted the examiner’s inter- dict and withheld Salomé from the boards altogether. OLD Brrp. — + REVIEWING EXTRAORDINARY. Dear Srr,—May I draw your attention to an innovation in the matter of reviewing which con- stitutes, I consider, a dangerous abuse? In a review: of my book, “The Child Slaves of Britain,” which appeared in the Daily News on the 8th of April, the following sentence occurs + “But in his summary he singularly enough announces that ‘the real root of slavery m England rests in the free ingress of aliens.’” The passage I have italicised was put im inverted commas as though a quotation from my book. The reviewer next proceeded to show its inanity. I at once wrote to the editor to say — that no such passage occurred anywhere in my book, that it was entirely opposed to my own — views on the question, that I considered it absurd and imbecile, and I asked him to be so good as to insert my disclaimer. To tell the public that my book was based on such a theory was to discredit the book and injure its chances. the Daily News took no notice of my letter and inserted no rectification. Yours faithfully, Ropert SHERARD. At any rate, the gifted writer thereof The editor of — Is this fair play ?— a 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. 15 Issue 09 (June 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 09 (June 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-06-01-The-Author-15-9 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/507/1905-07-01-The-Author-15-10.pdf 562433552f09d84711cceb73f77a5c3b PDF Text Text �������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-07-01 Volume 15 Issue 10 Pages Page range in volume 281–312 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050701 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR JULY Ist, 1905. Von. XV.—No. 10. WALTER BESANT. [Prick SrxPEnor. TELEPHONE NuMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. SS a oe ee NOTICES. —_+~<— + —__ 1. the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the’ papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. — oe List of Members. THE List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —1—~>—+ The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. ‘They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Vou. XV. Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— CO a £1000 0 0 Hoeal Loans: 45 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock —.............. 291 19 11 War boen eo 201 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- (URE; BLOCK 200 0 0 Egyptian Government Trigation Trust 4 % Certificates 200 0 0 Hotal 3. £24439 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £ 8. a. Jan. 12, Anonymous . : : 0 2.6 June 16, Teignmouth-Shore, the Rev. Canon . : : : : 1 1 0 Donations, 1905. Jan. Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 0 Jan. Bolton, Miss Anna i) 50 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny. 0. > 0 Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert 0:5 0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 0 Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 0-100 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. Lt 06 Mar. 28, Kirmse, Mrs. 0710-6 April19, Hornung, HK. W. . 25.0.0 May 7, Wynne, 0. Whitworth 508 May 16, Alsing, Mrs. J. H. 0 5 0 May 17, Anonymous . ‘ Tl 8 June 6, Drummond, Hamilto B38 0 Oe COMMITTEE NOTES. + —<— # HE June meeting of the committee of management of the Society of Authors was held at 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, 8.W., on Monday, the 5th day of June. After the minutes of the last meeting had been read and signed, the committee proceeded with  282 the election of new members and associates. Eighteen were elected. This brings the total for the current year up to 117, a number quite up to the average of former years. A difficult question arising out of Mr. Grant Richards’ bankruptcy, on which the committee decided at their last meeting to take counsel’s opinion, was then brought forward, and counsel’s opinion was read. As it strongly upheld the justice of the member's contention, the committee decided, with the member’s approval, to take up the matter. ‘A case that came before the committee’s notice at their last meeting was reconsidered owing to some fresh evidence which had been obtained in further explanation of the present position of the member whose property was involved. The com- mittee decided to obtain counsel’s opinion on the difficult points of law with a view to ascertaining whether or not it would be possible to support the member by taking action. The secretary laid before the committee, at some length, the present financial position of the society. He informed the committee that the income of the society at the present date from subscriptions was approximately £120 in excess of its income from the same source at the corre- sponding period in 1904. The question of the general lien claimed by binders again came forward for discussion, as fresh information and documents were submitted from the Association of Wholesale Stationers. The question, however, had again to be deferred, in order that the committee might have an oppor- tunity of perusing the opinion of counsel, which the ‘Association of Wholesale Stationers had obtained, but had omitted to forward for the committee’s consideration. A curious point then arose touching a question of infringement of copyright, in which it was alleged that an American had altered the names and locale of a story belonging to one of the members of the society ; had sold it to a magazine in America, who had again sold the English rights to a maga- zine in England. In consequence, the magazine proprietor in England had infringed the rights of the member. The committee decided that if they had clear evidence of the facts the matter should be taken up on behalf of the member. It was, however, resolved to ascertain first whether the proprietor of the English magazine was prepared to take such steps as might obviate the necessity for the society’s intervention. One or two other minor matters were con- sidered. In one instance a member objected to pay his subscription because the committee, in accordance with the strong advice of the society’s solicitors, had refused to take his case THE AUTHOR. up. It is well to note, in connection with this case, that the committee, in the discharge of their duty to the society, must in all cases carefully weigh the expressed legal opinion of their solicitors and their secretary ; but that if individual mem- bers should be dissatisfied with any decisions so arrived at by the committee, it is always open to them to test the soundness of the committee’s decisions, by taking action on their own account. —+- <> Cases. Tux secretary has dealt with ten cases since the publication of the last issue of The Author. Three of these referred to claims for MSS. which have been detained by editors. In two the secretary has been successful, the MSS. having been returned and forwarded to the members. One question has arisen concerning the settlement of an agreement, and the matter is still in course of negotiation. Four cases have been brought forward where money overdue for work accepted or published has not been forwarded to the authors. One of these cases has been placed in the hands of the society’s solicitors to settle in the County Court if necessary, one is still in course of negotiation, and in the other two cases the money has been obtained and forwarded to the members. There have been two cases where accounts have not been rendered nor the money due, if any, paid, and it is hoped that these two matters will be settled shortly. One of the cases referred to in a former number of The Author, which was placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors, has been settled. The publisher, in the first instance, offered to pay a portion of the amount claimed ; he made, as is his wont, the offer direct to the author, and ignored the society and its solicitors. The author, however, referred the matter again to the society, and on the advice of the solicitors that the case was @ thoroughly sound one, and that there was no reason whatever why he should accept the smaller amount, he instructed the solicitors to refuse the smaller sum on his behalf. Within three days of the date of the refusal, the full amount claimed was paid to the solicitors. ‘All the former cases mentioned in the previous number have been settled, with the exception of a dispute on an agreement, where the member resides — in Australia, The Australian case must take some — time before a final arrangement is arrived at. —-—<> + — June Elections. Aveling, Claud 105, Coleherne Court, S.W. a Barrow, Arthur G. 16, Drummond Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia.  E edd OS Se a es THE AUTHOR. Blair, Hugh, M.A. Osnaburgh House, Regent’s Park, N.W. Carstairs, R. Dodd, James J. 23, Scarborough Street, West Hartlepool. The Pool House, Astley, near Stourport. 27, Palace Street, W. Whitemere, Ellesmere. 39, Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Meares Court, Mullingar West View, South Farm Road, Worthing, Sussex. 68, Oakhurst Grove, E. Dulwich, S.E. Viewhurst, Westerham, Everett, Mrs. Godfrey, Percy . Jebb, Miss Louisa Maitland, J. A. Fuller Moore, Miss Florence Naylor-Gobel, Miss Sarah (Harvey-Gobel) Nott, Frederick O. W. Robertson, J. M. Kent. Rose, Miss Ada M. Abbotsford, Ealing (Aveling Rose) Common, Rowe, Mrs. ; St. Anne’s, Surrey Road, Bournemouth. Pioneer Club, 5, Grafton Street, W. Rowlands, Mrs. Bowen (Robert Herriot) Teignmouth-Shore, The Rev. Canon Wilberforce, Basil, The Very Rey. the Arch- deacon of Westminster Athenseum Club, 8.W. 20, Dean’s Yard, S.W. 8 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. Sr ee (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply particulars. ) BIOGRAPHY. THe LIFE OF Mary QUEEN or Scots. By H1LpA T. SKAE. 72 x 5. 207 pp. Maclaren. 2s. 6d. n. THE LIFE OF MAJOR-GENERAL WAUCHOPE, C.B., C.M.G. By Sirk Gro. Doucenas, Bart. 8 x 350 pp. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE HEROES of Moss HALLISCHOOL. By E. OC. KENYON, With seven illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. 8 x 54, 383 pp. Religious Tract Society. 3s. 6d. DRAMA. HL Og: Manasena. A Play in Three Acts by MAURICE BARING. 7% x 5. Simpkin 49 pp. Oxford: Blackwell. London : Marshall. Is. n. EDUCATION. AN ENGLISH CHURCH HISTORY CHILDREN, FOR A.D. 597—1066. By MAry E.SHIPLEY. With a preface by Wm. Epwarp Couuins, DD., Bishop of Gibraltar. 7% x 5. 235 x 40 pp. Methuen. 2s. 6d. n. 283 Der UNGEBETENE Gast, AND OTHER PLAYS. By E. 8. BUCHHEIM (Short German Plays, Second Series). 6% x 43. 91 pp. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 2s, 6d. FICTION. THE FLUTE oF Pan. A Romance, By JoHN OLIVER HOBBES. 72 x 5. 303 pp. Unwin. ‘6s. A VILLAGE CHRONICLE. By KATHERINE 8S, Macquorp. With illustrations by FORESTIER. (4 x 42 306 pp. Digby Long. 6s. A Mainsatin Haun. By JoHN MASErIELp. A oe 128 pp. Mathews. 1s. 6d. n. A GRAND DUKE OF RussIA. A Story of the Upheaval. By FrReD WHISHAW. 7% x 4%. 305 pp. White. 6s. THE YELLOW WAVE. By M.P. Shinn. 7% x 5. 317 pp. Ward Lock. 6s, MAID MARGARET. ByS. R. CRocKErT, 8} x 5. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. Don TarQuinio. A Kataleptic Phantasmatic Romance. By F.RouFE. 7% x 4%. 257 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. PoveRTY Bay. A Nondescript Novel. Illustrated by Bh 417 pp. Harry Furniss, and written by the Artist. 8 x 5g. 273 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. THE Day's Journey. By NETTA SyReErt, 7% x 48, 316 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. It’s a Way THEY HAVE IN THE ARMY. By Lapy HELEN ForBEs. 7} x 43. 309 pp. Duckworth. 63. THE MEMOIRS OF CONSTANTINE DIX, 7% x 49. 206 pp. Unwin. 3s. 6d. THE GRAND DvuxKeE. By CARLTON DAWE. 72 336 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE DoG FROM CLARKSON’S. By BARRY PAIN. x 43, A Vagary. By DESMOND F. T. Coke. 74 x 5. 268 pp. Illustrated. Jarrold. 3s. 6d. LAW. THE INDIAN ConTrAct Law. With a commentary, critical and explanatory. By Str F. Ponuock, Bart, Assisted by DIN SHAH FARDUNJI MuLLA, M.A., LL.B. 92 x 6. 623 pp. Sweet and Maxwell. 25s, n. LITERARY. CHAUCER; PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES. 6d. MILTON : SAMSON AGONISTES. 6d. MILTON: Comus. 6d. GOLDSMITH: THE DESERTED VILLAGE. 4d. Edited by C. T, OnIoNS, M.A., Lond., in The Carmelite Classics. 6 x 43. Horace Marshall & Son. MILITARY. WITH THE RUSSIANS IN MANCHURIA. By MAURICE BARING. 9 x 53. 205+40 pp. Methuen. 7s. 6s. n. POETRY. MoMENTS. By DouGLAS AINSLIE. 64 x 4. 68 pp. Constable. 1s. n. THE LOVE SONG OF TRISTRAM AND ISEULT, AND OTHER Porms. By Cyrit EMRA. 7% x 5}. Stock. 3s. 6d, POLITICAL, THE FALL oF TsARDOM. By CARL JOUBERT. 8 x 5}. 255 pp. Nash. 7s. 6d. THe Paras NAVY IN THE Russo-JAPANESE WAR. By CAPTAIN N. Knapo. Translated by L. J. H. Dickin- soN. Hurst and Blackett. 5s. SPORT. Diversions Day By Day. By KE. Eustace H, Miues. Illustrated. Hurst and Blackett. 4s. : PoLo: Past AND PRESENT. By T. F. DALE. 515 pp. (Lhe Country Life Library of Sport). 12s. 6d. n. F, BENson and 1% x 43. 282 pp. 94 x 5%, Newnes. 284 THE EMPIRE’S CRICKETERS. Part III. From drawings. By A. C. TAYLER. With Biographical Sketches. By G.W. BELDAM. 153 x 104. 4 Plates. The Fine Art Society and Dawbarn and Ward. Is. n. THEOLOGY, Sr. PAUL’s EPISTLES IN MODERN ENGLISH. FENTON. 6th Edition (with new preface). 74 x 43. 69 pp. Partridge. A MouNTAIN PATH, AND ForTY THREE OTHER TALKS TO YOUNG PEOPLE. By JoHN A. HAMILTON. Cheap Edition. Allenson. 2s. 6d. THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY. A Manual of Christian Evidences, by Lt.-CoLn. W. H. Turton, D.S8.0., R.E., 5th Edition, seventh thousand. Carefully revised throughout. Crown 8vo., cloth gilt. 529 pp. Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co. 2s. 6d. n. PREACHERS FROM THE PEw. Lectures delivered at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, under the auspices of the By FERRAR London Branch of the Christian Social Union. Edited by the Rev. W. H. Hunt. 74 x 43. 187 pp. Lord 2s. 6d. n. TOPOGRAPHY, A Book oF SouTH WALES. By S. BARING GOULD. With 57 Illustrations. 73 x 43. 332 pp. Methuen. 6s. 4 TRAVEL. PICTURES IN UMBRIA. By KATHERINE S. Macquorp. With fifty original Tlustrations (pen and ink). By THomAS R. Macquoip, R.I. 72 x 5. 319pp. Werner Laurie. 6s. n. LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. —_-—>—+—__ _ REACHERS from the Pew”? is the title of a series of sermons preached at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, under the auspices of the London Branch of the Christian Social Union. They are published by W. H. Lord & Co., of 29, Wellington Street, Strand, W.C. Crown, 8vo., at the price of 2s. 6d. net. They have been edited by the Rev. W. Henry Hunt, and deal with a variety of subjects, from ‘Do we Believe” by C. F. G. Masterman, M.A., to “The Citizen, the Gentleman, and the Savage” by Gilbert K. Chesterton. Mr. Hunt, it may be remembered, has already edited a series of sermons on social subjects. “The Heroes of Moss Hall School: A Public School story,” by E. C. Kenyon, should be welcome to school-boys and also to their parents, founded upon and dealing with, as it does, the past history of a great west country school. The book, which is a large one, has seven, or rather eight, illus- trations. It is published by the Religious Tract Society. Miss Theodora Wilson Wilson’s novel, “ Ursula THE AUTHOR. Raven,” which was serialised in the Daily News, will be published in book form by Messrs. Harper Bros. in September. It is a novel dealing with the Westmorland Dales and Royalty rights, We regret that in announcing the publication of Miss Mary Shipley’s “ English Church History for Children” in our last issue, we stated that the preface to the work was by the Bishop of Glou- cester. This statement, we understand, is incor- rect, the Bishop of Gibraltar contributing the preface. Miss Victoria Cross’ new story, “ Life of My Heart,” which the Walter Scott Publishing Co. has recently issued, deals with a marriage between an Oriental and an English girl. Messrs. Joseph Williams, Ltd., have just published, at 1s. net, a collection of Infant’s Action Songs for the School and the Home, by Miss L. Budgen. ‘Musical Studies,” by Ernest Newman, which Mr. John Lane has just published, include a study of Berlioz and the Romantic Movement, a fuli analysis of Programme Music in the past and in the present. Faust in Music, Herbert Spencer and the Origin of Music. Messrs. King & Son have just published Dr. Reich’s monumental work, containing a selection of documents illustrating the history of medizval and modern times. The work, which runs to some eight hundred pages, necessitated the employment of four trained students of history in addition to the editor. Professor Dicey is publishing, through Messrs. Macmillan, a volume dealing with the relation between Law and Public Opinion in England during the nineteenth century. The basis of the book is a series of lectures delivered first in the Harvard Law School and afterwards, with modifications, in the University of Oxford. Mr. Henry James, who is travelling through America, after an absence of twenty years has amassed materials for a book, part of which will appear serially in the North American Review. Mr. Frank T. Bullen will publish in the early autumn a new book entitled “ Back to the Sunny Seas,” the outcome of his recent tour in the West Indies. Messrs. Constable have just published, under the title of “ Moments,” a collection of poems by e Douglas Ainslie. In order to avoid misapprehension, Messrs. Ward, - Lock & Co. ask us to call attention to the fact that ‘‘ The Conscience of a King,” the title of a newly-published romance by A. C. Gunter, author of — “Mr. Barnes of New York,” is practically the same as that used for a sociological work, “The Con- science of the King,” by Mr. J. C. Spence, which © still has a considerable sale.  aenmeatnnacieimantts THE AUTHOR. Mr. John Lane has brought out an Indian garden-book, “ My Garden in the City of Gardens.” The punning motto, “Nune Fortunatus Sum,” the despatch of Sir Colin Campbell’s A.D.C. after the Relief of Lucknow, indicates which the “ city of gardens” is. The work is illustrated with many original photographs. “The Love Song of Tristram and Iseult,” by Cyril Emra, published by Mr. Elliot Stock at the price of 3s. 6d.,in addition to the poem which forms its title, contains some twenty or so other verses dealing with man and nature. A second and revised edition of ‘Thoughts on Ultimate Problems,” by F. W. Frankland, described by the author as a synoptic statement of Two Theodocies, has been issued at the price of 1s. The publisher is W. J. Lankshear, of Lambton Quay, Wellington, New Zealand. “The Exploits of Jo Salis,” by Will. Greener, author of ‘A Secret Agent in Port Arthur,” is a novel of the Russo-Japanese war from the Far Easterners’ point of view. Messrs. Hurst and Blackett are the publishers. Mr. William Patrick Kelly’s new novel, “The Assyrian Bride,” illustrated by Mr. F. C. Tilney, will be published by Messrs. Routledge, early in July. It is ahistorical romance of ancient Nineveh and Jerusalem, based on the latest archeological discoveries, and the second of a series by the same author, of which “ The Stonecutter of Memphis” (Routledge, 1904) was the first. In Amsterdam a society of authors is founded (Vereeniging van Letter kundigen). The principal object of the society is to put order into the literary out-put of Holland. The society has a committee which studies the Berne Convention, with the intention of joining it. Another com- mittee deals with the matters of the stage and play production, and a third gathers money to help workers in the literary field. Mr. Desmond F. T. Coke, author of ‘Sandford of Merton,” claims in his preface to the “ Dog from Clarkson’s,” which Messrs. Jarrold have published, that this “ vagary ” is an attempt to amuse without employing puns, problems, dialect, or split infinitives. Another fresh volume of poems we note from the well-known pen of E. Nesbit, published by Messrs. Longmans, G. Green & Co., of very varied interests. A strong religious spirit marks these verses, mingled with a deep love of Nature. We have received a small volume of miscel- laneous poems by Miss Ethel Neele, entitled “ The Ballad of Rosalie.” The volume is published by E. B. Gooderham, of 161, Holland Road, Kensing- ton, and copies may be had of the authoress at 23, Upper Addison Gardens. The verses are com- 285 prised under four headings—ballads, dedicatory, miscellaneous and sacred poems. Mr. Bernard Shaw’s comedy, “Man and Super- man,” which was published in book form about two years ago, was produced—minus the third act—at the Court Theatre on the afternoon of May 28rd. The caste included Mr. Granville Barker and Miss Lillah McCarthy. Mr. W. 8. Gilbert’s fairy comedy, “ The Palace of Truth,” was revived on May 23rd at the Mermaid Repertory Theatre, Great Queen Street, under the personal direction of the author. 9 PARIS NOTES. Be HE Académie francaise has awarded prizes to a the following authers :—M. Paul Decharme, for the “Critique des traditions religieuses chez les Grecs, des origines au temps de Plutarque”; M. Bossert, for “ Schopenhauer ” ; M. Dard, for “Le Général Choderlos de Laclog ” ; M. René Canat, for “Du sentiment de la solitude morale chez les romantiques et les parnassiens” ; M. Ab der Halden, for “ Etudes de la littérature canadienne francaise” ; M. Sturdza, for “La Terre et la Race roumaine depuis leurs origines jusqu’a nos jours” ; M. Derocquigny, for ‘‘ Charles Lamb, sa vie et ses ceuvres” ; M. Souriau, for a work on “ Bernardin de Saint-Pierre” ; M. Lauvriére, for “ Edgar Poe, sa vie et son ceuvre”; M. Doumergue, for “ Jean Calvin, les hommes et les choses de son temps’?; M. Edmond Biré, for a work on “ Armand de Pontmartin, sa vie et ses ceuvres.” Prizes have also been awarded by the Académie for recent works by the following authors :—Mme. Daniel Lesueur, M. Paul Adam, M. Paléologue, M. Paul Doumer, Madame Veyrin, M. Montégut, M. Martel, M. Buffenoir. Among recent books by well-known writers is “ Miroirs et Mirages,” by Madame Alphonse Daudet. The volume contains several stories which are all psychological studies. In‘ Grand’mére” the interest is centred in the feelings of the grandparents, on seeing their beloved granddaughter taken away from them, to be brought up by a step-mother in absolutely different principles and ideas from theirs. “Reminiscence,” ‘L’Accusée,” “ Automne pro- vincial.” In addition to these studies are two or three descriptions of voyages, “Notes sur Londres,” ‘Course rapide 4 Venise,” ete. There is also a new volume published by M. Léon Daudet, “Le Partage de ’Enfant.” This novel is in quite a different note from the books we have hitherto had from the son of Alphonse Daudet. Les Morticoles” and “La Déchéance’’ were ironical and bitter studies of certain systems, 286 THE AUTHOR. phases and abuses of modern life, whilst in this new novel there is more pathos than satire, and more pity than bitterness. It is the story ofa child who is the victim of the divorce of the parents—a child who suffers through the dissensions of father and mother. Volumes of souvenirs and reminiscences are very much in favour in France, and “La Cour et la Société du Second Empire,” by M. de Chambrier, gives an excellent sketch of many of the more prominent personages of that period. The author does not go into details, but just gives us an idea of the men and women he describes, and of the place they occupied in the Parisian world. He speaks of Veuillot, Barbey d’Aurevilly, Thiers, Jules Simon, Ollivier, Gambetta, Pasteur, Caro, Madame Adam, Madame de Metternich, Wagner, Gounod, Bizet, Sardou, Fonquie, Sue, de Musset, Feuillet Augier, Houssaye, Rosa Bonheur, Sainte- Beuve, Renan, Lamartine, Dumas, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Balzac, de Maupassant, Rachel Legouvé, Gérdme, Gréville, Alphonse Daudet, Jules Verne, and of many other well-known personalities. Another volume by Barbey d’Aurevilly has recently been published. It is entitled “ Roman- ciers d’hier et d’avant hier.” The chapters on Stendhal and on Balzac are particularly interesting. D’Aurevilly is an ardent admirer of Balzac. “A cette heure,” he says, ‘“‘le génie de Bazlac n’est discuté par personne... . Il avait dans le sang, et plus que personne puisqu’il était un génie francais, cette goutte de lait maternel, cette pro- pension au rire, 4la comédie, 4 la gaité qui touche aux larmes, tant sa force épuise vite la nature humaine!” He declares that the secret of the great power of Balzac was that he put into his work so much “ naiveté et bonhomie! Ni dans les arts, ni dans les lettres,” he says, ‘‘ pas de mérite supréme sans la naiveté et sans une bonhomie profonde.” D’Aurevilly declares that it was this “bonhomie” which made Walter Scott greater than either Goethe or Byron, and he con- siders that Balzac is superior in his “ Contes ” to what he is in the “ Comédie humaine.” There are chapters on Georges Sand, Erckmann Chatrian, Paul Féval, a scathing criticism of “ Manon Lescaut,” in which the author declares that, “<«Manon Lescaut’ est tout simplement l’expres- sion du matérialisme du XVIII®. siecle rejoignant et embrassant au bout d’un quart de siecle, le matérialisme du XIX®*. siécle, qui avale le livre et le trouve bon.”” He compares it with novels such as ‘ Delphine,” “Corinne,” “ Atala,” “ René,” the ideal of which was as elevated as that of ‘Manon Lescaut” was low. He regrets that “la Manon del’ abbé Prevost a pondu les autres Manons dont regorge la littérature actuelle... elle a produit les Dame aux Camélias, les ‘ Bovary,’ les “ Fanny ” et toutes ses sincéres qui suivent tran- quillement leur instinct comme un ane qui trotte suit le sien.” There are other chapters on Droz Le Sage, Marie Desylles and Paria Korigan, all written in the same brilliant, vivid style. Fortunately for the author and for lovers of litera- ture, these posthumous volumes of d’Aurevilly’s works are being edited with the utmost care and exactitude by the faithful friend to whom he left his manuscripts. Another curious retrospective book has just been published entitled “ Madame Atkyns” (Une amie de Marie Antoinette). The preface is written by M. Sardou. This volume is particularly inte- resting to English people, as Madame Atkyns is an Englishwoman, Charlotte Walpole, who made her début at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1777, and in 1779 married Sir Edward Atkyns. We are told that the young couple left England and went to live at Versailles. The Duchesse de Polignac introduced the bride into the circle of Marie Antoinette’s friends; she became devoted to the Queen, and the whole book is taken up with the efforts of this Englishwoman to be of service to her royal friend when adversity came. Madame Atkyns spent most of her life and fortune in endeavouring to save first the Queen and afterwards the Dauphin. M. Frédéric Barbey, the author of this volume, has spared no trouble in order to get all the documents on this subject, both in England and in France, and finally he discovered a huge collection of papers and letters which had not been opened for seventy years, all the correspondence addressed to Lady Atkyns up to the day of her death in Paris, Rue de Lille, in 1836. The whole story of her plots and her devotion and sacrifices is as interesting as a novel. Her chief accomplices were M. de Cormier, Jean Gabriel Peltier, the Baron d’Auerweck, and the Comte de Frotté. Among other new books, ‘‘La Soldate,” by M. d’Esparbés ; ‘‘Septiéme César,” a novel in the time of Christ, by M. Reepmaker. It isthe story of a wealthy Roman lieutenant, cruel and selfish, who is greatly influenced by the simple life of Christ. The story is dramatic and of great interest. ‘“‘T’Opprobre,” by M. Compain, is a book written with a purpose. The subject is treated thought- fully. It is the story of a young girl who is betrayed and deserted. The life and surroundings of the girl are well portrayed, and also the progress that is being made in so many ways, thanks to co-operation. “ La Conquérante,” by Georges Ohnet ; ‘ Leela,” by Mary Ghil; “L’Autre,” by Mme. Octave Feuillet ; “L‘Espionne,” by Ernest Daudet ; “Femme d’Officier,” by Pierre Maél ; “ A l’Aube,” by Myriam Thelen ; “ Hommes Nouveaux,” by G. Fanton ; ‘‘ Fatale Méprise,” by Henri Baraude ;  THER AUTHOR. “Deux Meéditations sur la Mort,” by Henry Bor- deaux ; “ Heures de Corse,” by Jean Lorrain ; “Naples, son site, son histoire, son sculpture,” by Pierre de Bouchaud ; “ Le Livre ” historique, fabri- cation, achat, classement, usage et entretien, by Albert Cim; ‘Le Retour a la Terre,’ by M. Jules Méline ; ‘La Guerre contre |’Allemagne,” by General Baron Faverot de Kerbrech. In the June number of La Revue des Deux Mondes there is a most interesting article on London by Madame Blanc Bentzon, who is a keen observer and a great admirer of many of the English institutions. A new magazine on the lines of Country Life is to commence in France with the title of Hermes et Chateaux. In the Mercure de France there is an interest- ing article on the illness and death of Guy de Maupassant by M. Thomas. “Le Duel” still holds the bill at the Francais ; ‘‘ La Race” by M. Jean Thorel, at the Théatre Antoine ; “ La Variation” at the Odéon ; and “ Pauvre Fille” by Hauptmann, at the Porte St. Martin. The Académie francaise has awarded the Augier prize to Henri Bataille for “‘ Résurrection,” to Emile Fabre for ‘‘ La Rabouilleuse,” and to Georges Mitchell for “L’ Absent.” Another prize is awarded to Alfred Capus for “ Notre Jeunesse,”’ and to M. Marcel Prévost for “La Plus Faible.” Atys HALLARD. — SLAVIC NOTES. N my article published in the May number of I The Author, 1 omitted the name of an eminent Russian novelist, Mereszkovsky, whose novels Ihave only read in Polish translation. I am puzzled to say why I regarded him as a Bohemian novelist, but I never suspected that he was a Russian. His novels, “The Death of the Gods,” ‘The Resurrection of the Gods,” and_ especially “Julian the Apostate” give the author every right to be included in the list of greatest living novelists. In the last few months the following works of English authors have been published in the Polish language. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘Sherlock Holmes”; this is perhaps the fifth or sixth time that this work has been produced. “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” is also in course 287 of publication in the Gazela Polska. Foster Fraser, “The Real Siberia”; E. Hopkins, “The Mothers and the Sons”; Rudyard Kipling, “Letters from Japan’’; E. G. Lancaster, “The Juvenile Age”; Sir John Lubbock, “The Pleasures of Life”; Rev. P. A. Sheehan, ‘ The New Vicar”; H. G. Wells, “Short Stories” and “'The Vision of the Future.” A new novel of Sienkiewicz is running in serial numbers in a weekly paper, Biesiada Literacka. Baron Weysenhoff has just published an excellent novel, entitled “ The Prodigal Son.” T. Hall Caine’s “ Prodigal Son ” is published as a supplement to the Z'ygoduik Ilustrowany, the Polish Jl/ustrated London News. Miss Wojcicka has published, in dramatic form, a powerful life-study of rare merit, entitled “ Eva,” which was well received on the Polish stage and was considered a great success. Unfortunately for the authoress, notwithstanding the value of the work, no English manager will accept it for production, as only five persons appear in the play. An eminent Polish novelist hidden under the nom de plume of W. Sclavus, has written a book dealing with the history of Russia during the last two-hundred years, bearing the title of “The Regicide.” It will be published simultaneously in Austrian Poland, in New York, and in London. Autumn being in Poland the real publishing season, no more works of interest and merit, are likely to be heard of for the present. A new American shilling Magazine The Tales, is entirely devoted to translations from foreign languages, and thus, many hitherto unknown works of Slavic authors will be brought before the English reading world. Not only does the litera- ture of Poland and Russia possess authors whose books are well worth reading, but the minor nations of this race can boast of some writers of real value. Bulgaria has one named Iwan Wazow, author of many novels and short stories, in the latter of which he excels. In these he not only depicts with great skill the life, so little known, led by Turks and Bulgarians, but he shows con- spicuous ability in observation. Some of his short stories are real snap-shots of life. T. Otto, publisher, of Prague, in Bohemia, is the only one to my knowledge in Slavic countries, who devotes himself to systematic publication of English works and novels. An eminent Bohemian author, Josef Bartos, writes of the English novelists : “Tn these days the English novel flourishes and flourishes charmingly, led by the uncommonly gifted deep thinker, Meredith, the gloomy Hardy, the cheerful Barrie, the falcon Kipling, and the good Bret Harte, Admiration and glory follow them throughout the whole world.” ‘he list of modern English novelists is headed by J. M. Barrie’s 288 “ Sentimental Tommy,” and Meredith’s ‘“ Richard Feveral.” This book was received by the critics with unprecedented but well merited praise. The success of Feveral was partly due to the excellence of the translation by Dr. B. Prusik. Ian Maclaren, Kipling, Mark Twain, Th. B. Aldrich, Conway, Zangwill, &c., are on the list of this publisher. The works of other popular English novelists are also adapted and published in the Bohemian language by other publishers of Prague as well as all the principal poetic and scientific works. Bohemian literature has not had a past of five hundred years of existence like the Polish, and is not even as old as the Russian ; but this nation, living under the conditions of a free country for the last fifty years, with no censor’s office to depress its energy, has in the last quarter of a century developed in a wonderful manner. It now possesses a number of very excellent authors in all branches, and has even its own opera and composers. The difficulty of learning the language, for which purpose a few seasons in Carlsbad or Marienbad are quite insufficient, makes the trans- lation of a selection of Bohemian works from the original a difficult task. The most eminent novelists are Cech, the Bohemian ‘“ Mark Twain,” Jelinek, Jirasek, Besnick and Svetla. Dr. Holub, who spent many years as explorer in Africa, wrote several books of a popular and scientific character, upon Africa. Dr. Tomek, is a_ well-known Bohemian historian, and Jirasek is the principal play-writer of Bohemia. There are several dramatic authors but a large proportion of the plays per- formed on the National Bohemian stage are adapted from French, Italian, Scandinavian, and Polish writers, with a prominent place for Shakespeare on the programe. The whole Bohemian literary movement, as well as the whole politics of Bohemia, is a struggle against German influence, and for this reason in the literary output of Bohemia, there is little or nothing taken from the German; Polish, English, and other literatures supply all that is wanted. There are also three other Slavonic nations, the Servian, the Slovac and the Croatian, all of whom possess some eminent writers, but these languages are so difficult even for members of the kindred races, that their works can scarcely find a student who can devote his life to study them, so as to be enabled to understand or read their books. J. ALMAR. THE AUTHOR. LAW RELATING TO COPYRIGHT IN WORKS OF LITERATURE AND MUSIC, JUNE 49th, 1901.* TRANSLATED BY G. H. T, follows: E, William, by the Grace of God, German Emperor, King of Prussia, etc., decree in the name of the Empire, etc., etc., as First Division. DECLARATION OF THE LIMITS OF PROTECTION. Section 1. Under this Act the following are entitled to protection :— 1. The authors of written works and of lectures or speeches serving the purposes of edification, instruction, or entertainment. 2. ‘The authors of musical works. 3. The authors of illustrations of a scientific or technical kind which, having reference to their main purpose, are not to be regarded as works of art. Plastic representations also come under this head. Section 2. The author of a work is the originator (Ver- fasser) of it. In the case of a translation the translator ; in the case of any other sort of adap- tation, the adapter (Bearbeiter) is defined as the author. Section 3. Corporate bodies with legal entity who publish a work as editors, when the author is not named on the title page, in the dedication, in the preface, or at the end, are regarded as authors of the work, in the absence of any stipulation to the contrary. Section 4. In the case of a collective work the editor is legally responsible as the author for the work as a whole. If no editor’s name is attached then the publisher is defined as the editor. Section 5. In the case of a written work being combined with a musical composition or with illustrations, then the several originators (even after such combination) still retain their separate rights as authors. Section 6. If several persons have collaborated in such a way that their work cannot be separated, then * As some of the later sections refer merely to legal technicalities it has been deemed sufficient to print a summary only.  THE AUTHOR. 289 an author’s partnership exists amongst them, and their shares are apportioned according to the civil code. Section 7. If a published work contains the name of a writer on the title page, in the dedication, the preface, or at the end, the writer so mentioned is prima facie responsible as the author of the work. In the case of a collective work the writer whose name stands at the head or at the end of each separate contribution is regarded as the author of that contribution. In the case of works which have appeared under a name other than the real name of the writer, or without the name of a writer, the editor, or if such a one is not mentioned, the publisher is entitled to uphold the author’s rights. In the case of works that before or after publi- cation have been publicly performed or recited, the author is presumed to be the person who has been designated as such at the announcement of the performance or recitation. Section 8. Copytight passes to the heirs. But if the “ Fiscus” or any other corporate body is the legal heir, the rights, as far as they belong to the legator, lapse with his, the author’s, death. The right can be transferred with or without limitations to others ; the transfer can also be made with limitations toa specified locality (Gebiet). Section 9. In the case of transfer of copyright the assignee (in the absence of special agreement) has not the right to effect any abbreviations or alterations of the work, the title, and the description of the author. Alterations are permissible only in the case of those instances in which the holder of the copyright (Berechtigte) cannot reasonably withhold his consent. Section 10. Compulsory execution (Zwangsvollstreckung) against the right of the author or his work cannot take place without his consent. Such consent cannot be granted by the legal representative. Compulsory execution is only permissible against the heirs of the author, without their consent, when the work has been published. SEeconD Division. AuTHorS’ Riauts. Section 11. The author has the exclusive right of reproduc- ing and circulating the work. The exclusive right does not extend to lending (Verleihen). The author, as long as the essential contents of his work remain unpublished, is, moreover, exclusively en- titled to the right of publication. Copyright in a dramatic or in a musical work also contains the exclusive right publicly to per- form the same. The author of a written’ work or a lecture has the exclusive right to deliver the same publicly so long as the work has not appeared. * Section 12, The exclusive rights which belong to the author under Section 11 also extend to any adaptations of the work, or to any of the following rights : 1. The translation into another language or into another dialect of the same language, even when the translation is embodied in a metrical form gebundener form). 2. The re-translation into the language of the original work. 3. The reproduction of a story in a dramatic form, or of a stage play in the form of a story. 4. The setting up of extracts from musical works as well as arrangements of such works for one or more instruments or voices. Section 18. The free use of the author’s work is permissible without prejudice to the exclusive rights which belong to him according to Section 12, Division 2, if the result is an original work. Any use of a musical work is inadmissible by which a melody recognisable as belonging to the original work, is taken and made the basis of a new work. Section 14. In the case of the transfer of copyright the author’s exclusive rights remain with him in the absence of stipulation to the contrary ; that is to Bay ° 1. The translation of a work into another language or into another dialect. 2. The reproduction of a story in dramatic form, or a stage-play in the form of a story. 3. The elaboration of a musical work so far as it is not merely an extract, or the transposition into another key, or an arrangement for another voice (Tonart oder Stimmlage).t+ Section 15. Reproduction without the consent of the holder of the copyright is inadmissible, no matter by what means it is accomplished. The number of copies reproduced does not affect the issue. * Presumably in book or pamphlet form. + German musical authorities are doubtful as to the exact legal interpretation of these two words, 290 Reproduction for personal use is admissible if it is not for the purpose of obtaining a pecunlary return from the work. Section 16. Tt is permissible to reprint code books, laws, ordinances, official proclamations and decisions, as well as other official writings prepared for official use. Section 17. It is permissible : : 1. To reproduce in papers or journals a lecture or speech, so long as the lecture or speech is a constituent part of a public proceeding. : 2. To reproduce lectures or speeches which have been delivered during the proceedings in the law courts, and at political, municipal, and ecclesiastical assemblies. But reproduction is nevertheless inadmissible in the case of a collection which consists mainly of the reproduction of speeches of the same author. Section 18. The reprinting of single articles out of the papers is permissible, so long as no notice is given that the rights are reserved ; nevertheless, a reprint is only permissible if the sense is not distorted. The source from which the article is taken is to be indicated clearly in the reprint. The reprinting of scientific, technical, or enter- taining matter in elaborated or altered form is inadmissible, even if there is no notice of the reservation of rights. General news founded on facts and current topics of the day may always be reprinted from papers or periodicals. Section 19. It is permissible to reproduce in the following CaKes : 1. When single passages or smaller parts of a written work, a lecture, or a speech are, after publication, quoted in an independent literary work. 2. When single essays of small compass or single poems after publication are included in an independent scientific work. 3. When single poems after publication are included in a collection, comprising the works of a great, number of authors, and specifically destined for the use of vocal recitals (Gesangsvortragen). 4, When single essays of small compass, single poems, or small extracts of a written work after publication are included in a collection, which embodies the works of a great THE AUTHOR. number of authors, and are specifically destined for the use of churches, schools, or education, or for a special literary purpose. In the case of a collection for a special literary purpose, as long as the author is alive, his personal consent is necessary. Consent is considered as granted if the author does not notify his refusal in the course of a month after the editor has communicated his intention. Section 20. Reproduction is permissible when small extracts of a poem, or poems of small compass after their publication are reproduced as text to a new musical work, and in connection with the same. For a performance of the work the poetry may also be reproduced by itself, if the reprint of the same is destined solely for the use of the audience. It is not permissible to reproduce poems which by their very nature are intended for musical composition. Section 21. Reproduction is permissible : 1. When single passages of a musical work already published are introduced into an independent literary work. 2. When shorter compositions after publica- tion are included in an independent scientific work. 3. When shorter compositions after publica- tion are included in a collection, which embodies the works of a great number of composers, specifically destined for use in schools which are not music schools. Section 22. Reproduction is permissible when a published musical work is transferred to such discs, plates, cylinders, strings, and similar component parts of instruments which serve for the mechanical repro- duction of musical pieces. This order is also applicable to interchangeable component parts, so long as they are not adaptable for instruments by which the work, in varia- tions of strength and durability of tone, and in variations of time (Zeitmass) can be reproduced in the manner of a personal performance. Section 28. Reproduction is permissible if single illustrations : out of a published work are added to a written work exclusively to elucidate the contents. Section 24. On the basis of Sections 19 to 23 reproduction of the work of another is only permissible if no af ah THE AUTHOR. alteration of the parts reproduced is effected. Nevertheless, as far as the purpose of the repro- duction demands, translations of a work are per- missible, and also such elaborations of a musical work which represent only extracts or transposi- tions to another key, or arrangements for orches- tration, or arrangements for instruments ag notified in Section 22. If single writings, single poems, or small portions of a written work are included in a collection for the use of schools, then such alterations are permitted as are requisite for this purpose ; nevertheless, as long as the author is alive, his personal consent is necessary. The consent is taken to be granted if the author does not refuse his consent within a month after he has been notified of the intended alteration. Section 25. Whoever makes use of another’s work in accor- dance with the terms of Sections 19 to 23 is bound to give the source distinctly. Section 26. So far as a work under Sections 16 to 24 may be reproduced without consent of the holder of the copyright, so far is the circulation and the public representation, as well as the public delivery, per- missible. Section 27, The consent of the holder of the copyright is not necessary for the public performance of a musical work which has already appeared, if it is not for the purpose of trade, and the audience is admitted without payment. Moreover, such per- formances are permissible without consent of the holder of the copyright :— 1. If they take place at National fétes with the exception of musical fétes. 2. If the performance is intended exclusively for charitable purposes, and the performers receive no remuneration for their services. 3. If they are produced by societies, and only the members, as well as the persous belonging to their households, are admitted as audience. These provisions do not apply to a stage repre- sentation of an opera or any other musical work to which a text belongs. Section 28. For the organisation of a public representation it is necessary to get the consent of each holder of copyright if there are several concerned. In the case of an opera or work of similar musical character to which a text belongs, the organiser of the representation needs the consent only of the person who holds the copyright of the music, Turrp Drvisron. DURATION OF THE PROTECTION. Section 29, The protection of copyright endures for the life of the author and thirty years, or ten years from the first publication, whichever is the longer period. If publication has not taken place at the expira- tion of thirty years after the death of the author, it is then presumed that copyright belongs to the proprietors of the work. Section 30. If copyright in a work is held in common by several people, it lapses after the death of the last survivor, as long as the term of protection is regulated by the time of death. Section 31. If the real name of the author has not been announced at the first publication according to Section 7, Divisions 1 to 3, then the protection ends with the lapse of thirty years after the publi- cation. If the real name of the author is an- nounced within the thirty years term according to Section 7, Divisions 1 to 3, or has been announced by the holder of the copyright for registration on the register (Section 56), then the orders of Sec- tion 29 apply. The same rule holds good if the work is first published after the death of the author, Section 32. If copyright belongs to a corporate body accord- ing to Sections 3 and 4, then the protection ends with the lapse of thirty years after the publication. Nevertheless, the protection ends with the lapse of the terms prescribed in Section 29 if the work is only published after the death of the author. Section 33. In the case of works which consist of various volumes, which have been published at intervals, as well as in the case of reports or numbers in a series, every volume, every report, or each number is regarded as a separate work for the reckoning of the term of protection. In the case of works pub- lished in parts, the term of protection is reckoned only from the publication of the last part. Section 34. The term of protection begins with the lapse of the calendar year in which the author died or the work was published. Section 35. As far as the protection granted in this law depends on whether a work has appeared or been 292, THE AUTHOR. published in any other form, or whether the essential contents of a work have been communicated to the public, only those portions that the holder of the copyright has published or communicated to the public are taken into consideration. FourtH DIvision. INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS. Section 86. Whoever wilfully or unintentionally, to the detriment of the exclusive rights of the author, reproduces a work, circulates it in the trade, or publicly communicates the essential contents of a work, is pledged to render to the holder of the copy- right the damages resulting therefror. Sechion 37. Whoever wilfully or unintentionally, to the detriment of the exclusive rights of the author, publicly performs or publicly recites a work, is pledged to render to the holder of the copyright the damages resulting therefrom. The same obligation lies on him who wilfully or unintention- ally publicly represents a dramatic work, prohibited under Section 12. Section 38. The following cases of infringement are punished with a fine not exceeding 3,000 marks : 1. The person who wilfully reproduces or cir- culates in the trade a work without the consent of the holder of copyright, otherwise than in the legally prescribed cases. 2. The person who, otherwise than in the legally prescribed cases, wilfully, without consent of the holder of the copyright, publicly performs a dramatic or musical work, prohibited under Section 12, or who publicly recites a work before it has been published. If the consent of the holder of the copyright was necessary only because alterations were undertaken in the work itself, its title, or in the description of the author, the money penalty shall not exceed 300 marks. If the money penalty, which cannot be enforced, is turned into an imprisonment, then the duration of imprisonment, in the case of Division 1, may not exceed six months ; in the case of Division 2, may not exceed one month, Section 39. Whoever wilfully communicates the essential contents of a work without the consent of the holder of the copyright, before the contents are made public, is punished with a money penalty up to 1,500 marks. If the money penalty, which cannot be enforced, is changed to imprisonment, then the duration of imprisonment may not last above three months. Section 40. The Courts can declare, on demand of the holder of the copyright, a fine of 6,000 marks to be paid to him, in addition to the penalty. Those against whom judgment is given to the amount of this fine are assessed as joint debtors. A fine thus declared excludes any further demand for compensation or damages. Section 41. The Acts notified in Sections 36 to 39 are also illegal if the work is only partially reproduced, circulated, published, performed, or recited. Sections 42 and 43. These sections deal with the rights of the owner to obtain an order for destruction, or delivery in lieu of destruction. Section 44. Whoever, contrary to the provisions of Section 18, Division 1 or Section 25, neglects to give the source of which he has availed himself, will be subject to a penalty not exceeding 150 marks. Sections 45 to 53. These sections deal with the proper persons to take action and the method of procedure. The Power of Appeal to a Committee of Experts state-sanctioned and the Time limit — usually three years. Firra Division. Fina DEOREES. Section 54. All subjects of the Empire enjoy the protection for all their works equally, whether they have been published or not. Section 55. An alien enjoys protection for each of his works published within the Empire, as long as he has not published the work itself or a translation previously in a foreign country. Under the same supposition he can enjoy the protection for each of his works which he publishes within the Empire as a trans- lation; the translation holds good in this case as standing for an original work. Section 56. The register for the above-mentioned entries (Section 31, Division 2), is kept by the Municipal Council in Leipzig. The Municipal Council registers the entries without being bound to test the title of the person desiring registration or the correctness of the facts notified. If the entry is refused, then the person concerned has the  THE AUTHOR. right of lodging a complaint with the Imperial Chancellor. Section 57. The Imperial Chancellor issues decrees concern- ing the management of the register. Everyone has free access to the register. Extracts from the register can be demanded; extracts must, on demand, be authenticated. The entries are to be published in the paper (Borsenblatt) of the German publishing trade (Buchhandel), and if the paper should cease to exist, they must be published in another paper named by the Imperial Chancellor. Section 58. Receipts, transactions, vouchers, and such like documents which concern the entries in the registry, are free of duty. A fee of 1 m. 50 is imposed for every entry, for every voucher of an entry, as well as for any other extract of the register. Besides this the person desiring registration has to defray the costs of the public notification of the entry. Section 59. This section refers merely to the conduct of legal] business. Sections 60 to 63. These sections refer to those unprotected cases which gain protection by the privileges granted under this new Act. These must necessarily be few in number and diminish year by year as the new Act continues in force. Section 64. This law comes into force on January Ist, 1902. Sections 1 to 56, 61, 62, of the law respecting copyright in writings, and so forth, of June 11th, 1870, become invalid (are cancelled) on the same day. Nevertheless these provisions remain untouched, as far as they can be declared applicable in the Imperial laws to protection of works of plastic art, of photographs as well as of models and patterns. (Signed) WILHELM. ——__—_—_—_-+—~<_-____ ABOUT LITERARY AGENCIES.* — ++ R. HENRY FRANCIS in the last number of The Author wrote a very interesting article on Literary Agents, and I take the liberty of adding a few lines on a subject which ig of so much interest to authors. * The Editor desires to refer members interested in this subject to an exhaustive article that appeared in Zhe Author, April, 1904. 293 It seems to me a mistaken opinion that the agent is invaluable to an author: an author may exist without an agent, and if he has dealt with American editors he may be sure that his work will be commissioned or bought in advance many times ; but even to him the agent is useful and certainly one who has many well known authors as his regular clients, need not concern himself about beginners. To deal with beginners is really hard work, for their name is “ Legion,” especially in England and America, where people who can read and write, and even those who probably can read but who cannot write an ordinary letter, think it their duty to send to the literary agent the pro- duct of their brains. This is the reason why many agents charge fees for reading, in order to avoid the influx of un- desirable literature, often only fit for the waste- paper basket. I happen to know an agent in England who may be the ideal agent according to the views of Mr. Francis, but his task is more difficult than is generally supposed. Not only is it necessary to classify and tabulate the contributions received according to the requirements of various publica- tions, but also to read them. First, for a good article a higher payment may be obtained than is usual; and, secondly, an agent having read the manuscript, may suggest some modification or a remodelling of the article or short story which will directly benefit the author by causing him to command a fair price, while if this is omitted the paper is often summarily rejected. 1. The ideal agent ought to be well acquainted with the requirements of the market ; and 2. Not only ought he to dispose of the material entrusted to him, but if he sees the fitting oppor- tunity, should inform his customers that he can dispose of contributions dealing with such and such matters if they send them to him. 3. He ought to endeavour to obtain the highest possible remuneration, and this on certain definite dates, not only on publication, which may be deferred for a year after the acceptance of the articles or short story. 4. He ought to be a good reader to judge of the quality or defects of the contribution. If the agent be really good the percentage which he will take for placing the article will be paid, not by the author, but by the publisher, who will give more to the agent than he would have paid to the author himself. In general, with a few exceptions, English editors are not accustomed to explain to the author if asked, what they want in the contribution, nor do they make suggestions to outside contributors ; but a good agent will invariably do so. Thus, before the arrival of the King of Spain, he will 294 remind his clients that articles dealing with Spain will be in demand ; and he will inform them that for July and August papers dealing with French matters, owing to the visit of the French fleet, will command a sale. As an agent represents more or less a large number of authors, the editor, even if he refuses the article, will probably read the contribution placed before him by the agent. I am aware that even in London there are editors who, after keeping a manuscript for some time, will return it without having taken the trouble to read it, the fastener or thread confining the leaves never having been removed. But although the patience of editors may be abused by illiterate contributors they ought to be able to rely upon the matter sent them by an agent as real literature, and in rejection would therefore have some real reasons, and not a mere excuse. Again, an agent can make a better bar- gain with an editor for the price of accepted manu- scripts, as he knows the market value of such commodities, and he himself may be useful to the editor by being able to supply the materials wanted; he can also often obtain better terms than the author, and sometimes payment on acceptance. For these reasons an agent is strictly necessary to beginners and very useful to authors in general. Such agents exist in England, and even in London; their names may be found from the usual books of reference, but as there are among them those who seem to think their duty only con- sists in taking a few shillings in advance from the author, it is well to obtain the fullest information from the secretary of the society, or to ask the agent for his references before submitting a manu- script or sending him fees. Of course no agent can guarantee the placing of every kind of contribution, even if of real literary value, as the taste and requirements of editors vary from time to time; but short stories always com- mand a good sale, poetry seldom. As to the American market, to which authors do not as a rule pay judicious attention, it is good, if not better, than the English. A carbon copy of each intended contribution ought to be made and sent on approval to America. The expense is not large, and it may bring substantial profit. Everything from 50 words to 100,000 can com- mand a sale, and things which the author may consider worthless may find buyers somewhere in Colorado or Nebraska, and may even obtain a good price. The minimum price is $5 (five dollars) or £1 1s. per thousand words. ‘The agencies are numerous and excellent, the payment on acceptance and the dealing prompt, but as there is much “fake” among these agencies, I shall depart from the custom of non free advertisement THE AUTHOR. in the columns of Zhe Author and give a few American addresses of general high standing :— The American Press Association of New York, The Hearst Syndicate of New York, The Daily Story Publishing Co., and Sampson, Hodges, both of Chicago. All these agencies are practically purchasing syndicates, rather than authors’ agents in the strict sense of the term. As the number of publications in the United States is larger than in England, and all “ Dailies” publish a special Sunday edition with articles on various subjects and short stories, the possibilities of selling contributions on good terms are large. For those who do not object to spend a little money and especially for those who write much and do not care if their work be published unsigned, I can recommend The National Press Association, Baldwin Buildings, Indianapolis, Ind., the only placing agency which I happen to know in the States. This agency has for chief editor, Mr. Thornton West, a man of high repute. Contributions received and found to be saleable are published on syndicate sheets, and on payment of a sum from one shilling upwards, according to the length of the articles, are sent to many thousands of publications in various States of America, the same article, paragraph, poetry, or short story being published on the same day in many papers brings to the author a good deal more than if sold in any other way. The day of publication in periodicals may be arranged beforehand, as on the day of publication on syndicate sheet, the author has already secured his copyright. The knowledge of and acquaintance with American periodical literature would, of course, be of great assistance as it would give an idea of the wants of the market. Strange to say, in London there is no place or reading room where on payment you can see American publications ; ab least, I do not know of the existence of such a place. This is the greater pity as there are numerous competitions for articles and short stories, such as in last October that of the Boston Black Cat, where from ten to two hundred guineas were given in prizes, and no one in England heard anything about it. Whether an author has or has not an agent in England he should always send his contributions to America, and he ought also to remember that an average magazine uses only about two hundred articles and short stories in the year, and if the author is not a Kipling, Caine, or a star of equal magnitude, the editor will not publish more than one or two of his contributions during the year—of course, articles of exceptional merit, or those deal- — ing with special topics of the day and written by  THE AUTHOR. 295 experienced authors are not bound by this rule ; the agent for his own interest will find the right people, and as he is not acting for many celebrities, his existence depends on large numbers of well- served customers. so “THE LIFE LITERARY.” —_— + HIS is an age in which philanthropists lurk at every turn. People, indeed—perfect strangers, for the most part—positively unite with one another in whole-souled endeavours to improve the moral and mental state of their fellow-beings. Perhaps the recent wave of “re- vivalism ” sweeping over London has had some- thing to do with it ; or perhaps it must be ascribed to some other cause altogether. Any way, for weeks past my letter-box has been deluged daily with missives from kind-hearted individuals whose one object in life is apparently to benefit my unworthy self. One bold spirit actually offered to ‘convert’ me “ by correspondence” ; a second has an encyclopedia on “specially easy terms” ; or, if I don’t want that, I can have a fountain pen instead ; and a third will array my manly form from top to toe “in West-end style (guaranteed) at City prices.” It was left, however, for a fourth to make the only offer of which I felt able to avail myself. As the experiment afforded me some innocent entertainment at the time, I will describe it briefly, in the hope that others may profit by it. The offer, like all those that preceded it, was embodied in pamphlet form. Entitled “The Life Literary,” it undertook—in return for “so much down now, and the balance at client’s convenience” —to “bring journalistic proficiency within the reach of everyone.” The prospect sounded enticing. I picked the envelope and its contents out of the waste-paper basket to which I had consigned it mechanically a moment earlier, and looked it over again. There was a distinct suggestion of “bustle” in the opening paragraph that pro- claimed an American inspiration, and a “ now-or- never ”’ in the final one that was almost irresistible. It was almost, however ; not quite. Looked at critically, and in the cold light of an hour later, it left something wanting. ‘There was too much promise about the prospectus, and the golden vista it opened up to all and sundry who availed them- selves of the course of instruction described therein had a suspicious glitter. I found it, also—despite the glowing assurances to the contrary—difficult to believe that “The Life Literary” was within the grasp of all and sundry provided they could put down so much ready money beforehand. Reluctantly accordingly, I abandoned the pleasing vision I had formed in the first flush of enthusiasm of seeing myself editor of the Times at the end of a fortnight, and put the matter from my mind. I had reckoned, however, without a full percep- tion of what my neglect involved. It was not long before I found this out. At the end of a week came a letter of enquiry, expressed in polite, but pained, terms, as to why I delayed taking advan- tage of the “ extraordinary offer.” Silence seemed the only answer. I tried it, but it did not succeed, for my would-be benefactors suddenly adopted the tactics of the proprietors of an American patent medicine, and bombarded me daily with “ follow- ups.” Of the first six I took no notice. The seventh, however, broke down my stony defiance. Couched in this manner, it was impossible to hold out against it :— ““My DEAR S1R,—Apparently you have not yet decided to. take up our initial course of journalism. We cannot believe your indecision is caused by the amount of the fee; especially when you remember that the lessons are such that they not only awaken the latent power of writing—which often sleeps unknown for many decades—and whet the ambition for a life full of scope and enterprise, but in addition to this, they place the student directly upon the road to success, showing him how to make money NOW. Any intelligent student will obtain sufficient practical know- ledge from our lessons to earn money as a “ Free-Lance,” even supposing he eventually decides not to enter the “ Life Literary.” Possibly the reason of your not having taken advantage of our offer is that you are in doubt as to the value of our system of tuition. Thinking this may be so, we will help to remove this doubt by making you an offer, of which you can avail yourself without incurring any liability. Send us one MS., either one which has been rejected or one specially written for the purpose, and we will revise it for you. We shall deal with it in the same way as we deal with essays, articles, and stories written by students under our instruction. We will return it to you with our notes, comments, and advice, and thus you will be in a position to judge of our methods for yourself. In conclusion, we will add that the instructor in our jour- nalistic branch is a practical London journalist, and the lessons he gives are not obsolete, mythical semi-lectures. —Yours faithfully.” This was a sporting offer, as a man and a Briton I could scarcely do less than close with it. With- out delay, accordingly, I picked out a manuscript from a large collection in my desk and dispatched it to the London office—somewhere in the Pimlico postal district—of Messrs. So-and-8o. Then I sat down to await the result. It came with exhilarating and business-like promptitude. Accompanying the promised return of my manuscript was a type-written document. I looked at it admiringly. In one corner was emblazoned the Stars and Stripes; in the other was the Union Jack. Hvidently the operations of the ‘Twentieth Century College of Journalistic Tuition” were widespread. In a neatly-framed margin running down one side of the sheet was a 296 THE AUTHOR. long list of “Fellows and Experts on the Instruc- tional Staff.” With surprise and disappointment (for the preliminary prospectus had distinctly stated that “all England’s literary men” were patrons of the college) I searched in vain for the names of either Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, George Meredith, or Conan Doyle. Strangely enough, they were one and all unaccountably absent. However, I was not going to let these omissions dishearten me. There were still plenty of names left, and it was my ignorance no doubt that made their fame in the literary world unknown to me. With a feeling of pleasurable excitement, I began to read the “notes, comments, and advice”’ that, in accordance with the kindly promise of Messrs. So-and-So, were to greet the bantling I had sub- mitted to their expert judgment. The result was a little disheartening. It ran in this fashion :— “ My DEAR S1rR,—Our instructor has carefully examined your MS., entitled He finds that, while it shows a certain definite promise, it is written in too amateur a style to be of any commercial value. We would suggest that you enrol yourself as a student of Course A. This we are prepared to extend to you on the specially-reduced terms of three pounds (payable in advance), on receipt of which complete handbook of instruction will be mailed you. As this grand offer is only open for a limited period, we would respectfully urge you to avail yourself of it at once. With best wishes for your success, we are, dear sir, yours obediently, ae On mature consideration, I did not take advan- tage of “this grand offer” of making a successful début in “The Life Literary.” Perhaps the chief reason that influenced me in being thus wilfully blind to my own advantage was the fact that the article in question had already appeared in a London newspaper of admittedly high standing. a ————————— MAGAZINE CONTENTS. oe eae es BLACKWOODS. Orpheus and Eurydice. By Alfred Noyes Coventry Pat- more. By Frederick Greenwood. BoOKMAN. Edward Fitzgerald. By Wilfrid Whitten, Book MONTHLY. Crossing the Bar. By James Milne. Writers of English. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. The Railway Bookstall. Artistic Incongruities and Anachronisms. By T C. Hepworth. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. What is Christianity? By Samuel McComb. Ruskin’s Views of Literature. By R. Warwick Bond. CoRNHILL. A Glimpse of the Exiled Stewarts. By W.H. Hutton, From a College Window. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. In Praise of Anthony Trollope’s Novels. Bettany. Literary Associations of the American Embassy. By F. §. A. Lowndes. The Ethics of Don Juan. By Francis Grothwahl. The Times. History of the War in South Africa. By Militarist. Paris and Daomi. By Laurence Binyon. By F. E. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE, A Distinguished Librarian. By M. E. Lowndes. A Tenant Farmer’s Diary of the Eighteenth Century. By W. M. Dunning. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, Cathedrals Old and New. By Hugh B. Philpott. The Fellow Workers of Voltaire [V.Gremm. By S. G. Tallentyre. Monta. The Strange Story of the Abbate Sidotti. By the Rev. Herbert Thurston. An Error in Simpson’s “ Campion.” By the Rev. J. H. Pollen. The Apotheosis of Tom Moore. By P. A. Sillard. The Church of England and the Higher Criticism. By A. St. Ledger Westall. Alexander Neckam. By Arnold Caven. MONTHLY REVIEW. The Goddess of Wisdom and Lady Carolin Lamb. By Rowland E. Prothero, M.V.O. Edward Dowson. By Forrest Reid. Medizval Gardens. By Alice Kemp-Welch. Quaint Memories. By E. Hessey. NINETEENTH CENTURY. The Scandal of University Education in Ireland. By Sir George T. Lambert, C.B. Ought Public Schoolmasters to be Taught to Teach? By the Hon. and Rev. Canon Lyttleton. Some Royal Love Letters. By Miss Charlotte Fortescue Yonge. PALL MALL MAGAZINE. Pictures and the Public. By C. Lewis Hind. The Origin of Life. By C. W. Saleeby, M.D. TEMPLE BAR. The Philosophy of Aubrey de Vere. Barrington. Rooms that I have Loved. By Helen Choate Prince. Margaret Godolphin. A Saint at the Court of Charles II. By Dora M. Jones. By Michael UNIVERSITY REVIEW. The Free Churches and the Universities. By Professor J. H. Houlton. Study of Local History. By Ramsay Muir, M.A, ‘WORLD’s WoRK. Music in Lakeland. By Rosa Newmarch,  THE AUTHOR. WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. ———<>—+ ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. ‘(3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —————__+_—~_ —_____ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. SU eee EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. {t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, 297 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts: (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (%.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system, Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (¢c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (4.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. I, is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved, 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range'of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ee WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. 1—>—+ ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He 298 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —__———__+—___¢_______- HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —-—>— + ie VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and _ past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. ‘I'he Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. The must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THER AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —+—— + —_ HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. A THE READING BRANCH. — EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, ge eee NOTICES. —_+—>+— HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. ++ The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ——_+——____—__ LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. — ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. $4 E are delighted to see in the issue of Birthday Honours that Mr. Meredith, the distinguished President of the Society, and Mr. Holman Hunt, who has been a member since its commencement, have received the Order of Merit, the highest honour which it is possible for the King to render to these protagonists of literature and art. The members of the Society cannot help but feel the reflected glory shed upon it by the distinction thus conferred. It is not necessary to recall the fact that the late Lord Tennyson was the first President of the Society, and that on his lamented death Mr. Meredith was by vote of the Council elected to fill the vacancy. This was many years ago. We must all join in offering our sincerest con- gratulations that the Order of Merit, so well deserved, has been conferred on him who was by the vote of the fellow members of his profession nominated to the presidency. We are pleased to see also that Lord Tennyson, the son of our former President, also a member of the Society like his father, has been made a Privy Councillor. ALL advertising agents state that there is nothing like persistency in advertisement in order to attract the public notice. This, to a certain extent, is true ; but after a certain time repeated advertise- ments repel rather than attract. This remark will hold good with the standing matter in Zhe Author, and it is therefore fitting from time to time to stimulate the interest and call to the minds of members the fact that the information contained in the standing matter is useful and valuable, that it may be of great advantage to them before they enter into an agreement to read the standing matter referring to agreements as the first step. Another point in the standing matter to which we should like to call our members’ attention is the fact that all the agreements criticised and all the cases quoted in The Author are real agreements and real cases, and the secretary is willing to give the names of the firms involved to members of the society. Again, it may be of advantage to members, before they enter into an agreement, to make some inquiries from the secretary with regard to the cases taken up by the society and the agreements quoted. It is more than probable that the result- ing information will afford unexpected assistance. THE initial sessions of the Copyright Conference in the United States were held on Wednesday, Thurs- day and Friday, May 31st, June 1st, and June 2nd. 299 We have heard from the librarian of Congress that it is not proposed to issue a formal report of these meetings, though a report was drawn up for the benefit of the members. The authors’ interests were represented by Mr. E. ©. Stedman, Prof. Brander Mathews, and Mr. R. U. Johnson ; the publishers’ by Mr. W. W. Appleton and Mr. Charles Scribner. Mr. George Haven Putnam would also have been present, but was not in the United States at the time. Other interests, such as artists’, typographers’, printers’, etc., were represented. But we fail to see any men- tion of the American Authors’ Society. Mr. Herbert Putnam, the librarian of Congress, was in the chair, and Mr. Thorvald Solberg, the registrar of copy- rights, acted as recorder, Mr. Montgomery, of the Treasury Department, representing the Government. The meeting appears to have been surprisingly unanimous in favour of comprehensive provisions and more exact definitions, and there was a general unanimity against the policy of a renewal term of copyright, and in favour of a fixed term. We regret to say that beyond a mere formal protest, there appeared to be no endeavour to disturb the status of the manufacturing clause. It is to be hoped that some fair time limit will be given to: those who desire to secure the United States copy- right instead of simultaneous publication. It cannot be repeated too often that the question of copyright, that is, the reproduction of copies, has really nothing whatever to do with the manu- facturers in the United States, and that a reason- able international copyright law can be gained without detriment to the printers’ interests. We have taken the following list of associations participating in the conference, with the names of delegates, from the United States Publishers’ Weekly. American (Authors’) Copyright League. R. BR. Bowker, Vice-President; R. U. Secretary. American Bar Association. Arthur Steuart. American Dramatists’ Club. Bronson Howard, President ; Joseph I. C. Clarke. American Institute of Architects. Glen Brown, Secretary. American Library Association. Frank P. Hill, Vice-President ; Arthur E. Bostwick. American Newspaper Publishers’ Association. John Stewart Bryan, Louis M. Duvall, Don C. Seitz. American Publishers’ Copyright League. Wm. W. Appleton, President ; Geo. Haven Putnam, Secretary ; Chas. Scribner, Treasurer. Architectural League of America. D. Everett Waid. Association of American Directory Publishers. Wm. H. Bates. Association of Theatre Managers of Greater New York. Henry B. Harris, Chas. Burnand. International Typographical Union. J. J. Sullivan. Johnson 3800 THE AUTHOR. Lithographers’ Association. Robert M. Donnelson ; A. Beverly Smith, Secretary. Manuscript Society. Miss Laura Sedgwick Collins, Secretary. Music Publishers’ Association. Walter M. Bacon, Geo, W. Furniss. National Academy of Design. Francis D. Millet. National Association of Photo-Engravers. W. B. Wilson, junr. National Educational Association. George S. Davis. National Institute of Arts and Letters. Edmund Clarence Stedman, President; Brander Matthews. National Sculpture Society. Karl Bitter. New York Typographical Union, No. 6. P. H. McCormick, President ; Geo. J. Jackson. Periodical Publishers’ Association of America, Chas. Scribner. Photographers’ Copyright League. B. J. Falk, Pirie McDonald. Print Publishers’ Association of America. W. A. Livingstone, Albert Smith, President. Society of American Artists. John W. Alexander, John La Farge. Sphinx Club. W. P. Hooper. United Typothete. Isaac H. Blanchard, President. Librarian of Congress. Herbert Putnam. Register of Copyrights. Thorvald Solberg. Treasury Department. Charles P. Montgomery. We have once again to thank the secretary of the Library of Congress for a most useful publica- tion bearing on the United States Copyright Law, entitled “ Copyright in Congress, 1789—1904: A Bibliography and Chronological Record.” During the century there has been much copy- right legislation in the United States, and much more proposed legislation. As the compiler of the book states : “ More than 200 Copyright Bills have been laid before Congress for its consideration.” The work comprises a complete bibliography of all the Bills referring to copyright which have been introduced into Congress, with the laws that have been enacted, and those reports, petitions, memorials, messages, and miscellaneous copyright documents which have been drafted, together with a complete chronological record of all actions taken in Congress in any way referring to the subject of copyright, showing the manner in which each proposal has been dealt with. To the student of the evolution of copyright, the record must be of the greatest assistance ; and no person who is really interested in the future con- solidation of the laws, either in this or any other country, can afford to ignore the past evolution of copyright property. We must, therefore, thank the compilers of this work for the labour they have expended and the careful manner in which they have carried out their programme. We are, indeed, indebted to the Copyright Office for the foresight with which they deal with all questions likely to interest holders of this property. THE twenty-seventh congress of the International Artistic and Literary Association will be held this autumn at Liege, in Belgium, from Monday, the 18th, to Sunday, the 24th of September. The opening séance will be on Monday morning at eleven a.m. ‘The programme is as follows :— I, Annual report of matters concerning literary and artistic property, considered from diplomatic, legislative, and legal points of view: The general report. 1. New laws and the principal decisions of juris- prudence: M. E. Rothlisberger. 2. International conventions and projects of conventions: M. A. Darras. 3. Relations between Germany and the United States: M. A. Osterrieth. 4. Means of assuring the adhesion of the Netherlands to the Berne Convention: M. Van de Veld. II. Relations between artistic and industrial property, with a special reference to designs, models, and photographs: M. Taillefer. III. Practical means of repressing literary, musical, and artistic piracy, particularly in Eng- land and Italy, and of preventing the introduction of unauthorised publications: MM. Harmand, Poinsard, Iselin, and Clausetti. IV. The character of illicit musical performances, literary recitations, or dramatic representations, not authorised by the authors ; an examination of gratuitous and private performances and repre- sentations: MM. de Borchgrave, Castori, and Osterreith. VY. The publisher’s contract regarded from the point of view of artistic works: A report of the labours of the French Commission instituted by the Congress of Weimar. VI. The right of reproduction of works ex- hibited in museums: MM. Auquier and Grandig- neaux. VII. The protection of monuments of the past, of scenery, and of historical sites: MM. Charles Lucas and Raoul de Clermont. Thursday, the 21st, will be devoted to an excur- sion to Brussels. Friday, 22nd, Saturday, and Sunday will be passed at Antwerp, where the congress will close. A complete programme will be subsequently published. Persons visiting the congress will enjoy a discount of fifty per cent. on tickets of the Chemin du Fer du Nord, and can have circular tickets on the Belgian railways at reduced prices.  eas RIDNiae: THER AUTHOR. 301 BALLADE OF MINOR POETS. —— * Ah, would but one might lay his lance in rest, And charge in earnest, were it but a mill!” AusTIN DoBsoNn. OT painless is his path who strives To storm Apollo’s cloudy seats ; His heart shall know derision’s knives, And tough shall be the bread he eats. Not his to fondle the receipts Of novelists superbly Manx ; Yet all is well when he repeats “At least we fight within the ranks.” There is no noodle but contrives To giggle at our high conceits ; The purblind critic smokes our hives And votes our honey pilfered sweets ; Our noblest pangs are “ hectic heats,” Our verse is vile, our minds are blanks ; And yet—they said the same of Keats! At least we fight within the ranks ! Appalling vices taint our lives ;— Debt, cigarettes, Parisian streets, French fiction, absinthe, countless wives, Strange vintages and monstrous meats ; Yet though this list but half-completes The total of our godless pranks, Such windy stuff one thought deletes,— At least we fight within the ranks. L’ENVOI. Brothers, this giant Art retreats Untamed of us ; yet give we thanks ;— Through each alarm, through all defeats At least we fight within the ranks ! pr. J. lu. -—~<_ + UNITED STATES NOTES. =o FP \HE question of the day in American literary circles is, who wrote those “ Publisher’s Confessions,” which have now appeared in book form ? In some quarters it was assumed as a moral certainty that Mr. Walter H. Page was the out- spoken correspondent of the Boston Transcript, and one literary periodical has even published his portrait in that capacity ; but now it is said that the want of literary tone which is so sadly apparent, precludes this hypothesis ; and another candidate, Mr. Gregory, of Boston, is brought forward. For ourselves, we regret the hard things said of the critics and the literary papers, whilst acknowledging the shrewd sense and straight hitting of the writer; but we dare venture no guess as to his identity. Mr. Carnegie’s latest benefaction has been very generally approved. The provision of a pension fund for the hard-working and ill-paid teaching profession was an obvious desideratum, especially in a country like the United States; and its advantages, unlike those of the public libraries, cannot be held to be problematic. An able article in the Dzal, by Dr. Joseph Jastrow deals with the few objections that are likely to be raised, such as the exclusion of State univer- sities from the benefits of the bequest. The writer very wisely, in our opinion, expresses a hope that the new endowment will supplement existing pro- visions, rather than exonerate universities from the duty of supplying pensions, and will act as a stimulative force in other directions. Mention of the Chicayo Dial recalls the fact that it has lately celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. Under the able conduct of Mr. Francis F. Browne, who has edited the paper during the whole period, it has undoubtedly been the best literary journal in America, and has fully held its own against younger rivals, who have called in the aid of illustration. It is the only purely literary paper which is not the organ of a publishing house, and has succeeded in avoiding dulness without making any of the usual concessions to popular taste. Long may it live to wave the banner of calm criticism over commercial democratic Chicago ! The Copyright Conference assembled at the invitation of the Librarian of Congress, to make suggestions for improvements in the copyright law, has held some preliminary sittings. Artists and painters are represented as well as publishers and authors. Mr. Edmund Clarence Stedman and Prof. Brander Matthews are among those who are acting for the last named ; Mr. Herbert Putnam was in the chair. So far, things seem to have gone very smoothly. Messrs. D. Appleton and Co. have taken over the Booklovers’ Magazine, which is to bear their name from the July number onwards. We note that Mrs. Humphry Ward’s “ Marriage of William Ashe” headed the most recently com- piled list of best selling books here, and that another British work, “The Garden of Allah” figured among the six, though in the reverse position. Alice Hegan Rice’s latest story, “Sandy,” and David Graham Phillips’s ‘‘ The Plum Tree,” were the new American big sellers. The latter is a political novel, wherein some have found portraits of McKinley, Senator Hanna, and W. J. Bryan. The book has been realistically advertised by the Columbian Book Company, of Atalanta, Georgia, who displayed in their windows a six-foot plum 302 tree in full blossom, with, it is said, satisfactory results. But by far the best examples of recent fiction published in the United States are the anonymous “Our Best Society,” which has just finished its serial career in the Oritic, and Dr. S. Weir Mitchell’s “ Constance Trescot.” The former is a sparkling and audacious picture of New York society from the point of view of a novelist and dramatist, who, with his wife, enters it for his own purposes. The latter, which was thrice re-written, is a masterly study of feminine temperament, which will rank high amongst the scanty collection of physicians’ novels. These, it may be recalled, include Warren’s “Ten Thousand a Year,” and Holmes’s “ Elsie Venner,” not to mention Sir A. Conan Doyle’s happy excursions into historical and detective romance. _ A very clever and readable book is, however, “The Orchid,” by Robert Grant, a curious social study, depicting, of course, the smart set. Howard Sturgis’s ‘‘ Belchamber,” is also a book quite out of the common by an unprolific writer. It has been well hit off as “The Tragedy of the Trivial.” Motor fiction is a new serial, which is well represented in “ The Van Suyden Sapphires,” by Charles Carey; “Charles the Chauffeur,” by S. E. Kiser; and Lloyd Osborne’s “The Motor Maniacs.” Mrs. Austin’s romance of old California, “Isidro,” should also be mentioned, nor should the bright little fantasia, called “The Opal,” which remains anonymous, be omitted here. A new novel from the pen of Mr. W. D. Howells, is being published, as we write. It is said to be in his best vein. ‘ Miss Bellard’s Inspiration” is the title. The fifth edition of the “ Dictionary of American Authors,” compiled by Oscar Fay Adams, has a supplement containing considerably more than a thousand newnames. It should prove more useful than ever. Four money prizes will be awarded next year for essays on certain economical subjects, the. donors being Messrs. Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, of Chicago. Two of these prizes are to be reserved for undergraduates of American colleges; the others will be competed for by those graduated in or after 1904. One of the subjects selected is “an examination into the economic causes of large fortunes in this country.” Among books other than novels which have appeared during the spring, perhaps the most notable is the Autobiography of Andrew D. White, some time Ambassador of Berlin and St. Peters- burg and President of Cornell. Not the least interesting part of the book are the Russian THE AUTHOR. reminiscences. Mr. White gives a highly curious account of Pobedonostzeff’s acquaintance with American literature, the Procurator of the Holy Synod’s devotion to Emerson being very singular, Mr. White also discussed his country’s literature with Tolstoi, who did not, however, display equal intimacy with it. He had talked with the present Tsar, and expresses himself as having been favour- ably impressed by the late M. de Plehve when a subordinate official. Mr. John Fox, jun., has described his abortive ttempts to follow the operations in Manchuria in his “ Following the Sun Flag” ; and another young writer, Mr. Jack London, has in his “ War of the Classes” indited an apologia for his own socialism. Another book well worth reading is “A Diary from Dixie,” written by the wife of Jefferson Davis’s aide-de-camp, and edited by Isabella D. Martin and Myrta L. Avary. It is a really im- portant historical document, containing not only an interesting description of social life in the South during the Civil War, but also revelations of the intrigues which were rife against the Secession leaders, and of the lack of enthusiasm felt by these last for their cause. Another historical work which is provoking some discussion is Agnes Laut’s “ Pathfinders of the West.” The author maintains that Pierre Esprit Radisson discovered the overland route to Hudson’s Bay, as well as the North-West. She also deals with the careers of La Vérendrye, Samuel Hearne, Mackenzie, and other pioneers, challenging accepted views. Mrs. Wharton’s “Italian Backgrounds” is a book of travels of rare distinction. Her discovery of the San Vivaldo pictures renders it especially noteworthy. James Huneker’s “Iconoclasts : a Book of Dramatists,” is likely to attract almost as much attention in Europe as it has here ; nor is Andrew Carnegie’s “Life of James Watt” likely to pass unnoticed in either continent. Finally, we may draw the attention of historical students to Professor Peck’s contribution to the English Men of Letters series, his volume on Prescoti. By far the most important name in our obituary list is that of the creator of Rip Van Winkle. Joseph Jefferson died on April 23rd at the ripe age of seventy-six. Howard M. Ticknor, who died on May 14th, was a man of varied accomplishments, having been in his time publisher, musical critic, editor, instructor in English at Harvard, and vice- consul in various cities. Charles Henry Webb, the publisher of Mark Twain's “Jumping Frog,” wrote excellent parodies under the pseudonym “John Paul,” as well as “The Wickedest Woman  THE AUTHOR. in New York ” and several plays. He also invented a cartridge loader and an adding machine. The late Judge Tourgée, American consul at Bordeaux, will be best remembered by his novel “A Fool’s Errand.” Mrs. Livermore published various books, but was chiefly known as a lecturer. ee ——_—_o—__ + GERMAN NOTES. —— 9 I AM glad that the first notes on German literature in The Author will be principally devoted to the memory of the greatest of German poets, Friedrich Schiller. Goethe, as the author of “ Herman and Dorothea”’ and “ Faust,” is, and will ever remain, specially a German poet ; Schiller’s genius made him rather an international one. The 9th of May being the centenary of the death of the great poet, one of the most honest and noble characters in the history of Germany, it was found necessary to honour that anniversary by festivities which surpassed anything previously known, perhaps for the reason, as Maurice Muret remarks in the Journal des Debats, “the Ger- mans display their love for Schiller vehemently, in order to assure themselves that they are not true to his expectations, and to forget all that is unschillerische in the present German Empire” (pour faire oublier tout ce qu’il y a d’unschiller- ische dans l’empire Allemand de nos jours). Whatever may be the reason, this, as the Ger- man paper Literarische Echo says, is “nicht ganz unrichtig,” not without some foundation, or, perhaps, that ideas of the government are not altogether popular in Germany. The present Festival surpassed not only that of the centenary of Schiller’s birthday, celebrated in 1859, but any other festivities hitherto held in Germany. There were more than forty books published, dealing with him as a poet, dramatist, esthetic ; various editions of his works and letters appeared, and during April and May, hundreds and thousands of articles occupied pages of the Ger- man publications. Apparently there was not a single paper which did not devote a more or less long article to the great poet’s memory. The most noteworthy work was that published by the Goethe Society, which devoted Volume XX. of their splendid publications exclusively to the Manes of Schiller. This work contained a preface by Bernhard Suphan, Schiller’s last will, in his own handwriting, and his lyric play, “ Huldigung der Kiinste,” homage to the art ; then the mono- logue of Marfas from Demetrius, the last line written by Schiller, and at the end, the epilogue to the Bell, written by Goethe. 303 _ The Kaiser, to the disappointment of his sub- jects, being in Strasburg during the Schiller Festival, did not take any part in the celebration, and thus missed an opportunity of making a speech ; but perhaps, on the whole, it was as well; for what has Schiller, the real Christian in his life, the idealist, in common with the present aggressive policy of Germany, the persecution of Poles, or the savage methods of repression permitted towards the negro population in German-African colonies ? As the Kaiser did not pose as the leading figure in the festivities, his part was eagerly taken and played by the King of Wurtemburg. He sent, as his representative, Major-General Albert von Pfister, to the United States, who, in the name of the king, presented a bust of Schiller to John Hopkins University in Baltimore, and also as representing the Schwabisch Schiller’s Society, took part in the festivities in Chicago. The King, with the Queen, have been present throughout the Festival in Stuttgart and Mar- bach, which commenced with the opening of the Schiller Exhibition on the 6th of May in Marbach, and the royal pair deposited a wreath before the monument of the poet. In Stuttgart, on the same day, the citizen society began their celebration, and on the 8th of May a splendid pro- cession of students with torches took place. On the 9th inst. all the church bells in Stuttgart and Wurtemburg were rung at the hour of the great poet’s death, and a long procession of the inhabi- tants, headed by the mayor of the city and various officials deposited a wreath; and speeches were delivered at public meetings where the memory of their great compatriot was commended. In the evening a gala performance was given in the Court Theatre, and illuminations of the royal castle and city, with bonfires on the surrounding mountain heights, turned night into day. The splendour of the Stuttgart festivities was only equalled in Ger- many by those displayed in Munich, where Prince ‘Louis Ferdinand and Prince Alphonse of Bavaria, with the Princesses, took an active part in them. In all other towns of Germany the day was observed with similar rejoicings, in which, with the exception of Baden, Hessen, Weimar and Anhalt, the rulers abstained from participating in them. The works of Schiller were distributed in all public schools throughout Germany to the children, with a few exceptions, as in Ravensburg, where the authorities gave sausages in place of books to the scholars; but in some towns, as in Eberfeld, the play, called “ The Robbers,” was cut out and suppressed, lest the influence of this work might be harmful to the children. In Berlin, according to Literarische Echo on the 9th May, on the place of Gendarmen Markt, Herr Studt the Gessler of academic liberty, deposited a wreath 304 THE AUTHOR. before the Schiller monument, with the inscrip- tion, “The Prussian Minister of Education to the Poet of German Idealism.” For years there has existed in Germany a special money prize for the best dramatic work, which is named the Schiller Prize, and is awarded by the King of Prussia. In the days of Wilhelm I., the prize was awarded according to the opinion of selected judges, with- out any interference from royalty, and the decision was regarded as just ; but with the present Kaiser all this arrangement has been changed, and, as the authors and the public were not altogether satisfied with the judgment of the high protector of the drama, another subscription has been collected, and the People Schiller’s Prize was established. On the 7th May the prizes were distributed to Gerhart Hauptmann, for “ Rosa Bernd,” to Karl Hauptman, for “ Bergschmiede,” and Richard Beer-Hoffman, for “Count of Charolais ;” each competitor receiving, from the fund mentioned, 1,000 marks (German). With the name of Schiller is associated the fund to support the widows and families of German poets. This society was started in Dresden, October 8th, 1859; the initiation of the idea is due to Julius Hammer, who published an article in Dresden, in 1855 which was reprinted in other German papers, proposing the collection of money for a memorial inscription on a house in Lochwitz, near Dresden, where Schiller wrote his Don Carlos, the surplus of the money subscribed to form the nucleus of a fund to assist necessitous poets and their families. The association selected Weimar as its head- quarters, and the reigning Prince became its pro- tector. Now the association has twenty-eight committees in Germany and Austria, and a capital of 1,987,327 marks, and 239,551 Austrian crowns. During the past year, 60,000 marks were distributed among families and widows of poets. On the 9th May, the German Ladies’ Schiller’s Society added 250,000 marks to the funds of the Society. Not only have festivities connected with the name of Schiller taken place in Germany, but also in the United States, where in many cities the German element is very strong. In Austria also, not only in Vienna but in the majority of towns of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; in Gmunden the Duke of Cumberland with his family attended the festival. Of course everywhere in Germany, Austria and even in Russia, during the month of May, Schiller’s dramas were produced, and it is a fact that outside Germany, Schiller’s plays are in many continental theatres on the list of their permanent repertoire with those of Shakespeare. In England, the late Wilson Barrett was the last to produce them, and during his management of the Court Theatre he adapted ‘‘ Kabale und liebe,”? and introduced it with success. I believe among others, Madame Modrzejewska, the great Polish actress appeared in Schiller’s plays as one of Wilson Barrett’s company before an English public. Yet, outside Germany, these plays can hardly be popular, some of them having a purely local interest, and others not appealing to the modern taste. Such plays as “The Robbers” would require an Irving to do them justice and in general a strong company to he properly produced, but these conditions granted, what a marvellous impression would this play produce, quite another Macbeth. Outside Germany, in the Italian Nuovo Autologia Guido Menascis wrote an excellent article on May Ist on Schiller. The Swedish and Norwegian press also devoted much space to the German Poet, but perhaps the best contribution was published in Stockholm from the pen of Oscar Levertin. In France more attention was paid to the great German’s memory than was expected. This can be accounted for by his defence of Jeanne d’Are, for which he was made an honorary citizen of Paris. Outside the excellent article by Maurice Moret in the Gaulois, there is a good contribution by Georges Goyou in the illustrated supplement of that paper. From the 7th May, we find many illustrations in relation to the life of Schiller. Paul Ginisty, director of the Odeon Theatre, writes in the Figaro on Schiller and the Weimar Theatre, and good. articles were in La Revue, Mercure de France, and many other papers. To those who may be interested in obtaining more details regarding the festival and Schiller’s recent literature, I may give the names of some publications where they will find a full report ; the Lnterarische Echo (Berlin), Leterarisches Central- Blatt, (Leipzig), Deutsche Literatur Zeitung (Berlin), and Oesterreichische Rundschau (Wien). Special numbers devoted to Schiller, were issued among others by Ueber Land und Meer (Stuttgart), ‘ Illustrierte Zeitung (Leipzig). Simplizissimus (X. 6.) finds an opportunity (thanks to Schiller) to write against the German authorities and to give an opinion on Schiller’s works by various celebrities as Bjornson, Max Halbe, etc. Even the monthly Uebersinnliche Welt, Berlin (XIII. 5.), devoted to occultism, finds something to say about Schiller. On the 29th of last April, the yearly meeting of the German Shakespearian Society took place in Weimar. Herr Hugo von Hofmannstahl read a paper on “Shakespeare King and Lords.” The members now number 560; the society awarded first prize in the competition on “The Stage Arrangement of Shakespeare’s Theatres” to a person who does not wish his name to be pub- lished ; the second prize to Dr. Phil. Bernhard  THE AUTHOR. Neuendorf, and honourable mention to Dr. Phil. Paul Moenkmeyer of Hanover. For the last few months no work of exceptional merit has been published in Germany; in fact except a few talented dramatic authors, Germany possesses neither poets of note or novelists; per- haps one of her best is Gabrielle Reuter, who under the title of “Wonderful Love” wrote a series of short stories, some of them really clever. English literature is represented by the “ Letters” of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “ Portu- guese Sonnets,” by the latter, and three volumes of other works also by Browning. Algernon Swinburne’s “ Poems,” George Moore’s ‘“ Earth and Heaven Love,” “Materials for Learning the Old English Drama,” 8th vol., “ Pendantius,” a Latin comedy formerly acted in Trinity College, Cambridge. 9th vol., Koeppel, “ Studies on Shakespeare’s Influence on Contemporary Dramatic Writers.” 10th vol., Ben Jonson’s “ Every Man in his Humour,” and a very interesting book by Karl Wenger, ‘ The Historic Romance of German Romantic Writers; or a Study on Sir Walter Scott’s Influence on German Authors.” The majority of the German Press has altogether forgotten that the 20th of May is the centenary anniversary of the birth of Georg Gottfried Ger- vinus, the father of German literary criticism and first historian of Literature. J. ALMAR, ——_————__——_+____- CONFESSIONS OF A BENEVOLENT AND HIGHMINDED SHARK.* oo HIS book has the double charm of infinite comedy and obvious authenticity. Most confessions are spurious. Blameless wives of country clergymen have a mania for writing memoirs of improper females: city missionaries write autobiographies of convicted cracksmen : the penitent forms of the Salvation Army are crowded with amiable creatures confessing the imaginary brutalities they did not commit before they were converted. Confessions, in short, as Dickens succinctly put it, are “all lies.” But this con- fession is genuine. The author is a real publisher from his bootsoles to his probably bald crown. There never was such a publishery publisher. The experienced author will read his book with many chuckles, and put it down without malice. The inexperienced author will learn from it exactly what he has to face when he meets that most dan- gerous of all publishers, the thoroughly respectable publisher. * “ A Publisher’s Confession.” Page & Co. 1905.) (New York : Doubleday, 305 Need I add that the confession is not a con- fession at all? It contains only one admission : that publishers do not know how to advertize, and can do nothing more for a book than the book can do for itself. This, so far as it is true (and it is not wholly nor exactly true) is so obvious that there is no merit in confessing it. And the rest of the book is quite the reverse of a confession. It is an advertisement, an apology (in the classical sense), occasionally almost a dithyramb ; and its tune throughout is the old tune “Wont you walk into my parlour ?” A few simple principles furnish our professing penitent with a solid moral basis. Of these the chief is that Nature ordains ten per cent. as the proper royalty for an author.* He makes no quali- fication as to the price of the book. It may be published at a shilling, or six shillings, or twelve shillings, or twenty-four. That does not matter. Nature does not fix the price of a book, though a dollar and a half is suggested as a desirable figure. She does fix the author’s percentage—at ten. ‘The penitent admits with shame that there are reckless publishers who offer more, and avaricious and shortsighted authors who are seduced by their offers. But bankruptcy awaits the former ; and remorse and ruin are the doom of the latter. The book itself must needs be starved by cheap manu- facture. The goose that lays the golden eggs (that is: the ten per cent. publisher) is slain by that thriftless and insatiable grasper, the twenty per cent. author. I shuddered as I read. For I too have a con- fession to make. I have not only exacted twenty per cent. royalties ; bat I have actually forced the unfortunate publisher to adorn the dollar-and-a- half book with photogravures. It is quite true that the particular publisher whom [ used thus barbarously actually did become bankrupt. But he broke, not because he paid too high royalties, but because his profits were so large that he acquired the habits of a Monte Cristo, and the ambitions of an Alexander. Jar be it from me to blame him or bear malice. I still believe in his star. Three or four more bankruptcies, and he will settle down and become a steady millionaire. But the exaction of twenty per cent. is not the blackest crime of which an author can be guilty. Our penitent is, in the main, kind to authors. I handsomely admit that authors are not angels—at least not all of them. Without going so far as to say that some authors are rascals,I yet believe that authors have been known to practise on the vanity, the credulity, the literary ignorance, and the business * This view is strenuously combated by theatrical managers, to whom the Voice of Nature whispers five per cent. as seemly and sufficient. 306 flabbiness of publishers to get advances from them on books that remain unwritten to this day. Every season brings its budget of scamped, faked, and worthless books, feverishly pushed, to prove that those eminent and typical publishers, Alnaschar & Co., have again had their belly filled with the east wind by some duffer whose pretensions would not take in an ordinarily sharp bookstall boy. There are authors who make the poor publisher pay through the nose for nothing but their names in his list. For all these deceits and failures and oppressions our penitent has -not a word of reproach. He forgives us everything, except DISLOYALTY. That is to him the one un- pardonable and abominable sin. Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, is what he asks before everything. ‘To change your publisher is to become “a stray dog” —his own words, I assure you. To bite the hand that fed you ; to turn on the man who raised you from obscurity to publicity ; to prefer another’s twenty per cent. to his ten: this is human nature at its worst. The pages of the confession almost blush as they record the shameful fact that there are viper-authors who do this thing, and blackleg- publishers who tempt them to do it. Here is a powerful pen-picture of the polyec- dotous author. ‘That man now has books on five publishers’ lists. Not one of the publishers counts him as his particular client. In a sense his books are all neglected. One has never helped another. He has got no cumulative result of his work. He has become a sort of stray dog in the publishing world. He has cordial relations with no publisher ; and his literary product has really declined. He scattered his influence ; and he is paying the penalty.” What an awful warning ! Yet, now that I cume to think of it, I have done this very thing my very self. Dare I add that I would do it again to-morrow without the slightest compunction if I thought I could better myself that way. My publisher’s consolation is that though I have no bowels, at least I do not pose as his benefactor, nor accuse him of disloyalty because he publishes books by other authors. Granted that an author with two or three publishers may seem (in America) as abandoned a creature as a woman with two or three husbands, what about a Solomonic publisher with half a hundred authors ! “Every really successful publisher” says our penitent (who is rather given to dark hints that the other publishers are not all they seem), ‘could make more money by going into some other busi- ness. I think that there is not a man of them who could not greatly increase his income by giving the same energy and ability to the management of a bank, or of some sort of industrial enterprise.” May I point out that this is true not only of pub- THE AUTHOR. lishers but of all criminals, as many a judge has remarked before passing sentence. Whenever I meet a burglar, I always ask him why he runs such fearful risks, and performs such prodigies of skill and enterprise in opening other people’s safes, when he might turn publisher and be just as dis- honest and ten times as rich for half the trouble. As to authors, I never yet met an author who was not convinced that if he put into business half the talent and industry he puts into literature, he could in ten years time buy up the Steel Trust that bought up Mr. Carnegie. The truth is, I suspect, that a publisher is an [inte book fancier who cannot write, and an author is an infatuated book fancier who can. But the Confession does not urge this view, nor even mention it. According to it “from one point of view the publisher is a manufacturer and a sales- man. From another point of view he is the personal friend and sympathetic adviser of authors—a man who has a knowledge of literature and whose judg- ment is worth having.” Yes: I know that other point of view : the publisher's own point of view. I have had tons of his sympathetic advice ; and I owe all my literary success to the fact that I have known my own business well enough never to take it. Whenever a publisher gives me literary advice, I take an instant and hideous revenge on him. I give him business advice. I pose as an economist, a financier, and a man of affairs. I explain what I would do if I were a publisher ; and I urge him to double his profits by adopting my methods. I do so as his personal friend and wellwisher, as his patron, his counsellor, his guardian, his second father. I strive to purify the atmosphere from every taint of a “ degrading commercialism ” (that is how the Confession puts it), and to speak as man to man. And it always makes the stupid creature quite furious. Thus do men misunderstand one another. Thus will the amateur, to the end of the world, try to mix the paints of the professional. I think I will give up the attempt to review this book. I cannot stand its moral pose. If the man would write like a human being I could treat him as a human being. But when he keeps intoning a moral diapason to his bland and fatherly har- monies about the eternal fitness of his ten per cent. on six shillings ; his actuarial demonstrations that higher royalties must leave his children crying in vain to him for bread ; his loudly virtuous denun- ciation of the outside publisher who publishes at the author’s expense (compare this with his cautious avoidance of any mention of the commission system used by Ruskin, Spencer and all authors who can afford the advance of capital) ; his claim that all the losses caused by his endless errors of judgment are to be reckoned by authors as inevitable and legiti- mate expenses of his business; and his plea that: THE AUTHOR. his authors should take him for better for worse until death do them part: all this provokes me so that it is hard for me to refrain from describing him to himself bluntly in terms of his own moral affectations. : However, I will be magnanimous, and content myself with the harmless remark that the writer of the Confession is a very typical publisher. Pub- lishers of a certain age always do go on exactly like that. The author’s business is not to mind them, and to be infinitely patient with their literary vanity, their business imbecility, their seignorial sentiments and tradesmanlike little grabbings and cheapenings, their immeasurable incompetence, their wounded recollections of Besant, their stupendously unreadable new book that is coming out the week after their timid refusal of the latest thing that does not reflect the chaos of secondhand impressions which they call their own minds ; and the dislike of steady industry, the love of gambling, the furtive Bohemianism that induced them to choose their strange and questionable occupation. As for me, all I ask on the royalty system at six shillings is a modest twenty per cent. or so, a three years’ trial, an agreement drafted by myself, and an unaffected bookseller. I dont want a compulsory partner for life. I dont want a patron. I[ dont want an amateur collaborator. I dont want a moralist. I dont want a Tele- machus. I dont want a pompous humbug, nor a pious humbug, nor a literary humbug. I can dispense with a restatement of the expenses, dis- appointments, trials, and ingratitudes that pave the publisher’s weary path to a destitute old age in a country house, with nothing to relieve its monotony but three horses, a Mercedes automobile, and a flat in London. I have heard it so often ! I dont expect absolute truth, being myself a pro- fessional manufacturer of fiction : indeed I should not recognize perfect truth if it were offered to me. I dont demand entire honesty, being only moderately honest myself. What I want is a businesslike gambler in books, who will give me the market odds when we bet on the success of my latest work. No doubt this is a matter of individual taste. _ Some authors like the bland and baldheaded commercial Meecenas who loathes a degraded com- mercialism ; tenders a helping hand to the young ; and is happy if he can give an impulse to the march of humanity. I can only say that these benefactors do not seem to get on with me. They are too sensitive, too thinskinned, too unpractical forme. The moment they discover that I am a capable man of business they retreat, chilled and disillusioned. Not long ago one of these affec- tionate friends of struggling authors, representing a first-class American firm, proposed to bind me to him for life, not by the ties of reciprocal esteem, 307 but by legal contract. Naturally I said, “Sup- pose you go mad! Suppose you take to drink! Suppose you make a mess of my business!” The wounded dignity and forgiving sweetness with which he retired, remarking that it would be better for the permanence of our agreeable rela- tions if we let the matter drop, are among my most cherished recollections. _ I hope I have not conveyed an unfavorable impression of what is—to an author at least— quite a readable, and not an unamiable little book. There are scraps of good sense and even of real as distinguished from merely intended candor in it, mixed up with some frightful nonsense about ‘literary ” books, our penitent being firmly per- suaded, like most publishers, that a really literary book is one in which the word “singularly” occurs in every third line, and in which “I dont know where he went to” is always written ‘“‘ I know not whither he is gone.” But perhaps the best feature of the little book is the testimony it bears between the lines to the continued and urgent need for an Authors’ Society. G. BERNARD SHAW. eg as THE RHYMER’S LEXICON.* — E have much pleasure in extending to Mr. Loring’s ‘“ Rhymer’s Lexicon” a hearty and unqualified welcome. This is a work for which we have been hoping, and looking in vain, for many years, and one whose solid value will be at once apparent to all who rightly understand the need which it is intended to meet. Whilst saying this we are not oblivious of the ridicule usually bestowed upon rhyming diction- aries, and upon those whd are bold enough to assert that they consider them useful. But we have the courage of our opinions, and are fully prepared to be laughed at—by those who have bestowed less consideration upon the questions involved. In the first place, be it remarked, that no one knows who has used a rhyming lexicon and who has not ; and next that the Abbé du Bos was probably not very far wrong when he replied to the satires on Richelet’s “ Dictionnaire des Rhymes,” “ quoiqu’ ils en disent ils ont tous ce livre dans leurs arricre cabinet.” But apart from all that, the serious defence of works of this class is a simple * “The Rhymer’s Lexicon,” compiled and edited by Andrew Loring, with an introduction by George Saints- bury. London: George Routledge and Sons; New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. 1904. 8s. matter. The universal testimony of poets pro- claims the immense assistance to composition afforded by rhyme, howsoever much rhyme may embarrass the tyro and the amateur. It is easy to see that the essence of this assistance lies in the suggestion of the rhymed and rhyming words. But to profit by this suggestion the words must be familiar to the writer. An unfamiliar word will not spring forth spontaneously in the heat of composition, nor one unknown present itself at all. Indeed, few phenomena of versification are more curious than the manner in which certain poets (and those not always poets of small reputation) are held in bondage by their habitual rhymes. Emancipation from such chains cannot be, how- ever, without familiarity with all the terminals, and with all the words that furnish a given termi- nation. And it is, to say the least, difficult to see how this familiarity is to be gained without a study of the various groups of rhyming words. But as soon as these groups are presented, they constitute a rhyming lexicon. No doubt the beginner takes up the book because he needs some mechanical aid that may eke out his own incom- petence. And the poet disregards it, because he is already master of more than the book can furnish. But the most accomplished was also at one time a beginner, and has passed through a stage when valuable assistance would have been afforded him by some analytical conspectus of the various groups of rhyming words. The contempt bestowed upon rhyming lexicons has always appeared to us indistinguishable from contempt of other mechanical aids to the acquisition of knowledge. Virgil and Horace undoubtedly learned Greek, and knew it uncommonly well, without the assistance of an adequate lexicon. But that is hardly a reason why anyone desirous of mastering the language should decline to make use of a dictionary. The difficulties involved in the compilation of an English rhyming lexicon will hardly be appre- ciated by those who have never bestowed any consideration upon the problems involved; the almost insurmountable obstacles in the way of any rational and lucid order, occasioned by the caprices of English orthography, and the hardly easier task of finding the way between the Scylla of inadequacy, and the Charybdis of columns of useless words. It was on the former obstacle—the orthography —that Walker made shipwreck. The imperfec- tions of his work are so familiar that it would be invidious to recall attention to them here. And it is pleasanter to dwell upon points too often over- looked. “The Rhyming Dictionary of the English Language,” a monument of herculean labour and perseverance, is a rough clearing of a jungle of THE AUTHOR. perplexities, which has after all done more than any- thing else to render the rhyming capacities of the language intelligible. And in principle Walker was on the right track. Had the orthography of the language been phonetic he would have produced a work in which every single word would have been presented accompanied by its rhymes of whatsoever kind, strong, weak, single, double, triple, or more, and that in the most conyenient order, and with the clearest definition. But the orthography being hopelessly erratic, “believe,” “conceive” and “weave ””—“few” and “sue” were flung far apart; and the “Index of Perfect Rhymes,” which stands at the end of the book asa kind of appendix, has been naturally left imperfect, seeing that to perfect it would mean to present all the words a second time. But Walker had seen so clearly what many of the needs of a rhyming dictionary are, that to follow him is often safer than to strike out a new line. Walker’s system was the simple one of arranging the words in inverse alphabetical order, beginning with the last letter and reading backwards, commenc- ing “a,” “baa,” “ abba,” instead of “a,” “ aaronic,” “aback.” The labour of arrangement must have been immense. But, as the words above mentioned show, the orthography rendered the result, for rhyming purposes, most inadequate. To elaborate other systems, that will bring together all the words that rhyme is neither easy nor impossible. (And any system would probably appear lucid to the man who had bestowed upon it the labour necessary to bring it to perfection.) But it is absolutely impossible to invent a system against which well-founded charges of confusedness cannot be brought. The critic who desires to make merry over an English Rhyming Dictionary shall always have as wide a field for his sarcasm as his heart can desire—that is the destructive critic. The critic who would propose something that shall ameliorate the book will probably discover that his suggestions, if carried into execution, would, whilst they remedied certain very patent imperfec- tions, simultaneously produce an ample crop of new inconveniences, and those possibly worse than what they were intended to cure. This is perhaps the reason why so long a time has elapsed without any work having appeared that represents any real advance beyond what had been done by Walker. Perhaps one and another enterprising spirit has tried one or another of the few rational systems of arrangement possible, and perceiving that to avoid confusion, whether in one way or another was out of the question, has thrown up the task in despair. For at least so far as we know nothing has been attempted that amounts to any more than an enlargement of Walker’s “ Index.” Happily at last Mr. Loring has boldly taken one THE AUTHOR. of the possible systems (and, in our opinion, the actually best of them) and has resolutely carried it through. We doubt whether the author himself realises how great a work he has accomplished. For in a task of this kind, ‘“‘ I] n’y a que le premier pas qui cotite.” When once the onerous enterprise of getting the mass of words into a certain order has been accomplished, subsequent amplification and elaboration are easy: and we wish Mr. Loring many future editions. The system adopted is a classification of the rhymes in alphabetical order, but in groups under the characteristic vowel, a, 4; e,%; etc. Mr. Loring distinguishes thus fourteen vowel sounds (explaining what he has done with the rarer additional ones), and then in the three parts of his work presents the single (oxytone), double or feminine (paroxytone), and_ treble (proparoxytone) rhymes belonging to each of the fourteen groups. It will be seen at once how far he has gone in advance of any previous compiler, if only in dealing with the double and triple rhymes. With the characteristic vowel for guide, to find any word is an easy task. In fact the problem of discovering the requisite word (one of the difficulties of any lexicon in which the words are arranged in classes) is completely solved. And the word being found, all the others that rhyme with it are in immediate juxtaposition. The words are ranged in columns, an assistance to the eye of the very greatest value. In collecting words Mr. Loring has spread out his net somewhat widely, but we think that here also he has been well advised. The lyric poet will no doubt find much that he will justly consider rubbish. If necessary he has only to draw his pen across what he considers useless. But a rhyming lexicon must be for all, and must cater as well for the needs of the satirist and the comic versifier, as for those of the troubadour and the tragedian. In venturing to make a few suggestions, we feel that the author has possibly already considered the points which we shall mention, and has arrived at a conclusion different from our own. If so, we would yet plead for a reconsideration of one or two particulars in which it seems to us that the author might in a future edition add to the value of his work. We think that different words that happen to be identical in form should be differen- tiated. Thus, for example, we find “lay ” standing alone to represent “to lay,” “he lay,” “lay” (a song), “lay” (direction), and “lay” (adjective, belonging to the laity). That all these furnish but one rhyme is true. But does the one group of letters, “lay,” sufficiently suggest all the words ? We doubt it. Inside each group the words are arranged in the ordinary alphabetical order, beginning with the first letter. This certainly 309 renders addition easy. But it puts verbs and their compounds far apart, and does not keep identical terminations (which do not rhyme) together. Would not Walker’s inverse order have remedied both these things? ‘Taking a small group, the two arrangements work out thus :— Loring’s System. Walker’s System. asp gasp hasp clasp | enclasp unclasp | rasp grasp engrasp asp clasp enclasp engrasp gasp grasp hasp rasp unclasp Here Walker’s system immediately shows that though there are nine words there are only five rhymes, it also sets side by side verbs and their compounds. When the group is large and the orthography erratic there is certainly considerable difficulty involved in arranging the words in Walker’s inverted order, but we believe that it is the consonant preceding the rhyme and not the con- sonant commencing the word, that should rule the group. And we wish that the author had not been quite so modest in his preface, and had given us a little more of the results of the conclusions at which he must have arrived on many difficult points whilst engaged in this intricate labour. But with so much to praise and so much for which to be sincerely grateful, we are far from wishing to lay stress upon our own views respect- ing details. Mr. Loring has produced a Rhyming Lexicon immensely in advance of anything of the kind that has hitherto existed in English. We can unhesitatingly recommend his book, and we do recommend a serious study of it. It is a work that should be in the hands of. everyone who desires to have a clear apprehension of the rhyming capacities of the English tongue : that is to say, of everyone who writes or desires to write verse. Unless we are very much mistaken it not only ought to be, but very soon will be in every versifier’s library: for no compendium of English rhyme hitherto published approaches anywhere near the lucidity and comprehensiveness of “ ‘The Rhymer’s Lexicon.” —_——_————__1—__+—__ THE COLLABORATION. ++ — T’ one time, not so very long since, I used A frequently to meet Matheson at the club. He struck me as a pleasant sort of fellow enough, and from exchanging a few remarks about the weather, to which he replied in a less banal 310 manner than common, I had begun to conceive quite a high opinion of his ability. Soon we got to talk freely on subjects of a greater intrinsic interest, such as literature, and he let drop one day, in a casual fashion, the remark that he had read, and admired, my last book. In those days, such a statement meant a good deal to me. I admit that I was pleased with the man, and confirmed in my estimate of his talents. I think it possible now that he had merely read some reviews of it, for I recollect that he displayed a little uneasiness when I referred to one or two incidents in it that I thought might have impressed him favourably. However, at the time no such fancy entered my mind—my temperament is naturally averse trom suspicion—and when, one day, Matheson sug- gested that we should collaborate in a work of fiction, I assented readily. I had always rather liked the idea of collaboration : it seemed to me that a good deal of the preliminary labour of con- struction (to which I have a rooted antipathy) could in this method be settled with a minimum of personal effort. Instead of sitting down to a month’s hard thinking—a process that goes near reducing me to a skeleton—I saw myself talking things over amicably with Matheson, and in a few conversations arranging the whole matter to our mutual satisfaction. Frankly, ideas come to me with a wonderful freedom when I happen to be in the society of a congenial spirit: alone, in the solitude of my study, I am too ready, perhaps, to fall into trains of thought unconnected with the subject in hand. And, besides, Matheson was in- experienced in writing: it would be my part to revise the text and throw it into literary form ; surely it was only natural to suppose that he would cheerfully undertake the task of supplying raw material for the plot. I will do Matheson the justice to allow that he saw this as soon as I represented it to him. He was quite humble, and expressed himself as only too delighted to take any part of the work that I might suggest. I confess that I was pleased at the way in which he spoke of the honour of being asso- ciated with me, for mine was never one of those hard-headed, matter-of-fact natures that profess a distaste for flattery. And certainly Matheson had a facility in devising unusual incidents. We dis- cussed our plot almost daily for about a week— generally in the billiard room, which was not being much used at that time—and I have seldom en- joyed a week more thoroughly. Our meetings were always hilarious, for Matheson’s extraordinary schemes had their comical side, and at the same time, even while laughing over some preposterous suggestion of his, we had the pleasing sensation of being at work upon something definite. I dislike above all things feeling that I am wasting my time. TAE AUTHOR. At last, however, everything was atranged, and it was decided that we should begin work imme- diately on the actual writing. Hitherto I have always shrunk from sitting down to a full-blown novel: the length of the task before me has a _ terrifying effect, and I can never work with convic- tion until I see the end in sight. Consequently the few attempts I have made at novel-writing have generally ended abruptly: I have gone on until I was tired of my puppets, and then dropped them, with the result of producing an amorphous tale, not long enough for a novel and too long for a short story. But, with a collaborator, I flattered myself things would be much easier, and especially if we arranged to write alternate chapters. A single chapter at a time I could manage as well as any novelist living : it was the deadening thought of having to continue indefinitely that paralyzed me when working alone. It was settled then that Matheson should send the initial chapter on to me as soon as he could get it done, and that I should reply, so to speak, with number two. It bade fair to be as easy a game as writing letters: we ought, at least, to do two chapters a week by this method without feeling it ; and I saw the whole thing com- pleted, in my mind’s eye, in something less than four months. I will concede, if you like, that I took my part of the work easily enough. Matheson was the younger man of the two, and the plot was his own —a double reason why he should work it out in his own manner. Besides, incident has never been my strong point ; I was always best—so my friends told me—at digression. I saw an opportunity here to brighten my collaborator’s steady, plodding style of narration with alternate chapters on things in general. Of course, I utilised his characters. Some of them I elaborated considerably, infusing life and vigour into their somewhat wooden limbs, differentiating them—they were all rather alike at starting—with a thousand quaint touches and deli- cate sidelights. As time went on, I got quite interested in the book, but I noticed that Matheson grew more and more reserved in his manner towards me. I see now that this was the result of an uneasy conscience. He was even then consider- ing the dastardly action that has dissolved our friendship. At the time I attributed his gloom to indigestion. The work progressed quickly, but the end did not come quite so readily as might have been expected. In fact, I left it very much to Matheson to develop his climax: I enjoyed my part of the writing very well, and was in no particular hurry to bring it to aconclusion. It rather amused me than otherwise to watch Matheson’s efforts to bring on his closing scene. In consequence of this, the book ran eventually to no inconsiderable length—something ©  THE AUTHOR. like a hundred and fifty thousand words, I should say. However, it was finished at last, and I proposed to Matheson that we should entrust the manuscript to a certain publisher with whom I had had deal- ings before. Matheson seemed doubtful ; he hinted at the necessity of careful revision, and finally went off with the copy (as he said) to weld the whole together more effectually. I saw no more of him for a considerable time. When we did meet, and I tackled him on the subject, he seemed strangely nervous and ill at ease. He hinted vaguely at a want of homogeneity about the book, at the differ- ence between our styles, and so forth. I thought he was suffering from a sense of his own inferiority and endeavoured to console him. “My dear fellow,” I remember saying, “you really write very passable English. Of course, in your part—the narrative part—one does not expect to find that style which is proper to general reflections. Frankly, I think that your somewhat severe simplicity is an admirable foil to my own more ornamental method.” And I went on explaining my meaning to him at some length, until he seemed satisfied. This was just before my summer holiday. We went abroad, and circum- stances compelled me to remain away from town the best part of a year. I wrote occasionally to Matheson, offering suggestions, but received no reply. The man had not the courage to tell me what he was about to do. It was not until I returned to the club that I discovered the extent of his villainy. A parcel was awaiting me, addressed in his handwriting. I opened it, half expecting to find the first proofs of our joint effort. It con- tained, instead, the manuscript of my own chapters, and a short letter. Some friend, said Matheson, had advised him that the book, as it stood, was in reality two books—a story and a collection of essays founded upon the story. A publisher had offered him a certain sum for the story part, and he had closed with the offer. Perhaps I might like to do the same with my essays ! Matheson’s book has not yet appeared, but I live in hope that I may get it for review. He has left the club. E. H. Lacon Watson. —_—_—_—__—_—_—___¢—______ CORRESPONDENCE. 9 THe PRINCIPLES OF COPYRIGHT. Sir,—The recent action of the music-publishers having raised certain issues in connection with copyright, in respect of which they ask for pro- tective legislation (after drawing attention to their “rights” by what looks very like an abuse of 311 power), perhaps you will kindly allow me to exhibit the matter in a light somewhat drier than is usual in the pages of newspapers. 1. Copyright, being a monopoly, is, as such, properly subject to regulation by law for the public benefit. It is not for the public benefit that worthy authors should be discouraged ; nor is it for the benefit of authors that the public should be discouraged. 2. Copyright differs from patent-right in being self-conferred, in undergoing no test, and in the length of time it endures. It resembles patent- right in being valuable according to its suitability to the public requirements. ; 3. Copyright has been declared (by an eminent novelist) to be a ‘‘natural” right. But if a book fall flat, so that booksellers will not give it place on their shelves, of what value is the copyright ? Landor’s “ Pentameron” was such a book. And from this we see that the value of copyright depends on public opinion. 4, A book published to sell at (say) 4s. 6d. may be desired by members of the public who can only afford 1s. Nevertheless, the publisher will, in most cases, continue to maintain the higher price (on which his proportion of profit is much greater), because he fears that many who now pay 4s. 6d. would otherwise pay ls., and that the extra sales at 1s. will not make up the difference lost. That the well-to-do purchaser of the cheap edition might buy some three or four other books would not console the publisher of the favourite one. Look- ing a little further, we see that publishing would be somewhat more hazardous if cheap editions were a matter of course in certain cases, because the publisher’s judgment would have to he exer- cised as to which should be published ab inito at a low price, and which not. Obviously, books of a less finished or rough and ready diction should only properly be sold at popular prices; then competing, greatly to the public advantage, with the deleterious penny “novelette.”” As matters stand, the producers of the inferior kinds of litera- ture proper have a great advantage in respect of pecuniary profit, for those members of the public who are fond of such will buy even at the higher price. In fact, the price should be according to the quality. 5. Up to the present the tendency of all copy- right legislation has been to favour the inferior author unduly (and therefore, to a much greater extent, the publisher), and the reluctance of the Legislature has been caused by their not seeing their way quite clearly. The correct principles seem to be: (a) That so long as a work remains in manu- script it is private property, but as soon as it is published it becomes also public property and 312 subject to the demands of the public, so far as it is worth anyone’s while to supply them. On the other hand, an author’s name or pseudonym is always his private property, and cannot properly be affixed to any publication without his consent. Other infringements of the author’s (common- law ?) rights are, to affix another name, pseudonym or initials to his work, and to publish under the same title a different work or defective copy. (6) Printed or other copies are the private pro- perty of either printer or purchaser, and it would seem that the wisdom of Parliament was seriously misled when it authorised the seizure and destruc- tion of such copies. (c) In equity, any one may print and offer to the public at any price he thinks proper any number of copies of a publication not bearing the author’s name or pseudonym ; but he must be prepared to prove that he sells them at a profit on the cost of production, without advertisements. (d@) The use of the author’s name or pseudonym should be a legal right on prepayment to the author or his assignees of a percentage (fixed by law) on the selling price of the number printed. (e) Printers should be prohibited from printing works bearing an author’s name, unless authorised by his counter-signature of the order, the genuine- ness of which they should be bound to ascertain. They should also be obliged to furnish exact quan- tities and descriptions to the author, on taking the work in hand. (f) It should be forbidden to offer for sale any copy bearing the author’s name unless the same also bear his private mark or monogram. He must also have the right to inspect the printer’s books. The result of an Act on these lines would be the solution of the American and Colonial diffi- culty ; the stoppage of “ piracy” (for the public would be very shy of buying or using nameless copies); and generally to place publishing on a footing precisely similar to the “ dry-goods” and other businesses. Authors need be under no apprehension as to not getting their works published. Printers would be responsible for the proper filling up of the title-page of works published without an author’s name. Publishers on their side would still have the advantage of priority and of those very numerous works which the libraries take, but which never become popular enough for cheap editions. In fact, the cheap edition from the beginning would only be issued on the strength of the judgment of an outsider, who might very possibly “ burn his fingers.” Short stories, articles and serials would be protected by (a). Such seems to be the correct basis for final copy- right legislation. Composers of course have, in addition, the advantage of performing rights, for THE AUTHOR. which, however, they will not find it to their interest to charge too highly. I an, Sir, yours faithfully (an old friend in fact), _Pro Bono Pusuico. + Tue following letter has been sent us with reference to a statement made by the author of thé article in our last issue, “A New Market for English Books and Editions ” :— “Why have you not mentioned “ Watkin’s English Bookshop,” Bolshaya Mosskaya, St. Peters- burg? It has been a flourishing and almost indispensable institution the twenty-five years I have known St. Petersburg, and probably much longer. Also, as one who has had actual experience of advertising in Russia, I found the returns from the Novoe Vremye and the Niva better than from any, or all, the publications you name.” We have much pleasure in printing the reply from the writer of the article :— “ Notwithstanding the fact that I have been in St. Petersburg very often, although while acting as correspondent I chiefly lived in South Russia or Warsaw, I am sorry to say I did not know of the existence of an English bookshop in St. Petersburg. The prices I quoted were from the catalogues of Messrs. M. O. Wolf, Ltd., similar to those of Kimmel in Riga, and Rousseau in Odessa. Idzikowski in Kief. All the Warsaw booksellers, issue the same catalogue, only with different headings. “As to returns from advertisements, as I am not myself in the trade, I cannot give facts from personal knowledge. The sale of the Novoe Vremya is not so large as it was, owing to the competition of liberal papers, especially the Russ, founded by the son of the publisher of the above named paper. Novy Mir, being the Russian Graphic, may be found in all aristocratic houses, that is among the class where buyers of English books are found. The Miva, which has perhaps the largest sale among Russian weeklies, is not suitable, as I think, for such an advertisement. It is read principally by the middle class and minor Government officials, who are not likely to buy English books ; but it might be a good advertising medium for the general trade. St. Pelersburgskye Vedomosty is read by the Tsar and the Russian upper class. All other papers are Polish, and represent 87,000 of the best Polish reading public which never reads either of the two Russian papers mentioned above. “ Advertisements of French publications appear in all the papers I have mentioned.” 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. 15 Issue 10 (July 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 15 Issue 10 (July 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-07-01-The-Author-15-10 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/509/1905-10-01-The-Author-16-1.pdf 6fef1330543ec5bc8bc0a044c84e89be PDF Text Text ���������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-10-01 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages Page range in volume 1–32 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19051001 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. You. XVI.—No. 1. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ____ + > —__ NOTICES. —_-—+—_ OR the opinions expressed in papers that are K signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tux Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7’he Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. See List of Members. Tux List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. RUS GS SEE The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. Vou. XVI. OcroBER ist, 1908. [PRIcE SIXPENCE. This is a statement of the actual stock ; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consols 24 %....cceceeccsreeceeceecesenees £1000 0 0 Thocalk Lioans..<...-.--..--.-:--+-- oe 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............++- 291 19 11 War Loam .:..-.-.-<...--.) sess 201.9 8 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture SlOCK <.2..--5..0. eee eee ee 250 0 0 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4% Certificates . 200 0 90 Pothl 3.i.055e oe. £2,448 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £ Ss. a, Jan. 12, Anonymous : 0 2 6 June 16, Teignmouth-Shore, the Rev. Canon. : : : : ol 120 July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon. the Lord . . : ‘ ° Donations, 1905. Middlemas, Miss Jean Bolton, Miss Anna 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 27, Bencke, Albert . 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. Mar. 28, Kirmse, Mrs. April19, Hornung, EH. W. . May 7, Wynne, C. Whitworth May 16, Alsing, Mrs. J. E. May 17, Anonymous . : June 6, Drummond, Hamilton July 28, Potter, the Rev. J. Hasluck ——___—_—_—<>—_+______—_ COMMITTEE NOTES. ee HE last meeting of the committee before the vacation was held on Monday, July 10th, at 4 p.m. After the minutes had been signed, the election of members was proceeded with. Nine members and ten associates were admitted to Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan a Coo.o Cc oOo 0 i mW ONCOCOCOCOCOUAnNe 2 bo OWwkFournorocococe 0 0 0 0 2 THE AUTHOR. the lists of the society, bringing the total elections for the current year up to 137. The committee then voted to the chairman the usual powers to act in cases of emergency during the vacation. Further evidence was placed before the com- mittee on a matter that had been discussed at a previous meeting—the general lien claimed by printers and binders—and counsel’s opinion, which the Association of Wholesale Stationers had sub- mitted for their perusal, was carefully considered. With all the evidence before them the committee did not see that they would be justified in taking up the case. A curious contract which had been made be- tween a representative of Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co., in Melbourne, backed with the authority of the London house and a member of the society, together with the correspondence, was read by the secretary, and the committee decided to print a full statement of the case in Zhe Author. In June the committee decided to take coun- sel’s opinion on some difficult points of law con- nected with the publication of an author’s work and an author's name. ‘This opinion was read. As it was distinctly adverse to the claims of the author, the committee, agreeing with counsel’s opinion, regretted that they were unable to take action on behalf of the author. The secretary of the George Crabbe Celebration had expressed a wish in a letter laid before the committee that the society should be formally represented. The celebration would be held at Aldeburgh in September. The committee decided to ask Mr. Austin Dobson and Mr. Edward Clodd to attend as representatives of the society. Mr. Clodd has consented to act, but Mr. Austin Dobson, owing to other engagements, will be unable to attend. There were some other matters either of small importance or of such a nature as to render it inadvisable to publish the details at the present time. Two county court cases were sanctioned by the chairman during the month of June, subject to the favourable opinion of the society’s solicitors, and to their being able to obtain satis- factory evidence in support of the author’s claim. —1 <9 Cases. : SINCE the publication of The Author in July there have been twenty cases in the secretary’s hands. This is below the average, but during the vacation months the business at the office and in the literary world is quiet. There have been two cases for infringement of copyright. The first case the society was unable to take up owing to the fact that the advice of the solicitors was against action. The second case was in Germany, where a publisher had produced a translation of a story by one of the members of the society without his sanction or contract, and bound it up with other stories not written by the member. The statement on the binding was such as would lead the public to sup- pose that the whole work was from the pen of the member whose rights had been infringed. This case was of some importance, as it occurred out of England, and there have been recently through the society’s office other cases in foreign coun- tries. In answer to an application made by the secretary the publisher made an offer of a money payment, which the author had no desire to accept ; but on the author demanding from the publisher an ample apology and a promise that the volume be re-bound in a manner which should not convey a false impression to the public, the apology was promptly made and the promise given. This termi- nation is very satisfactory from every point of view, for the wider the influence of the society extends the greater will be the protection which it can afford to its members. There have been twelve cases—almost half the total number—for money due and unpaid. Of these nine have been successful, the remaining three have failed owing to the bankruptcy of the papers. Two of the claims were against Vanity Fair, which was in bankruptcy, but which has now been taken over by Messrs. Harmsworth. Two claims for accounts were placed in the secretary’s hands. The accounts have been rendered, and the money paid. There was one case for money and accounts under a bankruptcy in the United States. The progress of bankruptcy proceedings appears to be as lengthy in the States as in England, and although the liquidation has been proceeding for some time, the final settlement has not yet been completed. Accounts have been rendered, but no money has been paid. There have been three cases for the return of MSS. In two the applica- tion of the secretary has been successful, and it is hoped that a satisfactory result may be obtained in the third case also, although it has not yet ter- minated. One dispute which has occurred with regard to an agreement, is still in the course of negotiation. The total result therefore may be reckoned satis- factory, as the majority of cases have been entirely successful. The action takenin the above matters was taken by the secretary, who conducted the negotiations, but in three other disputes it has been necessary to place the conduct in the hands of the society’s lawyers. One, relating to an infringement of copyright, is still in course of settlement ; one for money and accounts has been unfortunately  THE AUTHOR. terminated by the bankruptcy of the defendant. One most important case has been taken in the French courts. The committee found it necessary to take counsel’s opinion in the first instance, from a French lawyer, and finally, counsel’s opinion, being in favour of action, the matter was placed in the hands of a French solicitor. The con- nection between the English Society of Authors and the Société des Gens de Lettres has enabled the committee to carry the matter through with expedition, and it is to be hoped in the end with a satisfactory result. ‘This connection enabled the English society to place the case in the hands of the lawyers of the French society, who, most conversant with the French copyright law, are, therefore, the most fitted to take action on its behalf. July Elections. Basevi, Col. C. E.. 25, Earl’s Court Square, S.W. Davies, Edwin. . 14, Bridge Street, Brecon. Dunsany, The Right Carlton Club. Hon. The Lord : Foster, Miss Bertha The Red House, Bar- Clementia : : ham, Canterbury. Gouldsbury, H. C. . 2, Brompton Square, S.W. The Manor House Col- tishall, near Norwich. Hachblock, Miss Emily. Harvey, Miss Edith M. Huggard, Dr. W. R. H. B. M. Consul, Davos Platz, Switzerland. 8, Mornington Avenue Mansions, West Ken- sington, W. 28, Abingdon Villas, Kensington. 115, Strand W.C. 24, Belsize Park, Hamp- stead, N. W. Kingshurst, Paignton, South Devon. Lee, Miss Elizabeth Lynch, Frances Magdalen Magnus, George G. . McChesney, Miss Dora Greenwell Morrison, E.W. Muir, Ward . Crouch, Boro’ Green, Kent. Murphy, Miss Agnes G. c/o National Bank of Australasia, 123, Bishopsgate Street Within, E.C. Potter, The Rev. Canon J. Hasloch Toynbee Paget, M.A., D, Litt., Oxon. Yeats, W. B. Fiveways, Bucks, 18, Woburn Buildings, Euston Road, N.W. Burnham, BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY, ———+—— (in the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply particulars. ) ARCHITECTURE. STONE GARDENS. With practical Hints on the Paving and Planting of them. By Rose Haiag THOMAS. 143 x 103. Simpkin Marshall. 7s. 6d. n. BIOGRAPHY. MEL. B. SPuRR. His Life, Works, Writings, and Recitations. By H. A. SpurR. 74 x 5. 235 pp. A. Brown. LADY KNIGHT’s LETTERS FROM FRANCE AND ITALY, 1776—1795. Edited by Lapy ExLLiotr DRAkg, and published by A. HUMPHREYS. 10s. n. MICHAEL DE MonTAIGNE. By EDWARD DOWDEN, LL.D. (FRENCH MEN oF LETTERS. Edited by ALEXANDER Jessup. Lirr.p.) 7? x 5. 383 pp. Lippincott. 6s. n. THE LIFE or CHARLES LAMB. Two yols. By E. V. Lucas. 9 x 6. 400 & 429 pp. Methuen. 21s. n. CLASSICAL. THE GEORGICS OF VIRGIL. Translated Verse. By LoRD BURGHCLERE. 88 x 7, 195 pp. Murray. 10s. 6d. n. DRAMA. MOLLENTRAVE ON WoMEN. A Comedy in Three Acts. By ALFRED Surro. 7} x 4$. 86 pp. French. 1s. 6d. n. ECONOMICS. THE PRACTICAL BOOK-KEEPER AND ACCOUNTANTS’ Guipr. By JoHN ScouLLER. 84 x 5}. 217 pp. Simpkin Marshall. 5s. EDUCATIONAL. Tue LitTtLE Book oF HEALTH AND COURTESY. By P. A. BARNETT. For Boys and Girls. 6 x 4. 24 pp. Longmans. 3d. Horace. OpESI., IL, III., IV. (Blackie’s Latin Tests.) Edited by W.H. D.Rouss, Lirr.D. 64 x 44. 125 + 111 pp. Blackie. 8d. each. LittLE Frencu Fork. A First Book in French, for Little Children. With Illustrations. Second Edition into English Second edition. enlarged. Horace Marshall & Son. 9 x 6}. 2s. First Frence Boor. By D. Mackay and F.J. CURTIS. 7k x 4%. 170 pp. Whittaker. 1s. n. FICTION. HuGH RENDAL. By LIONEL PORTMAN. 7} x 5. 304 pp. Alston Rivers. 6s. THE MAID OF THE RIVER. 7% x 51. 419pp. John Long. 6s. A Jay or Iraty. By BERNARD CAPES. 7} x 4. 316 pp. METHUEN. 6s. THE ROMANCE OF LOHENGRIN. Opera. By BERNARD CAPES. 6s. THe CONFLICT OF OWEN PRYTHERCH. By WM. GALLICHAN (“Geoffrey Mortimer ’’). 75 x 43. 300 pp. Edinburgh : Morton. London: Simpkin Marshall. 6s. Fortoune’s Favourite. By KATHERINE TYNAN. 72 x 42. 312 pp. White. 6s. By M. 8S. CAMPBELL PRAED. Founded on Wagner's 8 x 5}. 271 pp. Dean. THE AUTHOR. PLAYING THE KNAVE. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 7} x 438, 317 pp. Laurie. 6s. Mrs. ALLMERE’S ELOPEMENT. 74 x 49. 316 pp. Nash. 6s. THE KrnG’s MESSENGER. By Louis TRAcYy. 7% x 43. 312 pp. White. 6s. THE EXPLOITS OF JO. SALIS. WILLIAM GREENER. 7% x 5. Blackett. 6s. THE MARQUIS OF PUTNEY. By RICHARD MAarsuH. 7% x 5. 309 pp. Methuen. — 6s, THE WHITE LaDy, By MAY CROMMELIN. 7} x 5. 465 pp. John Long. 6s. THE CONQUERING WILL. By SILAS 74 x 5. 324 pp. Warne. 2s. Vivien. By W. B. MAXWELL. 73 x 5. Methuen. 6s. RED 0’ THE FEUD. 342 pp. Werner Laurie. 6s. THE LOST PIBROCH AND OTHER SHEILING STORIES. By NEIL MuNRO. 5th Edition, 74 x 5. 285pp. Black- wood. 3s. 6d. THE PRIDE OF Mrs. BRUNELLE. By ARTHUR H. HOLMES. T. Burleigh. THE FERRYMAN, By HELEN MATHERS. 73 x 5. 309 pp. Methuen. 6s. KNOCK AT A VENTURE. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. 73 x 5. 312 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE QUEEN’Ss MAN. By ELEANOR C. PRICE. 73 x 5. 319 pp. Constable. 6s. A HIGHLAND WEB. By L. H.SouvTar. 7} x 5, Edinburgh ; Morton. 6s. STANDERTON UNDER MARTIAL LAw. By EmILy OLIVIA CAROLIN. 64 x 3%. 171 pp. Drane. 1s. THE PATIENT MAN. By PERCY WHITE. 7} x 5. 312 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE PASSPORT. Methuen. 6s. THE HoUsE BY THE RIVER. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 73 x 5. 309 pp. Unwin. 6s. A SERVANT OF THE PUBLIC. 7? x 43. 362 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE Man. By Bram STOKER. Heinemann. 6s. THE FALL OF THE CARDS. 292 pp. Harper. 6s. A Roya Rascau. Episodes in the Career of Colonel Theophilus St. Clair, K.C.B. By Magor ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. 74 x 4%. 309 pp. Unwin. 6s. A QUAKER Woornc. By Mrs. Frep ReyNoLDS, 73 x 44. 314 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE MAGNETIC GirL. By RICHARD MarsuH. 126 pp. Long. 6d. THE SEVENTH DREAM. By “Riva.” Hurst & Blackett. 3». 6d. THE DANGER OF INNOCENCE. HAMILTON. Greening. 1s, No. 3, THE SQUARE, 124 pp. Long. 6d. STARVECROW Farm. By STANLEY WEYMAN, 345 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE IMPROBABLE IpYLL. By DoroTHEA 73 x 5. 316 pp. Methuen. 6s. A Nine Days’ WonpER. By B. M. Croker. 7 316 pp. Methuen. 6s. A MAKER or History. By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM. 7@ x 5. 315 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. Our JosHUA, RADICAL, OCTOGENARIAN, CELEBRITY, AND Pup-BREEDER, ACCORDING TO ME, HIS WIFE, Edited by THEODORA WILSON WILSON. 64 x 4, 202 pp. Bristol : Arrowsmith. 1s, By CHARLES MARRIOTT. A British Spy. By 296 pp. Hurst & K. Hockine. 527 pp. By HALLIWELL SUTCLIFFE. 74 x 5. 298 pp. By R. Bagot. 72 x 5}. 399 pp. By ANTHONY Hope. 7G x 5, 436 pp. By R. K. WEEKES. 7} x 5. 83 x 5B. 7% x 5. 311 pp. A Flippancy. By Cosmo 4g Popular Edition. 74 x 299 pp. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 83 x 53. 1 x 0. GERARD, xX oOo A MAN AND A Motor anp SUBSEQUENTLY A WIFE. By R. W. BrapsHaw NEEDHAM. Popular Edition. 7; X 5. Clement’s Publishing Co. 6d. n, GARDENING. coe nts i GARDEN DzsIcn. By C. 'HONGER. (Hand- ooks of Practical Gardening). 72 x 51. 90 pp. . 2s. 6d. nét. Le ae CARNATIONS AND Pinks. Edited by E. T. Cook. ( The Country Life” Library.) 91 x 53. 162 pp. Newnes. 3s, 6d. n. HISTORY. YEAR Books oF THE REIGN oF KING EDWARD THE THIRD. Years XVIII. and XIX. Edited and Trans- lated by LUKE OWEN PIKE. 10 x 6}. 616 pp. Wyman. MILITARY. WELLINGTON’S CAMPAIGNS, 1808—1815 ; also Moors’s CAMPAIGN OF CorUNNA, Part IL. 1811—12—13, Banosa to Vittoria, and Invasion of France. By MAJOR-GENERAL C, W. ROBINSON, ©.B. 8} x 53. Rees, Bs. 6d. POETRY. PoErMs. By AUSTIN Dosson (selected). (Dryden Library.) 6x 4. 184 pp. Kegan Paul. 2s. n. DreAM CoME TRUE. By L, Binyon. 28 pp. The Eragny Press. OSRAC, THE SELF SUFFICIENT, By J. M. Stuart Youne. The Heimes Press. 7s. 6d. A NINETEENTH CENTURY IDYLL. & F. Denny, 147, Strand. 7k x 44. By N. ARLING. A. ls. 6d. and 3s. POLITICAL. THE CANADIAN ANNUAL REVIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Fourth year of issue. By J.C. Hopxrns, F.S.S. 9 x 6. 630 pp. Toronto: The Annual Review Publishing Co. London: P. 8. King. 12s. 6d. n. REPRINTS. DIARY AND LETTERS OF MADAME D’ ARBLAY (1778—1840). As Edited by her niece Charlotte Barrett, with Preface and Notes. By Austin Dosson. Insix volumes. Vol. VI. 9 x 5}. 502 pp. Macmillan. 10s. 6d. n. A SIXTEENTH CENTURY ANTHOLOGY. Edited by ARTHUR Symons (Red Letter Library). 6 x 4. 468 pp. Blackie. THE RED LETTER SHAKESPEARE. Ldited by HE. K- CHAMBERS. HENRY THE FIFTH. 61} x 33. 141 pp. Blackie. 1s. 6d. THE LABYRINTH OF THE WORLD AND THE PARADISE OF THE HEART. Edited and Englished by the Counr Lutzow (Temple Classics). 6 xX 4. 366 pp. Dent. ls. 6d. n. THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE. By JUSTIN McCARTHY. (The St. Martin’s Library Fine Paper Edition.) 64 x 44. 600 pp. Chatto & Windus. 2s. n. POEMS OF COLERIDGE. Selected and Arranged with an Introduction and Notes. By ARTHUR SYMONS. 7 x 44. 223 pp. Methuen. 2s. 6d. n. SCIENCE. PRECIOUS STONES CONSIDERED IN THEIR SCIENTIFIC AND ARTISTIC RELATIONS. By A, H. CHURCH, F.R.S. New edition. 73 x 5}. 135 pp. Wyman. 2s. 3d. SPORT. The Method at a Glance. 9 x 6. 716 pp. By G. W. Macmillan, GREAT BATSMEN. BELDAM and C. B. Fry. 21s, n.  THE AUTHOR. By G. W. BELDAM AND Illustrated. 141 pp. Newnes. 3s. 6d, n. 83 x 54. GoLr FAULTS. J. H, TAYLOR. THEOLOGY. THESE SAYINGS OF MINE. A Manual on the Beatitudes for Christian People. By F. G. LAVERACK. 7% x 5. 144 pp. A. Brown. TRAVEL. A SRARCH FOR THE MASKED TAWAREKS. By W. J. Harpine King. 8} x 53. 334 pp. Smith Elder. 6s. THE WorRLD OF To-pAy. A Survey of the Lands and Peoples of the Globe as Seen in Travel and Commerce. By A. R. Hope MONCRIEFF. Vol. Il. 102: 7: 266 pp. The Gresham Publishing Co. 8s. n. A WANDERER IN Houianp. By HE. V. Lucas. 309 pp. Methuen. 6s. 7% Xx 5. —————_e—<>—____—_ LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. R. ARTHUR W. A BECKETT, who was VI elected for the fifth time hon. treasurer of the Institute of Journalists at Bourne- mouth, is engaged upon “a book of recent recol- lections” to be called ‘*‘ Ihe First T'wentieth of the Twentieth Century.” Messrs. Brown, Langham & Co. published early last month, Mr. E. H. Lacon Watson’s new volume, entitled “Reflections of a Householder.” The price of the work—a limited edition of which, numbered and signed by the author, and printed on hand-made paper, has also been published—is 3s. 6d. “ Researches in Sinai.” By Prof. W. Flinders Petrie, gives an account of the recent expedition with a large working party, which lived in the desert excavating for some months. The oldest Egyptian sculptures known are reproduced, the geology and ancient ruins are described, the only temple known for Semitic worship was fully explored and is illustrated in detail, the conditions of the Exodus are discussed with a new view of the Israelite census, and the life of the Bedouin of Sinai and the Egyptian desert is noticed. The book,which is published by Mr. John Murray, contains about two hundred illustrations. Mr. J. W. Arrowsmith published in August a book of character and political sketches (1s), entitled “Our Joshua, Radical, Octogenarian. Celebrity and Pup-breeder. According to his wife, and edited by Theodora Wilson Wilson.” Mr. G. H. Grierson has been awarded the “ Prix Volney” by the Institut de France for the Linguistic Survey of India, and for his last work, “The Languages of India.” The Société Asiatique of Paris has simultancously elected him a “ Membre 5 months member ago Mr. Associé Etranger.” A few of the Grierson was elected an hon. American Oriental Society. Col. R. Elias’ work “ The Tendency of Religion ” (Chapman and Hall) shows the gradual develop- inent of mutual understanding with regard to “religion ” among thinking men of all nations, and the consequent convergence of the various forms of religion, and insistence on their good and essential parts only—hence the very sure, though slow, decay of myths, narrow dogma, and exclusive creeds. “The Spring’s Approach, and Other Thoughts of Life” is the title of a collection of poems by Charles Cowen. The author’s aim has been, by sudden changes and contrasts of style, to minimise monotony and weariness in the reading as far as possible. Messrs. Dawbarn and Ward have recently pub- lished, at the price of 1s, nett, a handbook entitled ’ “Photography for the Press.” Its purport is to instruct the aspirant as to the best markets for his work, and the best means of obtaining access to those markets. It contains, in addition, infor- mation concerning the markets for picture postcard business. «Two Friends of Old England, being Mirabeau and Gambetta, and J. Bonhomme, in a nutshell, by ‘Saxon Norman’ (Arthur Pavitt and Baron de Béville),” is the title of a work published by Mr. Effingham Wilson at the price of 2s. 6d. The history of the entente cordiale is the main purpose of the authors. It is traced back to Mirabeau’s journey to London (1783—1784) where he sojourned under the roof of Sir Gilbert Elliott, the future Lord Minto. The letter of the great orator and statesman to Wilberforce, written in 1790, is given, also the speech of Leon Gambetta, of July, 1882, bidding his countrymen never to break the English alliance. The book is prefaced by Richard Harris, K.C., the editor of the reminiscences of Lord Brampton. The stirring events in Odessa should create a special interest in two books published not long ago, the scenes of action in both being in this Russian port. ‘They are from the pen of Mr. Jaakoff Prelooker, who was head-master of a Government school in Odessa, and bear the titles of ‘ Rabbi Shalom on the Shores of the Black Sea” (Simpkin, Marshall) and ‘“ Under the Czar and Queen Victoria: Tne Experience of a Russian Reformer” (James Nisbet). The author tells of a reform movement originated by himself in Odessa, and sheds many side-lights on local life, police, relations between Christians and Jews, etc. Both books are fully illustrated, the frontispiece of “Rabbi Shalom on the Black Sea” being a striking view of Odessa Harbour, showing the long elevated 1 Raa ALLTEL SAS I I SS RTE A RSTO 4 THE AUTHOR. PLAYING THE KNAVE. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 7} x 432. 317 pp. Laurie. 6s. Mrs. ALLMERE’S ELOPEMENT. 74 x 43. 316 pp. Nash. 6s. THE Kine’s MESSENGER. By Louis TRAcy. 312 pp. White. 6s. THE EXPLOITS OF JO. SALIS. WILLIAM GREENER. 7} X 5. Blackett. 6s. THE Marquis OF PUTNEY. By RiIcHARD MARSH. 72 x 5. 309 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE WHITE Lapy. By MAY CROMMELIN. 7} x 5. 465 pp. John Long. 6s. THE CONQUERING WILL. By Sinas K. 74 x 5. 324 pp. Warne. 2s. Vivien. By W. B. MAXWELL. 7} x 5, Methuen. 6s. RED 0’ THE FEUD. 342 pp. Werner Laurie. 6s. THE Lost PIBROCH AND OTHER SHEILING STORIES. By NEIL Munro. 5th Edition. 74 x 5. 285pp. Black- wood. 3s. 6d. THE PRIDE OF Mrs, BRUNELLE, By ARTHUR H. HOLMEs. T. Burleigh. THE FERRYMAN, By HELEN MATHERS. 73 x 5. 309 pp. Methuen. 6s. KNOCK AT A VENTURE. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. 312 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE QUEEN’S Man. By ELEANOR C, PRICE. 319 pp. Constable. 6s. A HIGHLAND WEB. By L. H.Sourar. 73 x 5. Edinburgh : Morton. 6s. STANDERTON UNDER MARTIAL LAw. By Eminy OLIvIA CAROLIN. 6} x 32. 171 pp. Drane. 1s. THE PATIENT MAN. By PERCY WHITE. 73 x 5. Methuen. 6s. THE PASSPORT. Methuen. 6s, THE HOUSE BY THE RIVER. 7% xX 5. 309 pp. A SERVANT OF 7? x 43. 362 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE MAN. By BRAM STOKER. Heinemann. 6s. THE FALL OF THE CARDS. 292 pp. Harper. 6s. A Roya Rascau. Episodes in the Career of Colonel Theophilus St. Clair, K.C.B. By Magor ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. 74 x 4%. 309 pp. Unwin. 6s. A QUAKER Wooing. By Mrs. FRED REYNOLDS. 73 x 43. 314 pp. Hutchinson. 6s, THE MAGNETIC GirL. By RICHARD MarsH. 126 pp. Long. 6d. THE SEVENTH DREAM. By “ RiTA.” Hurst & Blackett. 3». 6d. THE DANGER OF INNOCENCE. HAMILTON. Greening. ls. No. 3, THE SQUARE. 124 pp. Long. 6d. STARVECROW Farm. By STANLEY WEYMAN. 345 pp. Hutchinson. 6s, THE IMPROBABLE IDyLL. By DoRoTHEA 73 x 5. 316 pp. Methuen. 6s. A NINE Days’ WonpER. By B. M. CRoKER. 316 pp. Methuen. 6s. A Maker or History. By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM. 72 x 5. 315 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. Ovr JosHuA, RADICAL, OCTOGENARIAN, CELEBRITY, AND PUp-BREEDER, ACCORDING TO ME, HIS WIFE. Edited by THEODORA WILSON WILSON. 64 x 4, 202 pp. Bristol : Arrowsmith. 1s, By CHARLES MARRIOTT. 7% x 43. A British Spy. By 296 pp. Hurst & HOCKING. 527 pp. By HALLIWELL SUTCLIFFE. 74 x 5. 2x 5. 7% xX 5. 298 pp. 312 pp. By R. Bagot. 72 x 5}. 399 pp. By FLORENCE WARDEN. Unwin. 6s. THE PUBLIC. By ANTHONY HoPE, 72 x «5, 436 pp. By R. K. WEEKES. 7} x 5. 8B Xx 5g. 7? x 5. 311 pp. A Flippaney. By Cosmo Popular Edition. 74 x 43. 299 pp. By FLORENCE WARDEN, 83 x 53. 73 5 g x by GERARD. 7% x 5. A MAN AND A MorTor Anp SUBSEQUENTLY A WIFE. By R. W. BrapsHAW NEEDHAM. Popular Edition. 7% X 5. Clement’s Publishing Co. 6d. n. GARDENING. THE Book OF GARDEN DEsiGn. By C. THONGER. (Hand- books of Practical Gardening). 72 x 54. 90 pp. Lane. 2s. 6d. nét. ; CARNATIONS AND PINKS. Edited by E. T. Coox. (“ The oe Life” Library.) 94 x 53. 162 pp. Newnes. 3s. 6d. n. HISTORY. YEAR BOOKS OF THE REIGN OF KING EDWARD THE THIRD. Years XVIII. and XIX. Edited and Trans- lated by LUKE OWEN PIKE. 10 x 64. 616 pp. Wyman. MILITARY. WELLINGTON’S CAMPAIGNS, 1808—1815; also MoorrE’s CAMPAIGN OF CORUNNA, Part II., 1811—12—13. Banosa to Vittoria, and Invasion of France. By Hip aes ogee C. W. ROBINSON, C.B. 83 x 53. Rees. 3s. 6d. POETRY. Poems. By AusTIN Dogson (selected). (Dryden Library.) 6x 4. 184 pp. Kegan Paul. 2s. n. DREAM COME TRUE. By L, Bryyon. The Eragny Press. OSRAC, THE SELF SUFFICIENT, By J. M. Stuart Youne. The Heimes Press. 7s. 6d. A NINETEENTH CENTURY IDYLL. & F. Denny, 147, Strand. 74 x 43. 28 pp. By N. ARLING. A. 1s. 6d. and 3s. POLITICAL. THE CANADIAN ANNUAL REVIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Fourth year of issue. By J. C. Hopxrys, F.S.S. 9 x 6. 630 pp. Toronto: The Annual Review Publishing Co. London: P.8. King. 12s. 6d. n. REPRINTS. DIARY AND LETTERS OF MADAME D' ARBLAY (1778—1840). As Edited by her niece Charlotte Barrett, with Preface and Notes. By AusTIN Dosson. In six volumes. Vol. VI. 9 x 53. 502 pp. Macmillan. 10s. 6d. n. A SIXTEENTH CENTURY ANTHOLOGY. Edited by ARTHUR Symons (Red Letter Library), 6 x 4. 468 pp. Blackie. THE RED LETTER SHAKESPEARE. Edited by E. K- CHAMBERS. HENRY THE FIFTH. 64 x 33. 141 pp. Blackie. 1s. 6d. THE LABYRINTH OF THE WORLD AND THE PARADISE OF THE HEART. Edited and Englished by the Counr Lurzow (Temple Classics). 6 x 4. 366 pp. Dent. ls. 6d, n. THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE. By JusTIN McCarTHY. (The St. Martin’s Library Fine Paper Edition.) 6} x 44. 600 pp. Chatto & Windus. 2s. n. POEMS OF COLERIDGE. Selected and Arranged with an Introduction and Notes. By ARTHUR SYMONS. 7 x 44. 223 pp. Methuen. 2s. 6d. n. SCIENCE. PRECIOUS STONES CONSIDERED IN THEIR SCIENTIFIC AND ARTISTIC RELATIONS. By A. H. CHURCH, F.R.S. New edition. 7} x 51. 135 pp. Wyman. 2s. 3d. SPORT, The Method at a Glance. 9 x 6. 716 pp. By G. W. Macmillan. GREAT BATSMEN. BELDAM and C. B. Fry. 21s. n,  Illustrated. By G. W. BELDAM AND FAULTS. 3s. 6d. n. GOLF J.H. Tayutor. 8% x 53. 141 pp. Newnes. THEOLOGY. THESE SAYINGS OF MINE. A Manual on the Beatitudes for Christian People. By F. G. LAVERACK. 7% Xx 5. 144 pp. A. Brown. TRAVEL. A SRARCH FOR THE MASKED TAWAREKS. By W. J. Harpine King. 84 x 5}. 334 pp. Smith Elder. 6s. THe WoRLD or To-pay. A Survey of the Lands and Peoples of the Globe as Seen in Travel and Commerce. 102 X 7. By A. R. Hope MONCRIEFF. Vol. If. 266 pp. The Gresham Publishing Co. 8s. n. : A WANDERER IN HoLuAND. By E. V. LUCAS. 72 xX 5. 309 pp. Methuen. 6s. a LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. —1—<—+— R. ARTHUR W. A BECKETT, who was I elected for the fifth time hon. treasurer of the Institute of Journalists at Bourne- mouth, is engaged upon “a book of recent recol- lections” to be called “ Ihe First T'wentieth of the Twentieth Century.” Messrs. Brown, Langham & Co. published early last month, Mr. E. H. Lacon Watson’s new volume, entitled “Reflections of a Householder.” The price of the work—a limited edition of which, numbered and signed by the author, and printed on hand-made paper, has also been published—is 3s. 6d. “Researches in Sinai.” By Prof. W. Flinders Petrie, gives an account of the recent expedition with a large working party, which lived in the desert excavating for some months. The oldest Egyptian sculptures known are reproduced, the geology and ancient ruins are described, the only temple known for Semitic worship was fully explored and is illustrated in detail, the conditions of the Exodus are discussed with a new view of the Israelite census, and the life of the Bedouin of Sinai and the Egyptian desert is noticed. The book,which is published by Mr. John Murray, contains about two hundred illustrations. Mr. J. W. Arrowsmith published in August a book of character and political sketches (1s), entitled “Our Joshua, Radical, Octogenarian. Celebrity and Pup-breeder. According to his wife, and edited by Theodora Wilson Wilson.” Mr. G. H. Grierson has been awarded the “ Prix Volney’”? by the Institut de France for the Linguistic Survey of India, and for his last work, “The Languages of India.” The Société Asiatique of Paris has simultaneously elected him a “ Membre THE AUTHOR. 5 months member ago Mr. Associé Etranger.” A few of the frierson was elected an hon. American Oriental Society. Col. R. Elias’ work “ The Tendency of Religion ” (Chapman and Hall) shows the eradual develop- ment of mutual understanding with regard to “religion ” among thinking men of all nations, and the consequent convergence of the various forms of religion, and insistence on their good and essential parts only—hence the very sure, though slow, decay of myths, narrow dogma, and exclusive creeds. “The Spring’s Approach, and Other Thoughts of Life” is the title of a collection of poems by Charles Cowen. The author’s aim has been, by sudden changes and contrasts of style, to minimise monotony and weariness in the reading as far as possible. Messrs. Dawbarn and Ward have recently pub- lished, at the price of 1s. nett, a handbook entitled ’ “Photography for the Press.” Its purport is to instruct the aspirant as to the best markets for his work, and the best means of obtaining access to those markets. It contains, in addition, infor- mation concerning the markets for picture postcard business. “Two Friends of Old England, being Mirabeau and Gambetta, and J. Bonhomme, in a nutshell, by ‘Saxon Norman’ (Arthur Pavitt and Baron de Béville),” is the title of a work published by Mr. Effingham Wilson at the price of 2s. 6d. Phe history of the entente cordiale is the main purpose of the authors. It is traced back to Mirabeau’s journey to London (1783—1784) where he sojourned under the roof of Sir Gilbert Elliott, the future Lord Minto. The letter of the great orator and statesman to Wilberforce, written in 1790, is given, also the speech of Leon Gambetta, of July, 1882, bidding his countrymen never to break the English alliance. The book is prefaced by Richard Harris, K.C., the editor of the reminiscences of Lord Brampton. The stirring events in Odessa should create a special interest in two books published not long ago, the scenes of action in both being in this Russian port. ‘They are from the pen of Mr. Jaakoff Prelooker, who was _ head-master of a Government school in Odessa, and bear the titles of ‘* Rabbi Shalom on the Shores of the Black Sea” (Simpkin, Marshall) and “Under the Ozar and Queen Victoria: Tne Experience of a Russian Reformer” (James Nisbet). The author tells of a reform movement originated by himself in Odessa, and sheds many side-lights on local life, police, relations between Christians and Jews, etc. Both books are fully illustrated, the frontispiece of “Rabbi Shalom on the Black Sea”’ being a striking view of Odessa Harbour, showing the long elevated 6 THE AUTHOR. railway bridge and other buildings burned during the riots. The 15th September was the seventy-sixth birth- day of a very great man. General Porfirio Diaz has been President of Mexico for thirty years with a short interval of four years, when he was out of office. We understand his life is being written by Mrs. Alec Tweedie (Hurst and Blackett), whose former book, ‘‘ Mexico as I Saw It,” was published three years ago. Mrs.'Tweedie, who was in Mexico last winter again as the guest of the President, is compiling this life with his sanction, and from authentic diaries and documents he placed in her hands for the purpose. Mrs. Tweedie’s work will record the life’s history of a man who was born in obscurity, lived a wildly exciting life as a soldier, played an important part in the history of Maxi- milian and Carlotta, and has now assumed the position of a Perpetual President, and brought his country from chaos and revolution to peace and prosperity. Messrs. Barnicott and Pearce will publish shortly a book by the Rev. W. P. Gresswell, under the title of ‘‘Chapters on the Old Parks and Forests of Somerset.” The aim of the author has been to compile a descriptive and historical account of the Five Forests of Somerset—Mendip, Selwood, Neroche, North Petherton, and Exmoor, together with the Royal Warren of Somerton and the Royal Park (as distinguished from the Forest) of North Petherton. A few chapters explanatory of hunting terms and of the methods of hunting as carried on in former days have been added to the book, the subscription price of which is 10s. 6d. Mr. J. E. Masefield’s book, ‘Sea Life in Nelson’s Time,” published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. recently, deals with the life of the bluejacket aboard our old men-of-war. Hach detail of an ordinary sailor’s working day is considered, and an account is also given of the guns and other weapons which were used in Nelson’s time. Miss Rosa Nouchette Carey’s new novel will be published very shortly under the title of “The Household of Peter.” “A Nineteenth Century Idyll,” by N. Arling, published by Messrs. A. and F. Denny, upholds the cause of women morally and politically. A story for young people entitled ‘ Love’s Golden Thread,” by Edith C. Kenyon, is being published by Messrs. 8. W. Partridge & Oo. The book appeals especially to girls who have to earn their own living. Mr. Basil Tozer contributes an interesting article to the September number of the Monthly Review on “The Increasing Popularity of the Erotic Novel.” Mr. J. M. Barrie, Mr. Almeric FitzRoy, and Mr. Gilbert Murray, have recently joined the council of management of the Stage Society. Mr. A. E. Drinkwater has been appointed secre- tary for the coming season. Full particulars of the society and forms of application for member- ship can be procured from the office, at 9, Arundel Street, Strand, W.C. The following comprise the council of management, 1905-1906 :—J. M. Barrie, Sidney Colvin, the Hon. Everard Feilding, Almeric W. FitzRoy, C.V.O., St. John Hankin, H. A. Hertz, Alderson B. Horne, W. Lee Mathews, Gilbert Murray, Sydney Olivier, C.M.G., Nigel Playfair, Mrs. W. P. Reeves, Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Bernard Shaw, Charles Strachey, Bernard Watkin, Frederick Whelen, Ernest E. 8S. Williams, and W. Hector Thomson, honorary treasurer. Messrs. Constable & Co. announce the publica- tion of ‘The Burford Papers,” under the editorship of the Rev. W. H. Hutton. The correspondence between Samuel Crisp—whose failure as a dramatist caused him to become, to quote Macaulay, “a cynic and a hater of mankind ”—and his sister, Mrs. Sophia Gast, forms the chief contents of the volume. Messrs. Chapman and Hall announce anew edi- tion of Mr.G. H. Perris’s “ Russia in Revolution,” which forms a complete narrative of events down to the conclusion of peace with Japan. Among the additions to the new volume are the substance of many conversations with Father Gapon, a remarkable hitherto unpublished portrait of the latter, and a critical account of the decree establishing an Elective Assembly. Early this month Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall & Co. will publish a work by Mr. F. Carrel, under the title of “An Analysis of Human Motive.” “ The Woman's Agricultural Times” is the title of a quarterly publication now in its sixth volume. It is edited by the Countess of Warwick, and issued by the Studley Castle Agricultural Associa- tion, at Studley Castle, Warwickshire. The magazine, which contains some useful information relating to agricultural pursuits, is published at the price of 6d. “The Gods of Pegania” is the title of an imaginative prose work by Lord Dunsany which will shortly be published by Mr. Elkin Mathews. The book is illustrated with drawings by Mr. Sidney H. Sime, : Messrs. Chapman and Hall will publish this autumn Mrs. Edith E. Cuthell’s new book, a historial work, ‘“ Wilhelmina, Margravine of Baizenth,” in two volumes. Mrs. Cuthell has been permitted special access in the Prussian archives to documents not hitherto made public, and also given permission to reproduce some hitherto unpublished portraits. The book is profusely illustrated. A novel of interest to present and past Oxonians  THE AUTHOR. 7 is to be published in October by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, entitled “The Inseparables,” a modern story of Oxford life by the author of “ John Westa- cott.’ It will be interesting to note Mr. James Baker’s treatment of a story embracing modern undergraduate life and its results. The third edition of “ The Printer’s Handbook,” compiled by Mr. C. T. Jacobi, contains hints and suggestions relating to letterpress and lithographic printing, bookbinding, stationery, process work, etc. In his preface to the editicu Mr. Jacobi claims that although the volume cannot be used as a text book, yet in a general way it will be found useful to students and especially helpful to workers far removed from those centres at which the many commodities and requisites so necessary to printers and the allied trades can be easily obtained. The price of the work is 5s. net. “A Quaker Wooing,” by Mrs. Fred Reynolds, which Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. published in September, is founded on incidents taken from records in the family of the author’s husband. The same writer is publishing this autumn another nevel, entitled “The Making of Michael.” Mr. Geo. Allen is the publisher. “ Village, Town, and Jungle Life in India,” by A. ©. Newcombe, which has recently beer. published by Messrs. Blackwoods, at the price of 12s. 6d. net, whilst touching on India’s Imperial problems, deals more particularly with the daily life of the European who has to spend his best years in our great dependency of the Hast. The Religious Tract Society will publish this month a story for girls, entitled ‘“‘Tender and True,” by L. E. Tiddeman, at the price of 3s. 6d. The long deferred copyright performance of “The Brownie’s Bower,” a three-act cantata- playette by Ellen Collett, music by Natalee Davenport, took place on July 8th at ‘‘ Mayfield,” Pinner, as a pastoral-play, under highly favour- able conditions and in the presence of a number of Press representatives. “The Cash Box,” a one-act play by F. 8. Dean Ballin, was produced at His Majesty’s Theatre on the 3rd of July. Mr. Hall Caine’s dramatic version of his novel “The Prodigal Son” was produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on the evening of September 7th. The Prodigal in Mr. Caine’s play—which was mounted on a very lavish scale—has but few redeeming features. In addition to being a swindler and forger, he is the indirect cause of the death of his father and mother. He repents at the eleventh hour, and, making atonement for his misdemeanours, obtains the forgiveness of his family. ‘The caste includes Mr. George Alexander, Mr. Frank Cooper, Mrs. John Wood and Miss Lily Hall Caine. PARIS NOTES. ——— + — a ISOLEE,” the new novel by René Banzin, A: has no doubt been suggested by the recent events in France. It is a story of the expulsion of the nuns, showing the disastrous results of turning out into the world women who have been accustomed to convent life. It is a pathetic story, and there are charming descriptions of some of the French provinces. The author shows up the excellent work of the Sisters of Sainte-Hildegarde, their devotion to the poor, their love for the children, their simple, contented life when together in their convent home. Uncon- sciously though, perhaps, he also shows up the defects of that system. We have a picture of an only daughter deserting her old father for the supposed salvation of her own soul. The father heroically consents to her departure for the convent, and we have a touching picture of his lonely life and solitary death. When later on the sisters are driven from the convent, we follow each of them to their new homes. The chief interest of the book is centred in the story of the girl Pascale. Her reason for leaving her old father and entering the convent was that she knew herself to be weak and easily influenced, and she argues: Dans le monde je serai mauvaise ou médiocre. Dans le cloitre je pourrais devenir une ame sainte. Unfor- tunately she is driven back into the world again, and the tragedy of her life there takes up a great part of the book. One of the most beautiful pictures given us in this volume is the farewell scene of the five sisters whilst waiting at the station for the various trains which were to take them away from each other. “Les deux sceurs,’ by Paul Bourget, is a psychological study of two sisters of about the same age, but of totally different character and temperament. The story is followed by five or six other psychological studies. “Les beaux jours de Flavien,” by Brada, is a novel of an entirely different character from most of this author’s former ones. It is now published in volume form, after having great success as a serial in the Figaro. “TJ, Aventure de Cabassou,” by M. Paul Brulat, is a rather pathetic story of the tribulations of a simple-minded honest man, who, after being deceived and ridiculed, decides to turn over a new leaf and be less scrupulous himself. Before very long, how- ever, he finds that it is no use struggling against his destiny. In spite of himself he is honest and confiding, and once more he is deceived and his happiness destroyed. He comes to the conclusion that the three phases of nearly every human destiny are that: “On s’illusionne d’abord, on se révolte ensuite, on se soumet enfin.” THE AMTHOR. “ Mes Sentiments et nos idées avant 1870” is another volume of memoirs, in which Madame Juilette Adam treats of the artistic and political life of the last years of the Second Empire. In the artistic world we are told that there was not much fresh talent. There were authors, artists and musical composers, who had already made their name: Victor Hugo, Flaubert, Daudet, Sardon, Coppée, and others. Puvis de Chavaunes, Henner and Manet were doing fine work, and Gounod, Ambroise Thomas, and Meyerbeer producing com- positions destined to add to their fame. As to politics the statesmen of the opposition were in- different to all but home events, and turned a deaf ear to all rumours from without. The book is interesting, treating as it does of a comparatively recent epoch. ‘* Etapes Italiennes,”’ by M. Pierre de Bouchard, contains notices on Byzantine art, on the Forum and the Villa Medicis. The author also treats of Naples and gives the impressions of Mme. de Staél, and Chateaubriand, Lamartine, Shelley and other well-known personages who have visited it. In another study, entitled Naples, the author gives us a description of the city, and an account of its origin and history. ‘“‘ Marie-Caroline, reine des Deux-Siciles (1768- 1814),” by M. André Bonnefons, is an excellent study of the political evolutions of that epoch, giving an idea of the struggles of France against the whole of Europe. Among recent books are the following : “ Brim- borion,” by Jean Rameau; “Le Marchand de déesses,” by M. René Maizeroy ; “ La Domination,” by Mme. la Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles ; “ Le Roman d’une vieille fille,’ by M. Delorme ; “ Mon- sieur Marcel,” by Mme. Marie Thiéry; ‘“ Les Carrosses du roi,” by M. K. Waliszewski ; “ Femme de lettres,” by Mme. Mary Floran; “La Fiancée nouvelle,” by M. Gaston Derys; ‘Le Pére et le Fils,” by M. Antonin Mulé; ‘‘Le Livre de la Houle et de la Volupté” ; by M. Diraison-Seylor ; «Sans Dieu,” by Trilby ; “ Plus fort que la Vie,” by Mme. Marie-Anne de Bovet ; ‘‘ En Wagon,” by Henri Datin, a volume of short stories. ‘“ L’ Autre,” by Georges Bonnamour; “Les Demi-fous,” by M. Michel Corday ; ‘ Waldeck-Rousseau,” by Gaston Deschamps ; ‘‘L’expansion des Boers au XIX siecle,” by M. Déhérain; “Un grand meconnu : Napoleon III.,” by M. Jean Guetary. The forthcoming publication is announced of several volumesof letters by well-known men, among others those of Zola and Fromentin. Marcel Prévost is at work onhis novel “M.et Mme. Moloch,” the scene of which is laid in Germany. Maurice Barrés is writing his notes on Greece, under the title of “‘ Le Voyage & Sparte.” The death of Elisée Reclus is a great loss to the literary and artistic world. His collaboration will be greatly missed by all connected with the University of Brussels, which he helped to found. The professors and students of the University published a circular announcing his death, in which they declared their intention to honour his memory, en propayeant son auvre de fraternité et son ensergnement iminortel. In the Revue des Deux Mondes of July 15th, M. Brunetiére writes on “ Le Mensonge du Pacifisme.” In the Revue des Deux Mondes of August there is an article by René Pinon on the consequences of the Russo-Japanese war and the japonisation of China. M. Benoist explains in another article the reasons which have provoked the secession of Norway. Frédéric Passy replies to M. Brunetiére on the subject of ‘‘ Le Pacifisme.” In the Correspondant of August M. Méziéres gives his memories of L’Université avant 1850. In the Grande Revue of August 15th there is an interesting article by Hélia entitled “ Une Parisienne dans les harems de Constantinople.” In the Quinzaine M. Georges Blondel writes on the various manifestations of Imperialism. An account is given by Captain d’Ollone of .the grand manoeuvres of the Anglo-Indian army near the frontier of Af¢hanistan. In the Qwinzaine of July there is an excellent article by Max Helys on “Selma Lagerlof,” the Swedish authoress. A new quarterly, entitled Vers et Prose, has made its appearance this year. It is a magazine of from one to two hundred pages, which in its first two numbers certainly justifies its claim to be a collection de la haute littérature et du lyrisme en prose el en poesie. Among the contents are some exquisite short sketches by the late Marcel Schwob, a story entitled ‘Le Massacre des Inno- cents,” by Maurice Maeterlinck (which dates from 1885, and is the first work of this author), one of Henri de Regnier’s finest poems, and other articles, stories, and verses by Robert de Souza, Maurice Barrés, Stuart Merrill, Gille, William Morris, Dowson, Paul Fort, Moréas, Gide, Vielé-Griffin, Verhaeren, and other writers. A periodical containing solely such high-class work would stand a poor chance of success in most countries. Fortunately, however, it is written in the French language, and, judging from the long list of sub- scribers in all parts of the world, there seems every probability that the venture will prove a satisfac- tory one. Translations from foreign authors form a part of the programme. The yearly subscrip- tion for the four volumes is eight francs, or the edition de luxe fifty francs. Another new monthly paper which commenced in July is entitled La Poétique. It is a magazine of about thirty pages, giving not only French  THE AUTHOR. a poems, but articles and essays on the poets of various countries, together with original poems by foreign authors, and side by side the translation of them. In the July number there is a study of Spanish poetry by M. de ‘Toro Gomez, illustrated by Spanish poems in the original and in French. ‘There is also an article on Schiller with extracts from his works. In the August number there is a study of an English poet and his works, and another of Echegaray, as well as many articles on French poetry and various poems. It is an excellent idea for giving us some notions of the poetry of different lands. M. William Busnach has completed the scenario of “Madame Bovary,” which wili probably be played at one of the Boulevard Theatres this winter. Mounet-Sully and Pierre Barbier have just com- pleted an important play entitled “La Brute,” which is to be produced this season. Their “ Vieillesse de Don Juan” is to be given at the Francais. Mounet-Sully is to interpret the role of Don Juan at the age of sixty-five. “Le Vieil Homme,” by M. Porto Riche, is to be put on this winter at the Gymnase. “ T/Qisean Bleu,” a play in five acts, by Maeter- linck, is also to be produced at one of the theatres. Among the new plays to be given at the Odéon Theatre are the following: “La Patronne,” by Mr. Bernstein ; ‘‘Ramuntcho,” by Pierre Loti; “T/Homme et la Loi,” by Paul and Victor Margueritte ; ‘La Robe Blanche,” by M. Trarieux ; “Florise Bonheur,’ adapted from M. Adolphe Brisson’s novel by MM. Georges Mitchell and Baschet ; “Le Calvaire,” by M. Octave Mirbeau, adapted by M. Antoine Bibesco. Auys HALLARD. <> +-__———- SPANISH NOTES. HE note of progress in Feminism played in Spain by the New World was seen by the representation of women at the meeting held at the University of Madrid by the Ibero- American Society in honour of the Cervantes Tercentenary, for the seventeen Jitiératewrs who occupied the University chair that afternoon for the delivery of discourses or poems on the Spanish classic, numbered two ladies who are well known by the work of their pen, and the applause which met their respective eloquent speeches showed that Spain has awakened to the fact that it is no longer meet for woman’s talent to be hidden under a bushel. Madame Emilia Pardo Bazin, ¢he pioneer of Spanish authoresses, whose books have been trans- lated into almost every European language, read a clever paper on the value of the philosophy of “ Don Quixote.” And it is noteworthy that such works of this well-known lady as “‘ La cuestion palpi- tante, Polemicas y estudios literarios,” etc., led to Castelar advocating her claim to a chair in the Academy. Readers of her many novels, especially “ Pascual Lopez,” “Una Christiana,” etc., can well understand that the authoress would rather be known as ‘‘la Pardo Bazan” than by the title of Countess, which she can claim ; and the charm of her manner doubtless helped the anthoress through the difficulties which beset her early efforts in the path of literature at a time when it was rarely trodden by a Spanish woman. Sefiora Carmen Burgos de Segui was the other lady speaker at the Don Quixote féte, and it was pleasant to see how this pioneer of Spanish lady journalists confirmed the growing opinion that women can work without loss to their prestige. The lady’s eloquent plea for a modern “ Don Quixote” who would aid women to attain a better education and ensure them more protection in the walks of life was published next day in the Diario Oniversal. When listening to the well-rounded sentences of the discourses delivered with fire and fervour by such orators as Senor Arminian, Senor Perez Triana, etc., and the poems composed and de- claimed by Fernandez Guell, Conde de Reparaz, ete., ete., one felt that the Spanish claim to eloquence is indeed based on fact ; and the military band in the gallery at the end of the well-filled hall afforded pleasant little interregnums during the feast of reason and the flow of souls. Sefior Don Jesus Pando y Valle, the author of “Mision Transendental’ (an account of the history and work of the society of the Red Cross in Spain) is devoting a great deal of time to the promotion of the ladies’ committee which has been formed in conjunction with the society, and it now numbers forty members under the presi- dency of the distinguished Marquise de Ayerbe. This lady has also taken her place as an authoress by the book which she kindly gave me, called “ El Castillo del Marques de Mos en Sotomayor.” The work is an historical ‘account of the castle bearing the name of the well-known Spanish family, and when the writer tells us in the pre- face that the record, which must have required deep research, was only the work of a summer holiday in the province of Galicia, it shows the force of her intelligence. As a leader of Spanish society this lady has great demands upon her time, and it was interesting to hear that it has only recently been understood that literature and philanthropy can add to the pleasures of her life. She has taken the lead of the ladies’ com- mittee of the Ibero-American committee, formed in the hope of aiding to supply the want in Spain 10 of schools for girls of the middle-class, and for the establishment of centres for the study of painting and music. Moreover, a drawing-room meeting was held at the Marquise de Ayerbe on June 10th, to discuss the project for founding a model farm in the vicinity. of Madrid, where ladies can study agriculture. Colonel Figuerola Ferretti, who has always so strongly advocated the education of his countrywomen, took a practical step for the promotion of this idea by studying the system of the Lady Warwick College at Studley Castle, as the patriot’s interesting article on “King Alfonzo XIII. and Spanish Agriculture” con- tributed to the Countess of Warwick’s magazine, Woman’s Agricultural Times, led to the colonel being invited to inspect the Castle College. The Ibero-American ladies’ committee has just been joined by the Marquesa de Comellas, the Duquesa de Sessa, the Marquesa de Bolanos, Senora de Palomo, Marquesa de Valdeterrazo, the Marquesa de Villamagna, the Marquesa de Faura y Saralegui, etc., and as the Queen’s clever sister-in-law, the Infanta Dofia Paz, wishes also to co-operate in the work by associating the society with one of her own feminine industrial schemes in Bavaria, it seems as if woman’s progress in Spain had entered on a fresh era. When Sefior Francisco Silvela, whose death this summer is so deeply deplored in Spain, did me the honour to invite me to his house at the beginning of last May, I was much interested in hearing him say that he, like many Spaniards, favoured the idea of woman’s education, as he con- sidered that culture enabled a wife to be a com- panion to her husband, whilst it in no wise lessened her feminine charms. The quondam Prime Minister was very definite in his objection to women playing cards for money, and he also expressed disapproval of the growing custom of ladies smoking, which he had noted when last in London. I may here say that all the while I was in Spain, I never saw a cigarette in the mouth of a woman, as the habit is reserved for strictly private circles. Sefor Silvela seemed interested in his project of publishing under the title of “The History of Spanish Ethics,” the course of lectures which he delivered last winter in the Atheneum, and when the illustrious man showed me his fine library, and complained that the days were too short to study all he wished, I little thought that the night of the statesman’s work on earth was so near at hand. It was also a great privilege to be introduced during my visit to Madrid this summer to Silvela’s well-known colleague, Moret, at a public meeting. The statesman’s well-cut handsome face must always be striking, but when animated with the interest with which he discourses on such subjects as THE AUTHOR. education, woman’s culture, one cannot wonder at his influence in his country. The statesman’s ‘courtesy was shown to me as the Authors’ Society delegate by promptly sending me an order which gave me the entrée to the Atheneum, of which he is the president. As the Atheneum is the great centre for all literary movements, it has a fine library, and it is there that speeches from the first littérateurs of the day stimulate the leaders of the Press. Spain boasts several very good illustrated papers, and I was interested to find that Angéle Cabrera Latorre, who recently received from the King the decoration of the Order of Alfonso XII. for his work in natural history, has now been appointed editor of the magazine called Alrededor del mundo. RACHEL CHALLICE. ————_-——___ A PUBLISHER’S AGREEMENT, OR THE PLEASURES OF IGNORANCE. — N the early part of 1903 a lady, who is amember of the society, wrote to Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co.’s house in Melbourne offering them a MS. for publication. In September of that year she received a letter from the Australian manager stating that he had heard from the London house, and that they were willing to publish her story if she would assign them the copyright and pay £75 towards the expenses of production and loss that the publication of a first book by an unknown author might incur. She was to receive fifty gratis copies. To this letter she made reply that she was willing to pay £75, but continued: “ You do not mention in your letter that I am to receive any benefit should my book prove a success. You tell me, however, that Ward, Lock & Co. made it a rule to pay back to themselves the first outlay, then to return money paid, after which the profits were shared with the author. If suchis the case, I am quite ready to assign to them the copyright.” The author thereupon paid the £75, the receipt of which was cabled to London, and an agreement was forwarded to her from the Melbourne house, of which the following is a copy :— Memorandum of Agreement entered into this Twenty- sixth day of October, 1903, between EO of the one part, and Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, of Warwick House, Salisbury Square, London, England, of the other part. Whereby it is mutually agreed as follows :— 1. That the said hereby assigns to Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, the copyright and all her interest in the novel entitled “ , and pays the said Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, the sum of Seventy-five Pounds (£75), and in consideration thereof the said Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, agree to produce and publish the novel:in their ordinary style, and give I'wenty-five (25) gratis, copies of the book. 2. It is understood between the parties that accounts of  THE AUTHOR. 11 the book sales are to be made up every twelve months, and whatever profit the sale of the book shows is to be divided pro rata according to the outlay expended by each party, and when both are fully paid, further profits (if any) are to be equally divided between author and publishers. Signed for Waid, Lock & Co., Limited. WILLIAM STEELE. Manager and Attorney. The Melbourne manager stated in his letter : “« You will notice that second clause of agreement is made out so that, should your book have a success- ful sale, you will receive a share of the advantage.” Under the agreement, therefore, if the book had had a large circulation, the author would have got back her outlay and obtained her share of the profits. After the author had signed the agreement on December 4th, 1903, the Melbourne manager wrote as follows :— “TJ have just received a coded cablegram from London, which, translated, indicates that our home house declines to confirm the second clause of agreement recently arranged your story, and I am asked to cable instructions. I added the second clause on my own responsibility in view of your letter of October 15th ; and, seeing that our people cannot accept the same, will you kindly cable me that you are willing to abandon it? I can then cable London accord- ingly. Probably there are some reasons unknown to me which prevent the house agreeing to the second clause.” The author consented, by cable, to the cancella- tion of the second clause, and wrote subsequently confirming her cable. The book was published on May 24th, the manager repeating in a letter to the author: “Our house, as you know, would not extend confirmation to the clause in the agreement which you afterwards agreed to cancel, and uncon- ditional surrender of the copyright had to be effected before they were willing to commence putting the -volume into type and preparing for publication. For the sum you paid towards its production you will have the satisfaction of having your story well put on the market by a leading publishing house ; and if the sale proves successful, you will be in a position to command better terms for a second and subsequent stories.” About the same time the author discovered, to her astonishment, that the story in serial form was running through the Leader, the weekly country edition of the Melbourne Arqus. This is the statement of the case :— After reading the prospectus of the society, the author states: “I seem to have been very stupid in agreeing to the publishers’ terms, but I did not then know that your society would interest itself in an unknown writer, and therefore I thought it impossible that I could by any means obtain justice.’ The writer proceeds to state that the society can use the information for the benefit of authors in any way the committee choose. When the author had placed the matter fully before the secretary, he was so astonished that he wrote to the firm in London putting forward the details of the case, and ending his letter with the following words :— “Tt seems impossible to think that your firm would have ratified such a contract with the Aus- tralian house, and it is because I think there must be some mistake that I am writing to you on the matter. I shall be glad if you will let me know if the book has actually been placed on the London market, and if you could send me information as to the exact position and agreements.” Some time was lost owing to the fact that Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co. desired to communicate with their representative in Australia, but when finally the secretary of the society received the original documents from the author, he wrote again to Ward, Lock suggesting that their representative should call and see the papers in his hands. The interview took place, and Ward, Lock’s representa- tive read through the correspondence and admitted its authenticity. The committee of the society, having considered the case, decided to publish the details with the names of the publishers, and to point out to other members, who may by chance have similar terms offered them, that such terms, from the author’s point of view, are absolutely and wholly unsatisfactory. You pay £75, and hand over your property. In these circumstances it is impos- sible to obtain even the return of the money you have expended, although the book may sell in thousands, and may continue to sell steadily for many years. This is the author’s standpoint ; but there is this further point to be considered, that, although the publishers undertake to produce and publish the book in their ordinary style (see Clause 1), and hand over twenty-five gratis copies, yet there is no guarantee as to the extent to which the book will be advertised and brought to the notice of the public. When a publisher under- takes the whole cost of production of the book it is customary to leave the advertising entirely under his control, for the common-sense deduction is that the publisher will do his best to recover his own capital ; but when the author pays for the cost of production—and £75 will cover the cost of pro- duction of 1,000 copies of most 6s. novels—then it is only fair that the author should have some guarantee that the book will be adequately pushed. It would be interesting to know how many copies of the book were printed, at what cost, and how many copies were sold at the expenditure of what advertisement, and what monies the sale of the serial rights realised. But a knowledge of these details would not in any way alter the utter hopelessness of the agreement from the author’s standpoint. THE AUTHOR. E. Y. LUCAS vy. MONCRIEFF. OWARDS the end of July a case, supported by the Society of Authors on behalf of one of its members, of some interest to holders of copyright property, was heard in the courts before Mr. Justice Warrington. The question raised was whether the copyright in a book called “‘ The Open Road” was vested in Mr. E. V. Lucas, the plaintiff, or the defendant as trustee in the bankruptcy of Mr. Grant Richards, the publisher. There was a further question in- volved, assuming the copyright not to be vested in the defendant, whether he, by contract with the author, was the owner of the publishing right and had the right to continue the publication of the book upon certain terms. An interlocutory injunction was granted in favour of the plaintiff, and the Judge, in summing up, stated as follows : Mr. Justice Warrington —* Now, the question arises really upon two letters written, the one by the plaintiff to Mr. Grant Richards on the 11th November, 1898, and the other by Mr. Grant Richards to the plaintiff en the 14th November, 1898, which constitute the agreement in regard to this particular book. I propose first to consider these letters, and then see how far any light is thrown on the true meaning of them by previous ones. Now, the letter of the 11th November, 1898, so far as it is material, is in these terms: ‘The plan is not yet solid, but I have this in my head at present: a pair of books for the pocket, page 34 by 6, 200 pages in each, on thin paper ; limp cloth or leather, very choice in form. ‘They would be a mixture of serious and gay, and would be composed respectively of prose and verse from all kinds of places, but fresh and straightforward in character. Between them they would provide for most moods that one has on a holiday. The title would be something to this effect.’ Then he gives certain titles and he refers to the price. ‘I should use mainly non-copyright stuff, but copyright difficulties would not I think be insuperable in many cases. Walking tours and cycling tours should be incomplete without the books, which would in the main celebrate the open air and larger life. My work would comprise making the selections and composing a preface touching on holiday-makers’ literary needs which would, I hope, be compact enough to serve also as an advertisement. Now, as to money. I think if I take nothing down I ought to share profits equally with you.’ Then that is replied to by the letter of the 14th November, 1898: ‘ My dear Lucas,—I am the more taken with your idea that T have had time to think it out. Proceed please. Your exact phrase as to remuneration is: “ Now as to money. I think if I take nothing down I ought to share profits equally with you.” This shall be so. Those are the two letters which constitute the contract between the parties. Now, taking those two letters by themselves, it seems to me that there is nothing more than an agreement between the author, who proposes to write but who has not yet written the book, and the publisher whom he invites to publish it, and that they con- stitute an agreement between the intended author and the publisher that if he (the intended author) writes such a book as that which he describes the publisher will publish it, and he will publish it on the terms that the author and the publisher shall share the profits equally between them. Now, if that is so, I think it is well settled that there is nothing in such an agreement to make it neces- sary to infer that the copyright in the work itself passes to the publisher. The ground on which in this case it is said that the copyright passes to the publisher is one of a different nature. It is said that this is a case of employment by Mr. Grant Richards of the plaintiff to write a certain work for him on terms, either expressed or implied, that the copyright shall belong to him. Now, for that purpose, reliance is placed upon letters of the 23rd and 25th February, 1898, and, therefore, I must refer to them. Those two letters are in these terms—the first is addressed by Mr. Lucas to Mr. Grant Richards: ‘I have given the matter thought and I am ready to undertake to deal with all the manuscript you send me during the next year, beginning from the date of the agreement, for £100 paid monthly. But I think it better to keep the Dumpy contract distinct ; and if I should have an idea for a good series, which commended itself to you, I should ask separate payment for drawing up the prospectus and arranging for the books. Otherwise the £100 would include any ideas for single books that might suggest them- selves. And that is answered on the 25th: ‘My dear Lucas—According to your letter of February 23rd and our conversation of to-day, I am writing now to ratify our arrangement by which you undertake to deal with all the manu- scripts I send you during the next year, beginning from the date of this letter, and to generally act, in fact, as my literary adviser (see me when you can, ete., ete., in order that we can talk things over) for a hundred pounds a year paid monthly. As your letter suggests, if you have an idea for a good series which commends itself to me, you are to receive separate payment for drawing up a prospectus and arranging for the books, otherwise the hundred pounds includes any ideas for single books that may suggest themselves.’ Now, it is suggested that by these two letters Mr. Lucas has put his services at the disposal of Mr. Grant  THE AUTHOR. Richards for the £100 a year, and that if he had any idea of any single book he was bound not only to communicate that idea to Mr. Grant Richards and to give him the opportunity of becoming the publisher of that book, but he was bound if he carried his idea into effect and wrote the book to do it on the terms that Mr. Grant Richards should have the copyright. Now it seems to me that that cannot be so. I think the real meaning of the letters is this : He was to be the literary adviser, and I think one may get a good deal from the first sentence in the letter of the 23rd. Mr. Lucas there undertakes to ‘deal with the manuscripts you send me,’ that is to say, he is to be the pub- lisher’s reader to advise the publisher as to whether a book is likely to be a success if published, and further than that he agrees by that letter—accepted by the letter of the 25th—that if he does have an idea which he communicates to Mr. Grant Richards and Mr. Grant Richards publishes the book as the result of it, that he will not be paid anything further, but it seems to me that there is nothing in either of those two letters imposing any obliga- tion upon Mr. Lucas to place in the hands of Mr. Grant Richards the publication of any book the idea of which may occur to him. All that-that last sentence of the letter with regard to the single book seems to me to impose on Mr. Lucas is that he will not require any further payment for any idea which he may communicate. If so, it seems to me that the argument of the defendants on the main part of the case breaks down. In my judgment there was no employment to write this book. “Tn my opinion the true effect of the letters of November, even read in connection with the two letters of February, was an agreement between the author and the publisher that if the author should compose a book he was to request the publisher to publish it, the’ publisher agreeing if he did publish it to publish it on the terms that he and the author should share the profit equally, and I think the true meaning of the agreement is not employment, but an independent agreement between author and publisher. Supposing instead of being an anthology this had been an original book, a book we will say on some historical subject which the author had got in his head, but had not yet written, is there anything in that circumstance which makes it impossible for him to arrange for the publication of that book with the publisher in the ordinary way, without making any express stipulation that if that agreement is carried into effect the copyright shall beiong to him. I see nothing ; it seems to me that when he has written the book he is the author of it, and that he is prima facie entitled to the copyright. “Now then comes a further question. It is said that the publisher is entitled under this agreement 13 to continue to publish the book and that the author is not entitled to publish it. It seems to me that is met by Reade v. Bentley in 4 Kay and John- son, page 656. It is quite true that in this case there is a difference between the agreements—the agreement in Reade v. Bentley was more precise as to the mode in which the profits were to be ascer- tained. In this case the agreement specifies only the sharing of profits, without saying how those profits are to be ascertained, but I do not think that the difference between the two agreements is enough to justify me in distinguishing this case from Reade v. Bentley. It seems to me in this case, as in Reade v. Bentley, there was a joint adventure for the publication of this book—an adventure which, subject to the limitations that the author must not act unfairly to the publisher —by ‘unfairly’ I mean unfairly as defined by the judgment in Reade v. Bentley—subject to that he may determine the agreement between them. Now the Vice-Chancellor expressed in his judgment what he thought would be a fair determination of the agreement, that is to say, that it would not be fair for the author to determine the agreement if there was an edition running on which the pub- lisher had incurred expense. Subject to that, the author was entitled to determine the agreement and to publish the book elsewhere, if, as I hold in the present case, he has the copyright. Now, in the present case, what has happened is that the publisher became bankrupt on the 2nd February, 1905. Thereupon the benefit of this contract with other assets of the bankrupt would pass of course to the trustee in the bankruptcy. It seems to me that this fact without any notice from the author would at once determine the joint adventure, and subject to the restriction which I have already alluded to would leave it open to the author to employ some other person to publish the book. Then, it is contended that at all events he cannot do so so long as any parts of the last edition remain unsold. That really is giving effect to the restriction which I have already mentioned as having been placed upon the author by the judg- ment in Reade v. Bentley, but that is met by an offer on the part of the plaintiff to buy from the publisher such of the copies of the last edition as remain unsold, ‘Then it is said that there are certain copyright pieces in the book, the copy- right in which belongs to Mr. Grant Richards. Of course, if there is copyright outstanding in certain individual pieces which would be infringed by the republication of the book, the author would not be entitled to infringe that copyright. He states that he does not intend to, and I think the true result in reference to that is that I must leave out of account for the present purpose—for the purpose of this judgment—all question of copy- 14 right in the individual pieces, either between the author, the plaintiff, Mr. Grant Richards or his assignee in bankruptcy, or as between the plaintiff and other persons who have a copyright.” _ OH? OUGHT STAGE-PLAYS AT MUSIC HALLS TO BE PROHIBITED ? —_ <2 — HE question of stage-plays at music halls was a matter of public inquiry some forty years ago, but it has come into prominence again during the last twelve months, and the theatre proprietors are still on the war-path. The cam- paign began in the autumn of 1903, when the Theatrical Managers’ Association instituted pro- ceedings against the Palace Theatre of Varieties for producing a piece entitled “ La Toledad ”—an artistic sketch of a perfectly harmless character, which had been performed in the principal halls in London and in the provinces for two years previously without any complaint whatever. Of course it came within the legal definition of a stage-play, and under the Theatres Act of 1843 it is, strictly speaking, illegal to produce a stage- play at a music hall. The Palace company was accordingly convicted and fined £50. The theatre proprietors, apparently encouraged by their success, then proceeded to attack other music halls in different parts of the metropolis, and, although some of the magistrates were reluc- tant to impose a penalty at all, at the latter end of last year the Oxford and the Metropolitan Music Halls were fined £120 and £180 respectively for the same offence. Now when music hall proprietors are being mulcted in fines exceeding £100 for permitting the performance of stage-plays—which are not only admittedly free from indecency and anything offensive, but are in many instances artistic and picturesque, and add considerably to the entertain- ment of the public—the “man in the street” is naturally inquiring if this is the law, and for whose benefit such a law exists ? Inasmuch as the recent prosecutions have been taken under the Theatres Act, 1843, and this is the statute which is violated every day in London and in the provinces—and has been violated per- sistently during the last half-century at least—it is important to realise that the Act was passed for a specific object, which is not generally under- stood, and under circumstances wholly different from those which exist at the present day. From the conduct of the theatre proprietors with regard to stage-plays, it would appear as if they thought the Theatres Act was intended to preserve THE AUTHOR. the privileges of those who run theatres from the increasing competition of the music halls. The seem to think that the Act was passed for the benefit of themselves as upholders of the “ legiti- mate drama,” by way of contrast to those who run variety entertainments where smoking and drinking is allowed in the auditorium. They argue that as they have certain requirements imposed upon them by reason of their theatre licence, they ought to have the monopoly of performing stage-plays and should prevent artistic performances elsewhere in those palaces of varieties where the restrictions may be less exacting.* But this is an entire mistake. The Theatres Act was never intended for such a purpose at all. Its object was to provide a more effective control over performances calculated to offend public decency and morals. It was described in Parlia- ment as “a measure of police.” It gave no authority to the Lord Chamberlain to dictate to the manager of a theatre what sort of entertain- ments he should provide for the public. It was no part of his duty to say whether there should be drama, or singing, or dancing at the theatre, whether the plays should last forty minutes or three hours, whether there should be two or a dozen performers, or what sort of scenic effects should be employed. All such matters were left to the discretion of the manager, and the only duty of the Lord Chamberlain was to see that no enter- tainments offensive to public decency and morals should be permitted. The Act empowered him to secure to the public that there should be nothing indecent, scurrilous, or profane. The whole pur- pose of the Act was to restrain licentiousness-—not the liberty of the stage. So much for the object of the Act. Now, as to the circumstances to which it was to be applied. The modern music hall or palace of varieties at that time was not in existence and possibly not even conceived. The earliest London music hall was built in 1851, nearly ten years after the Theatres Act was passed. The Canterbury, the Oxford, the Tivoli, and other similar halls of entertainment show the progress of artistic development from the ‘free and easies” at the beginning of the century. Such entertainments took place generally in the yard or precincts of a tavern, where drinks were supplied according to the payments of admission. Each man sang his song, and pipes and porter and good square meals were accessories to the enter- tainment. A licence from the magistrates for music and dancing was required by the same statute under which the County Council grant licences to music halls at the present day. With- * Vide manifesto of the Theatrical Managers’ Associa~ tion, published in the Zimes, July 16th, 1904,  Ss era en Na THER AUTHOR. 15 out the magistrates’ licence such a place of enter- tainment was declared by the Act to be a “dis- orderly house,” and in those early days the description was not always inappropriate to such places even when conducted under the authority of the magistrates. Canterbury Hall was opened in 1852 under the management of the late Mr. Morton, who had run the Canterbury ‘Tavern with “ free and easies.” He it was who introduced the system of “ turns” which prevails in the modern music halls. Similar places were built, and by degrees new palaces of varieties were opened in all parts of the Metropolis. Then it was that the theatre proprietors felt the strain of competition, and—showing how history repeats itself—they commenced a general attack upon the music halls. A series of prosecutions, very similar to those of 1904, were instituted in 1860 by theatre proprietors to check the performance of stage-plays at music halls. There was a performance at Canterbury Hall where two persons came on the stage and repre- gented a kind of pantomime. They played seven- teen or eighteen characters, the great point being the quick change of dress. They were prosecuted for performing a stage-play, and were fined £5. This is merely a single instance, but the theatre proprietors attacked everything, and even secured a conviction against a proprietor of the entertain- ment known as “ Pepper’s Ghost.” The question as to the propriety of these prose- cutions became a matter of public interest, and in 1866 a parliamentary committee was appointed to investigate the case for and against the perfor- mance of stage-plays at music halls. The evidence before the committee is interesting, because it shows the marked contrast between the state of the music halls then and their improved condition at the present day. For instance, it was proved to be the practice at many of the music halls to give a ticket on payment of admission, which entitled the holder to spirits to the amount of the ticket. It was urged against the music halls as a notorious fact that there were private saloons where immorality prevailed. The songs were said to be a disgrace to any person who put them on the stage, and it was alleged that obscene songs suited a certain class of people who went there expressly to get drunk. There were constant rows and fights, and there was a want of police surveil- lance, All these things were urged against. music halls in 1866—when such irregularities did exist no doubt—and yet the parliamentary committee was satisfied that even then there was no case for prohibiting the performance of stage-plays at music halls, provided they were placed under proper supervision. Such was the state of things complained of in 1866, but can it be alleged against the music halls of the present day ? It must be generally admitted that the music halls have been steadily improving in the artistic nature of their performances. The buildings are magnificent and elaborately decorated. They are under the efficient supervision of the County Council. They provide entertainment for thousands of people, of whom it cannot be said nowadays that they go there “expressly to get drunk.” Any disorder or disturbance is immediately suppressed, and the irregularities which no doubt existed some fifty years ago are no longer characteristic of the music halls of to-day. And if the public like to be entertained by stage-plays which are artistic, dramatic, or picturesque, is it reasonable that this old Act of Parliament should prevent them from enjoying the kind of entertain- ment they want ? Prosecutions for performing stage-plays have hindered the progress of the music halls in their artistic development ever since they rose from the “free and easies” of the public-house. Such prosecutions were proved to be unreasonable by the report of the parliamentary committee in 1866. And now at the present time the theatre proprietors have started the old campaign again and have succeeded in depriving the public of performances and entertainments which they like, and which are often more artistic than many a piece produced under the authority of the Lord Chamberlain. It has been laid down that the two tests of a stage-play are, first, the excitement of emotion, and, secondly, the representation of action, A stage-play, moreover, is defined by the Theatres Act to include “every tragedy, comedy, farce, opera, burletta, interlude, melodrama, pantomime, or other entertainment of the stage, or any part thereof.” It is obvious, therefore, that any per- formance in the nature ofa so-called “sketch” at a London music hall is prohibited by statute, and the number of characters or time limit have no recognition in law. It is no exaggeration to say that there is hardly a music hall in London which does not nightly violate the law by the unauthorised performance of a “stage-play.” Not only is the music hall pro- prietor liable to heavy fines, but every artiste may be fined £10 for every such performance in which he takes part; and it is important to note that theatre proprietors have not the exclusive right of instituting proceedings, but any person—even “a man of straw”—can prosecute if he pleases, and the Act of Parliament allows him his costs, to be paid out of the amount of the fines imposed. Such being the state of the law, can it be said to be satisfactory, or applicable to the 16 circumstances of the present day? Is there any sound reason why the public who go to music halls should not be entertained by any performance they like, provided it does not offend against morals or decency ? It is not suggested by the theatre proprietors, who prosecute, that the stage-plays they complain of are immoral or indecent. On the contrary, their grievance is that the so-called ‘“ sketches ” have become so elaborate and artistic that they seek to prohibit performances which may success- fully compete with their own productions at the the theatres. A very pretty little Japanese piece, entitled “O Mat San,” which was artistically staged and admirably acted at the Tivoli, was withdrawn from the music halls from fear of prosecution ; and another artistic piece called THE AUTHOR. music hall, it is necessary to point out that such an opinion is entirely incorrect. An author’s rights in a play consist of “ copyright,” or the right of producing copies by printing or otherwise, and “performing rights,” or the right of produc- tion on a public stage. In the course of the case when the Palace Theatre was prosecuted for per- forming the stage-play, “La Toledad,” it was actually stated in court that the defendants had purchased the performing rights. The fact is, the theatre proprietors find a difficulty in justifying these prosecutions at all. They are not for the public benefit in any way. They are a hindrance to authors, artists, actors, and managers. They inflict great hardship upon persons who deserve encouragement for their efforts to improve the entertainments of the people. And PROSECUTIONS OF STacE PuAys, 1903—4. Music Hall. Play. Date. | Police Court. | Magistrate. Result. Remarks. 1903 Novy. .| Palace Theatre... .| La Toledad”’ | 1904 | Jan, .. New Cross Empire 8. London Palace . 5. London Palace ..|“ My Life for Hers” . | Tivoli oes ...| “ Moonspell” March| Hammersmith Palace...|‘‘ Fighting Parson”... -| * Dandy Doctor” Feb. April .| Empress Theatre, Brix-| “ Fighting Parson” ...| Lambeth Oct. .) Oxford ... .| Belle of the Orient” Metropolitan | | ton. | | Nov. Dec. .| S. London Palace | S. London Palace | “The Moon Spell” has succumbed under the stress of police-court proceedings. One argument advanced against permitting stage-plays at music halls appears to be based upon a misconception of the law relating to copyright. At a recent meeting of the Actors’ Benevolent Society, Mr. Beerbohm Tree, in dealing with this question, said as follows: “At the present time almost all the variety theatres—especially in the suburbs and the pro- vinces—are performing complete stage-plays, many of them occupying as much as an hour, some an hour and a half. Many of these are simply boiled down versions of stage-plays. These are not only played without a dramatic licence, but without any Sees being paid to the author.” If it was intended to suggest that an author has not identically the same rights in respect of a stage-play, whether performed at a theatre or a .| Marlborough St. .| Mr. Denman ...| Greenwich ..| “Major McPhee, M.P.”| Southwark Southwark .| Bow Street x West London ... e Marlborough St. .| Mr. Kennedy .| “Fighting Parson ”’...| Marylebone - Hammersmith Palace...| “ Fighting Parson”’...) West London ... .| * Beneath Big Ben”...| Southwark -| Don Cesar de Bayan”) Southwark .| Fine £50 .| Played two years previously in London = and Provinces. ..| Mr. Kettle £20. .|Mr. Chapman ...) ,, £25. ...| Mr. Paul Taylor. #1 -| Mr. Marsham ... £50. Mr. Rose se £25. .| Mr. Hopkins ... £2 £120 £180) On appeal re- duced to £90, ..| Mr.Curtis Bennett Mr. Rose : £42. .| Mr. Chapman ... £3 -| Mr. Chapman ... £e it seems like an abuse of the police court when people are prosecuted, not for the public benefit, but to procure convictions against rivals in business, whose only offence is shown in their laudable ambi- tion to go on improving their performances by making them more. artistic, dramatic, or picturesque. An antiquated law which is unreasonable is. naturally set at defiance, and some magistrates have shown their reluctance to impose more than a nominal penalty. They are, unfortunately, bound to convict, because—as Mr. Denman, the magis- trate, said in the “La Toledad ” case—“ a stage- play cannot cease to be a stage-play because, instead of three hours, it takes only thirty or forty minutes.” But the summary of prosecutions in the table above (which is not exhaustive) is sufficient. to show the difficulty of administering a law which is not adapted to the requirements of the publicat the present day.  ee Ee et ere AI A la ge foo ON. THE AUTHOR. 17 In giving his decision in the case of the “ Fight- ing Parson,” Mr. Hopkins makes this clear when he said, “‘ Speaking for myself, and I hope, for all the magistrates and justices throughout the country, I take but little notice of a form of offence which the authorities of the country do not proceed against, and which no one proceeds against, except the people whose pockets are touched.” Again, in the case against the New South London Music Hall for producing “ My Life for Hers,” Mr. Paul Taylor observed, “It is important to remember that for the last twenty-five or thirty years music hall managers have been allowed to produce sketches without hindrance. The evidence given before the committee in 1892 included a statement by the late Mr. Clement Scott that since theatre managers had withheld their hands and winked at the illegality, the whole tone of the variety theatre had improved, as any one who has any London experience will agree. The music hall managers have been lulled into a state of security; false security perhaps, by the inaction of any public authority.” He was reluctantly compelled to convict, however, and imposed a nominal fine of £1. The theatre proprietors have so far had it all their own way. They have selected whom they will prosecute and whom they do not care to molest. They have succeeded in shelving the question as to the stage-plays at the Empire and the Alhambra, because their own interests might be affected in the event of convictions at those two particular halls. Moreover, they have lately had the satisfaction of seeing some of the magistrates so deeply impressed with the enormity of this ‘ offence, that they have inflicted very heavy fines for what other magistrates can hardly regard as an offence at all. But the theatre proprietors may have carried their successes too far. In the matter of their entertainments the public should surely have a voice. And when the time has come to make an alteration in the law, when the object of the Theatres Act is carefully considered and under- stood, it is possible that the question will not be whether ‘sketches ” shall be permitted at music halls, within certain limits as to time and the number of performers, but whether it is to the interest of the public that any stage-play, which is not indecent, scurrilous, or profane, shall be prohibited at any one of their places of public entertainment. The music halls, compared with the theatres, are only in their infancy. Their artistic development during the last ten or fifteen years has been rapid and extraordinary. They have a great future before them. And it has become a question for the public, not for theatre proprietors to decide, whether the entertainments of the people shall be fettered with restrictions, which are proved to be unreasonable, and which are wholly inappropriate ° the requirements of the public at the present day. Harotp Harpy. +——_-—_ ses MAGAZINE CONTENTS. —_t-—~——+ —__ BLACKWOOD’S MAGAZINE. An Irish Festival. By Stephen Gwynn. BOOKMAN. The Work of Maurice Hewlett. By A. Macdonell. Book MonTvHLY. Stage and Book. By Lewis Melville. Holy Ground: A Pilgrimage to the Scene of Grey’s “Hlegy.” By W. J. Roberts. The German Book Trade. By Bruno Conrad, CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL, Shakespeare Autographs. By W. Roberts. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Centres of Scientific and Religious Thought. By Emma Marie Caillard. CORNHILL MAGAZINE. By J. H. Yoxall. By Frank Sidgwick. Consule Planco. An English Poet. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Mr. Wells as a Sociologist. By Dr. Beattie Crozier. Church and State in France. By Eugene Tavernier. Translated by Helen Chisholm. The Beginnings of Religion and Totemism. By J. G. Fraser. Christopher Marlowe. By W. L. Courtney. The Letters of Ernest Renan. By Edward Wright. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. The Sherborne Pageant. By Sir Lewis Morris. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, The Novels of Captain Chamier. The Fellow Workers of Voltaire: Beaumarchais. By . G. Tallentyre. TR MonrH. King Henry VIII. asa Poet. By Rhys Pryce. MONTHLY REVIEW. Alphonse Daudet. By M. F. Sanders. The Increasing Popularity of the Hrotic Novel. By Basil Tozer. On Catalogue Reading. By Dora Greenwell McChesney. Dean Church, By Algernon Cecil. NATIONAL REVIEW. Sea Power and The Poets. By St. Loe Strachey. NINETEENTH CENTURY. A Plea for a Ministry of Fine Arts. By M.H. Spielmann.. Agnes Sorel. By Alice Kemp-Welch. TEMPLE BAR. The Poet's Ringlets, By Michael MacDonagh, 18 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —_—>—+ — BRE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- .duection forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. ‘Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or -doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form -of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It isnow possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :-— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong tothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. \$—<—2 WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. ETO EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. {t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. : (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of g7vss receipts in preference to the American system, Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixe: date on or before which the play should be performed. (e.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.¢., fixed nightly fees). ‘his method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. ‘he legal distinction is of great importance, 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative : that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ep ° WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. a ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  Ae ie ae ve os THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement,and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. Se ee ee HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. ——— + 1, VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. ‘The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) ‘Io stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. This The 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society ; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. 19 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. ——>+— HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf ot its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. OE eS THE READING BRANCH. oe EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach, The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, —p—+ NOTICES. —_——>—+—__ HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Olfices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. very effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —_—— + The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. —<>—__-—___—— LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. > + ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, P either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C. THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. hen aan «Prom a circular dated “Leipzig, middle of July, 1905,” signed by an International Committee appointed to make arrangement for the Inter- national Congress of Publishers at Milan next year, we learn that membership of the Congress is confined to book publishers, music publishers, art publishers, and publishers of periodicals (reviews, magazines, illustrated papers) of all countries. Discussions can be in Italian, French, German, and English. Interpreters for these languages will be present at all the sittings. The Congress sittings will take place in Milan, from June 6th to 10th, 1906. The subjects dealt with will relate exclusively to such questions as have international interest, and refer either to authors’ rights or publishers’ rights in works of literature and art, or relate to book, art, music, or periodical publication. The Congress is divided in two sections— Section A.: Authors’ Rights and Publishers’ Rights. Section B.: Trade. The discussions will be arranged in three sub-sections of the Sections A. and B., formed as follows : 1. Books and periodicals. 2. Music. 3. Objects of the trade in works of art (engravings, prints, photographs). The discussion on Section A., “ Authors’ Rights and Publishers’ Rights” will, no doubt, be interesting to all members of the Society, and we hope to be able to obtain a full and detailed account when the Congress has been held next year. Book, Art, Music, and Periodical Mr. Grant Richards, THE application of publisher, for an order of discharge in bankruptcy came before Mr. Registrar Brougham in July, and was disposed of by an order suspending the dis- charge for two years. The estimated liabilities, according to the Official Receiver’s report, were £36,495, but it was stated that these might be increased to as much as £48,995, in certain contingencies. Of the assets £10,300 had been realised, and the value of the unrealised assets was estimated at £10,075. The Official Receiver’s report regarding the bankrupt’s conduct of his business and his manner of living was very unfavourable. In explanation of the private expenditure, it was stated that Mr. Grant Richards had spent considerable sums in entertaining authors, booksellers and other persons who might have assisted him in business. The Registrar, in giving judgment, remarked that this was an unfortunate case, as the bankrupt had a large business, which, so late as November, 1904, was valued at £50,000.' a OBITUARY. —— + —_ R. GEORGE MACDONALD, whose death we chronicle with regret, was one of the early members of the society, but resigned his membership in 1894. His sympathies were always strong for the members of his profession and the work of the society. Born in the Aberdeenshire village of Huntley, in 1824, he was destined for the ministry, but, partly owing to his ill health, he took up literature as a profession. He thus appealed to a wider audience as a writer than he could possibly have done as a minister, though even to the end of his life he devoted a portion of his time to preaching and lecturing. He was, according to his own state- ment, firstly a poet, and secondly a writer of novels; and though as a writer of novels he attained literary fame, yet there are many who will not forget his work as a poet. Of the novels produced from his pen, “David Elginbrod” obtained the widest circulation, and the epitaph in this book is, perhaps, the most widely quoted of any of his writings, but the author’s own favourite was “ Robert Falconer.” For many years he lived abroad for the sake of his health ; but he returned to England, and died at Ashtead, Surrey, in the middle of last month. It is interesting to note that his two sons, inspired, no doubt, by their father’s example, have also produced books. His second son, Ronald, achieved a recent success in a work entitled “ The Sword of the King.” + <_< THE CRABBE CELEBRATION AT ALDEBURGH. 16TH—18TH SEPTEMBER, 1905. —+~<>— HE Crabbe Celebration, in commemoration of the poet’s birth one hundred and fifty years ago, has been an unqualified success. Under the direction of Mr. Charles Ganz, to whose enthusiasm the inception and fulfilment of the function are due, the borough authorities, from the Mayor downwards, made everything easy and attractive to the numerous visitors, the most notable among whom was Mr., or—to recognise  See THE AUTHOR. 21 his recent academic honours—Dr. Thomas Hardy. To the author of the Wessex novels Crabbe is “ the first realist,” making appeal, as truthful portrayer of the sad, sombre life of the peasantry, in contrast to the sham presentments of beribboned swains and bedizened shepherdesses of Watteau pictures and pastoral poems. Quite unexpected was the helpful prominence given to the celebration by leading articles and “ appreciations’? in the leading London and pro- vincial papers, many of whom sent representatives to report the proceedings, while a goodly show of patrons, from the Prime Minister to local magnates, sent their blessings, and, in some cases, their guineas, these last-named, sadly needed. More welcome than even the guineas were the exhibits in the venerable Moot Hall—a goodly muster of per- sonal relics of the poet ; manuscripts of some unpub- lished poems, manuscripts of sermons never to be published, having, once and for all, done their duty from the ‘“‘ three-decker”’ ; copies of first editions ; portraits of Crabbe by Pickersgill and Millington ; pictures of Aldeburgh and Slaughden (where Crabbe helped his father in the duties of salt-master) in the eighteenth century ; and a life and selection from the poems in Russian, the existence of which Monsr. Huchon told me had escaped even his eagle eye. To that eminent scholar and ardent lover of the poet, all are under debt of deep grati- tude, not only for his presence, but for the brilliant paper on “Crabbe’s Aldeburgh,” which, written in pure and nervous English, and suffused with a charm of style which is the secret of his country- men, was read by him at the afternoon gathering on Saturday. Mr. Redstone had previously dealt with some features of the old town in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and these M. Huchon supplemented in an illuminative discourse showing profound acquaintance with the social and literary history of England in the eighteenth century, and giving a graphic description of the ill-built, wind- swept borough at the time when Crabbe found therein material for verse which won the praise, to name no others, of Scott, Jane Austen, Cardinal Newman, and Tennyson. An interesting paper on Crabbe as a botanist, enlivened by quotations from poems in which the flora of East Anglia is intro- duced, preceded a very able assessment of “Crabbe’s place in English literature” by Mr. Clement Shorter. Dwelling on his originality and pathos, and on his skill as a story-teller, Mr. Shorter applied his wide range of knowledge of our literature to a comparison of Crabbe with his contemporaries, and to the contrasts between his own verse and the poetry which both preceded and followed it. The necessarily meagre reports of each paper which have appeared emphasise the wish of those who heard them to see them published in full. In the evening, lighter entertainment was pro- vided in the shape of tableaux vivants illustrative of certain incidents in Orabbe’s life. The severest critics pronounced these to be excellent, and paid hearty tribute to the skill of Mr. André in device and presentment. On the Sunday morning, in the fine old church where Crabbe officiated as curate in 1792, the Rev. S. W. Goldsmith discoursed in large-hearted and excellent fashion on the poet as reflecting faithfully the human nature and con- ditions of bis age ; holding him up as an example to be followed in rectitude, strenuousness, and broad sympathies. Thereafter came facilities, on the whole well availed of, for excursions to places associated with the poet-—Orford, with its Norman keep; Parham, with its picturesque mvated Tudor hall; and Framlingham, with its magnificent castle and its church, wherein are stately tombs of Surrey, the Poet-peer, and other of the Howards. From all this, there may be no result of “ boom ” in Crabbe; but the gathering together from far and near, of those who hold that his place in English literature is, if subordinate, at least secure, may cause some to whom he is only a name, to read the ‘Tales in Verse,” “The Borough,” and “The Village.” EpWwaRpD CLODD. —_—_—___ 7-4 THE LITERATURE OF SOUTH AFRICA. ——+ <4 —_ F South Africa had been compelled to rely for its literary output upon the efforts of those born and bred within its own borders, it would have little indeed to show. Within the last hundred and fifty years a vast number of books have been produced, dealing with the lands and peoples south of the Zambesi, but few of them have been the work of colonial-born writers. The reasons for this paucity of production are not difficult to find. The Cape Dutch have been, in the main, pastoralists, farmers and wine-growers, and have been far too much engaged in the rough work of opening up the country, conquering native tribes, hunting, and wresting their living from the soil, to devote any portion of their time to such an occupation as literature, which needs a settled government, education, and an ampler leisure than the South African-born has had to bestow. It is not unlikely that the next fifty years may see many changes in these respects ; education is steadily advanciny, peace and leisure will be more abundant, and from the ranks of the two sturdy races before whom the future of Africa south of the Zambesi lies, it is almost certain that writers will presently arise to create a literature of its own for this great and interesting country,  22 The earliest writers upon South Africa were, without exception, travellers, missionaries, sports- men and naturalists, who, struck with the natural wonders of this portion of the Dark Continent, were anxious to give to the world their impres- sions. Among these two distinguished Swedes, Sparrmann and Thunberg, whose works were trans- lated into English, published in the last quarter of the eighteenth century two excellent works of travel concerning the old Cape Colony, its fauna, flora, and inhabitants. To them succeeded the lively French naturalist, Le Vaillant, whose three works followed within a few years the publication of the narratives of the Swedish travellers. Le Vaillant had a vivid imagination, and his facts are not always to be relied upon ; still, even at the present day, his books are not without interest, and the vatiety and vivacity of the mercurial Frenchman can seldom fail to amuse the reader. Barrow, secretary to Earl Macartney, the second English Governor of Cape Colony, published in the early years of the nineteenth century a first-rate book of travel dealing with the new British dependency. This writer, afterwards famous as Sir John Barrow, secretary to the Admiralty, was a man of high attainments, and his book is not only a sound piece of literature, but abounds in solid information and well-balanced reasoning. To Barrow succeeded Lichtenstein, a German medical man, who produced, a few years later, a first-rate book of travel. Some fifteen years after Barrow’s travels appeared another notable volume, the narrative of Dr. Burchell, one of the most painstaking and scientific travellers who have ever explored Africa. Burchell was one of the first to penetrate beyond the Orange River, and his great work on the country, and its fauna and flora remains to this day a most valuable book of reference. There have been few poets worth the name in South Africa, even as temporary sojourners. Thomas Pringle is one of them. One of the Algoa Bay settlers, he lived in the Eastern Province of Cape Colony for some five years—from 1820 to 1825—during which time he became thoroughly imbued with the wild romance of the country. Pringle knew Sir Walter Scott, and some of his poetry is obviously tinged with the influences of his great {ellow-countryman. His “Afar in the Desert,” “The Captive of Camalu,” ‘“ Evening Rambles,” “The Song of the Wild Bushman,” and other pieces stand far above the attempts of any other writers of South African poetry. Up to the present time, in truth, Pringle may be said to be the only South African poet. The attractions of sport and wild life in South Africa have produced many notable volumes. Chief among these stands “ Wild Sports of Southern THE AUTHOR. Africa,” the work of that accomplished and most enthusiastic of sportsmen, Sir William Cornwallis Harris. Cornwallis Harris was the forerunner of the big game hunters who have, since his time, penetrated to the uttermost recesses of the country in search of adventure, and his books (he pub- lished also « magnificent folio, “ Portraits of the Wild Game of South Africa”’), fired the blood of many an Englishman, and did much to attract attention to the lands between the Orange and the Zambesi. A sound naturalist and a competent artist, Harris illustrated his own works, which are to this day eagerly sought after at high prices by collectors of South African literature. Roualeyn Gordon Cumming was one of those led to South Africa by the glowing and romantic, but by no means overdrawn descriptions of Cornwallis Harris. Cumming has been too often imagined as the sportsman pure and simple, but his book, ‘Five Years of a Hunter’s Life,” proves him also the wielder of a ready and most descriptive pen. Many editions of this famous work have been brought out, and to this hour the book sells readily. Upon the whole it may be counted one of the liveliest and most graphic descriptions of great game hunting and of wild life ever published. Much and ably as he handled the rifle, Gordon Cumming was clearly an author of distinction ; writing was in his blood, and his sister, Miss C. F. Gordon Cumming, who, happily, still survives, has ably carried on the tradition, and given to the public many excellent volumes. No one can read Gordon Cumming’s work without being thrilled again and again by the wonderful feats performed, the legions of game encountered, and the speaking and most accurate delineations of the virgin veldt in which this great Nimrod was privileged to wander. The book will always and justly remain one of the classics of its kind. Among other notable hunters’ books are those of Andersson, Baldwin, Drummond, Selous, Bryden, Millais, and Vaughan Kirby. Andersson, a traveller of mixed Swedish and English descent, did much to open up the deserts of South West Africa, and his. chief volumes, ‘‘ Lake Ngami,” and “The Okavango River,” are good narratives of travel and adventure, written in sound and nervous English. Francis Galton’s “Tropical Africa” is another book of this period; Galton and Andersson were fellow travellers, but their narratives are equally well written and equally worth perusal. W. C. Baldwin, one of the greatest and most daring hunters that ever sought danger in South Africa, published a volume in the early sixties, which described his sporting career from Natal and Zululand to the Zambesi from 1852 to 1860. He has not the literary grace of Cornwallis Harris, nor the stirring and descriptive pen of Gordon Cumming, and his.  book is transcribed almost direct from his rough diaries. None the less, his “ African Sport from Natal to the Zambesi” is to this day one of the freshest and most fascinating of works dealing with wild life and adventure. He carries bis reader with him in all his feats. No man has succeeded more completely in depicting the joys, the dangers, and the difficulties of the hunter’s career. Drummond, Selous, Bryden, Millais, and Vaughan Kirby have dealt with a later period of the South African hunting veldt—that between 1871 and 1900. Each of these writers has, in his own way, ‘succeeded admirably in continuing, down to our own times, the enthralling narratives of earlier writers on sport and adventure in South Africa. Among missionaries, the names of Moffat and Livingstone stand easily first in the survey of South African literature. Moffat, whose long and notable career in the interior of South Africa will always be remembered with admiration, published in the forties a work dealing with mission scenes and travel from 1817 onwards, among uncouth tribes s and dangerous beasts, which undoubtedly had “ much influence upon innumerable readers. His * great son-in-law, David Livingstone, has done, 4 perhaps, more towards the opening up of savage Africa than all the other writers put together. A # man of indomitable strength of character, wonder- 1 ‘ful tact and wide attainments, Livingstone seems 4 to have had a natural gift for literature. His * “Missionary Travels,” published in 1857, is not only ably written, but is a monument of care, labour and research. No man who knows his South Africa can fail to be struck not only with the learning of this author, but with his immense ‘knowledge of every phase of the life of the South African interior. The power, the truthfulness, and the wonderful moderation of the man are shown in every page. The work of one other missionary deserves mention. This is the “ Austral Africa: Losing it or Ruling it,” of John Mackenzie, pub- lished in the eighties. This important book, written by the man who practically saved Bechu- canaland for the British, at the period—soon after Majuba—of our deepest abasement in South Africa, did much to rouse politicians and the public to a right view of our responsibilities South of the Zambesi. The History of South Africa has been touched by comparatively few hands. To Theal, undoubt- -edly, belongs the credit of the bulk of the some- _ what scanty output. His labours have been long ‘and arduous, and he has delved into the musty records of old Cape history and acquired much ‘solid information from native sources. Theal, however, has not always been able to avoid the meproach of partiality. His sympathies lie some- i Ke a Las Pe Fe a ae Ke red BS ReSoe woh ek RR es THER AUTHOR. 23 what too plainly with the Dutch, and the value of his works has in consequence been somewhat dis- counted. Still, notwithstanding the additional fact that his style is somewhat arid and unil- luminating, the public remain indebted to this copious writer for much sound and excellent in- formation. Theal, by the way, is not, as some suppose, an Afrikander, but was actually born in Canada. Among other adventurers into the paths of history are to be mentioned H. A. Bryden, whose “ History of South Africa,” from 1652 to 1903, is a fair and well written summary of a period teeming with interest. Among war books, Sir A. Conan Doyle’s “ History of the Great Boer War,” “Words by an Eye Witness,” by “Linesman,” and “On the Heels of De Wet,” deserve much more than passing notice, and stand head and shoulders above their fellows from among a cloud of fugitive literature. The Zimes “ History of the War” proceeds but slowly, and no more than three volumes have yet been issued. These, however, give the impression that the whole work, when complete, will be in- valuable as a work of reference, well written, fear- less and impartial. The war story of the redoubt- able De Wet himself can scarcely be classed as sound literature or impartial writing ; his facts are disputable and his prejudices openly violent. Two works which fall within the domain of history have been written by F. Edmund Garrett, once editor of the Cape Times. Mr. Garrett has thrown away upon journalism literary talents of a high order. If he could have spared the time and the inclination he might have produced work upon South Africa which few writers could have sur- passed. As itis, in his brief volume, ‘In Afrikander- land,” and in “The Story of an African Crisis,”’ we have two books for which we may be thankful. In the latter volume the true inwardness of the Jameson Raid is set forth in clear and unmistak- able fashion. Sir J. P. Fitzpatrick’s “ Transvaal from Within” deserves also a high place among historical works dealing with South Africa. Among all the names which thus far have been referred to, only that of Christian De Wet can be cited as South African Dutch. But unfortunately De Wet’s book can be classed neither as capable literature nor fair history. One volume, the work of an Afrikander born, published in Holland, and partially translated into English, does, however, deserve honourable mention. This is “ Wit de Geschiedenis van de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republick en van de Afrikaanders,” by ©. N. J. Du Plessis. ‘The passages translated into English by R. Acton have been entitled ‘‘ The ‘Transvaal Boer Speaking for Himself.’ This able and informing book is one which every Englishman who wishes to know some- thing of the Afrikander view of the Dutch South 24 African question ought to study. The pictures of Boer life and thought are singularly graphic, albeit told in simple and restrained language. We come now to the name of the one South African-born writer who has produced a really great work. This is, of course, Olive Schreiner (now Mrs. Cronwright-Schreiner), whose romance, “ The Story of an African Farm,” written nearly a score of years since, has created so great an impression upon her contemporaries. Its knowledge of South African life, its pessimism, the strange backwaters of thought into which it wanders, its strength, its tragedy and its mysticism, all unite to lay hold upon the reader’s imagination. It is a strong book, written by a born master of words, and it will live long after the great bulk of South African literature has passed away. Is Olive Schreiner, however, to be the “Single Speech Hamilton” in the literature of her time? 1t would almost seem so. We have had some few other works from her pen, but nothing that can for a moment compare with that sad yet wonderful book, *‘ The Story of an African Farm.” In the field of South African fiction the writers who have achieved success may be soon mentioned. After Olive Schreiner, Rider Haggard easily heads the list. In addition to that masterpiece of adven- turous romance, “ King Solomon’s Mines,” “ Jess,” “Allan’s Wife,” “The Witch’s Head,” “ Maiwa’s Revenge,” and other novels, all bespeak, from the South African point of view, the well earned popularity of this vigorous writer of fiction. “« Jess” is as fine and as true a picture of Trans- vaal life in the early eighties as it is possible to imagine, and the pathetic story of Jess herself can never fail to interest. H.A. Bryden, first known as a writer on sport and travel, has made various successful forays into the domains of romance. His intimate knowledge of the life of the veldt, the hunting Boer, and the native, have aided him much in these excursions. In his “Tales of South Africa,” “ From Veldt Camp Fires,” “Ton Duarte’s Treasure,” and “ An Exiled Scot,” are to be found some excellent imaginative writing. Bertram Mit- ford’s novels of South African adventure are well known. The reader of a rattling tale knows that in books such as “The Induna’s Wife,” ‘The White Shield,” and so forth, he will not be disap- pointed. W. C.Scully’s South African tales are good literature, and are well worth reading. They are, moreover, informed by a peculiar and accurate knowledge of South Africa, acquired by long residence in that country. “ Kaffir Stories,” « Between Sun and Sand,” and “A Vendetta of the Desert,” are distinctly above the ordinary level of imaginative work. It is somewhat curious that although Rudyard Kipling now resides for some portion of each THE AUTHOR. winter at the Cape of Good Hope he has produced no important romantic work on South Africa— nothing, at all events, to compare with “ Plain Tales from the Hills,” “ Kim,” ‘The Naulahka,” and other stories of India. The British public must live in hopes that a writer who has done so much for the East may one of these days give them a real book dealing with South Africa. Morley Roberts has, too, visited South Africa, and pene- trated even to Rhodesia; yet, up to the present time, he seems in his work to have left the countries neu of the Zambesi and their denizens severely alone. In a brief survey of this kind it is manifestly impossible to do anything like full justice to so wide a subject. We have indicated only the main outlines of the literature of South Africa between 1775 and the present time. —______.+—~<—___<_ AN IMPRESSION OF THE INTER- NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE PRESS. — S a delegate from The British International Association of Journalists—a society estab- lished to enable British Newspapermen to come into touch with their foreign comrades—I attended the Tenth International Congress of the Press, at Liege. I had not an entirely open mind. When I was President of the Institute of Journalists by Royal Charter Incorporated in 1900--1, I had certainly not exerted my influence in favour of affiliation to the Bureau Central, the headquarters of cosmopolitan journalism. My idea of the typical foreign pressman was a revolutionist, a socialist, a thoroughly unpractical, unbusiness- like enthusiast. My impression had in part been created by the testimony of those who had known the foreign pressman in his own country. If I had given the matter perhaps adequate considera- tion, I would have remembered that the Foreign Press Association in England—of which I have the honour of being an hon. member—consists entirely of absolutely respectable and highly culti- vated gentlemen. But truth to tell T attended the International Congress of the Press in July last with a mind only partly open. What did I find at Liege? ‘To my surprise some three hundred to four, hundred scholars and gentlemen quite the equals—my patriotism prevents me from suggesting the superiors—of the best of the representatives of the Fourth Estate of our Realm. The work of the conference was devoted to the consideration of copyright, the protection of the liberty of the Press, the question of notice, and a number of kindred subjects.  There was not an item on the agenda that would have been out of place on the list of the con- ference of our own Institute of Journalists at Bournemouth, with the possible exception of a resolution condemning duelling amongst journalists. This last gave rise to a very exciting debate which nearly ended in personal encounters. It was unanimously resolved that duelling was barbarous and should be prohibited, but when it was proposed that combats when they did take place shouid not be reported there arose a mighty shout of all but universal indignation. Even I as a delegate of the British International Association of Journalists raised my voice in defence of the rights of the author of the contents bill. Fora moment it seemed possible that the visit to Ostend on the programme might be utilised for assisting in the revival of the old fashioned menu, ‘ Pistols —loaded—for two. Coffee—with chasse—for one.” But happily the congress ended—as it began—in peace. It was notable that one of the items of tle agenda, “ The Dignity of the Press,” was practi- cally illustrated. The members of the congress were treated by everyone with profound respect. We were received in full uniform by members of the Government, heads of municipalities, and governors of provinces. At Brussels we were granted an audience by the king himself. His Majesty Leopold II. attired as a general and wearing his decorations gave evidence of his powers as a linguist by speaking fluently in English, French, and German to the guests—most of them much decorated—he seemed so anxious to honour. He appeared to take the deepest interest in the International Press. I myself at his invita- tion was able to give him a great deal of informa- tion—of course, of a highly satisfactory character —of the present condition of journalism in the United Kingdom and the United States. The king is certainly highly popular amongst his own subjects. Hecreated a most favourable impression amongst the delegates to the International Con- gress of the Press. At “The Lunch” in the palace after the reception, praise and nothing but praise mingled with the harmonious strains of the music of the Guides. In conclusion I am convinced that it is a mistake to avoid communion with our brothers of the pen across the water, the more especially as I found our foreign comrades ready, nay anxious, to offer us the hand of hearty good fellowship. Artaur WILLIAM 4 BECKETT. ——_——__+-——_+_____—- THE AUTHOR. 25 ENGLISH WRITERS AND JOURNALISTS IN BOHEMIA. —— os T has been a very interesting and noteworthy I experience that has fallen to the lot of a party of writers, members of the British International Association of Journalists, who have this summer made a tour through some of the most romantic, yet but little known, parts of Bohemia. Last year the Austrian Ministry of Railways offered facilities over the State Railways if I would arrange a party for a tour through Bohemia ; but as I had to act as secretary to the English delegation at the Vienna International Press Congress, I found the work too heavy to combine the two events, but the ministry then promised the same facilities for this year ; and, as I knew from long study of Bohemia, what a glorious “unknown land” the little mountain- encircled kingdom is to Englishmen, I gladly, with the assiduous help of Prof. Borovsky, of Prague, arranged the party of fifteen men and five ladies; writers on English, Scotch, Irish and Welsh journals, including such papers as_ the Times, Pall Mall Gazette, Telegraph, Queen, Man- chester Guardian, Trish Times, Gas World, Engi- neer, and other Irish, Scotch, and Welsh papers. Having visited Bohemia some twenty times, I had often, when travelling with my artist friends, and others, received the most cordial help, and often hospitality, all over Bohemia, and knew how heartily Bohemia thanks any who work to make her country and history known. How distorted that history has been writers such as Prof. Morfil, Mr. Wratislaw, and Count Lutzow, are now proving in English publications. But our astounding warm-hearted reception by peasant and people, journalists, artists and authors, musicians and municipalities, has overwhelmed us with its fervour. The history of Bohemia is so linked with that of England at critical moments in the life and death struggle in each land. In Bohemia, preserved in the lore of the people, are cameos of English history, lost to our historians, yet of high import : it was the discovery of some of these that excited me to visit Bohemia again and again, and thus | learnt the intense gratitude the Bohemians evince to those who interest themselves in their country and people. On crossing the frontier we were met by Prof. Borovsky, the learned director of the Rudolphinum at Prague, and on arriving at the capital Dr. Srb, the learned and courteous burgomaster, and the city council met us at the station, and, with a hearty welcome, escorted the party in carriages to 26 the Hotel de Saxe, right hospitably informing us we were the guests of the city during our stay in Prague ; and, as this article deals with the literary and artistic aspects of the tour, let me say, in few, yet earnest words, that in every town the recep- tions and hospitality have been more than regal, for they have been from the heart and soul of the people. At every station municipalities received us; at villages, during the three days’ driving, halts had to be made to reply to greetings of the village authorities, and great crowds gave hearty “Na Zadrs” in town and village. Ladies pre- sented the loveliest bouquets to our ladies, and the younger ladies pelted us with roses and flowers: at Pilsen, as at Prague, for three days we were the guests of the town, under the presidency of Dr. Groh. At Prachatic, where some twenty years ago Walter Crane, another friend and myself, were the first English to visit this quaint mediaval town, we were quartered in the houses of the principal resi- dents, who all rose at five a.m. to give us break- fast, and speed the parting guests as we drove away over the hills to Husinec. Throughout the route lessons have been driven into our minds through eye and ear, which, if England could learn, and act upon, would make town and country life with us more enjoyable, and our land would give her increase in every waste corner. At Prague the magnificent museums, with their careful historic and sectional arrangement, sur- prised the British visitors by their number and riches, and it is not often given to a writer to see his own work in a museum, but in a case in the National Museum are arranged the works of English writers of to-day, who have written on the history of Bohemia. Deeply interesting are the works and relics of the great period in the history of Bohemia, when the Wiclifites, through their leader Zizka, shook even the power of Rome, and conquered that “desert country by the sea,” to the Baltic, to which Shakespeare refers. Many a pet idea has been crushed upon the journey. The idea that the Bohemians are thrift- less, dirty, lazy agitators, has been swept away. Every inch of soil is utilised; the cottages are clean ; in one I entered by hazard, fresh tree branches were in each room ; the man earned Is. 6d. a day, and on asking why he had thus decorated, “Oh,” he said, “ we always do that, the scent is so sweet ; it is healthy.” From earliest morn until night they are jovially active, quick, alert, and, when listening to music, never break in with applause until the final note of the accompanist has ceased. Never again, I think, will any of our party compare Bohemia with Ireland. Agitate they certainly do, these Bohemians, but by self- help, in such numerous and wonderful ways that astounded our Jrish members, and we had ardent THE AUTHOR. Nationalists, Home Rulers, and Orangemen in our party. At the town of Kutna Hora (Kuttenberg) a delightful reception awaited us in the historic little council chamber, the decoration of which is so artistic : the walls being illuminated with powerful paintings of Hus demanding the liberties for the Bohemians in the Prague University, and George of Podiebrad being chosen king. The intense reverence for Hus in a country where nearly all are members of the Roman Church was beyond credence to our own members of that church. It was a wonderful scene in the great church of St. Barbara, when, as we entered, the great organ pealed forth, and then, as we foreigners were led to the choir steps, and faced the church crowded with the people, chorales were sung by a great choir; the memento was supreme in effect and beauty, yet full of reminiscences of the terrific history that had been enacted there, when our own great, but forgotten, Englishman, Peter Payne, had led the Bohemians and controverted the argu- ments by that other great Englishman, Cardinal Beaufort. At Domazlice we witnessed scenes more brilliant than any opera. The peasants in Sunday dress in blaze of colour; and right lustily they piped, and danced, and sang. One had to assure our friends it was not an arranged dressing up, but the ordinary Sunday or féte day costume. Another illusion dispelled is that the English are not musical. Professor Sevcik, the great master of Kubelik and Marie Hall, has swept that from our minds. We met the master at Prague, and at a reception arranged by the Anglo-American Club some of his pupils played, Mrs. Mitchell and Miss Graham, delightfully, artistically, powerfully. Only two here, but at Prachatic one heard Miss Hayward, whose technique and expression are wonderful, and at the little village of Husinec, where, before the birthplace of John Hus, mayor and villagers greeted us, we heard, in the theatre of the village, the four Misses Lucas, who played with a fervour, precision, and brilliancy that swept away traces of the thought that (given the teacher) the English are not musical. We also, at Budweis, heard the famous Sevcik quartette, and the “Smetana” Men’s Choir at Pilsen. The Bohemian masters and composers have conquered the world to-day, and the Austrian system of education discovers and fosters genius, be it born in village, town, or city, be it musical or artistic, technical, commercial, or agricultural. What an experience was it for our English women to sit down to an exquisite lunch at Domaz- lice, to be waited upon by young ladies, daughters of M.P.’s and doctors, dressed in most artistic dresses, and to be informed that the lunch was prepared, cooked and served by the young ladies,  THE AUTHOR. pg and that the dresses, lace, and needlework were all their own handiwork, for they were students at the local cooking and needlework schools. In the theatres we heard the works of Dvorak, Smetana and Nedbal, so that our whole progress was enveloped in culture, art, and music, and this in a country that even to-day guide-books, like Baedaker’s, hardly notice, giving only ten lines to a town like Pilsen, and for an historic old castle like Bésig, full of architectural and historic in- terest, merely noting the fact there is a ruin there. But Bohemia, the real Bohemia, not such places as Carlsbad and Marienbad, is no longer e sealed country to English travellers, and her wealth of river and mountain scenery is a lovely setting to a most interesting people. JAMES BAKER. —_———_+—>—_+__——_ THE WAY OF JOURNALISM. —_+——+- T is so brief a time ago that I was writing letters of pathetic appeal to famous authors and great editors (enclosing essays, poems, stories, and other samples of my genius), that I can never bring myself to write a cross or a hurried note to the people who now sadden me with a sense of age by asking for my counsel in the difficulties of their journalistic careers. But, unlike famous authors and great editors, I have neither secretary nor clerk at my elbow to whom I can dictate the softest of blandishments, and therefore the will to write kindly and helpful letters to my unknown correspondents suffers, I find with shame, more and more in the increasing demands of my work. Therefore it is that the request of the Editor of The Author to send him a brief article, is heralded by me as an excellent opportunity for composing one letter general of the whole question, which for the rest of my life I may be able to send through the halfpenny post to future correspondents, pleasing, and I hope, help- ing them, while it will deliver me in some small measure from the dreadful exactions of corres- pondence, and excuse me from all discourtesy. * * *k ac aS Let me begin by protesting my conviction that there is not an editor in London who is not anxiously searching for writers with something to say. The conviction, common to many minds, that editors can only be reached through a personal introduction, and that they are quite careless of the literary contents of their papers, is a wrong conviction, a conviction which must be broomed out of the mind as soon as possible. It is true that in some cases a letter of intro- duction may secure publication of a characterless essay which would otherwise have found its way back to the author ; but never, I am sure, does the wine of good copy need the bush of influence. It is a truth that editors,—who are, remember, competitors one against the other,—are searchin ¢ the world for writers. ‘Treasure this truth; and instead of railing against ignorant editors, labour so to observe the world, and so to express your observations, that there shall not be one editor in London unwilling to receive you into his bosom. This is the beginning of the gospel of journal- ism—absolute faith in the discernment of editors. Assured in his soul of this belief, and emptying his mind of all little schoolboy conceits and under- graduate extravagances, let the beginner consider well within his soul how he shall present himself before these gods of the Press. What shall he write about, and in what manner shall he write ? Begin by knowing that there is no subject under the sun, howsoever beautiful, howsoever profound, howsoever urgent, which can hope to be admitted to the feast if it be not clothed in the wedding garment of interest. The newspaper is meant to interest people. Its mission may be as high as you please, but it must interest. ‘‘ If God tires you” said Fénelon, “tell him so.” The world has a mighty mission, we suppose, but if it did not interest us there would be neither man of science nor poet of nature. And the newspaper may be educating people, may be guiding opinion, may be forming taste, but if it be not crammed with interest it will have no readers. Choose, then, your subjects from the point of interest. Look out upon the world and see what most interests the marching ranks of humanity. Consider yourself not as the great captain of the host, nor yet as the chaplain of the forces, but rather as the minstrel called to the camp-fires to beguile the quiet hours which separate the march from the battle. Do not- be afraid to be humble. The greatest of journalists can never hope to play a part greater than Homer played before the warriors of Greece. Your chief labour must be observation. You must study men and women, you must study nature, you must study literature. You cannot be a great writer if you are not a cluse observer. Unless you have seen a thing more clearly than other people have seen it, you have no excuse for writing. It is only when you have cultivated the seeing eye, only when you have seen and reflected upon what all the rest of the world has merely glanced at, that you can have justification for desiring the attention of the newspaper reader. You must not be afraid to feel. Cultivate in yourself the gift of sympathy, the faculty of responsiveness. Never let your own personality get between the retina of your consciousness and 28 the vibrations of the image of humanity. Stand on one side to receive the picture. The picture is of more importance than your own notions of propriety. Do not condemn the tears of Little Nell till you have drawn a finer character than Mrs. Nickleby. Feel joy and feel pain as other people feel them. Have sympathy with all men. Then, when you have observed the world, and when you have cultivated in your mind the gift of sympathy with humanity, consider the style in which you shall present your reflections to the reader. At first you are sure to begin jumpily, self-consciously, with grimaces and contortions, aping the styles of other men, and murdering them. Do not be disheartened. Put these early writings on one side, and look at them six weeks hence. Through the blushes and the tears which will cover you with confusion you may yet see in that poor article of yours more clearly than in all the works of all the greatest geniuses, your own sure road to success. You will see exactly where you were affected, where you were unnatural, where you were pompous, where you were stupid, and where yoa were tedious. You will see exactly how to avoid all these mistakes in future; and practice will gradually bring you into the kingdom of your own natural style. Do not write a great deal, but write something every day. Let the act of writing become easy to you. And strive above all things so to become interested in your subject that you are carried away by it, and know not how you have written, scarce, indeed, what you have written, till the last word is drawn from your soul. Then when the creative side of your brain has done its work, let the critical emerge and do its work as well. Go over the paper again and again, striking out every word that rings falsely, scratching out every sen- tence that is unessential, and buckling up the whole composition so that it reads with a rhythm from beginning to end, and has not one dull line or one impertinent word from the first to the last. Avoid as far as possible a painful search for ‘the inevitable word.” He is a bad writer who makes you pause to say “ that’s a good word,” or “ that’s a brave phrase” ; he is a great writer who carries you under the magic of his art away from all such questions of style and effect, and clean transports you into the region of his fancy. Study to be natural. Employ all the graces of language and all the felicities of manner which are within your reach, and which commend themselves to your critical faculty ; but just so far, and not a comma farther, than they are natural to you. In this manner would I speak (not, I hope, too didactically), to the boy setting out with his pen to fight the world. But there is yet one more THE AUTHOR. word to say. A quicker road to success than lies in writing articles, and verses, and stories from your own room, is that which takes the observer into the streets of the town and makes him a chronicler of the day’s drama. I would advise a young man who desires to be a thorough jour- nalist, to set his affections upon one paper, and to drop into the editor’s letter-box, night after night, some brief record of the day’s events, some story or description, so full of interest and human curiosity, that it must ueeds take a front place in the morn- ing’s paper. Such work—if it be finely done— though ill-rewarded at first, ends, I am sure, in that first step to success, a permanent employ- ment on the editorial staff. This I believe to be the royal road to journalism, and, perhaps, there are fewer people walking this way than on any other path of human activity. I do not think there is a more interesting profession open to men than this fast and furious profession of daily letters: but it is a profession full of bitterness for the bad or inefficient work- man, and full of disappointment for the stubborn, self-preaching, egoist. Its prizes are for men capable of repressing their own gospels of sal- vation, and cheerfully willing to serve the public in the capacity of gossip and tale-teller. And from the beginning to the end it means work,—hard, honest, conscientious, and devoted work. If a man be a keen observer, if he be modest in his ambitions, and if he work with all his heart, and with all his mind, and with all his soul,—seeking always to interest his patrons—he will need but little elbowing and pushing to reach the rewards of journalism. Haroup BEGBIE. 1 WANTED—A NEW MODEL! —— \ \ JE have to-day such an accumulation of magazines that our bookstalls lie sub- merged under them, as beneath the waves of an ever-flowing, ever-increasing tide. Each month gees a new one, if not more, and they all fight desperately for existence, in a blatant war- fare of sensationalism. But with all this ‘water, water everywhere’ many of us find ‘not a drop to drink.’ We are up to the chin in stuff we cannot swallow, and find little or nothing upon which to quench our literary thirst. For, to many of us, these highly glazed, highly coloured, highly adver- tised and emphasised magazines afford a kind of mental nausea, and the sight of a bookstall groan- ing under them is like a table spread with gorgeous empty platters before a hungry man. Why should there be nothing in them that we  i can read—we, that section of the British public 4) whose taste has been trained not to enjoy Choppy 4G Bits or Royal Family Magazines, or Rushed Re- views, or Mincemeat Monthlies? Is it for our ai sins? What have we done? And where are all ‘ge our good short story writers—those whose work we af find occasionally in volume form? We look in e, vain within the pages of our journals for the “fj thoughtful, literary, stimulating work of those i whose tales used to appear now and again in 94 periodicals, but now only in book form. We Ms all know a choice half dozen or so, forgotten ud by the world, who have given us promise of vie greatness. Where are they ? Once in a blne 2 moon we meet one of them, but his work seems to sf have crept into the magazine by acgident, and iii through no fault of the editor ! Forfonr monthly i and weekly magazines are now devoted to the de obvious and commonplace; nothing original, ide subtle or in any way unconventional ever seems to ai find_a place in them. \ Cheir aim is all to please a class that delights in i crude sensation, intricate plot, rapid incident and “1 treacly sentiment ; that revels in pictures of men ¥) flying at each other’s throats, falling off precipices “1 or being shot out of motor cars. To this class it does 64 not matter how ancient, how trivial or how im- “ possible the story, how badl y the English language is maltreated, so long as something happens in we every paragraph, something that can be decorated i with blood-curdling illustrations, and so long as “d the pages are cut up into loose dialogue, plentifully “ sprinkled with sentimentality and notes of ex- 5. clamation. _ But are our editors entirely right in thinking wf that only this kind of stuff will sell? Is nothing 4 else wanted? These are questions we may reason- ‘) ably ask ourselves when we see the better class of & American magazines— Harpers, Scribners, Atlantic Monthly, The Century, ete—pouring into our market, lying about on our tables; and this in | spite of the fact that we are not particularly interested in long articles dealing with American / statesmen and generals. Why do we want all 4) these, why encourage literary aliens ? The answer ® is plain enough. Because they give us something * we need, that no English magazine gives us. Because we’ve nothing of our own to compare with them in literary excellence, in freshness, fancy and advanced thought. This is written with all due respect to the best magazines we have, to Blackwood, Macmillan, Temple Bar, Longman’s and one or two more who honestly strive to reach a certain standard. No work that is slovenly or abject gets into their pages, and we are grateful forthem. But are they not—let it be whispered under our breath and with reverence— are they not just a trifle dull and more than a THE AUTHOR. 29 trifle stereotyped ? Do they ever dare to print a new and startling idea, a subtle or highly imavina- tive piece of work ? Must not the thing that is acceptable to them be moulded on a certain pattern, worked out upon lines that have become familiar to their readers, by constant repetition, for a generation or so? / Do they not, in fact, represent toryism in letters, and stand up against innovation in any form, as pillars of propriety and established order ? Of course many persons will stoutly maintain that all the tales of the world have been told, and that we can but tell them over and over again. Human nature, they will say, is human nature, and remains just as it was centuries and exons ago; nothing alters but the unessential and everything goes on just as it did. They say this, but do they believe it, or is it one of those trite doctrines that are accepted without sifting, and therefore without true conviction? Can anyone seriously believe that the thoughts and emotions of—say a modern stockbroker—resemble in any sense, those of an Ancient Briton, or even an Arthurian Knight ? Certain elemental desires, it is true, remain tolerably constant through the ages, but they are always resolving into new forms, new ideas, new motives, new opinions; always casting up new problems. Just as there are chemical changes taking place continually in matter, so are there psychic changes in the immaterial elements that go to the making of individuals and of states. This is mere truism, and yet there are folk who would seem to wish us to believe that the men and women of to-day, the day of automobilism, wireless telegraphy, and the hourly out-pouring of the press, do not differ from the men and women who existed a thousand years before the stage coach, the six- penny post and the weekly news sheet. It is this curious, half-formed belief that is the cause of our monotonous story-telling. It offers a reason why our fiction still teems with forged wills, stolen diamonds, wards who fall in love with their guardians, silly lovers who are parted by plotting rivals, pattern-plate love affairs of un- interesting young persons, everlasting cases of mistaken identity and so forth ad nauseam. Everything is turned out to order and sample, as if made by machinery ; nothing original, profound or suggestive is permitted ; every situation must be expected, obvious, based on fixed and accepted canons ; and all the vital changes that are working beneath the surface, all the complications of human passion, motive and aspiration, the things that really matter and really interest the thoughtful— where are they? We find them in our novels, some of them; there is no taboo against the clash of physical and psychic forces, the most searching soul analysis, in our books. But in the ‘ family 380 magazine,’ whose pages are filled with glowing accounts of our most famous courtezans, illustrated with pictures of their bedrooms and boudoirs, the merest suggestion of a moral problem is rigidly ex- cluded. Our wives and daughters may read of, and sigh for, the almost fabulous gifts of fortune that fall at the feet of a modern Messalina, but their chaste eyes must not rest upon the word ‘passion’ or read about a sex problem ! This, of course, is but one of the subjects tabooed in our magazines, one that needs great delicacy of treatment and can easily be done to death. But where are all those other ideas and subjects that inspired our short story writers in the past, that gave us Scenes from Clerical Life, The Beleaguered City, Will o° the Mill and Markheim ; that sent us from over the water the Van Bidder Stories, the fine analytical studies of Henry James and the inimitable character sketches of Mary E. Wilkins ? Have we no one to-day who can write thus, with intellectual insight and ineffable charm? The man who set himself to read all our magazines for the current month (were that possible) might well think so. It is the conviction of the present writer that he would be wrong. Judging from certain volumes it is safe to conclude that the supply is not lacking, but the demand—or rather, the market for its appearance. There can be little doubt that, stowed away in dusty drawers and cup- boards, lies a neglected mass of original work as fine as any we have had, work that has been refused by every editor in London purely on account of ‘unsuitability ;’ much of it by well-known writers now pot-boiling in disgust ; the rest by un- known talent, striving in the dark for perfection. For while the famous author may always cherish a hope of seeing his storiettes appear in a volume, on the strength of his name, the untamed can never expect that chance, unless he publishes them at his own expense. Say, is this not true, authors—men and women ? Have you not all certain darlings of your mind that you are well convinced are of your highest inspiration and best execution, yet know. to be utterly outside the market? Is there one of you who has not some such ware hidden away in dust and darkness, waiting for the magazine that is so long a-coming, that seems as if it never will come ? But surely it musé come, sooner or later. The demand is growing, the supply must follow. We want it badly—the Great English Magazine that is to send the Americans home and give us literature, thought, ideas, art, of our own; something upon which our intellect and imagination can feed, by which our genius can be stimulated. Not the poor, puny, but well-meant effort of a little literary THE AUTHOR. clique or mutual admiration society ; not a vehicle for morbid melancholy, or flippant Anglo-Gallicism or any of the thousand cults that afflict society We have seen enough of such anemic failures they are moribund from their birth. Our Great English Magazine must be sound and solvent, under sane and sober management, subject to no whims or freaks, dependent upon no small colerie, no sing] influence. ‘There must be a business head behind it, as well asa thinkev’s brain, an artist’s taste, an enthusiast’s heart. It must be published by a strong syndicate—one that can wait (which is to ~ say, that a large capital is indispensable), and edited by more than one distinguished man 0 letters. Moreover, it must be fearless and catholic, regardless of Mrs. Grundy and the Young Person, while, rejecting all that is ugly and plague-_ spotted, catering for every taste that may claim to be called taste, aiming not merely at what will pay now, but what will stand fast and firm in th future, both as a literary model and a financial investment. This New Model, then, must be daring with — discretion, independent, lofty and secure. Hvery-_ thing about it must be of the best possible; the” best paper and print, pictures (if it has any), poetry and prose, that can be bought for gold and — found by discernment. Who knows what buried treasures it might bring to light, what brilliant fiction from masters almost silent, what poems, what essays? Who knows what obscure genius it might reveal? Have we lost all faith in ourselves, in the English spirit that inspired Chaucer and Shakespeare, Fielding and Defoe? Are we content to go on for ever wallowing in Choppy Bits and Monthly Magazines of Mincemeat ? We want this new magazine—we want it desperately—as a medium for our creative thought, our artistic development. All that which has made England’s great literary past—her poetic conception, her spiritual profundity, her mordant satire, her crisp humour, her perception of and deep insight into character—can find no place now either in the crusted and cobwebby pages of our high-class magazines and reviews (meritorious as they are up to a certain point), and far less in the gaudy and obstreperous outpourings of Carmelite and Henrietta Streets. The former are too timorous of giving offence; the latter are mere money-making machines, frankly spurning any- thing that resembles literature. We need an open space to grow in, unlimited by the restrictions of conservatism, unchoked by the weeds of com- mercialism. In fact, we need a home for the soul of things literary. The shells and husks of a pas age will not serve us much longer; we hunger already for something more satisfying, for a glimpse into the heart and brain of humanity, for research  into the meaning and tendencies of our present life, into the problems and potentialities of the future. And the time is ripe. Such a magazine as this we desire would not make the fortunes of its promoters in a few short years. At first there would be unavoidable loss on it. But in time to come it would be as surely ‘a good property’ as | it would bea national boon. The British public { has an instinctive leaning towards everything _ aristocratic, a deeply inherited sense of respect for what is noble ; and once convince it that the new | magazine is an aristocrat in letters, that it is read by all those of cultured taste, and you will soon see that magazine on the table of every householder who can afford a shilling a month, whether he read _ itor not. And why should he not read it? He must buy and read good books, or our masterpieces would not be reprinted by thousands yearly. Is there any reason then, why he should not appre- ciate a good magazine if it were set before him? As a matter of fact there are thousands of readers to-day who have given up taking in periodicals » simply because they can find nothing they care to _ read in them. Are we to sit till Doomsday under the ban of _ being a nation of shopkeepers, ignorant of art, of all that is subtle, beautiful and refined? Are we really less capable of artistic judgment or creation than our neighbours, the French, or our cousins, the Americans? Do not believe it. We have a populace for Choppy Bits, and so have they, no less vulgar and attracted by gimcracks. But we have also a public that thirsts for something better, that is, perhaps, the most thoughtful and earnest reading public in the world. All we want is a leader of courage, a man who can command both confidence © and capital. It is for him to step boldly over the | dead bodies of past failures, heeding them only with a view to profit by their errors, and to throw himself into the present breach with pluck and enterprise. Englishmen have never shown a lack of pluck or enterprise in other adventures ; they fling their energies and their gold daily into the wildest speculations. Can no one be found to face arisk in this most urgent cause? There never was yet a cause in England, however forlorn, that lacked a champion to lead it. Where is he ? Mary L. PENDERED. ——__—__+—~—« S THE TRADE IN BOOKS. SS OOKS are unlike ordinary articles of com- merce in one important respect, viz. : that their use and enjoyment does not depend upon personal ownership. The loan of a book may THE AUTHOR. 3L be, and often is, far more valuable to the reader than the ownership of the same book by gift or purchase. A book that is /ent can be read and returned to the owner, its purpose being fully served by this process. A book that is bought entails both the cost of purchase and the provision by the owner of suitable storage or house room. Many owners of books possess fine libraries with- out ever making use of them for reading. They may, in fact, have no taste for reading at all, and may be quite content to own books for the use and enjoyment of others who have the taste for reading, and the knowledge to make use of books. The principal and permanent obstacle to the extension of the ordinary trade in books is the common desire to read books without the cost of buying and housing them. For one person that desires to possess a book by purchase many hun- dreds of persons desire, for all sorts of reasons, to read books and make use of them without purchase. The reading of a book may or may not lead to a subsequent purchase. In the vast majority of cases books, however valuable and instructive, will be read and returned without purchase. But the public which can obtain books on loan possesses at least the great advan- tage of being able to form their own opinion about books, instead of merely reading what other persons think about them. It is, of course, open to question whether increased facilities for reading new books will necessarily lead to increased sales. The reading public, including many authors, will probably say yes. Publishers as a class evidently think not. The circulating library provides indeed a small concession to the popular demand for books on loan. But it is notorious that the public wants are very imperfectly supplied by libraries of this class. Delays and difficulties of many kinds are incidental to the business of lending libraries, as every sub- scriber knows to his cost. It is obvious that when many persons desire to read at the same time some new and popular book the great majority of readers must either buy the book for themselves, or wait an indefinite time until their turn comes round. Moreover, many of the most valuable and costly works appeal only to a limited class, and these never find their way into circulating libraries at all. The condition of purchase, in fact, excludes these works from general circulation altogether. The question naturally arises why the popular demand for books of all kinds om loan cannot be met on reasonable business terms without obstruc- tion or delay ? The ideal system of book supply would provide reasonable facilities to responsible applicants to peruse and form their own opinion regarding new books of all kinds. If this general principle be kept in view there are many different 82 ways in which effect might be given to it. For example, publishers might, if they thought fit, combine to establish a central library or book exchange where all the new publications advertised from week to week might be on view, and all reasonable facilities be provided for perusal on the spot, and for examination by all responsible persons. Persons who desired to read such books at their own leisure, and in their own homes, might be encouraged to do so by the arrangement of some proper system of granting copies 0” loan, the terms charged being based upon the published price, and the nature of each work. Some scheme based on these lines would increase greatly the value of all publishers’ circulars, which under present con- ditions are of no value at all except to a very small class. Professional reviewing of books is likely to be improved materially by enabling the reading public to form for themselves their own estimate of books ; and probably reviewers themselves would be the first persons to welcome a new departure on the lines proposed. There are, no doubt, many other ways in which the public demand for access to new books might be largely encouraged if publishers thought it desirable. Whether they would lead to increased sales or not may, of course, be disputed ; but there can be no doubt at all that books would be adver- tised far more effectually by encouraging the public to read them than is possible under the present system of circulars and literary reviews. This system is intended to promote sales, but those who desire to read without purchase are apt to be entirely indifferent to the opinions of professional critics, and will always preter to form their own opinions for themselves without guidance. Apart from these considerations it seems on general principles to be quite clear that the public demand for the perusal of new publications without any intention or desire to purchase is one which ought, on mere business principles, to be met in some way or another. As long as new books can be obtained by purchase only the vast majority of readers will simply refrain from reading them until access can be obtained on some more favourable terms. Authors as well as publishers are con- siderably interested in this question. The existing system has been created by publishers primarily for the protection of their own interests as capita- lists and producers. In this capacity they are simple monopolists, and are little likely, as all experience shows, to take a very enlightened view either of public interests or of their own advantage. Publishers will of course contend that they know their own business far better than any irresponsible critic ; but authors may reasonably complain that the interests of the reading public—which is the final court of appeal—are not sufficiently consulted ’ THE AUTHOR. in this matter. If effect could be given to the proposals suggested readers would assuredly be — multiplied a hundredfold, and the whole trade in books would receive an impetus which might go — far to reconcile even the most conservative pub- lisher to a radical change of system. In any case — the subject is one which seems to be well worth | consideration by all who are interested in books, either as authors, publishers, or readers. Si quid novisti rectius istis, candidus imperti, si non his utere mecum. $+ CORRESPONDENCE. —t+—< + Sir,—The following may possibly be of interest to members of the Society :— In 1882-1887 I brought out a “History of Freemasonry” which, in the then absence of Inter- national copyright, was promptly pirated in the United States and euphoniously described by the publishers (John C. Yorston & Co.) as the “American Edition,’ and in the preparation of it I was said to have been “assisted” by three prominent American masons, whose “ assistance,” by the way, had been totally unknown to me. Last year (1904) I placed on the market “A Concise History of Freemasonry,” which was pub- lished in this country by Gale and Polden, of 2, Amen Corner, E.C.; and (a real ‘ American Edition”) by the Macoy Company, of 34, Park Row, New York, in accordance with the Inter- national Copyright Act of 1891. In the Keystone (Philadelphia) of June 17th, 1905, on the eighth page of which the name of John ©. Yorston is given as “managing editor,” there appears (p. 10): “Nearly ready, new revised unabridged American edition of Robert Freke Gould’s ‘Complete History of Freemasonry,’ to be issued in five volumes, revised down to the present time, 1905, and to which is added new additional matter and features of great interest and impor- tance. . . . The Board of Editors are all recognised authorities throughout the world pertaining to all Masonic matters and history, and Ir Is THE ONLY {sic} official and standard authority in the world.” ‘Further particulars,” it is also stated, “may be obtained of the John C. Yorston Publishing Co., Philadelphia.” For impudence, the above will be hard to beat, — and I shall conclude by expressing a hope that the ~ efforts of the publishers, together with those of the “ Board of Editors ’”»—whose names have not yet been revealed—to float an “American Edition” of my original “ History of Freemasonry ” may meet with the fate they deserve. R. F. GouLp. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 16 Issue 01 (October 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 01 (October 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-10-01-The-Author-16-1 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/510/1905-11-01-The-Author-16-2.pdf 928ac45e0a0fd1b736b586f7be3a3eed PDF Text Text �������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-11-01 Volume 16 Issue 2 Pages Page range in volume 33–64 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19051101 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin The Hutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XVI.—No. 2. NovEMBER 1sT, 1905. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_—__—__—_<>__+—__—_ NOTICES. —+— + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone. are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tus Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. —_--—>+—_ List of Members. Tun List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. S a St —_—_+—+—_ The Pension Fund of the Society. Tun Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Ane Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone 1 carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Vou. XVI. Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consols 24 %...-.-2cesceeceeseeceeceeeenes £1000 0 0 Tiocal loans #.:--:.........-.-..:----..--- 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............-++ 291 19 11 War loan .......-.. se: 201° 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture Stock ..2.0..2........5. se: 250 0 0 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4 % Certificates 200 0 0 Toba 6: £2,443 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £ s. i. Jan. 12, Anonymous . : 0 2 6 June 16, Teignmouth-Shore, the Rev. Canon. : . : : eo 10 July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon. the Lord . : ; 0 5 0 Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. 0 5 0 = ay Uhorburn, W. OE. 010 0 Donations, 1905. Jan. Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 O Jan. Bolton, Miss Anna 0 5 0 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 0 5 0 Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert 0 5 0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 0 Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 010 0 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. 10. 0 Mar. 28, Kirmse, Mrs. 010 0 April19, Hornung, E. W. . 25 0 O May 7, Wynne, C. Whitworth 5 0 0 May 16, Alsing, Mrs. J. E. 0 5 0 May 17, Anonymous . ; 1 ot 0 June 6, Drummond, Hamilton 3.3 0 July 28, Potter, the Rev. J. Hasluck 0 5 0 Oct. 12, Allen, W. Bird 0. 5 0 Oct. 17, A. O. N. 2 1 0 6 Oct. 17, Hawtrey, Miss Valentina 0 5 6 34 COMMITTEE NOTES. Se HE first meeting of the committee since the vacation was held at the offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., on Monday, October 9th. It was with great satisfaction that the committee elected fifty-eight members and associates who had sent in their applications since the meeting at the beginning of July. This brings the total number of elections during the current year up to 193. In 1904, up to October, the same number exactly was elected, and as the elections of that year were much above the average—233 being elected in all—the committee hope it may be possible to reach that number again in 1905. A small question arose bearing on the United States Copyright Bill which is being drafted by Mr. Thorvald Solberg, the Registrar of Copyrights at Washington for the United States Government. The committee referred the matter to the copyright sub-committee, who will consider it in due course. During the vacation the secretary had an inter- view with Mr. J. A. Cooper, editor of the Canadian Magazine and Treasurer of the Canadian Society of Authors. Mr. Cooper was very anxious, on behalf of the Canadian society, that the two bodies should be drawn closer together, and made sugges- tions which the committee considered. As the Canadian Society of Authors has no magazine, Mr. Cooper suggested the purchase of a certain number of copies of 7hée Author monthly. To this the Committee gladly agreed, as also to a proposition that they should assist members of the Canadian society, In case of any disputes which should arise out of the marketing of their property in England. The secretary reported that during the vacation it had been necessary to take counsel’s opinion in France on a question of literary property that had arisen out of the sale of translation rights, and, subsequently, to place the matter in the hands of a French solicitor, who had been instructed to commence action if necessary. This has been done by the sanction of the chairman, and the solicitor employed in France was the solicitor of the Société des Gens de Lettres. The committee heartily indorsed the action the chairman had taken. In another case counsel’s opinion, which had been taken during the vacation, with the chairman’s sanction, was laid before the committee. The main point in question was how far an author could claim exclusive right in the use of a nom de plume and restrain others from making use of it. As counsel’s opinion was in favour of the member’s contention the committee decided to take action, if necessary, as the principle involved was one of great importance to all authors. THE AUTHOR. The committee decided also to inquire whether it would be possible, in existing circumstances, for Egypt to join the Berne Convention, as there were many readers of English works in Egypt, and the fact that there was no international arrangement caused the literary property of the British author to be protected inadequately in that country. Another point under discussion was the advisability of fixing the unit of an edition. The secretary reported, as an example of the confusion which arises under the present system, that in one case which had come before him a book was advertised in its third edition when only twenty- seven copies had been sold. The committee decided to write to the chairman of the Publishers’ Association, in order to obtain the opinion of that body as to the advisability of determining accurately the point at issue. There were one or two other smaller points for discussion of no special interest to members, Cases, Since the last issue of Zhe Author there have been five cases in the secretary’s hands. Two for the return of MSS., one for money, one for accounts, and one for infringement of copyright. In one case the MS. has been returned. The other, being in the United States, has not yet been settled. The money has been paid and handed to the author, and the accounts rendered and forwarded. The question of infringement of copyright deals with a paper in Norway, and at present the infringer refuses to answer the society’s letters. The matter will therefore go before the committee at their next meeting, as it is essential that pirates should understand that they are not, because they live outside England, also outside the reach of legal proceedings. All the cases that were left open at the end of last month have been settled, with the exception of two, one arising out of the bankruptcy of a publisher and the other referring to payment for MSS. The latter case is in the hands of the society’s solicitors. The case in which counsel’s opinion was placed before the committee at their last meeting, and which the committee decided to take up, has been settled. The writer’s nom de plume which was being used has been withdrawn. There will be no need, therefore, to take the matter further.  THE October Elections. Banbury, Capt. Cecil Beale, Miss Dorothea, LL.D. Boulger, Demetrius C. . Browne, F. Maurice Brown, J. Macmillan Butler, H. J. Claremont, Leopold Cotton, G. F. : Curran, The Rev. ELE. . Doidge, Edwin Edwards, Mrs. E. R. Festing, Miss Gabrielle . Fisher, Mrs. . Fitzgerald, Mrs. Augus- tine . FitzGerald, 8. J. Adair. Gamble, F. W. Gariorowski, M. Hague, C. Hope Halford, Frederic M. (“‘ Detached Badger”’) Hawtrey, Miss Valentina “ Henry Purcell” Holman, Henry Hughes-Gibb, Mrs. Jackson, W. 8. Johnson, Miss Effie Kingon, W. A. . 61, Lowndes S.W. Ladies’ College, Chel- tenham. 11, Edwardes Square, Kensington. Clovelly, St. John’s Road, Hastbourne. Holmbank, Feudalton, Christchurch, New Zealand. Square, 38, Conduit Street, W. 87, Salcott Road, Wandsworth Com- mon, 8.W. Pouchcove, Newfound- land. Cootamandia, South Wales, tralia. Adswood, North Cres- cent, Church End, Finchley, N. 56, Queen’s Gate Ter- race, 8.W. 223, Willoughby Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.A. New Aus- 11, Avenue Hoche, Paris, France. 17, Brunswick Square, W.C. 16, Ambherset Street, Withington, , Man- chester. 60, Boulevard Clichy, Paris. Kooringa, South Aus- tralia. 6, Pembridge Place, W. 119, Beaufort Mansions, Chelsea, 8. W. Bankfield South, Bury, Lancs. Tarrant Gunville, Bland- ford. The Beach, Shanklin, Isle of Wight. Enlingcott, Headly Liphook, Hants. Tsomo Villa, Sea Point, Cape Colony. AUTHOR. Litt, Harry H. Macgregor, Lieut. - Col. John Mackenzie, R. J. . Mallock, Miss M. M. McEwen, Thomas O’Donnell, Elliott, Paternoster, G. Sidney . Purchase, Edward J. Puxley, Herbert H. L. . Raymond, Walter Reynolds, Mrs. Baillie . Selwyn, Mrs. Smith, A. H. Stutfield, Hugh E. M. . Telfer, E. B. Landor Thomson, Francis Thorburn, W. M. . Toynbee, Mrs. Paget Virgo, Eustace Felice Agostino _—(** Felice Agostino ’’) ; ; Wadbam-Petre, Walter Ward, Mrs. Wilfrid Weir, Preston Weston, Lieut. D. P., R.N. Williamson, C. N. Williamson, Mrs. C. N. Williamson, K. B. 35 15, Woodlands Road, Cheetham Hill, Man- chester. Ardgay House, Ardgay, Ross-shire. 12, Great Stuart Street, Edinburgh. 4, Owlstone Road,Grant- chester Street, Newn- ham, Cambridge. East Bank, Strandtown, Belfast. Clifton House, St. Ives, Cornwall. 7, Ashworth Mansions, Elgin Avenue, W. Owsden Rectory, New- market. Willowside, Oxon. 182, Sutherland Avenue, Maida Vale, W. 32, Aldridge Road Villas, W. 6, Abingdon Court, Kensington, W. 21, North HowardStreet, Gt. Yarmouth. 49, St. George’s Square, S.W. Leinster House, Mort- lake. 28, Elgin Avenue, W. Goring, 29, Kidbrook Park Road, 8.E. Fiveways, Burnham, Bucks. Rome, Italy. 13, Grove End Road, N-W. Lotus, Dorking. Redland School, Fern- banke Road, Bristol. H.M.S. Albion, Chan- nel Fleet. Chalet des Pins, Cap Martin (A.M.), France. Chalet des Pins, Cap Martin (A.M.), France. Raepur, Central Pro- vinces, India. Four members elected do not desire either their names or addresses to be printed. 36 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. ——>—+ (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply particulars. ) ART. RAPHAEL. By JULIA CARTWRIGHT (Mrs. ADY). 6 x 4. 223 pp. Duckworth. BIOGRAPHY. Tur LIFE AND LETTERS OF SiR JOHN EVERETT Mituals. By his son, JOHN GUILLE MILLAIS. An Abridged and Cheaper Edition in one Volume. 9 x 6. 416 pp. Methuen. 7s. 6d. n. CHARLES LAMB. By WALTER JERROLD. 112 pp. Bell. 1s. n. RECORDS AND REMINISCENCES, PERSONAL AND GENERAL. By Sir Francis C. BURNAND. Fourth and Cheaper Edition, revised. 73 x 5. 462 pp. Methuen. 6s. Str THOMAS BRowNE. By EDMUND GossE. 73 x 5. 215 pp. Macmillan. 2s, n. FINAL RECOLLECTIONS OF A DIPLOMATIST. Honourable Sir Horace RUMBOLD, BART, 6 x 4. By the Right G.C.B. ‘9 x 58. 408 pp. Arnold. 15s.n. B. R. Haypon AND His FRIENDS. By GEO. PASTON. 9 x 5%. 306 pp. Nisbet. 12s. 6d. ANDREW MARVELL. By AUGUSTINE BIRRELL. 7} x 5. 242 pp. Macmillan. 2s. n. THE LIFE OF JOHANNES BRAHMS. 2 Vols. 9 x 53. 306 and 319 pp. By FLORENCE MAY. Arnold. 21s. n. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE RED RoMANCE Book. Edited by ANDREW LANG. 74 x 5. 372 pp. Longmans. 6s. Louis WAIN’S ANIMAL SHOW. With Stories in Prose and Verse. 9} x 8. J. CLARKE. Is. THE ADVENTURES OF PuncH. By Ascott R. Hope. Illustrated in colour, by S. B. DE LA BERE. 8} xX 6. 207 pp. Black. 6s. RosAMOND’s GIRLS. By M. BRAMSTON. 7$ X 5. 224 pp. S.P.C.K. 2s. BEN Pipe’s SowinG. By EMILY PEARSON FINNEMORE, 72x 5. 214 pp. S.P.C.K. 2s. A Disrricr NURSE; OR MARGARET'S BLESSING. By GERTRUDE DoUGHTY. 63 x 4%. 80pp. S. P. C. K. 6d. A TWENTY GUINEA BicycLeE. By MAry E. SHIPLEY. 62 X 43. 80 pp. 8. P.C.K. 6d. Tur Zoo. <A Scamper. By WALTER EMANUEL. 11 x 81. 50 pp. Alston Rivers. 2s. 6d. n. WoopMYTH AND FABLE. By ERNEST THOMPSON SETON. 8} x 54. Hodder & Stoughton. 5s. n. TuE Boysor BADMINSTER. ASchool Tale. By ANDREW Home. 7} x 53. 398 pp. Chambers. 5s. aE GIRLS OF ST. GABRIEL’s. Or Life at a French School. By May BALDWIN. 7} xX 5}. 296 pp. Chambers. 3s. 6d. Tue Cat. By Viouer Hunt. 8} x 6. 223 pp. Biack. 6s. A SoNOF THE SEA. ByF.T. BULLEN, F.R.G.S. 7} x 5. 355 pp. Nisbet. 6s. THE ROMANCE OF MINING. By ARCHIBALD WILLIAMS. 8 x 5. 402pp. Pearson. 5s. A Krtnq’sComRADE. AStory of Old Hereford. By C. W. WHISTLER. 392 pp. Nelson. 2s. n. ® ' BRENDLE. THE AUTHOR. THE SCHOOLBOY ABROAD. By Ascotr R. Horr. 7} x 5. 308 pp. Black. 5s. CRAB COTTAGE. By RAYMOND JACBERNS. 7} x 5}. 285 pp. Chambers. . 3s. 6d. BOOKS OF REFERENCE. THE ENGLISH DIALECT DicTionARY. Edited by J. WRIGHT, Ph. D., Professor of Comparative Philology in the University of Oxford. Parts 29—30. THE ENGLISH DIALECT GRAMMAR completing the Work. 12 x 9}. 187 pp. Frowde. 15s. n. each part. ECONOMICS. THE BRITISH TRADE YEAR Book (1905). (Covering the 25 years, 1880—1904.) By J. HoLT ScHOOLING. 10 x 6%. 335 pp. Murray. 10s. 6d. n. EDUCATIONAL. A PRIMER OF CLASSICAL AND ENGLISH PHILOLOGY. By the Rev. W. W. SKEAT. Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Cambridge. 6% x 4%. 101 pp. Oxford: Clarendon Press. London: Frowde. 28. FICTION. THe IRRATIONAL Knot. By G. BERNARD SHAW. 73 x 54. 422 pp. Constable. 6s. SPIRITUAL ADVENTURES. By ARTHUR SYMONS. 9 x 53. 314 pp. Constable. 7s. 6d. n. Tue Rep REAPER. By J. A. STEUART. 7} X 5. 452 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. Tuer MISTRESS OF THE Ropes. By S. H. BURCHELL. 73 x 5. 426 pp. Hurst & Blackett. 6s. THE ADMIRAL. The Love Story of Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton. By Dovu@uas SLADEN. (Cheap Edition.) 8} x 53. 128 pp. Pearson. 6d. AyrsHA. By H. RipeER HaGG@arD. 7} x 5. 384 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. Lone Marie. By W. E. Norris, 7} X 5. 334 pp. Macmillan. 6s. THE LETTER KILLETH. By A.C. INCHBOLD. 7? xX 5}. 309 pp. Partridge. 6s. DEBORAH'S Lire. By J. BurytH. 7} X 5. 296 pp. Nash. 6s. Tur SWORD OF GIDEON. By J. BLOUNDELLE BURTON. 7% x 5. 347 pp. Cassell. 6s. A THIEF IN THE NicHt. By E. W. Hornune. 7% x 5. 334 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. THE BonpaGe oF Gop. By E.P.FINNEMORE. 7} x 4}. 294 pp. Digby Long. 6s. THE WATERS OF DESTRUCTION. By ALICE PERRIN. 72 x 5. 311 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. THE LADY NAVIGATORS. By EDWARDNOBLE. 7} x 5}. 295 pp. Brown Langham. 6s. LigutT. GuuLivar Jones. By E. LESTER ARNOLD. 7% x 54. 301 pp. Brown Langham. 6s. Wuite Fire. By JoHN OXENHAM. 7} x 5. 337 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. Bee@gar’s Luck. By NELLIE K. BuissETT. 74 x 5. 311 pp. Chapman & Hall, 6s. Dinys. An Indian Romance. By F. E. PENNY. 7} x 5. 360 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. Divers VANITIES. By A. MoRRISON. 7] X 5. 256 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE PILLAR OF Liaut. By Louis Tracy. 7} X 5. 320 pp. Ward Lock. _ 6s. Tue BRowN Eves or Mary. By E. Marta ALBANESI. 7% x 51. 346 pp. Methuen. 6s. THe HovuseHotp or Prrer. By Rosa N. CAREY. 72 x 53. 451 pp. Macmillan. . 6s. By MARMADUKE PICKTHALL. Te x 00, 307 pp. Methuen. 6s.  THE AUTHOR. A Heart oF Stone. By GERTRUDE WARDEN. 7} x 5. 302 pp. Digby Long. 6s. BARBARA REBELL. By Mrs. BELLOC-LOWNDES. 7} X 5. 379 pp. Heinemann. 6s. Caprains ALL. By W. W. Jacops. 7} x 5. 269 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 33. 6d. Tue INSEPARABLES. By J. BAKER. 7} X 5. 329 pp. Chapman & Hall. 6s. THE SEVEN STREAMS. By WARWICK DEEPING. 7} x 5. 375 pp. Nash. 6s. Love IN THE LISTS. 311 pp. Unwin. 6s. eo By K. L. MonTGOMERY. 73 x ra or Moscow. A Story of the French Invasion of 1812. 73 x 51. 291 pp. Longmans. 6s. 1.N.R.I. A Prisoner's Story of the Cross. By PETER RoseGGer. Translated by ELIZABETH LEE. 7} x 53. 324 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. HISTORY. A History or OuR Own Times. From the Diamond Jubilee, 1897, to the Accession of Edward VII. By JUSTIN McCarTHY. 2 Vols. 9 x 5%. 409 and 394 pp. Chatto and Windus. 24s. A History oF THE Four GEORGES AND OF WILLIAM IV. By Justin McCartuy. (The St. Martin’s Library Fine Paper Edition.) 2 Vols. 6} x 4}. 602 and 588 pp. Chatto & Windus. 2s, n. each volume. LITERARY. THE PUZZLE oF Dickens’ Last PLot. By ANDREW Lang. 73 x 5. 100 pp. Chapman & Hall. THE Gops OF PEGANA. By Lorp Dunsany. 72 x 5; 94 pp. Elkin Mathews. 5s. Tue GARDEN THAT I Love. By ALFRED AUSTIN. 9 x 63. 146 pp. Black. 7s. 6d.n. AUTHOR AND Printer. A Guide for Authors, Editors, Ke Bh Printers, Correctors of the Press, Compositors and Typists. With full list of Abbreviations. By F. Howarp Couirns. Third Thousand. (With some additions.) 7} x 5. 407 pp. Frowde. 5s. n. THe SPIRIT oF Rome. Leaves from a Diary. By VERNONTEL. 73} x 5. 205 pp. Lane. 3s. 6d. REFLECTIONS OF A HovusEHOLDER. By E. H. LACoN Watson. 72 x 54. 206pp. Brown, Langham. 3s. 6d. ENGLISH Hours. By Henry JAMES. 8} x 6, 315 pp. Heinemann. MoprerNn ENGLISH LITERATURE. By EDMUND GOSSE. New and Revised Edition. 8} x 6. 420 pp. Heine- mann. 7s. 6d. NATURAL HISTORY. Extinct ANIMALS. By E, Ray LANKESTER. 331 pp. Constable. 7s. 6d. n. THe MAMMALS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. By 9x 6; J. G. Mrnuats, F.L.S. Vol. Il. 14 x 124. 299 pp. Longmans, 61. 6s. n. NAVAL. NELSON AND THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. By ARNOLD WuHiItk and E. Hantam MoorHouskE. 7% x 5, 340 pp. Cassell. 5s. n. Sea LIFE IN NELSON’S TIME. 16 Illustrations. 7% x 5. 218 pp. PHILOSOPHY. An ANALYSIS OF HuMAN MOTIVE. $2 x 5}, 222 pp. Simpkin Marshall. POETRY. Tea TABLE RHYMES AND OTHERS, By LEICESTER RoMAyNeE, Author of PorTuGuESE RITA. 6% X 5. 67 pp. Brimley Johnson. 2s. 6d. n. By J. MASEFIELD. With Methuen. 3s. 6d.n. By F. CARREL. 37 VERSES, WISEOR OTHERWISE. With which is incorporated na ae VERSES,GRAVEAND GAY. By ELLEN THORNYCROFT Fowuer. 7? x 54. 202 pp. Cassell. 5s. POLITICAL. THE GREEN SPHINX. By BART KENNEDY. 7} x 5, 258 pp. Methuen. 3s. 6d. REPRINTS. THE WORKS OF JOHN RUSKIN. Library Edition. Vol. XIX. THE CESTUS OF AGLAIA AND THE QUEEN OF THE AIR. With other papers and lectures on art and literature. Edited by E. T. Cook and A. WEDDERBURN. 10 x 63. 469 pp. Allen. SPORT. Bia GAME SHOOTING. Edited by H. G. HUTCHINSON, 2 Vols. 9 X 52. 301 and 356 pp. Newnes. 25s. n. THEOLOGY. GREATHEART. Some ‘Talks with Him. By A PILGRIM. 72 x 53. 190 pp. Macmillan. 3s. n. THE GARDEN OF Nuts. By the Rev. W. ROBERTSON pee 7k x 54. 232 pp. Hodder & Stroughton. 3s. 6d. THE Historic CHRIST. By T. A. Lackey. 8 x 53. 158 pp. Longmans. 3s. 6d. n. TOPOGRAPHY. XFORD. By ANDREW LANG. New Edition, with 50 Illustrations. 8 x 53. 286 pp. Seeley. 6s. TRAVEL. Back To SuNNY SEAS. By F. T. BULLEN. 7} x 5}. 287 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. OLD PROVENCE. By T. A. COOK. 348 and 445 pp. Rivington. 16s. Ty VoIcE OF THE SouTH. By GILBERT WATSON. 9 x 54. 324 pp. Hurst & Blackett. 10s. 6d. VILLAGE, TOWN, AND JUNGLE Lire IN InpiA. By A. C. NEWcoMBE. 417 pp. Blackwood. 12s. 6d. n. A YANKEKIN PigMy LAND. By W.E. Geri. With 125 Illustrations. 84 x 54. 409 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. THE WorLD or To-pAy. By A. R. Hope MONCRIEFF. Vol. III. 280 pp. The Gresham Publishing Co. 2 Vols. 7% x 5. ——————_.—>—_-___—_ LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. ——_ + N “Final Recollections of a Diplomatist,” Sir Horace Rumbold describes his life as British Minister to Greece and the Netherlands, and as Ambassador to Austria. Messrs. Longmans & Co. are about to publish a series of essays and addresses by Sir Lewis Morris, under the title of “ The New Rambler.” “Moscow,” Mr. Fred Whishaw’s new story, dealing with the French Invasion of Russia in 1812, has also been published by the same firm. Miss Nellie K. Blissett’s novel, “Beggar's 388 Luck,” which Messrs. Chapman and Hall pub- lished in September, is a romance of the days of Mazarin, who plays a slight but important part in the development of the plot. “ Occasional Papers” isa monthly journal which originated in the earlier half of last year. Its birth- place was Bournemouth, but its issue has now been transferred to Oxford, where its present editor strives to continue its aims—to elevate and to create. Mr. Augustine Birrell’s new book, ‘In the Name of the Bodleian and other Essays,” published by Mr. Elliot Stock, contains an appreciation of Locker Lampson, entitled “A Connoisseur,” in which some personal details of the eminent collector’s life and pursuits are given. Messrs. Hutchinson & Co.’s autumn list contains some interesting announcements relating to works by members of the society. In the realm of fiction they are publishing stories by ‘Lucas Malet,” Mr. H. Rider Haggard, and Mrs. Baillie Reynolds. “ Lucas Malet’s” novel, which they will publish early in 1906, deals with the acts and opinions of a man of foreign birth, who after many years of office work finds himself possessed of leisure and a moderate fortune. The scene of the story is laid exclusively in London and the western suburbs. Mr. Haggard’s work, which will be published in March next, traces the history of a man who, having by nature the best instincts, on the occasion of a tragic event, vows that he will renounce his habits of life and endeavour to live a life of duty, from which resolution he never swerves. Mrs. Baillie Reynolds’ novel, the title of which is “The Man who Won,” is a story the scene of which is laid partly in Africa before the late war, and partly in England. It contains a strong love interest. Turning from fiction we note that Messrs. Hutchinson are publishing Mr. R. H. Sherard’s volume of “Reminiscences of Literary Life,” “Twenty Years in Paris.” Among the celebrities of whom Mr. Sherard has personal memories are Victor Hugo, Ferdinand de Lesseps, General Boulanger, Baron Haussmann, Jules Verne, Renan, Daudet, Ernest Dowson and Zola. Apart from the per- ' sonalia the volume contains a running commen- tary, with anecdotes, on recent French History. The same firm has also issued Mr. Douglas Sladen’s new volume on “Tunis and Carthage,” in which the life of one of the great ancient capitals of Africa and its modern successor, Tunis, the most oriental of North African towns is described ; ‘ Nature’s Nursery,” by H. W. Shep- heard Walwyn, which although intended for old and young, appeals more particularly to the latter; “Beauty Through Hygiene,” by Emma E. Walker, M.D., edited by Arabella Kenealy, in which is THE AUTHOR. advocated the building of tissues, the control of nerves, and the symmetrical development of the body through the agency of intelligent hygiene. “Tongues of Gessip,” by Miss A. Curtis Sher- wood, published recently by Mr. Fisher Unwin, is a novel which deals with life in a country town and contains much thoughtful discussion on religion, art and kindred subjects. “A District Nurse,” by Gertrude Doughty, published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, is a simple story for children. In collaboration with Mr. Alfred E. T. Watson, Mr. Frank Savile is bringing out a new novel entitled “ Fate’s Intruder,” which will be illus- trated by Mr. Rene Bull, and published by Mr. Heinemann. The same writers have also con- tributed to the Badminton Magazine a series of stories entitled ‘‘ Strange Stories of Sport.” It is not often one comes across a fine example of Russian printing, especially in the way of an_ illustrated work. There is something just as rare in a finely produced Russian translation of an English book. This exceptional compliment has been paid to Miss Bessie Hatton’s ‘‘ The Village of Youth,” which is dedicated to the young English authoress by Madame Milorodovitch, wife of his Excellency the Governor of Poltalva. It is published in quarto size, and illustrated by Russian black and white artists. Madame Milorodovitch sends an edition de luae to Miss Hatton with a message of “affectionate appreciation from her unknown Russian admirers.” Mr. H. G. Wells’ new novel “ Kipps,” pub- lished by Macmillan & Co., depicts a typical member of the English lower class in all its pitiful limitation and feebleness, and beneath a treatment deliberately kindly and genial there lurks a sustained criticism of the ideals and ways of life of the great mass of middle-class English people. Derek Vane’s story, “ Crooked Ways,” which has recently appeared as a serial in the Daily Mail, is about to be translated into German. ‘The same author has just written a series of short stories, entitled “In a Strange World,” for the Northern Newspaper Syndicate, and is now engaged on a novel, which will be published first serially. ‘Author and Printer,’”’ by Howard Collins, which we reviewed in the May issue of The Author, has, we are glad to say, run into a second edition. The work is bound to be of interest to all those who desire a standard guide for spelling, capitalisation, punctuation, the use of italic type, etc., and whilst it may not be possible to agree with Mr. Collins in all his deductions, yet few will deny the soundness of the principle upon which the book has been written. Mr. Collins’ book has the approval of the Master Printers’ and Allied Trades Association of London, the Edinburgh Master Printers’ Association, the Belfast Printing Trades Employers’ Association, and the Executive Committee of the London Association of Correctors of the Press. In “The Secret of the Totem,” published by Longmans, Green & Oo., Mr. Andrew Lang attempts to establish the origin and_ trace the evolution of Totemism in Primitive Society. A second edition of Miss Rose Harrison’s book “The Padre” will shortly be published under the title of “ Dulce.” The same writer is also publishing in the Hand and Heart Magazine, under the title of “Qhildren of the New Century, or Physiology Made Easy,” twelve readings on scientific temper- ance instruction. The Church of England Tem- perance Society will publish the readings in book form after their serial publication. Mr. Heinemann is about to publish a uniform library edition of Ibsen’s works, mostly translated by Mr. William Archer. Miss Florence May has written a life of Brahms, which Mr. Arnold has published in two volumes. Her qualification for the task consists in her acquaintance with Brahms, begun when she was a young student of the piano. The materials for the life have been gathered almost entirely at first hand in several Continental journeys. Mr. Angus Hamilton’s new book, which Mr. Heinemann will publish, is an exhaustive account of the conditions of Afghanistan, and its relations with Russia and India. It contains sketches of the domestic life of the Ameer, and a description of the Oxus, its fords, trade, and the strategic value of the roads which approach it. The book, in addition to containing a map, is illustrated. “The Red Reaper” is the title of Mr. J. A. Stenart’s new novel, published by Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton. The opening of the story shows the Marquis of Montrose as a Royalist, and narrates how he proceeds to raise the clans. Many of the families involved in the struggle between King and Covenant are introduced. “The Souvenir of the Crabbe Celebration,” neatly arranged and illustrated, is on sale at Messrs. Sotheran and Co.’s house in Piccadilly, at the price of 2s. 6d. Those interested in Crabbe and his work unable to attend the meeting at Aldeburgh will, no doubt, be glad to purchase the Souvenir, the sale of which, it is hoped, will cover some of the expenses incurred. Mr. Heinemann published about the middle of last month a new novel, by Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, entitled “ Barbara Rebell.” The scene of “A Man from the Shires,” by Isabelle Taylor, published by Messrs. Gay and Bird, towards the end of last month, is laid in Haslemere, Surrey. THE AUTHOR. 39 A German translation of “The Viking Path: a Tale of the White Christ,’ by J. J. Haldane Burgess, M.A. (Wm. Blackwood and Sons), has just been published by E. Pierson’s Verlag, Dresden. The translation is from the pen of Mr. Hermann Besser Neustadt (Orla). The Rev. Geo. St. Clair proposes to publish at some future date, a work entitled “The Secret of Genesis.” The conclusion which the author has come to in connection with this subject is that the narrative, from Paradise to the building of Babel, is a genuine ancient record and connected story, corresponding to the history embedded in the legends of Egypt and Babylonia. Mr. Charles Garvice’s new six shilling novel “The Tyrant” was published by Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. on October 1st. The same publishers announce a new and cheap edition of his novel, “ Love Decides,” which they will issue in their 3s. 6d. series. Messrs. Geo. Newnes are publishing this month a sixpenny edition (illustrated) of Mr. Garvice’s novel, “ Just a Girl.” Mr. Garvice is at present in Scotland on a lecturing tour. ‘‘ Humorists, Grave and Gay” is the title he has chosen for what is really a series of dramatic readings rather than a lecture, interspersed with short biographical sketches of the various authors, with more or less critical notes on their works. Mr. Lance Thackeray has just issued a set of coloured drawings entitled ‘The Catch of the Season.” The four pictures tell a love story, arising out of the careless casting of a fly by the angler-hero. The set is published by Messrs. Landeker and Brown, of Worship Street, E.C. ‘Studies from Court and Cloister” is the title given to a work by Miss J. M. Stone, which Messrs. Sands & Co. will publish at the price of 12s. 6d. net. The volume is a collection of essays, historical and literary, dealing mainly with subjects relating to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It contains eight fuli-page illustrations. Raymond Jacbern’s new books for girls this season are “Crab Cottage,” published by Messrs. Chambers at 3s. 6d., and “How Things Went Wrong,” published by Gardner, Darton & Co. at the price of 1s. 6d. “Queer Things about Sicily,’ by Douglas Sladen and Norma Lorimer, which Messrs. Anthony Treherne & Co. published last month, is a work describing how Sicily appears to the ordinary traveller. It is fully illustrated. “ Quacks,” “The Miseries of the Sick Poor,” and “ The Poverty of our Great Hospitals,” are a few of the subjects dealt with by Dr. 8. Squire Sprigge in his new book, ‘“ Medicine and the Public,” which was published in the middle of October by Mr. Wm. Heinemann. 40 Mr. Walter Del Mar has completed his book of travel in the Great Dependency. It is to be called “India of To-day,” and is the record of a tour undertaken during the winter of 1904-5. The author is of opinion that most of the noteworthy monuments and scenes in India can be visited in the four months from the middle of November to the middle of March. “His Natural Bent,” a new novel by Miss C. C. Andrews (“Carl Swerdna”), will com- mence in the Yamily Herald on the 4th of this month. The Oxford Press have lately published ‘‘ The Primer of Classical and English Philology,” by Professor Skeat. The object of this small book is to exhibit some of the more elementary principles of modern philology as applied to the etymology of Greek, Latin, and English words. Some account of the proper pronunciation of Latin and Greek is given in the first chapter. Mr. Arthur Dillon is preparing to follow ‘“ The Greek Kalends” with a chronicle play in three parts, entitled “ King William I., the Conqueror,” the title of ‘‘ William the Conqueror,” originally chosen, being forestalled. Messrs. Adam and Charles Black announce for publication in December of this year Mr. Eustace Reynolds Ball’s new ‘Guide to Rome and its Environs.” The work, which contains eight illustrations in three colours by Alberto Pisa, in addition to plans and maps, is divided into six parts. Part I. contains preliminary information regarding routes, hotels, etc.; Part II. deals with ancient Rome; Part III., with medizval and renaissance Rome; Part IV., modern Rome; Part V., excursions; the concluding part deals with the climate, and contains practical hints for sightseers. The book is published at the price of 2s. 6d. “The British Trade Year Book,” by John Holt Schooling, has just been published, at the price of 10s. 6d. net, by Mr. John Murray. Mr. Schooling’s method is to show the average yearly results during each successive decade. He claims that by this method the confusing fluctuations of single years are all merged in the average results obtained, and in place of a series of involved and often misleading yearly figures, such as are seen in the official Blue Books, a series of con- densed average results may be obtained. Dia- grams are also used, in order that the reader may grasp the general drift of the facts and the inferences to be drawn from them. “Rhymes and Rondeaux,” by J. E. B. and J. W. M,, published by A. OC. Glynn Grylls, 27, Chancery Lane, W.C., is a collection of light verse on various subjects, such as “ Taxation of Land Values,” ‘ Reviewers,” “The Encyclopedia THE AUTHOR. Britannica,” etc., ete. of 1s. net. Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co. announce the publication of a limited edition—1,025 copies—of Mr. J. G. Millais’ (F.Z.S.) work on “The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland,” in three volumes, price £6 6s. net. Vol. II. was issued last month. The concluding volume will be ready in 1906. The same publishers have in the press Mr. W. H. Wilkins’ new work, “Mrs. Fitzherbert and George IV.,” which, with numerous portraits and other illustrations, will be published at the price of 32s. Mrs. Inchbold’s third novel, “The Letter Killeth,” published recently by Messrs. 8. W. Partridge & Co., is a romance of the Sussex Downs at the beginning of the last century, dealing with a revivalist movement, similar to that which is still stirring Wales, at a time when the Napoleonic scare was strong on the south coast. “The Food Factor in Disease,” by Dr. F. E. Hare, is an investigation into the humoral causation, meaning, mechanism, and rational treatment, pre- ventive and curative, of the paroxysmal neuroses (migraine, asthma, angina pectoris, epilepsy, etc.), bilious attacks, gout, catarrhal and other affections, high blood pressure, circulatory, renal, and other degenerations. Messrs. Longmans & Oo. are the publishers. We understand that Her Majesty the Queen has been pleased to accept a copy of the Rev. J. J. Gratrex’s ‘Regal Calendar,’ which provides a record for all years, past, present, and future, from January Ist, aD. 1. Copies of the production may be obtained from Mr. Gratrex, Brandiscorner, 8.0., Devon, England, at the price of 1s. each. In “Nelson and East Anglia” Mr. Harold Simpson (H. Simpson Ladell) has compressed into a comparatively small space a mass of information relating to the life and career of Lord Nelson. The work, suitably illustrated, is published by the Last Anglian Daily Times at the price of 6d. “Purple and Fine Linen,”’ by Madame Albanesi, which appeared serially in the Daily Chronicle, will be published in book form by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett in the spring of 1906. Miss Beatrice Harraden has produced, through Messrs. Methuen & Co., a new six shilling edition of her book “In Varying Moods.” Miss Harraden has also arranged for the inclusion of the work in Messrs. Newnes’ sixpenny library. Mr. J. G. Godard’s book, “ Racial Supremacy,”’ published by Mr. Geo. Morton in Edinburgh, and by Messrs. Simpkin Marshall & Co., in London, contains six chapters dealing with various aspects of the question of Imperialism. Mr. Richard Marsh’s last story, ‘‘The Marquis of Putney,” which Messrs. Methuen & Co. have It is published at the price  THE AUTHOR. published, tells how an infant heir to a dukedom was stolen—at high noon—from his perambulator in Hyde Park, Among the art publications announced by Messrs. Cassell & Co. is a new treatise by the Hon. John Collier, entitled “The Art of Portrait Painting.” The work is illustrated by reproduc- tions of some of the best portraits the world possesses. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have issued Mr. Rolf Boldrewood’s new book, which tells of the final do-or-die venture of a gold-seeker in the days of Australian mining. The title of the book is “ The Last Chance.” Mr. Fisher Unwin announces for early publica- tion a book by Mr. T. H. 8. Escott, the title of which is “Society in a Country House.” The writer’s object has been, by personal instances and illustrative anecdotes, to reflect the country house life of English society in its connection with national movements. The same publishers are also issuing a new edition—the fourth—of Sir F. OC. Burnand’s «‘ Records and Reminiscences.” The price of the new issue is 6s. Messrs. A. and C. Black have issued an edition, illustrated with colour pictures, of the Poet Laureate’s prose-book “The Garden that I Love.” The subject of the book is the Laureate’s own garden in Kent, of which Mr. George S. Elgood has made paintings. The scene of Mr. Bloundelle-Burton’s new romance of the great Protestant struggle in Europe, is laid chiefly at Liege at the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, and has to do with the journey of a young Englishman to that city to rescue the ward of an English peer. Mr. Theodore Watts Dunton’s new _ novel “Carniola”’ will be published during the autumn in England and America by Messrs. Harpers. The story is laid partly in England, partly in Venice, and partly in Hungary. In “The Life of Kate Greenaway,” by M. H. Spielmann and 8. Layard, which will shortly be published by Messrs. A. and C. Black, the history of Kate Greenaway’s long friendship with Ruskin is told and their correspondence printed, including some fifty of Ruskin’s letters hitherto unpub- lished. Many of the accompanying illustrations by Kate Greenaway have also been reproduced for the first time. Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. will publish a book of literary recollections by Miss Laura Hain Friswell. It is entitled “(In the Sixties and Seventies: Impressions of Literary People and Others.” The personalities referred to include Gladstone, Disraeli, Dickens, Du Maurier, Kingsley, Trollope, Artemus Ward, etc., etc. 41 Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published a new story by Dorothea Gerrard, entitled “The Improbable Idyll,” which deals with the adventures of a cockney family in Eastern Europe, and, opening as a comedy, gradually deepens to a drama, in which the elementary human passions come to their full due. A novel by Harold Wintle will be published by Mr. John Lane early this month, under the title of “The Cleansing of the Lords.” “The Adventures of Punch” is the title of a new book by Ascott R. Hope. The work deals with the youth of a celebrated foreigner before he came to marry and set up in business so far from his birthplace. His early life has, of course, been treated by Dumas and other Continental authors ; but the present history is based upon the most authentic material, the hero’s own tale of his singular adventures being here told for the first time. The narrative of his pitiful struggles may be looked on as a companion volume to Dr. Smiles’ “ Self-Help”; while the illustrations in colour by Stephen Bagot De La Bere follow tradition in giving the volume a distinctly comic character. Messrs. A. and C. Black will publish the book. “ What Foods Feed Us?” by Eustace Miles, is published by Messrs. George Newnes at the price of 1s. net. One of the main features of the work is a chart which indicates in a simple form the properties of the various foods in common use. he work should appeal to those interested in the question of physical deterioration. “The Return of the Prodigal,” by St. John Hankin, was produced at the Court Theatre on the afternoon of September 26th. The reception with which he is greeted by the rest of his family on his return, after an absence of five years in Australia, proves that Mr. Hankin’s prodigal is looked upon rather as a burden than a blessing, and the problem which the dramatist sets himself to solve is the best means of dealing with the “ ne’er-do-well” on his return. The caste include Mr. A. E. Matthews, Miss Florence Haydon, Miss Amy Lamborn, and Mr. Dennis Eadie. “The Conqueror,” by her Grace the Duchess of Sutherland, produced at the Scala Theatre on the evening of September 23rd under the pseudonym of “R. E. Fyffe,” narrates the story of a baron who falls in love with the daughter of one of his foes. He sends her to a castle promising to marry her on his return after a lapse of eighteen years, but suspects that she has fallen in love with a wandering knight whom she mistakes for himsclf. The final scene of the play indicates the self sacri- fice of “‘ The Conqueror ” in his surrender of the girl to her lover. Mr. Forbes Robertson, as ‘“ The 49, Conqueror,” and Miss Gertrude Elliott take the leading parts. “Public Opinion,” by R. C. Carton, was pro- duced at Wyndham’s Theatre on the evening of October 10th. It narrates the methods adopted by some half-dozen indiscreet gentlemen to regain possession of some compromising letters which they had addressed to a lady, who contemplates bringing a breach of promise suit against one of her admirers. The caste included Mr. Frederick Kerr, Miss Annie Hughes, and Miss Compton. Mr. John Davidson’s play in four acts, entitled “The Crown,” founded on Francis Coppee’s “ Pour Ja Couronne,” was produced at the Scala Theatre on the evening of October 11th. Included in the caste were Mr. J. Forbes Robertson and Miss Gertrude Elliott. “The Perfect Lover,” Mr. Alfred Sutro’s new comedy, was produced at the Imperial Theatre on October 14th. The play deals with the temptation and subsequent penance of a journalist. He is offered £5,000 if he succeeds in getting his brother’s wife to induce a former lover of hers to sell his estate. This is his temptation, and he yields to it. The result and his penance are dealt with in the remainder of the play with much skill and wit. The caste includes Mr. Lewis Waller, Miss Evelyn Millard, and Mr. Frank Mills. +—<>—-2 PARIS NOTES. > “"T ’AVENIR de I’Intelligence,” by M. Charles 4. Maurras, is a book which seems to have been written at the right moment. The author compares the influence and position of literary men of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. ‘La situation morale,” he says, “du lettré frangais en 1905 n’est plus du tout ce qu’elle était en 1850... . Les hautes classes, de beaucoup moins fermées qu’elles ne étaient autrefois, beaucoup moins difficiles A tous les égards, ouvertes notamment & l’ayenturier et a Y enrichi se montrent froides envers la supériorité de l’esprit.”. M. Maurras shows the dangers for the future which must ivevitably result from the exaggerated worship of gold. The second part of the book is devoted to a study of Auguste Comte and to a series of brilliant but severe criticisms of a group of women novelists, including Madame de Regnier, the Comtesse de Noailles and Renée Vivien, and a study of woman’s influence and power illus- trated by the life of the celebrated Aimée de Coigny, surnamed “ Mademoiselle Monk.” THE AUTHOR. “Les Gaites de Année” is an amusing book by M. Georges Rocher. In the preface the author tells us: “ J’ai regardé la vie qui passait et, sans me fixer le but d’ enseigner ou d’amuser, j’ai noté simplement les mille riens qui ont deéfilé devant mes yeux curieux.” It is the diary of a man who sees the humour of things in every-day life. He begins with the month of January, and touches on the social and political events of the year, not forgetting to mention also his own domestic affairs, He takes all things philosophically, is frequently | ironical, but never bitter or sarcastic. At a time when conscription has been proposed for England it is interesting to read the volume recently published in French, entitled “Le 71¢ Trainglaux,” by M. de Beaurepaire-Froment. It is a study of military habits and customs. The motto of the book is Napoleon’s celebrated phrase, “ L’Idée a toujours vaincu le Sabre.” Throughout the whole volume—a book of nearly six hundred pages—the author’s object is to prove the demoralising influence of obligatory military service. In one of the last chapters, entitled ‘‘ Le Chancre Militaire,” we are told that the army “ déracine les paysans, leur fait adopter les mauvais cotés de lexistence des villes. . . . Quand ils retournent chez eux, ils y apportent et répandent la corruption morale et sensuelle, le mauvais esprit grotesque, mais dangereux et néfaste, de Yyhomme qui sait quelque peu et ne sait pas assez.” “Monsieur Marcel,” by Marie Thiéry, has obtained a prize in the literary competition organised by the journal La Presse. “La Vie nuancée” is the title of an exquisite volume of poems by Madame Goyau Felix-Faure. “Sur le tard,” a volume of short stories, by M. A. Barratin. One of the latest books published in the ‘ Bibliothéque Sociologique” is “La Physiologie Morale,” by G. Chatterton Hill. Among other recent books, “ L’impossible Sincerité,” by H. de Zuylen de Nyeveldt ; ‘‘Gloriette,” by M. Richard O’Monroy; “La Roche aux fées,” by M. Th. de Grave ; “La Belle et la Béte,” by Louis Ulbach ; “ La Conquérante,” by Georges Olnet ; “Combats,” by Paul Adam ; “Femme d’officier,” by Pierre Maél ; “ Schumann,” by M.M. Schneider and Mareschal; “ Willy and Colette,” by Jean de la Hire; “ Les Bateleurs,” by Count Paul d’Abbes ; “ La Seconde Faute,” by M. Henri d’Hennezel; “Le Courandier,” by M. Hugues Lapaire ; “'lheatre,” by Jean Rouxel, a volume containing three plays ; “ Peut-étre,” a novel by M. Albert Emile Sorel ; “ Le roman d’un vieux garcon,” by M. Jean Thiéry; “La Vie belge,” by Camille Lemonnier. Among the latest translations from the English are the following: “Le Crime de Lord Arthur  THE AUTHOR. 43 Savile,” by Oscar Wilde, translated by Albert Savine ; “De Profundis,” by Oscar Wilde: “ Le Mort vivant,” by Stevenson; “Les Visites d’ Elisabeth,” translated by Arnelle ; “ Enlevé,” by R. L. Stevenson, translated by Albert Savine ; « Podmes et Poésies,” by E. B. Browning, trans- lated by Albert Savine. This is a translation in prose of the works of our poetess. In a recent number of the Revue des Deux Mondes Th. Bentzon writes an excellent article on the works of several English novelists. The books selected are “No. 5, John Street,” “ The Yellow Van,” and “Penal Servitude,” and the author of this article shows what good service the writers of these volumes have done for sociology. In the Revue de Paris M. Le Dantec upholds the theory of the possibility of spontaneous generation. In the Grande Revue Gabriel Ferry writes an interesting article on “ Un projet de fortune de Balzac.” In the Revue générale des Sciences there is an article by Sir William Ramsay discussing the discoveries of John Butler Burke. In the ZLrmitage Arthur Symons writes on Aubrey Beardsley. M. Henry Bordeaux writes in Le Correspondant, of October 11th, an article on ‘‘ Le Roman auto- biographique,” and Mare Hélys an admirable study of “Le Féminisme suédois” (ses caracteres et son éyolution). At the Comédie Frangaise ‘‘ Don Quichotte,” by Jean Richepin, has been produced. It is a drama in verse in three parts and eight scenes. Among the new plays announced at the Odéon for the forthcoming season are: “L’Eleéve,” by M. Georges de Porto Riche ; “ Une Fantaisie,” by M.M. Albert Guinon and Bonchinet ; “ Au temps de Amour,” by M. Jules Case; “ Jeunesse,” by M. André Picard; and “Hors du Mariage,” by Mme. Daniel Lesueur. The Gymnase is to produce a play by M. Bern- stein, entitled “ Les Variétés.” “ Voila le bonheur, Mesdames !” by M. Francis de Croisset, is to be given at Les Variétés, and “La Courtisane,” by M. Arnyvelde, at the Comédie Francaise. ALys HALLARD. —————— A MODEL COPYRIGHT LAW. —$ 9 —— T the International Exhibition at Paris in 1900 a Copyright Congress was held, com- posed of many of the chief copyright authorities in Europe and the United States. After considerable labour the text of a model copy- right law was agreed to. Through the kindness of Mr. Thorvald Solberg, the Registrar of Copyrights of the United States, who made a translation of this law, we have much pleasure in printing this translation, without, how- ever, expressing any opinion on the merits of the scheme, as it stands, though the principle of uniformity is no doubt excellent. Anything in the shape of a law satisfactory to all nations will only be obtained at the millennium. RESOLUTIONS VOTED BY THE PARIS COPYRIGHT CoNnGRESS. Project for a Type Law of Copyright. Arricue I. The author of a work of the intelli- gence has the exclusive right to publish it, and to reproduce it by any process, in any form, or for any purpose whatever. All manifestations of thought, written or spoken, dramatic, musical, and chorographic productions, and all works of graphic and plastic art, indepen- dent of their merit, their use, or their purpose, are also likewise protected, as well as works which have appeared in newspapers and periodicals. Official acts of public authorities and judicial decisions can not become the object of a private right. Art. II. The exercise of the author’s right is not subordinated to the accomplishment of any con- ditions or formalities. Art. III. The exclusive right provided for by Article I continues during eighty years after the death of the author, for benefit of his heirs or assigns. Art. 1V. Theright in case of anonymous works has a duration of eighty years from the date ofthe first authorised publication of the work. It is exercised by the publisher so long as the actual author is not known. If the author makes himself known before the expiration of this period, the term of the protection continues during the life of the author and eighty years after his death. Works which appear under the name of an incorporated body are considered anonymous works. Art. V. Collaborators have equal rights in a joint work, unless there are stipulations to the contrary. The rights of the assigns of a deceased collaborator continue until the expiration of the term of eighty years after the death of the last surviving collaborator. In the absence of assigns of a collaborator his 44 share accrues to the other collaborators or their heirs. Art. VI. Whoever edits a posthumous work of which he has the right to dispose enjoys the right of reproduction during eighty years, to date from such first publication. Works are considered as posthumous which during the lifetime of the author have not received, with his consent, such normal publicity as comports with their character. Art. VII. All reproduction, integral or partial, made without the consent of the author or his assigns is illegal. The same is the case as regards translation, representation, and public performance. Reproductions are equally illegitimate which contain abridgments, additions, and alterations ; such as adaptations, transformations of dramatic works into novels, and of novels into plays; arrangements of music, reproductions by another art, and illustration of a work. The same is true of the reproductions of musical compositions by mechanical instruments. Art. VIII. An author once his book is published cannot prohibit an analysis of or short citations from his work, made for the purpose of criticism, discussion, or education, when the author’s name and the source of the citation is indicated. Discourses pronounced in official assemblies or in public réunions may be reproduced for the ' purpose of instruction or discussion. Art. IX. The right of reproduction is indepen- dent of the right of property in the material object (manuscript or original). The cession of the material object does not involve, by. itself, the cession of the right of reproduction and vice versa. The cession of the rights appertaining to the author (the right to publish, to represent; to perform, to translate, to illustrate, etc.) must always be restrictively construed. Art. X. The author of every work of the intelli- gence has the right to make known his authorship and to proceed in court against anyone who attributes to himself such authorship. The author who has ceded the right of repro- duction conserves the right to prosecute reprinters, to oversee the reproduction of his work, and to oppose all modifications made without his consent. The author who has ceded the material object constituting his work has the right to oppose all public exhibition of his production if it has been modified without his consent. Art. XI. After the death of the author, in default of a special representative designated by him, his heirs can compel respect of the rights provided for in Article X. Art. XII. No modification must be made in a THE AUTHOR. work, even by the heirs or assigns of the author, unless such changes are brought in an obvious way to the attention of the public. ArT. XIII. All interference with the rights of the author, as they are defined in the present proposed type law, constitutes cause for an action for damages, and if the infringement had been knowingly committed it constitutes cause for a penal action. Art. XIV. It is the same in the case of the usurpation of the name of the author or any fraudulent imitation of his signature or of any distinctive mark, monogram, or other sign adopted by him. Art. XY. The author or his assigns can require the representatives of the judicial authority to replevin the objects inferred to have been used in an infringement, all plates, molds, or matrices and other utensils which have served or are intended to be used specially in the making of the said infringing objects. In the case of a representation or performance the authors can proceed in the same manner to seize the total receipts. The publisher or manager of a performance must produce the previous consent in writing of the author or his assignee. The confiscation of the piratical articles, as well as of the plates, molds, or matrices, and the other utensils which have served or were destined to be used specially in the making of the said subjects, shall be for the benefit of the author or his assigns. In the case of illicit performance or representa- tion the receipts seized shall be allowed the complainant. Art. XVI. The law applies to all authors whatever their nationality, and in whatever place work has appeared for the first time. oo THE TRIUMPH OF “THE HALLS.” ——< O the October number of Zhe Author Mr. Harold Hardy contributed a most interesting and well-reasoned paper on the question whether stage-plays should be permitted or pro- hibited at music-halls. Like most writers who are not prejudiced by having interests or invest- ments in theatre-land, he is in fayour of free trade ; and he goes so far as to remark that from the conduct of the theatre proprietors it would appear as if they thought the Theatres Act of 1848 was intended to preserve the privileges of those who run theatres from the increasing competition  THER AUTHOR. of the music-halls. There is no doubt this is the attitude of all of them, and, perhaps, the belief of a few. Certainly it is not a love of abstract justice that induces them to act as common informers. Recently a rumour ran through the land that an American trust was in course of formation, having for its object the purchase of English provincial theatres. A well-known proprietor of one such property, on hearing the news, remarked, «“ Well, I hope they will bring their audiences with them, for they will find none here.” It is more than likely that such a syndicate would find the way made very smooth in the majority of cases when it desired to purchase theatres: the trouble would come when it entered into possession. Not very long ago provincial and surburban theatres were gold-mines. | Now it is not too much to say that their struggle for existence has become very arduous. On all sides one hears of the cutting down of salaries, of the reduction of staffs, of the most drastic retrenchments. Ask the manager of the touring companies that visit these theatres the cause of the bad business, and he will attribute it to the parsimony of the resident manager. Ask the latter the same question, and he will tell you he cannot get good companies with attractive pieces. There is something in this complaint. Tt may, in part, be traced to the high prices demanded for the provincial rights of popular plays. I know of a great London success by an established author that after touring for three months returned its manager as net profit the sum of thirty shillings! The real reason, however, is neither of those put forward ; it is that people do not go to the theatre as they did ! As in the provinces and suburbs, so in the West-end. The cry of the metropolitan managers is the same, and the cause is identical. A great popular success will draw all London. Mr. Bouchier claims that already over a quarter-of-a- million people have attended performances of Mr. Sutro’s play, “The Walls of Jericho.” But it is not easy to multiply instances. The average play now rarely produces a substantial profit. But people require amusement, and if they do not go to the theatres where do they go? The answer is not far to seek : they go to the music-halls. One thing alone shows this. The great majority of theatres close during the summer; without exception the halls remain open. The fact of the matter is that the music-hall has arrived, and it has come to stay. When the stage was scorned no words were severe enough with which to condemn the halls ; but now that the stage and the dramatic profession bask in the sunshine of popular favour, the halls are coming into their own. It must be admitted that the latter have been 45 vastly improved from every point of view. Take first the question of material comfort—and how important this is music-hall managers see very clearly. Smoking of course has always been per- mitted, and that is a great attraction to those business folk who cannot indulge in this habit during the day. Then, the newer halls are mag- nificent buildings, the seats are more comfortable, especially in the cheaper parts of the house ; and in many cases the buildings are cooler in summer and better heated in winter. The expense of going to a hall is much lower. An all-round average, outside London, is a fifty-per-cent. reduction. There is usually no charge for the cloak-room, and the cost of a programme is one penny. ‘These advantages attract many theatre-goers. In the vital matter of the entertainment the old order has changed and given place unto new. The lion comique is as extinct as the dodo or the premier danseur. The serio has gone who depended for her success on the double meaning of the words of her song. There is still in our midst one such, a very notable exception, but to her for her very great talents much may be pardoned. The order of the day is towards refinement. A great syndi- cate issues to every artist it employs a notice that for the halls it directs all vulgarity in word and business must be eliminated. When this printed form reached a friend of mine, a fastidious author who would rather go unsung to a pauper’s grave than write a vulgar line—he had written a sketch for “the halls”—he narrowly escaped apoplexy. “Well, of all the infernal impudence,” he began, and then words failed him. But there is no doubt the warning was required in many quarters, and it has done and will do good Mr. Oswold Stoll directs ‘this great syndicate, which controls some thirty halls in London and tbe provinces, and he has set himself the task of capturing theatrical audiences. ‘How well he has suc- ceeded most managers of theatres will admit with lugubrious mien. They might, however, content themselves by reflecting that, to a certain extent, he has achieved this purpose by enlisting the assistance of the theatres. He has secured the services of several well-known business managers and stage managers who “ in another place ” have studied what the public wants. Knowing this, it is their endeavour to give it something just a little better. So, slowly, it is true, but very surely, the tone of the entertainments at the best halls is being raised, and audiences who at first were resentful of the change have come to appreciate it. But it is not only his administrative staff that Mr. Stoll draws from the theatre. At his variety theatres he selects a large proportion of his artists from the “legitimate” stage. In one bill he pre- sents Mesdames Jessie Huddlestone, Mabel Love, 46 Queenie Leighton, and Mrs. Brown-Potter ; and Messrs. Lempriére Pringle, Edward Lewis, Courtice Pounds, Gilbert Hare, and Rutland Barrington. Five years ago what music-hall manager would have ventured to approach these artists? Five years ago what offer would have tempted any of these artists to desert even for a few weeks the “legitimate” stage? But Mr. Stoll is going still further, and is securing the dramatists also. Sketches by Mr. Charles Brookfield and Mr. Cecil Raleigh are the thin end of the wedge. Where these go, others are willing to follow. The newspapers as well as the public have realised the change that is taking place. Once they deemed “the halls” beneath their notice. Now their critics are regular attendants, and as time goes on the notices of new scenas and sketches become longer and more carefully critical. Even to-day with all these improvements “ the halls ” are still in an active state of evolution. What place they will eventually occupy in the world of amusement is dangerous to prophesy, but foolish to ignore. Lewis MELVILLE. Or AGENTS. a HE contracts which exist between publishers and authors, and agents and authors, are a constant theme for articles in this paper. In some of them it has been pointed out that although the author approaches the publisher as a business man, and therefore places him somewhat at arm’s length, taking a certain amount of care as to the settlement of the contract, yet he approaches an agent from an entirely different standpoint. The association between the author and the agent is much more close and intimate, for the author generally looks upon the agent as his confidential adviser. If this is so, and in many circumstances the agent should stand in this position, authors should be more careful of those to whom they entrust their work—the future arrangements and the terms of their contracts—than in the other case, and, vice versd, the agent, as he holds such a confidential position, should take care to be more open, and make a point of being more candid in every transaction and in every dealing which he carries through on behalf of the author. In the April (1904) number of this magazine, an exhaustive article was written on the subject of agents. Since that date other articles have been written dealing with different points arising out of the connection between the agent and the author. THE AUTHOR. There is one point, however, against which the author should guard himself most especially that is, the difference between agent and principal. It happens, not infrequently, that the agent writes to the author, “will you accept £ for your story?” In a case of this kind the author should make inquiries from whom the offer comes before he accepts, in order that he may know where the story will be published, and ascertain whether the offer is from the editor of a magazine ornewspaper. If, how- ever, the offer is made by the agent who desires to purchase the story as principal—a position an agent should avoid—then the agent should say in the first instance, “Are you willing to sell me, as principal, the story for £ - Stich a statement will make everything clear from the beginning and prevent the author from an hideous doubt which will arise subsequently. It has hap- pened, and it may happen again, that the agent is buying the story as principal at alow price when he has received a much more substantial offer from a magazine or newspaper, the author all the time labouring under the impression that he is acting as agent. Such a case is clearly fraudulent, and when discovered should be taken in hand with all possible severity. Even in a case where an agent has no prior offer, but desires to purchase as principal, omitting to mention the fact to the author, he would still be legally liable for the balance to the author who thought he was acting as his agent, supposing the story was subsequently sold fora larger amount. In any circumstances the position is unsatisfactory. It is impossible for the agent to purchase as principal without disclosing the fact to the author, and even when declared, the author should beware of dealing with any agent who varies his dealing as agent with that of purchaser. Another point should be mentioned. Agents very often act for editors of magazines and pub- lishers rather than for the author. Any contract in which an agent is in this position should be viewed with particular caution, and the agent should make the fullest discovery to the author, and should not consider his good faith in question when the author makes inquiries. Here again the position is unsatisfactory, and the author, should he discover that the agent is acting merely for the editor or publisher, should insist that he obtains his commission from his employer and not from the author. It has been necessary to insist on these two points again, as cases come before the secretary which show that these faults are still existing. Agents are useful, and in some cases indispensable to authors, but owing to the fact that they are placed in such confidential positions with authors, the latter should be more than ordinarily careful  THE AUTHOR. AT | \ with whom they are dealing, and of the contracts EDINBURGH REVIEW. ie i and business arrangements made on. their behalf, Early Christian and Byzantine Art and Archeology. ; An author should therefore in no circumstances The Novels of Miss Yonge. es oo and on no account deal with an agent who refuses, of The Study of Greek. i desired, to produce the original letters embodying the : iy offer of contract, and all details and information FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. which may assist in elucidating the position. The Problems of Heredity. By OC. W. Saleeby. Sir Thomas Brown and his Family. By H. C. Minchin, Christopher Marlowe II. By W. L. Courtney. —______+—@—e —____ A Plea for the Religious Drama. By B. W. Findon. French Life and the French Stage. By J. F. Macdonald. MR. GRANT RICHARDS’ BANKRUPTCY. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Tee English Ideas on Education. By A. H. Gilkes. . 7 Bunderstand that the Trustee and the Com- _ * The Religion of all Good Men.” By H. W. Garrod. mittee of Inspection in the bankruptcy Hope for British Drama. By Edward F. Spence. : of Mr. Grant Richards have now suc- te as tic oan, ceeded in selling the stock-in-trade, copyrights, and goodwill of the business. The purchaser is Sir Thomas Browne. By Daniel Johnstone Pageants. t |. Mr. Alexander Moring, of the De La More Press, who has, we are informed, transferred ‘The MonTH. i 3 World’s Classics,” ‘The Boys’ Classics,” and “ The Lourdes and Zola’s ‘‘ Lourdes.” By A. M. F. Cole. _ Parsons’ Handbook Series,” to Mr. Henry Frowde, Horace Walpole. By P. A. Sillard. of the Oxford University Press. Fata Aristotelis, 1210—1263. By C. Dessoulavy. A first dividend of about 2s. in the pound will ‘t probably be payable to the creditors this year. MONTHLY REVIEW. _ And early next year, when all amounts due to the 4 Tomb at Ravena (Guidarello Guidarelli). By Julia estate have been paid, a final dividend of perhaps Cartwright. another 5s. in the pound may be forthcoming. Natiowar: REVIEW, A Stronghold of Art. By A. C. Benson. A Century’s Praise of Nelson. By E. Hallam Moorhouse. ————__+—>—_+—___—_—__ NINETEENTH CENTURY. MAGAZINE CONTENTS. A Municipal Concert Hall for London. By Frederick Verney, L.C.C. ea The Study of History in Public Schools. By C. H. K. BLA ’s MAGAZINE. Marten. aoe Sir Walter Scott on his “ Gabions.” By the Hon. Mrs. My “History” Vindicated. By Andrew Lang. Maxwell Scott. A Viennese Court Episode. By the Baronesse Suzette de Zuylen de Nyevelt. \BOOKMAN. Queen Christina’s Miniature Painter. By Alex. Baird. Byron. By J. Wright Duff. The Dawn of English Yiction. PALL MALL MAGAZINE. The Johnson Club: A Literary Pilgrimage to Rochester. Book MONTHLY. By Sidney Lee. “Boz” and Others. By Percy FitzGerald. Is Literature Doomed? By Harold Spender, Wanted: A Novelist. By Clarence Rook. QUARTERLY REVIEW. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. Recent Literary Criticism in France. By Garnet Smith. Goethe’s Mother. By Mrs. G. M. Trevelyan. ity of Robert Louis : : Se eee The. Poetry and Criticism of Mr. Swinburne. Ruskin and Millais in Scojland. By W. W. Fenn, Sir Walter Scott and one of His Reviewers. By M.B.W. TEMPLE BAR. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Lord Bacon’s Married Life. By Edward Manson, The Blackwashing of Dant>, By Howard Candler. The Evangelical Churches and the Higher Criticism. (There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, By P. T. Forsyth, D,D. or Musical Subjects in the Cornhill.) 48 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. ———— ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, 7f a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to : (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It isnow possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3,) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ee WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. Sa EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the ‘Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. [tis well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (2.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (0.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (b.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that »erforming rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance, 7. Authors should remember tha; performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licznce to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative : that he rurs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himselfall the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember chat the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ~~ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —— + ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisha demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—perforning right and copyright. He should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. 1 HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. SS maf Ss VIERY member has a right toask for and to receive bol K advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- : lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. Se 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 26.8 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send ithe document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. Ses 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. This The 9. Some agents endeayour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 41s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. 49 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —*+—+ HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. + —_____ THE READING BRANCH. $9 EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. he term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. ———§_e——_2_____ NOTICES. —+—>—+—— HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. Se ea ee The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. —————__+——¢ LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —_*—>—+ —- ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C. THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. —-— + — ROM time to time complaints come before the Secretary that publishers object to the inter- vention of literary agents, and are roused with a just indignation at the charges they make to authors. However justified these complaints may be in some cases, there is no doubt that the literary agent has come to stay, and that the publishers had better make the best of the altered situation. But the complaint against the charges of agents causes us to smile, as the guile of the angry publisher becomes evident. In many of their recent agreements publishers have been endeavouring to obtain the author’s minor rights, such as translation rights, Tauchnitz rights, serial rights, and even dramatic rights. One would naturally conclude, complaining as they do of the charges made by the agents, that when they undertake an agent’s duties in placing the author’s smaller rights, they would endeavour to do so at a lower percentage to the author. But what is the truth? Just the reverse. In nearly all contracts they claim fifty per cent. of the authors’ returns, and the lowest percentage in any publishers’ agreements that have come to this office, and we get at the lowest computation one a day, is twenty-five per cent., that is fifteen per cent. more than is charged by the literary agent. The reason then why publishers object to the agent is quite manifest. We have drawn the attention of authors to this point on previous occasions ; but we should like to add that, apart from the financial side of the question, it is the business of a literary agent to place these minor rights ; it is his duty to have an extensive knowledge of the different papers and their exact requirements, whereas it is not the business of the publisher to do more than publish the book that is given to him, limited either as to country or edition, or both. Even though he may be able with the translation rights to deal on an equal basis with the agent, this is certainly not the case with the Tauchnitz edition and serial rights ; and in the case of dramatic rights the publishers’ position is absurd. Authors therefore must be warned to delete a clause of this kind from the publisher’s agreement. Som months ago there was no small commotion in the papers owing to the fact that in-the autumn of the year Messrs. W. H. Smith & Son’s term contracts with the two great railway com- panies, the London and North-Western and the Great Western, would expire, and that all future arrangements would be submitted to the test of public auction. In some of the daily papers it was stated that Messrs. Harmsworth intended to make a bid for these contracts, but this again has been denied by the Daily Mail. No doubt maintenance of an author’s circulation depends a great deal on the satisfactory manage- ment of the bookstalls, and business incapacity at the bookstalls would mean considerable loss to the author. There have, it is true, been com- plaints against Messrs. W. H. Smith & Son for what has been erroneously termed their boycott of certain books, but if the question is considered from all sides, there is no doubt that this old firm, owing to its numerous branches and its adaptable methods, has been the best channel for book circulation which authors could possess. The mere fact that disputes and disagreements have been so few and far between would tend to support this theory. Many large publishing houses could not possibly keep numerous accounts all over the kingdom with numerous small booksellers of whose financial position they might be ignorant. Any such method of distribu- tion would increase indefinitely the publisher’s labour, clog the wheels, and affect at once the author’s sale. Again, Messrs. Smith & Son have bookstalls during the summer months in a great many places where it would not pay a local book- seller to start a shop. For the publishing trade to have one big firm whose financial position was undoubted, so long as that firm, like Messrs. Smith & Son, was always willing and ready to push their business through every possible corner along the railroads where their contracts existed, cannot but have been a benefit to all parties concerned. Ir is now stated that Messrs. Wyman & Sons have obtained the contract from the London and North-Western Railway, and from the Great Western Railway also. This change of proprietors — may mean a change in methods, and we await with some anxiety to see the result. It would appear from the papers also that Messrs. W. H. Smith & Son are to continue their library and will open shops in various towns of Great Britain. These facts, together with the arrival of the Times Book Club, ought to smooth the way for readers of all kinds of literature, and ought, therefore, to be of advantage to the author and to the public. It must frankly be confessed that some of the older libraries did want a change in their methods. With difficulty it was possible to obtain recent fiction, but any book at all out of the way or out of date was beyond their limited powers. There may be better days in store.  THE AUTHOR. 51 A CERTAIN -well-known novelist told the fol- ., #@ lowing story of a personal experience. He went ~ @# one summer to an out of the way spot abroad where he could obtain the necessary quiet to write a book. He was much annoyed during his stay 4 by an objectionable habit that is prevalent in :4@ Germany among those who indulge in the not ~@ uncommon vice of smoking (there is no need to particularise). In no unmeasured language he conveyed his impressions to his story. In due time the book appeared, and had a wide circulation. So wide, indeed, that its reputation crossed the Channel, and the author received an offer for a ~°@ translated version. As the contract was satisfac- “"@ tory, the book was produced in the German +o language, but what was the author’s astonishment ~@ when he found, on perusing the translation, that the objectionable habit which he had fastened on the Germans the translator had fastened on the @ English. Such is the liberty of those who deal “%@ with other people’s work. As the incident did @ not affect the main plot of the story he let the matter pass. A In the American Publishers’ Weekly the editor, -% commenting on the Copyright Conference, states )f neither the English nor the United States copy- _..9 right law compares very favourably with the more 4 enlightened codes adopted by France, Germany, /_ and Japan. We do not know anything of the Japanese law + except in outline, but we do know something of >. that of France and Germany. ‘The law of the ‘ last-mentioned country was printed in the July number of The Author. We leave those who are skilled in copyright to consider carefully the legis- 4 lative powers of the Fatherland and to judge the . 4 editor’s statement after perusal. 4e _ At a later date we hope to publish another » German law which bears very closely on the deal- _ Ings in literary property, the law of publishers’ - Contracts. _ This will be found even more interesting and } | amusing than the German law of copyright. Se eo SIR HENRY IRVING. enn dee cae ae 7% the earliest days of the society when it was the custom to elect a few honorary members, ’ Sir Henry Irving, with some others, was ' @lected to honorary membership. _ _ He is one of the last survivors of the list of distinguished gentlemen who joined under these , * ®onditions. For many years the custom has been “°° abolished, i Although his death has come a a shock to all those interested in the drama, and although his loss is bound to be felt, yet we cannot regret that he died in the full power of his work. After the expressions of sympathy which have appeared in the papers from so many distinguished writers and actors, we can add but little to increase as glory of his fame or the magnitude of his OSs. The works of Shakespeare were, indeed, the chief objects of his veneration, and he did more to bring prominently before the public the poetic and literary value of the works of our greatest dramatist than any living actor has done or is likely to do. He began his theatrical career in the Theatre Royal, Sunderland, and made his own place by his hard work, keen study, and appreciation of the duties of life. He reached, perhaps, his highest success as actor-manager of the Lyceum. The credit of the position which he lately occupied as father of the English stage was due to himself alone—his strong individuality, his tried character. ee gg ee THE LITERATURE OF AUSTRALIA. —_ USTRALIA has proved her claim to a dis- tinct literature of her own, but, except in poetry, the claim is comparatively recent. The present writer, looking back upon a period of something over thirty years, remembers when the literature of Australia was represented in fiction by Kingsley’s “ Geoffrey Hamlyn,” Marcus Clarke’s “His Natural Life,” Farjeon’s ‘‘ Grif,” and a few other novels not written by Australians at all. Even in poetry there were scarcely any native-born authors, and the more serious books, outside Dr. Lang’s writings about Australian origins and some other scientific works, were mainly reports of explorations, missionary tours, and Governmental administration. Now, Australian literature may be divided into two classes—the books written by genuine Austra- lians and the works of people who have lived in the country but are not of it. Under both head- ings exceptions must be made. In the first class, for example, Tasmania is justly proud of being Mrs. Humphry Ward’s birthplace, but there is not the faintest flavour of Australia -in Mrs. Ward’s writings ; while in the second class one would hesitate to include mere travellers’ descriptions of Australian life, even when the globe-trotters are such gifted authors as the late Mr. Froude, Anthony Trollope, and others, whose flying visits to the Colonies were made under agreeable social condi- tions not always conducive to impartial opinions.  52 Nor would one be quite justified in describing as Australian literature such works as those of Messrs. Gillen and Spencer, enormously valuable as these are to students of ethnology and anthropology ; of Mr. Carl Lumholtz, who spent over a year investi- gating the North Queensland flora and fauna and the habits of the blacks ; or of Mr. Andrew Lang, who has made a speciality of blacks’ folklore. In this connection should be mentioned a lady who may be regarded as a genuine Australian though not actually Australian born. Mrs. Langloh Parker, the author of “ Australian Legendary Tales” —to which Mr. Lang has written a preface—knows perhaps more than anyone living of the aboriginal traditions, for she has learned the language of certain tribes, and, sitting over their camp fires, has heard from them a number of totemistic legends, which she has made into two volumes of the most delightful fairy stories imaginable. And talking of the blacks’ traditions and of writers who have studied them on the spot, no sketch of Australian literature would be complete without the mention of Mr. Dawson, and also Mr. Archibald Meston, a younger writer, more particularly about Queensland, whose book about that colony is a mine of interest. Australia’s former backwardness in literature can be easily enough understood. The early settlers were too busy making the country to write about it, and those of the second generation who aspired to authorship were unfortunately imbued with the idea that nothing genuinely Australian could pos- sibly be interesting. So they aped English models without in reality knowing anything about English life, ignoring the fact that there was virgin gold in the shape of ‘‘copy”’ at their feet if they chose to scrape the soil for it. The old convict associations too made Australians rather ashamed of being Australian, though they have got over that non- sense long since. Consequently, young Australia of the ’sixties, if it wrote stories, copied Rhoda Broughton, Ouida, and Mrs. Oliphant, etc., tried to be English in all other respects possible, and ate roast beef and English plum pudding on Christmas Day with the thermometer at 100° Fahr. The result was apparent in its literature. Happily, now, though socially the system of imitation con- tinues more or less, an intellectual reaction has set in—all praise to those who started it—and Austra- lian literature of to-day is marked by a very definite note of originality. Speaking broadly, this is due to three causes— The Sydney Bulletin, Mr. Rolf Boldrewood—giving his pseudonym to the author of “ Robbery Under Arms”—and to Mr. Chamberlain’s policy of Imperialism. In the order of things, looked at from a distance, Mr. Rolf Boldrewood should come before The Sydney Bulletin, though chronologically The Sydney THE AUTHOR. Bulletin, under its most able editor, practically | started the new Australian school of literature But “ Robbery Under Arms” reached the British public before the clever writers educated in the school of Zhe Bulletin had in any noteworthy | instances made individual names. ‘ Rolf Boldre wood’s” novel was published in London, an appealed instantly, with the thrill of a fresh sensa- f tion, to a reading world beginning to weary o Jin-de-siécle morbidities, to quote the hack-phrase 0 the time. ‘“ Robbery Under Arms” gave jade novel readers a strong invigorating whiff of th gum trees and did for the Australian bushman[ something of what Bret Harte’s Californian tales | did for the American miner. The time of its appearance was fortuitous, for the English news- papers had lately given accounts of the career and capture of Ned Kelly, the bushranger, and “ Rolf Boldrewood ” told the story with a rough idealism and vivid presentment of conditions and atmosphere in the bush that made the book an immediate success. He wrote in the person and style of an Australian stockman, and—if a personal opinion be permitted—he has never written anything half so good as that first novel, about which, in the ’eighties, all London was talking. He showed people that real Australia was likely to prove a profitable field for fiction-writers, and not a few breezy Australian books followed in that one’s & wake. It is true that several Colonial writers have dealt with the romance of bushranging and fi: gold-escort robbery—for one, Katherine King, who turned the Griffin tragedy into a clever story, the more interesting because Griffin, her hero’s proto- type, was well known socially in the district where he lived. There were other bushranging stories too, and some very good ones, but nevertheless “Robbery Under Arms” marked an epoch in Australian fiction, because it was inspired by the Genius of the bush. And nothing can be more distinctive than that Genius of the bush. He is a fearsome, almost grotesque, monster, giving the impression of an antediluvian survival—a lonely and weird survival amid scenery unlike any other scenery on the face of the globe. It is just that wild, uncouth, monstrous suggestiveness which is so difficult to render for anyone who has not sucked it into his blood. Any reader of “Robbery Under Arms” who has been under the spell of the bush will smell the gum leaves and the wattle bloom ; he will see the grass trees rear their black spikes on stony ridges ; he will hear the demoniacal laugh of the kookooburra, the whirr of locusts, the “ poomp” of tree frogs, the shriek of cockatoos, the thud of unshod horses’ hoofs on solitary bush roads. He will know wha sort of life the free-selector lives; he will under- | stand the temptation of “nuggetting ” unbranded calves ; he will realise an outlaw who never meant to be a criminal; he will know what knocking down a cheque in “ out back shanties” means, and he will not need to be told why shepherds go mad. He will listen to the wild west wind howling down the gorges in winter and to the multitudinous roar of insects on hot summer nights. In short, he will live the rollicking, deadly monotonous, dramatic, “a erim, lonely life of the bush, and if he has once ‘| breathed its breath, he will now breathe it again. a The bush repels, sickens, fascinates. It is like (a the gum trees, lean, lank, hideous, stretching out “ skeleton arms that claw you whether you will or not. Once you have experienced its uncanny magic you will be haunted by it till you die. A literature which conveys that magic is a thing by itself, and > that is what Australian literature is only just 41@ beginning to be. The story of drought and desert, of rivers nara “coming down” in flood, of forest fires, is very tq different from the story of Sydney and Melbourne, - of Riverina squatting and civilised “ bush.” Tasma » -the late Madame le Couvreur—and Ada Cam- nid bridge have written delightfully of the gentler .0@ phases of Australian life. Ada Cambridge’s a “Marked Man ” has given us a picture of Sydney ig Harbour, the Domain, the grand North Head not 34 easily to be forgotten. Madame Leconvreur and Mrs. Cross—to say nothing of a number of writers less distinguished—have not, however, conveyed arg that uncouth, grim and altogether tragic spell of ie the bush which is a peculiarity of the modern vA, Australian school. This is what most of Zhe kw Bulletin writers who have come to the fore have : undoubtedly done; and in specifying that par- ide ticular newspaper as typically Australian it must ok not be supposed that there are not other equally + important Australian journals possessing the same iy qualities. But Ze Bulletin is mainly responsible i¢ for a whole crop of Australian authors racy of the soil on which they have grown. 4 The literature of a new country is predominantly ine imaginative. So the note of the land has been 24 struck chiefly in poetry and fiction and, as might hg have been expected in a school of journalistic origin, principally in the short story. Mr. Henry Lawson’s volumes of tales and sketches, ‘“ When the Billy Boils,” and “On the Track and over the Sliprails,” are absolute echoes of Australian life. Here again you sniff the aromatic odour of eucalyp- tus and the acrid smoke of burning bush ; you hear the drawl of the stockman and see the slouching gait of the “sundowner.” It is not so much life from the squatter’s point of view that Mr. Lawson describes as life from that of the drover, the “ rouseabout,” the shearer, the fossicker, the tramp who “ humps bluey” and grubs up stumps for his tucker. The squatter’s point of view is better given THE AUTHOR. 53 in such a book as Mr. Mcllvaine’s “ Dinkinbar,” wherein the awful loneliness and dependence upon Nature—often a monstrously cruel Nature—is described with terrible fidelity. If Mr. McIlvaine be not bush-born he has lived long enough in the bush to have absorbed its spirit. ‘ Dinkinbar ” deals with the eternal sex problem as it is some- times solved “ out-back ”—after a fashion that frequently leads to the kind of bush insanity technically termed “ becoming a hatter,” in which a white man forsakes his kind and lives alone or with the blacks. The hero of “Dinkinbar” is saved from this fate by the love of an English girl, but not before he has gone through a pretty rough time. ‘ Fate the Fiddler,” also by Mr. McIlvaine, is a burden of drought, mortgage, and of “the bank taking possession ”’—the tragedy of many an unsuccessful squatter, told realistically but with less of the peculiar and powerful fascination of * Dinkinbar.” “Out West”—in the words of an Australian popular song, “‘ Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest ”—would appear to be an inspiring atmosphere to the present school of Australian writers. Most of the volumes of short stories lately brought out have their scenes laid in the Never-Never region. Among them is a book that has scarcely received the praise it deserves—“ A Bush Honeymoon and Other Stories,” published a short time back by Mr. Fisher Unwin. Its author, Mrs. Palmer Archer, is also racy of the soil, but her outlook is a fairly cheerful one. She has humour as well as the sad- ness characteristic of modern Australian writers. Nowhere is the cry of rebellious pessimism more marked than in a crude striking little life-story told in the first person by a writer styling herself —for the work is evidently a woman’s—Miles Franklin. “My Brilliant Career” is essentially Australian, and gives promise of future powerful work. In speaking of present story-writers—too many to be enumerated—Barbara Baynton should be mentioned, and certainly Mary Gaunt cannot be passed over, nor Louise Mack. So far, Australian political life has not furnished much material to the novelist, and that is a pity, for it abounds in dramatic incident and character studies. The building of the Commonwealth and the true inwardness of the Labour Party would make sprightly reading. Up to now, Antipodean politics have been dealt with mainly by the serious writer. A number of books touching on economic and political aspects are for the most part anticipa- tions or results of Mr. Chamberlain’s declared policy of Imperialism. And thus this eminent statesman becomes a factor in Australian litera- ture, though his influence has been more or less indirect. Imperialism has done more than anything else to make Australian literature original. It has  54 emphasised the importance of Australia, and morally and intellectually, as well as politically, has given the Australians wholesome encourage- ment to be themselves, and not distorted reflections of Old World conventions. At last Australian writers have come to believe that it pays best, in all senses, to be genuinely Australian. This applies to imaginative literature, not to the graver sort, for though it is true of Australia as of other countries that the men who write the songs of their nation are they who make its history, the Commonwealth is too new for its historians to be real Australians. Mr. Henniker Heaton is a man of action rather than of letters, nevertheless his writings and compilations have done much towards popularising Australia. Sir C. Gavan Duffy belongs to the anticipatory period, and his Australian imperialism only points an example for Trishhomerule. The late Arthur Patchett Martin’s ‘Australia and the Empire” is a most able survey of things Australian, and though English-born, Mr. Martin knew Australia intimately from the literary standpoint, and was a graduate in the Australian journalistic school. The Hon. Harold Finch-Hatton’s “ Advance Australia”’ is valuable as the fruit of strenuous years in Queensland. - And here, mention should be made of a very charming personal record of the settlement of Port Darwin by a daughter of the first administrator. Mrs. Dominic Daly’s “Digging, Squatting and Pioneering Life,” dates a good way back, but is fresh and vivid still. Turning to the Australian song-writers and poets, this, the most important branch of Australian literature, has been left to the last on the principle there remains very little to be said about it which has not been already fully said. Mr. Douglas Sladen, also a writer of Australian verse, has devoted much attention to the subject and gives much detailed criticism of the poets of Australia in the preface to his collection of Australian poems, and there is an admirable chapter on Australian poets in Mr. Percy Rowland’s book “The New Nation.” No words are needed to-day concerning Adam Lindsay Gordon, Kendall, Brunton Stephens —none of them Australian-born—concerning O. H. Harpur, Alfred Domett, Boake, Ogilvie, Victor Daley, “ Australie” and “ Austral ’—both Aus- tralian girls—or the two best known and most recent of Queensland poets—products too of The Bulletin school—R. L. Paterson and Henry Law- son, either of whom might be termed the Australian Kipling. R. M. PRazp. i ee THE AUTHOR. ON STYLE. — OST of the books and essays which have been written upon style do not seem to me to go deep enough. They are as if a writer on forestry told you how to trim the terminal leaf- lets of trees but said nothing about their roots, their growth and habit, or the soil of whose virtues they are in a sense the concrete and visible ex- pression. Exactly in so far as you think of style as a separate consideration, the literary common- place that a writer must be judged finally by his style becomes untrue. It is like the lying proverb that beauty is only skin deep. A beautiful woman is beautiful to her bones, and the style of a writer depends ultimately upon his digestion. “ Style is the man”’—yes, but the whole man; and if to his expression do not go all that he has ever lived and suffered and enjoyed—his appetites, his aspirations, his vices, even—exactly in so much and not from lack of colour, or vigour, or pic- turesqueness, or any other “literary ” quality, will his writing be imperfect. Style is a temperature- chart, a pulse-tracing of the individual mind, and “mind is as deep as the viscera.” There is a wonderful piece of criticism in Maxim Gorky’s “‘ Foma Gordyéeff :” “And the judgment of the Lord upon them will be according to their strength. Their bodies will be weighed and the angels will measure their blood .... and the angels of God will see to it that their sin shall not exceed in weight the weight of their blood and their body—do you understand? The Lord will not condemn a wolf if it devours a sheep—but if a miserable little rat is guilty of killing a sheep—He will condemn the rat !” This is not more profoundly true of morals than it is of literature. You cannot judge a man’s style by any abstract standard; its quality de- pends entirely upon the precision with which he has expressed—I had nearly written his meaning, but that is not definite enough—himself. And precision includes all other literary virtues. There can be no properties of style that are not funda- mental to the writer, and if he expresses himself with precision he expresses whatever of light or colour, or vigour, or picturesqueness, or subtlety is in his nature. This sounds like a commonplace, but it is a commonplace that is very imperfectly apprehended. How often, for example, is it said “so and so writes a good style but he has nothing to say.” That is impossible. A man cannot utter a platitude “ stylishly,” because the moment you say “style” you imply something personal which at once, be it ever so little, redeems the matter from commonplace. Again, it is said that so and so’s style is careful and precise but wanting in colour and richness. I believe that it is impossible for a style to be both meagre and precise. A tomato  THE AUTHOR. 55 is redder and'brighter than a turnip, but you would not say that a turnip was more precisely a turnip for simulating the redness and brightness of a tomato. Nor is it a poorer turnip for lack of those qualities. It is in so far as it exhibits the essen- tial properties of a turnip that it is a good turnip, and it is in so far as a man’s writing expresses the personal qualities of that particular man that he is a good writer. There are meagre styles, it is true, but then their precision is only apparent as his morality is only apparent who practises merely the negative virtues. A style which expresses more or less than a man’s personality must be bad; it is either affected or inadequate. This is the real quarrel with “ preciosity,” with the vices of those writers held up as eminently “ stylists.” It is not that they use fantastic or out of the way words, or sequences of words, but that they use words and phrases which do not belong to them nor sincerely express the movements of their mind. Their finery distracts the mind of the reader from the nervelessness of the expression as the bits of tinsel stuck on a stage dragon distract the eye from the inferiority of the modelling. Strip them off and you find a dull, dead shape underneath. The truth is you cannot separate style from matter. If you say that the style is good you already imply that the matter is good because, style admitted, it is necessarily one man’s personal and_ precise expression in words of the thought that is in him. Which, I think, is the final answer to the vexed question : What constitutes literature? That is to say, the old commonplace that a work of art must be judged finally by its style remains true, but only in a deeper sense than is generally accepted. A good deal of the confusion about style in literature is due to regarding it as concerned chiefly with form and colour. It is concerned with form and colour of course, but primarily with movement. Perhaps it would be juster to say— with form and colour as affecting movement. A great living landscape painter gave me the definition. “Painting deals with relations; literature with progressions.” That is true and, by the way, at once exposes the vicious principle underlying “ word-painting””—the verbal descrip- tion of objects in their relations of tone, and form, and colour only. Not rhythm alone, but all the other technical expedients of the art of writing, assonance, alliteration, even rhyme, are only tolerable in so far as they are concerned ultimately with movement.. The matter is too important and too complicated to be considered here, but I should not be surprised if the fundamental difference between verse and poetry turned out to be purely technical after all. It is quite obvious that the distinction does not rest upon abstract superiority of the thought and emotion in poetry. In reading verse—I am not now speaking’ of jingle or doggrel but of good verse, and taking for granted a distinction of ideas and emotion—one feels that the writer’s use of accent, assonance, alliteration and rhyme is governed by considerations of form and colour only ; the effects are static, relative : while in poetry they are dynamic, progresswe ; like the “kissing” of billiard balls they impress the ear but chiefly to mark a deflection of energy. Herbert Spencer wrote an “ Essay on Style.” “As I have not the volume containing it at hand, I am compelled to quite casual references from the Autobiography. ‘Few would expect to find such a subject as style dealt with on physical principles. The first of the two theses (of the Essay) set forth and variously illustrated, was that nervous energy is used up in the interpretation of every one of the symbols by which an idea is conveyed ; and that there is greater or less expenditure of such energy according to the number of the symbols, their character and their order: the corollary being that in proportion as there is less energy absorbed in interpreting the symbols, there is more left for representing the idea, and, con- sequently greater vividness of the idea. Otherwise stated, this thesis was that the most successful form of sentence is one which guides the thought of the hearer or reader along the line of least resistance.” Now, of style in relation to the reader this is admirably stated, but what Herbert Spencer does not seem to have recognised is that it is yet more true of style in relation to the writer. If he had said “ the most successful form of sentence is one which guides the thought of the writer along the line of least resistance ” he would have stated the whole problem of style. But for a!l his clear per- ceptions and in spite of his own dictum that “mind is as deep as the viscera” he seems to have been obsessed by the notion of an abstract stan- dard of style. At the end of his Autobiography we find him regretting the supposed defects of his own style in these words. “Though my style is lucid, it has, as compared with some styles, a monotony that displeases me. There is a lack of variety in its verbal forms,and in its larger com- ponents, and there is a lack of vigour in its phrases.” The truth of the matter is, Herbert Spencer was regretting something more than a method of writing, and his regret was idle: he was regretting that he was not some other man. His style was monotonous because, in spite of the variety of his interests, his mind was monotonous ; it was want- ing in vigour because—I seem presumptuous, but there is the whole Autobiography to support me— he did not think or feel vigorously. He implied so much in a single sentence when he complained of Carlyle “ He thought in a passion.” Well, it is not a bad thing for a writer to think in a passion, but it must be a still, white rage. There is all the difference in the world between passion and  56 hysteria. It is only when you think in a passion that your expression becomes fused with your thought ; that you discover the line of least resistance. But if Spencer’s style had been more varied and more vigorous it would have been a bad style—for him. You cannot acquire vigour and variety any more than you can acquire red hair when your own is black—though you can dye it red. Style is neither clothes nor armour ; it is bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh. Is it not possible then for a man to improve his style? Certainly it is, but not by thinking about style in the abstract. Style can only be improved in relation to the thought and the emotion—an improved relation to the matter and consequently to the reader follows inevitably as a matter of course. In proportion as you think more clearly and feel more keenly your expression will become lither and more concentrated, unincumbered with any dead matter. Every word becomes alive ; it is all structural and all decorative. You cannot have the two purposes separately considered or the one added as an afterthought. Unless the decoration is inherent in the structure your writing is bad. You improve your style by purgation, emesis, by the sacrifice of whatever hinders the free and precise expression of your personal emotion. It is a process not of acquisition but of elimination ; it is, if you like, an exposure of differences. You grow liker yourself. Smith writes like Jones because the expression of either is hampered by a plethora of ready-made phrases common to everybody and proper to none. I should like to put many of our writers through Banting ; they suffer from fatty degeneration of language. It is not so much that they use too many words as that they stumble along under an adipose layer of words and phrases that hinder and obscure their authentic movements. Hlabo- rate theories to account for the difference between the styles of admittedly good writers— say Sir Thomas Browne and Mr. J. M. Barrie—are idle as the wind. The matter is quite simple. Sir Thomas Browne wrote like Sir Thomas Browne, and Mr. J. M. Barrie writes like Mr. J. M. Barrie. Style does not begin with a nice hesitation over the choice of epithets, but is determined by the fundamental character of the individual organisa- tion, by “the weight of blood.” There is no technique of writing, or rather, it is all technique and begins with the child’s first cry. If we could keep all our lives the limpid sincerity of childhood we should all be masters of style. The best writers are those that have preserved, or with pains recovered, the child’s purity of expression. Style, in whatever medium, is a matter of physics. All art, indeed, is but the record of a gesture; how THE AUTHOR. that particular man moved; it is literally the record of his emotions. The object of all training, whether physical, moral or mental, is not the acquisition of abstract “ qualities,” however desir- able in themselves ; it is nothing more than this ; to discover the line of least resistance between your powers and their expression whether in words or paint, the movement of the limbs or the equilibrium of the soul. “ Progress in style,’ wrote Herbert Spencer, “must produce heterogeneity in our modes of expression.” Exactly, because progress in style means the discovery under our superficial likeness to other men of that inimitable ego which resides in every one of us. It is therefore necessary for every writer to cultivate a wise egoism ; to pay no attention to what is said about “ good” or “ bad” styles. His own style is the best possible for him. He need not be afraid that he will come by it too easily, for, though there can be no properties of style that are not implicit in the writer, they are not, as a rule, immediately apparent. Every man’s nature is like a mine, and it is the whole business of life to discover and work out his original vein. Every living creature has something personal to say, and every living creature somehow and at some time contrives to say it—though not neces- sarily in words. One creature delivers his message by wearing the colours of the dawn, another in the ecstasy of flight ; this man with the sword, that other in prayer and good works ; but upon each, whether in life or art, the final judgment will be ‘“< How nearly has he been himself ? ” CHARLES MARRIOTT. Oe THE MAN WHO WOULD WRITE. Y friend, Edward Blakenshaw, is a stock and share broker. Each man to his craft; I will confess that I am wholly unin- structed in the business of stock and share broking. Unfortunately, Blakenshaw imagines that he knows quite enough about the calling of letters to make his appearance at Mudie’s a mere matter of sitting down after dinner, and “ reeling off” two thousand words or so of fiction. And there are many persons like my friend Blakenshaw. : The other day, Blakenshaw wrote that, as times — were dull, and leisure hung upon his hands, he ~ had resolved to give the world a novel. got the idea (sic) after reading ‘ , by 0. e wrote my aspirant. ‘Do you know the book? If © such pifile as that gets published, surely there is a chance for me. I have never read such trash — before.” “J first fp  THER AUTHOR. 57 I withhold the title of the novel and the author’s name, for reasons which will be manifest. I have read the “piffle,? with a species of envious admiration for the writer’s delicate and delightful style, and I must own that Blakenshaw’s fatuous estimate of a work of art almost moved me to deliver myself in very plain language. But what good? I am not angry with my grocer’s boy because he sings “ Bill Bailey ” instead of Gounod. To explain to Blakenshaw why the critics and a large number of cultivated readers acknowledge a high literary ability in H would be really quite impossible. The point is that my engaging amateur thinks he can achieve in a few months all that the laborious author of the “piffle” and “trash” has achieved after many years of stern effort. Nay more, Edward Blakenshaw has not the tinge of a doubt that the aptitude inheres in him. A little sacrifice of the leisure due to slack times is all that Blakenshaw needs to win a recognition equal to that of the gifted and experienced H——. Men of science term it egomania. Continuing in a light and casual fashion, my correspondent advised me that the tale was finished. “ What I would ask you to do is to recommend a likely publisher,” wrote Blakenshaw, “and to tell me how much I ought to ask for the work.” Businesslike Blakenshaw! Heat least has decided that “art for art’s sake” is a stupid shibboleth of the piffle-emongers. Cash down is goal and gnerdon of my friend’s ambitious excursion into the region of art. He wants to know of a “likely publisher.” Blessed phrase—how well we are accustomed to the sound of it! Atthe present moment I know personally four writers, two of them men of genius, who would like to meet the publisher with the acumen to discern a “ commercial success ” for their solid, serious works in fiction. What possible service can I render the Blakenshaws in recom- mending a publishing house? Publishers, like stock and share brokers, follow their business as a means of subsistence. Many of them deal out “piffle” and the poorest sort of “trash,” simply because the intelligent subscribers to the libraries demand such commodities. It is well, however, to discriminate between saleable and unsaleable piffle. A publisher may possess a true literary sense, and desire to sell only good literature. But his business is not conducted in the interest of high art, nor from motives of philanthropy. He must sell what his customers want, and not ‘caviare to the general ” if he wishes to succeed. Hence the majority of publishers are compelled to issue a number of saleable, popular books, more or less worthless from a literary standpoint. Now, Blakenshaw thinks that it is easy to pro- duce one of these trifling and inept stories. He is mistaken. An innate capacity for weaving plots, a facility in expression, and shrewdness in esti- mating the variable taste of the public are essentials in this trade of fiction-making. A genius may find himself hopelessly impotent to produce saleable tales, even though positive necessity urges him to make a bid for popularity by the sacrifice of his artistic ideals. The specific aptitude requisite for the invention of saleable piffle is a “gift.” Blakenshaw is not a genius, nor does he possess this specific aptitude. He is typical of that great order of amateurs who mistake will for ability. Never in my wildest dreams of ambition have I supposed that I could become a successful stock and share broker. The starling cannot soar with the eagle. Yet my estimable Blakenshaw imagines that he can suddenly project himself from ’Change to the realms of fancy, and outvie H—— in a first flight of the imagination. I was puzzled as to my course with Blakenshaw. Having read one of his “effusions,” some years ago, I was tolerably convinced that he is tempera- mentally incapable of viewing human nature with the keen and comprehensive vision of the writer of fiction. I knew that he would ask me to read a not too legible manuscript, relating to second- hand copies of humanity, drawn from the inferior novels in which he finds his recreation. I was assured that the “ copy ” would abound in solecisms of syntax and errors in grammar, and that the trail of the novice would be over it all. And yet I could not find it in my heart to assume a depre- ciative tone in replying to Blakenshaw’s letter. There is something exquisitely pathetic in all aspiring disability. Therefore, I wrote that I would meet my friend in the City, and tender him such advice as he might choose to accept. We met at arestaurant. Blakenshaw was charm- ingly sanguine. I brought him immediately face to face with the hard facts of publishing, by asking him how many words there were in his story. He seemed astonished at my question. If it was a matter of “ quantity,” of course he was prepared to make the tale as long as I liked. I informed him that a novel must be from 75,000 to 100,000 words in length. Blakenshaw “ thought ” that his story would be about 18,000 words. “That is the length of a rather short novelette,”” T said. “Oh, this isn’t that sort of stuff,’ interrupted the author. «Tg it sentimental, sensational, serious, adven- turous, or what ?” I inquired. “Well,” said Blakenshaw, “ it’s a bit of all that. The style isa sort of mixture of Cutliffe Hyne, and Ouida.” “ Good |” 58 “ Now, how much do you think the story would sell for ?”” asked Blakenshaw. ‘“‘Tmpossible to say. Perhaps a guinea per 1,000 words.” “Ts that all?” Poor Blakenshaw! I had to doit. A dread of candour is one of my traits; but I realised that the case demanded a measure of plain-speaking, With gentle diffidence, I told him that he had chosen the very slowest means of raising cash. [ spoke of grim disappointments, and of the difficulties of the author’s calling. *“ But how is it somany bad novelsare published ?” inquired Blakenshaw. I explained the commission system of publishing, and the difference between saleable and unsaleable “ piffle.’ To the mind of my ingenuous friend, the situation appeared paradoxical and bewildering. “Tt seems to me,” he remarked, ‘‘ that the thing to do is to write a lot of rotten stuff, and then you'll get it accepted.. What about sending my tale to one of these literary agents ?” “ You can try,” I said, in sheer despair. “What do they charge you ?” “Ten per cent on net results of sales.” “T don’t see much advantage in that.” “Perhaps you had better send your manuscript around yourself,” I said. I knew that Blakenshaw was sure to request me to read and report upon the manuscript. My refusal was prompt, and a little brutal. I explained that I read very few novels; that my view was prejudiced ; that I did not wish to incur a possible charge of undue critical severity, and that my opinion was probably quite valueless. When I rose, Blakenshaw seemed somewhat vexed with me. He walked by my side down the street, saying that perhaps he would change his mind, and “ get the story published in one of the good magazines.” I wished my friend good fortune, and said goodbye. On the top of the omnibus I had to decide whether [ was amused or annoyed by this inter- view. It seemed to me that Edward Blakenshaw would consider it as colossal folly on my part if I suddenly announced that I intended to raise money by turning stock and share broker on off-days, when things are slack in the writing profession. Why should the Blakenshaws be allowed to delude themselves that there is an easy side-door leading into our profession, and that any man, who has leisure and a quire of foolscap, can command a share of our limited pecuniary awards? How strange it is that megalomania so frequently dupes the most unimaginative of brains with the inspira- tion to write fiction and even poetry ! WALTER M. GALLICHAN. Notr.—Since writing the above I have read Blakenshaw’s manuscript. It is crude and THE AUTHOR. impossible. My friend writes that he is of the opinion “ that there is nothing to be made out of literature.” Oe SOME MODERN METHODS OF ILLUSTRATION. —+—>— + —_ (Reprinted from the Vew York Bookman by kind permission of the Editor.) O no one class of art workers has the camera brought wider or more practical results than to the men and women who draw for illustration. It has emancipated them completely from any hard and fast rules regarding technical methods, and enabled them to do their work in any way and in any medium that seems best adapted to the particular work in hand. We all profit by this freedom of choice, for we get the work of many artists in our magazines and books who but for the camera would be known only to the comparatively few who attend the exhibits of so-called easel pictures. Illustration in America has not been taken very seriously until within com- paratively recent years. To many artists it was, and is yet no doubt, but the handmaid of what they consider real art—the painting of pictures. Many artists in the past never had the patience or the skill to learn to draw in reverse and in the minute sizes formerly required for putting work on the wood-block. It was certainly a laborious and tiresome task at best, and the wonder is that so much of the illustration of the old days was so good. By the use of the camera all this drudgery vanished at once. The artist made his picture large or small, the lens brought it to the required size and preserved the exact drawing of the original. The wood-engraver has been a great power for good in the development of all illustrative art, and his work at its best is interpretative and — sympathetic in a very high degree. It is a matter of pride that in America wood-engraving has achieved its most remarkable results and been most fully recognised as an art of surprising capacity and rare beauty of expression. Artists — used to find fault with the engravers on wood, © often with much justice, for not retaining the exact — drawing of the original, but wood-engraving is © admittedly primarily interpretative and not in the strict sense reproductive, though the accomplished — wood-engraver gives with really wonderful dexterity — the delicate tones and values of many originals. — To-day wood engraving is a fast vanishing art, — but it will never cease to be appreciated as one of © the most beautiful and worthy of all the graphic  tH BIG 8 (brat ila 7 various “= mediums between the drawing and the plate have @ made it possible to reproduce drawings made in atts. From its earliest manifestations it has always been an art for the people, and to it we + owe undoubtedly the invention of movable type, with which it has ever since been so closely asso- ciated. It was the camera that gave the modern wood- engraver his greatest opportunity and at the same time laid the foundation for his undoing. With the invention of the half-tone screen used between the lens and the object to be photographed, it became possible by mechanical means to make engravings on metal that could be electrotyped and printed in relief in conjunction with type. Further improvements in the sensitising of the photographic plates used and the interposition of coloured glasses or coloured liquid fall colour with a very close preservation of their values. The half-tone process is a familiar and beautiful method of reproducing illustrations to-day, and a very large part of the pictures in our magazines and books are printed from half-tone plates. The principle upon which it is based is that to print in relief from a metal plate the surface must be broken up into minute points or dots in order to offer a suitable surface for taking the ink. Draw- ings, as has been said, may be in black and white or tint or in the full colour of a carefully wrought painting. The half-tone screen upon which the entire process depends is made by putting together two plates of glass upon which lines have been ruled at carefully calculated intervals in such a | way as to produce at the line intersections a series of minute dots. Some of these screens have as many as three hundred of these lines to the square inch. Upon their number and the shape of the diaphragm used in the lens in combination with the screen depends the texture of the resulting plate. In transferring the negative to the highly polished and suitably sensitised copper plate, it is reversed, either by stripping it from its glass support and transferring it to another, or by the use of a prism in the taking. Put in contact with the copper, it is exposed to light. Those parts of the picture which have been protected by the dark parts of the negative, corresponding to the lights of the original picture, may be washed away, the other parts in varying degree. The image on the copper plate is dried and held over heat to burn it in and made ready for the etching bath, Lights and darks, it will be apparent, are dependent upon the varying intensities of these in the original. The etching process requires trained judgment in order to know just how far to carry it and a careful study of the original drawing. This pro- cess derives its name “half-tone” from the fact THE AUTHOR. 59 that no pure whites are obtainable on account of the interposition of the screen. The whites are all modified into delicate greys. The effect, in fact, is like looking at the picture through a transparent gauze curtain. Whites and stronger blacks may be obtained by subsequent re-engraving by hand and by burnishing. — The half-tone is especially used to reproduce drawings in which there are gradations of tint either in flat washes or in colour. The very small cost of the plates as compared with wood-engraving, their mechanical accuracy and great value ag a time-saver have made them universally popular. In the old days a full-page wood-engraving might easily cost any- where from $75 to $250, and take three or four weeks to do. Half-tones of a very fine quality can be had at from $9 to $12 a page, and in an after- noon, if necessary. Any one can readily determine whether an illustration is a half-tone or not by looking at it through a magnifying glass—the screen, or “mesh,” is very apparent. A much simpler process is used when the draw- ing is in line or stipple, like one of Gibson’s cartoons, for instance. No screen is necessary, and the metal used instead of copper is a zinc plate. The rest of the process is much the same. Line plates are very inexpensive—a full page need cost only about $2.50, and can be made in a few hours. We are indebted to the camera and the half-tone for the constantly increasing use of coloured pictures in books and magazines, some of which are done with a great deal of taste and a very fair approach to the original subject. The Japanese have made wonderful colour prints for ages by the use of numerous wood blocks, and in France and America, especially, some very beautiful pictures in coloured tints have been printed in this way. Here again, however, the matter of expense has been practically prohibitive, and the mechanical difficulties are considerable. By use of the half- tone in conjunction with the so-called three- colour process the reproduction of coloured pictures has been made possible at a comparatively small expense. As is perhaps well known to many, the three-colour process is based upon the theory that all the colours of the chromatic scale are supposed to be derived from various combinations of the three primaries—blue, yellow and red. ‘Three negatives are made in exact register from the original painting, one for the yellow, one for the red, another for the blue, and these made into half-tone plates are printed in succession, the one over the other. The limitations of this process lie in the difficulty of choosing just the right yellow, red and blue that in combination will reproduce the original in all its parts. Thus far there has always been something to be desired, 60 especially when the process is employed in the reproduction of paintings involving delicate tones of grey. Many times the addition of another plate printed in grey or black will soften and blend the effect of the three primaries in a satisfactory way. Very successful colour reproductions are made by the use of four or five half-tones printed in delicate tints and over all a strong impression in black. In each plate some part may be left blank or made to print very faintly when not intended to take its particular colour all over. This method of colour printing in two or three tints is often intended only as a colour interpretation without any pretence of being a reproduction. All of this colour work depends for its success upon an expert knowledge of colour blending. The use of several plates is much like the work of the painter, who lays in his ground and then builds up the colours in succession to the degrees required. One of the most beautiful of all the reproductive processes is known as photogravure. Here the engraving, instead of being in relief, is incised or in intaglio, just the opposite of the half-tone, and the impression is made by pressing the dampened paper into the lines on the metal plate. No screen is used in making the negative, but a grain is obtained by sprinkling the copper plate with pow- dered rosin and melting it on. This makes a ground for the subsequent etching. The photo- graphic image printed on the copper plate in this instance is from a positive. There is a velvety softness and richness of light and shade, an effect of delicacy and refinement in this process that is very suggestive of the lovely textures of the old mezzotints. Photogravure, however, is not suitable for use in large editions, for the prints can only be made on a hand press, and the plates are too delicate in character to with- stand any very large number of impressions. The cost, too, is very considerable, and the process is chiefly employed in the reproduction of paintings and in the illustration of limited editions. Lithography, or printing from stone, is con- siderably used in the making of coloured covers and posters, but it involves so many different colours to obtain fair results and so much more presswork than the half-tone process that it is becoming less and less common, except in the more ordinary purely commercial work. For many years we looked to France for the best colour printing, but since our great magazines have admitted colour to their pages we have learned to do the best work of this kind in the world. There is apparently an increasing demand for colour upon the part of the public, and many illustrators who used to work only in black and THE AUTHOR. white now do their drawings in both oils and water colours, either upon the assurance of their reproduction in colour or in the hope that possibly they may make a sufficient appeal to the art editor to warrant their reproduction as they are drawn. Magazine and book-making is certainly a very much more complicated problem than in the old days. The tradition that once permitted only black and white illustrations to be printed in con- junction with type has long since given way to the ever-increasing demand for novelty. In a single number of a magazine in these days we may have examples of nearly all the current methods of colour printing—in three colours from half-tones, in line with a patch of red or blue here and there, in five or six varying tints superimposed, in simple biack upon a flat, yellow tint block. It is needless to say that all this adds very considerably to the cost of production and demands preparation for particular colour effects months in advance. When it comes to five or six printings instead of one for the large editions of to-day, time is a very essential factor. All that is needed now is some simplification of the photographic process for reproducing colour ; present methods are complicated and far from completely satisfactory. Illustration in any modern sense really began with the modest cutting of drawings on boards of apple or pear wood with the aid of a common knife, and at first it was employed chiefly as a means of conveying religious instruction to the illiterate common people. With the advent of Diirer it soon became a really great art, and Holbein carried it to a still higher plane. When Bewick in England conceived the idea of the “white line” and invented the modern tools of the wood-engraver the way was opened for a freer handling in general. Many of the great names in all art have been more or less identified with illustration, and in no country in the world can there be found so large a group of competent workers in this field as in America. We publish the best magazines, and it is only natural that we should have through them called forth the best talent in their illustration. The modern art editor, apparently, needs more than anything else a pretty general acquaintance with art in general, and the capa- | city and breadth of view that will allow him to appreciate the possibilities that lie in new and undeveloped talent. The plate-makers are his natural and willing aiders in devising new © methods to achieve any particular result depending upon mechanical means. JAMES B. CARRINGTON. THE AUTHOR. 9} COMMENTS ON THACKERAY’S “ESSAY ON POPE.” S an example of Thackeray’s own style and individual power, this essay on Pope is one of the best of the series. It has needed the skill of a Thackeray, the humour of a Thackeray, and all his almost over- mastering sense of “the pity of it,” to give such a generous appreciation of one of whom it is a little difficult to think generously. But, as a piece of literary criticism pure and simple, I confess that I think it possible to read this essay, and to go away with a very wrong, one- sided idea of Pope, of his character, and of his work. One understands of course that Thackeray has tried to touch the feelings of his readers, to instruct them, to make them want to read and judge and find out for themselves, and that he has not tried to marshal cold facts with the deadly precision of the author of a condensed History of English Literature. None could have touched us better, none could have interested us more ; still, there is very much that one cannot accept without reservation, and a good deal with which one entirely disagrees. For instance, in the opening sentences we are told that “ English men of letters should admire him” (Pope, of course) “‘as the greatest literary artist that England haseverseen.” Ifsuch indeed be the case, then I have regretfully to record the obtuseness of some at least of our English men of letters. I have not been able to find one instance of a modern critic who supports Thackeray in this view. They do not rank him nearly so highly, though they do agree, as far as I could discover, in granting him absolute supremacy as the greatest master of a certain kind of poetic form that England has ever seen, which in other words means that he is the poet who brought the Drydenian couplet to a perfection which has never ‘been surpassed or even equalled. One can admire for oneself, quite apart from the criticism of authorities, the wonderful skill and dexterity with which Pope handles these couplets, how he polishes, refines them, and turns them out clear and crisp and sparkling. Here is an extract from the “ Rape of the Lock,” which should serve to illustrate his style. Itis the description of a bevy of nymphs. “ Some to the sun their insect wings unfold, Waft on the breeze, or sink in clouds of gold ; Transparent forms, too fine for mortal sight, Their fluid bodies half dissolved in light, Loose to the wind their airy garments flew Thin glittering textures of the filmy dew, Dipt in the richest texture of the skies, Where light disports in ever mingling dyes While every beam new transient colours flings Colours that change when e’er they wave their wings.” 61 And it also illustrates, I think, the intolerable monotony of his rhythm. Again, Thackeray uses such terms as “sublime art,’ “immortal young wings,” “astonishing victories,” “dazzling achievements,” which may or may not be flights of rhetoric or flashes of fancy. But when he says “ the shafts of his satire rise sublimely,” and speaks of Pope’s “great soul flashing out,” then the words of another great master of English prose creep into one’s mind, the words of someone who said, “Sarcasm I now see to be in general the language of the Evil One” (or to be quite honest, an expression very much to that effect). There is hardly a page in all Pope’s poetry that does not hold a satire, more or less venomous, more or less cruel. There is scarcely even a thought of men or of manners, that is not satirical at its root. His philosophy of life is just one bitter satire, and I believe he is proud for us to know it. Those lines that he wrote of Addison are only one instance amongst hundreds ; he could write of a man who had been his friend : “ Should such a man, too fond to rule alone Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne. View him with scornful, yet with jealous eyes And hate for arts that caused himself to rise ; Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer ; Willing to wound and yet afraid to strike, Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike ; Alike reserved to blame, or to commend, O tim’rous foe, and a suspicious friend.” Tf this is a “sublime shaft of satire,’ if these are the thoughts of a “great soul,” then it were infinitely better to be one of the poorest, most squalid of those Grub Street scribblers whom Pope did so much to torture and maim, red flannel, tallow candles and all. No! No! We cannot all be scholars with an educated taste for good things of a purely literary nature. And, for those of us who are not, these lines and others like them, show clearly enough, pitifully enough, a man who could hit in the dark, and would stab in the back, using weapons that were the more deadly because no one of all his foes but lacked the power to forge any to match them. ‘And so we leave Mr. Pope. But not without a word of gratitude to Thackeray who has touched his faults so gently and excused his failings so tenderly, that one’s heart goes out after all to the poor little cramped self-conscious creature, recognising in him the most pathetic figure surely of all these so-called humorists. —_—_—_———_——_ +  + POINTS OF VIEW. + WO articles in the October number of The Author, both written by authors of distinc- tion, are very suggestive to readers and writers, and their points of view are so divergent, that it might be worth while to make a few com- ments on them, which may or not be worth the attention of the readers of The Author. Mr. Harold Begbie, with genuine sympathy and encouragement for those desirous of invading the overcrowded fields of literature or journalism, asserts that “there is not an editor in London who is not anxiously searching for writers with something to say.” This stimulating dnd con- soling statement, addressed to the journalistic novitiate, would be excellent, if the aspirant possessed some of the abilities of the distinguished writer of the “way of journalism.” This supposi- tion, however, I am afraid, has no foundation in fact. Mediocrity is more common than brilliancy or originality. Asarule, then, the “ something to say” has been said many times before very much better. Why strive to increase the stodgy, prolix articles of the hour? Editors are burdened with them, consequently they plead in vain for pub- lication. There are also other potent reasons why the way of journalism is barred to all except to those of exceptional talent. There is always a competent staff for the work ; the editor may be partial to names ; if a company controls the journal, the shareholders, generally contributors, will not have outside intruders; the gates are jealously guarded by the interested small capitalist. Sometimes a proprietor pays the editor a salary to run the paper, and with the aid of free clippings and badly paid hackwork, there is no need for outside contributions. These are all facts within! my own experience, and it may be wise to strip the glamour of journalism of some of its fond illusions, to look at naked truths, in order that the “ways of journalism” may be seen as they are and not as glowing pens imagine them to be. It must also be apparent that London’s intel- lectual world is a strong magnet which draws hosts of the cultured from the provinces. It is a modern Athens which attracts and absorbs. It is therefore the home of fierce literary activities and competition. Youthful talent flocks to the place where appreciation and success seem assured. The Pactolian spring is never dry for the young literary neophyte. The Oxford graduate who has led literary debates with a profound knowledge of use- less subjects, and cannot cope with the harassing details of law and medicine, seeks fame and fortune THE AUTHOR. in literary or journalistic fields. ‘The successful votary encourages him ; but the aspirant’s pen often becomes his enemy instead of his friend. He fights the air and the windmill. His forlorn MSS. only symbol misdirected thought and wasted hours. He might easily follow the advice of the late Grant Allen, and annex a street crossing instead of circulating MSS. amongst editors for a livelihood. With the spread of culture comes the desire of expression. Reading encourages thought ; thought finds its outlet in written words. Every one writes. The typists are always busy. Editors’ offices are beleaguered with MSS. Unfortunately economic laws cannot be displaced ; for the supply of even available MSS. is greater than the demand. Why not then give the afflicted editor a rest ? With all due deference to Mr. Begbie, would it not be advisable to create a scarcity and dearth of MSS., and thus give unrecognised merit its real chance in the future. Whilst Mr. Begbie is preparing editors for another overwhelming rush of MSS., Miss Mary L. Pendered, one of those writers who can always delight and charm, inveighs against the tone and the lowered literary standard of our journals and magazines. This lady sweepingly denounces them. We are told that “they afford a kind of mental nausea,’ and “are devoted to the obvious and commonplace,” that their aim is all to please a class that delights in crude sensation, intricate plot, and treacly sentiment. In another place they are called “gaudy and obstreperous outpourings.” I have no desire nor space to attempt to refute this lady’s criticisms. To read and “inwardly digest” the numerous magazines is not possible. Life is short, and there is a limit to human patience; at the same time, her impressions, doubtless evoked. by scrutinising study, may not fall far off from the actual truth. But if the mass of our periodicals ig destitute of everything that appeals to nature, 91 truth, and literature; if it falls short of that high standard of merit abounding in American magazines, as Miss Pendered informs us, why should Mr. Begbie encourage new writers to replenish unworthy literature, and give them such minute directions for their work? Here, then, is another potent reason for literary novices to desist writing for the present. Let them, instead, study the higher literature of the American magazin and souse their minds with American witticisms, before attempting to inflict editors with their MSS Perhaps then they may be able to raise the literary ideals of the British and improve the critical judgment of our unfortunate editors. TIstporE G. ASCHER.  § HOW IT IS DONE; OR, DO NOT SET AN ’ ALIEN TO CATCH AN ALIEN. + TYNHE following is not fiction, it is a statement of facts as they occurred in a provincial town of more than ordinary importance, a few weeks ago. ._.@ “Tuppence and threppence a copy; a piano 1. @ given to every purchaser”’; thus cried the alien _ 9 vendor of pirated music in the market the other @ Friday. “I presume that there is not much 4 demand for this stuff,’ said the man at the next stall, pointing to the music. “T can sell on a poor day,” replied the alien, “about one hundred copies.” YS “ About half of the takings of which I presume ~<"@ is profit ?” “«My man,” said the music vendor, tapping his questioner upon the shoulder, “ when I have taken thirteen shillings, nine of it is profit.” ae “Tucky fellow! lucky fellow! But why do you “"@ charge threepence for some, and twopence for others?” “Because some people prefer to pay the larger > amount.” ‘ “You pay the same price for them all?” “What do you think !” At, this point the attention of the stallholders ‘) was drawn to a man who stood some distance from 7°) the music stall, with his eyes first upon the music } and then upon the stallholder. “The publishers’ () man,” was whispered from one stallholder to ' another. “Will he seize his stock ?.” inquired a _ postman of a fruiterer. “What do you think ?” was the reply. catch a Jew! Never!” “Do you mean that the vendor will give him the slip?” “TI mean, young man, that the fellow selling ¥* music will get the tip to clear out.” *~ _ Two hours passed, during which a brisk trade was © done by the Jew in pirated music. At twelve » @clock a young man, an Englishman forsooth ! ” of respectable appearance, pitched his stall, and © arranged a quantity of pirated music. No sooner w had he displayed his stock, than the publishers’ # Man, with a policeman, advanced and seized #) the entire lot. While this was in process the _ dew calmly packed his took departure. The following day, Saturday, at the principal © Market of the town, the Jew was there doing a | Yoaring trade. The Englishman was there also, but » he was going from stall to stall to see if anyone _ Wanted an assistant. Sia er eS «A Jew bag, and his dy DL, B. THE AUTHOR. 63 THE ART AND CRAFT OF THE AUTHOR. N unpretentious little work entitled “The A Art and Craft of the Author,” by ©. E, Heisch, has been published by Mr. Elliot Stock. It was with some diffidence that we opened its pages. So many books have been written on similar subjects, “‘How to become Authors,” “How to Publish,” “How to do this,” “ How to do that,” and many of them so hopelessly bad ; our diffidence was in no wise allayed when we saw the Preface commence with the ominous words, ‘* Most books are bad and ought not to have been written.” Did the remark apply in this case, and was Schopenhauer’s utterly truthful assertion going to be verified. On deeper investigation the pessimistic philosopher’s dictum appeared not to be altogether applicable. The book is divided into fifteen chapters. The headings of some of these will indicate sufficiently the scope and direction of the work. Chapter L., Education and Training; Chapter II., Choice of Subject ; Chapter III., Handling of Materials ; Chapters VIII,, IX., X., on Style ; Chapters XII. and XIII, Originality and Inspiration. The matter, therefore, does not touch the method of marketing the literary commodities, the technical side, but endeavours to explain the inward and spiritual grace necessary to produce the outward and visible sign. It is not teeming with originality and inspiration, and most of its best sayings are in the form of quotations, from Josef Joubert, Emerson, Carlyle, Schopenhauer, and others. The student author, after careful reading, will not be carried away by enthusiasm, nor will he sink in the depths of despair. But on the other hand he may find in some of the statements food for quiet meditation. Take for instance the following from Schopenhauer: ‘‘ He compares the mind of the author to a mirror, which reflects every object which passes before it; but once within the mirror the objects change their positions, form fresh combinations, and enter upon new relations.” This is a fair simile of the process of selection going on in the mind of the artist who aims at originality. For the power of selection is one of the attributes of all great artists. As an introduction to the deeper study of the subject the book will afford pleasant reading to those who are thinking of interesting themselves in the pursuit of literature. —_——_+—>—_+__——_-  CORRESPONDENCE. a A Missine VOLUME. Str,—I desire to enlist the friendly services of fellow-members in an endeavour to trace the third volume of an old novel entitled “ Rebecca ; or the Victim of Duplicity,” published close upon a century ago. Also to try and discover who was the author or authoress of the book. It was printed at Uttoxeter, in Staffordshire, “by R. Richards and sold by Lackington, Allen & Co., London, 1808.” This much is chronicled ; but nothing is said as to authorship. In April, 1904, two volumes only of “ Rebecca” were picked up by Mr. Edward 8. Dodgson from a second-hand book trough on the quais of Paris. He paid 10 centimes for his find, and presented it to the library of the Sorbonne. Tt is a curious fact that two novels of the same title were produced within a few years of each other. There is also some confusion as well as mystery surrounding their identification and form of issue. But there can be very little doubt that a third volume of this particular “ Rebecca” was published. Who will help to secure a complete set thereof? Some people think the work was written by a Mrs. Holbrook, who was responsible for other stories about the period mentioned. But no one is quite sure, though local history has been exten- sively tapped. Hence this inquiry, and my appeal for assistance in order that the quarry may be run to earth. CECIL CLARKE. Authors’ Club, 8.W. a Srr,—Would any of your readers, who are like- wise writers, care to submit a short list of reference books, &c., necessary to the literary stock-in-trade of a would-be author or journalist ? Such books as Roget’s “Thesaurus,” Bartlett’s “ Dictionary of Quotations,” Brewer's “ Reader’s Handbooks,” &e., excluding an encyclopedia, which might be beyond the means of some. Just a few essential volumes to form a “travelling library,” which can be bought at a moderate cost. Yours faithfully, A Srrueetine LirriraTEUR. Stonehouse, Glos. —_+-—<+—_ Srr,—I should like to correct a printer’s error in my article, ‘‘ Wanted,” last month, when Van Bibber appeared as Van Bidder. Yours, Mary L. PENDERED. A New Way. Srr,—As The Author has done so much in protecting the interests of writers, | make a point THE AUTHOR. of sending to you, as a warning to others, notes of any “sharp practice” to which I myself have been ~ subject. Some months ago T sent to a technical journal for review a copy of a new edition of one of my books, of which they were good enough to give me a very flattering notice. A few weeks ago, quite by accident, I picked up a copy of this paper and was astonished to find they had taken, without any acknowledgment, no less than forty-five lines from the book, and by writing a new head and tail piece had passed it on as original advice to a correspon- dent. I have no objection to my matter being used when suitably acknowledged, but I strongly object to this wholesale “lifting.” The paper has since acknowledged the source from which they obtained their “cheap copy,” but I have not yet decided whether to sue them for infringement or not. I think I ought to, as I believe this sort of thing is often done and never found out. Possibly the editor thinks he is entitled to a guid pro quo for his friendly notice. Yours faithfully, M. Powis-Baus, M.Inst.C.. Wantep, A REFERENCE ! SrIrR,— “ Cumque superba foret Babylon spolianda tropes, Bella geri placuit nullos habitura triumphos.” Could any reader of Zhe Author be 80 kind as to supply me with the reference to these two lines, and a little of the context ? Yours obediently, J. M. Ley. — MaGazIneE EDITORS. Srr,—Few editorial sins are more annoying to magazine writers than the practice of making arbitrary excisions subsequent to the correction of proof ; the whole tone of an article may thus be changed, or, in the case of a story, all logical sequence destroyed, and the pith of the matter omitted. An editor who purchases the serial rights of any MS. is indeed, nominally, not at liberty to tamper with it, yet redress for sup- pression is almost impossible to obtain, and in any case would be of little value to the author after the appearance in print of his or her signature to a mutilated production. In order to avoid this unpleasant experience, I would suggest that writers should accept an editor’s terms subject to their MS being published “ without excision.” 2 A SUFFERER. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 16 Issue 02 (November 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 02 (November 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-11-01-The-Author-16-2 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/511/1905-12-01-The-Author-16-3.pdf 981300c29b363edcb517f6c7b954f75e PDF Text Text �������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-12-01 Volume 16 Issue 3 Pages Page range in volume 65–96 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19051201 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Mutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. FOUNDED BY SIR Monthly.) WALTER BESANT. Vou. X VI.—No. 3. DECEMBER Ist, 1905. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —__¢—<—e___ NOTICES. — + <4 OR the opinions expressed in papers that are K signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. ++ List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —_—<——_ The Pension Fund of the Society. Tuer Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. ‘They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation VoL, XVI. Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Congols 25 6 ee £1000 0 0 Toca ioans 2.3.2.6... ees 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 Wear Loan... 201 9° 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture SlOGK 3.2.21. se 250 0 0 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4% Certificates . : ~ 200 0 0 Wl £2,443 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £ sod: Jan. 12, Anonymous . : : : 2 6 June 16, Teignmouth-Shore, the Rev. Canon. : TO July 13, Dunsany, the ‘Right Hon. the Lord . ; : 0 5 0 Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. 0:5 0 », Lhorbum, W. M. 010 O Nov. 9, “ Francis Daveen ” 0 5 0 » >», Adair, Joseph 11 20 ,, 21, Thurston, Mrs. t 10 Donations, 1905. Jan. Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 0 Jan. Bolton, Miss Anna 0 5 0 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny. 0O- bp 0 Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert : 0 9 0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 O Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 010 U0 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. t 0.0 Mar. 28, Kirmse, Mrs. 010 0 April19, Hornung, HE. W. . ; ao 0 May 7, Wynne, 0. Whitworth . 5 0 0 May 16, Alsing, Mrs. J. E. : GO 5 0 May 17, Anonymous . ; 1 1 0 June 6, Drummond, Hamilton § 8 0  66 July 28, Potter, the Rev. J. Hasluck 0 Oct. 12, Allen, W. Bird 0 Oct. 17, A. C. N. : : : 1 Oct. 17, Hawtrey, Miss Valentina 0 Oct. 31, Williamson, C. No : pel 1 1 0 f oon Oct. 31, Williamson, Mrs. . Nov. 6, Reynolds, Mrs. Fred. Nov. 9, Wingfield, H. Noy. 17, Nash, T. A. _ HOHRHRH Oo onoocoooo°e —_——————_1——_ + _ COMMITTEE NOTES. —_-— N the sixth of last month, at four o’clock, at 39, Old Queen Street, S.W., the committee met together for the November meeting. They have much pleasure in reporting a very large election, numbering thirty-three members and associates, and bringing the total for the current year up to two hundred and twenty-six— within seven of the number elected during 1904. It is hoped, therefore, that, with the December elections still to be added, the number may exceed that of 1904, which was an exceptional year. The com- mittee are exceedingly pleased with the support that is increasingly given to the society and its work by the greater number of those who are engaged in the profession of writing ; but they will not be content until all writers of every denomination are included in its ranks. On the proposal of Mr. Austin Dobson, seconded by Mr. A. Hope Hawkins, Mrs. Maxwell (Miss M. E. Braddon) was elected to the Council of the Society. There is no need to discuss Miss Braddon’s title to such a position. The length and distinction of her literary career entitle her to the greatest honour which it is possible for the society to convey. After the committee had dealt with the elections, they proceeded to consider one or two cases which the secretary had placed before them. He reported that the case referring to the ex- clusive right in the use of a nom de plume had been satisfactorily settled. The infringer had withdrawn the name when his attention had been called to the matter. In another column counsel’s opinion is printed in full. The committee decided, in another case, where an author's rights had been infringed in Norway, to obtain the opinion of a Norwegian lawyer as to the exact position under the law of that country, and if such opinion favoured the author’s conten- tion, to carry the matter through the Norwegian Courts if necessary. The society is now engaged in cases in France, Germany and Norway, and it is THE AUTHOR. hoped that the result may be satisfactory in all these countries, and contribute to the respect of International Copyright. A dispute which had arisen between an author and an agent was carefully discussed, and finally, as the opinion of the society’s solicitors was opposed to the legal contention put forward by the member, the committee decided they could not take the case any further. The report of the sub-committee on copyright which had met previously, dealing with the question of the United States Copyright Law, was submitted to the committee, who decided to adopt the suggestions put before them. The committee regret they cannot, at the moment, give further details on this point. The secretary reported that he had heard from the Foreign Office with regard to Egypt and the Berne Convention, and that the matter the society had put forward would have Lord Lansdowne’s serious consideration. —— Cases. Stncr the last issue there have been in the secretary's hands nine fresh cases. In four of these the return of MSS. was claimed. Two have already been successful. The demands of the secretary have been complied with, and the MSS. returned. The other two cases have come into the secretary’s hands so recently that insufficient time has elapsed to bring about the settlement. Money due under contracts has been withheld from two of our members. In one case the money has been paid and forwarded to the author, and it is hoped that the other case may be satisfactorily terminated, though there is a possibility that the magazine may go into bankruptcy. Of three cases for accounts one has been settled. In the remaining two no answer has yet been received from the offenders. One publisher has been notoriously careless in answering letters, but the society has on former occasions been finally successful, and, no doubt, finally, will be successful in the present instance. In the other case the demand is recent. With the exception of one case in the United States, all the cases that were open when the last number of Zhe Author was issued have been settled. None of the cases in the hands of the society's solicitors, either at home or abroad, have come on for trial during the past month. The results will be duly notified in Zhe Author. >  November Adair, Joseph. : Anderson, Sir Robert, K.C.B Armour, Miss Frances J. Artus, A. Lancelot : Baker, Miss B. A. ; _Aiatchford, Robert ; ‘sy, Bryden, H. A... Colomb, George, F.S.A. Deane, Miss Mary : “Francis Daveen”’ : Hall, Leonard . : Hichens, Robert . : Lacy, F. St. A.R.A.M. John, - Lodge, Sir Oliver, F.R.S. Ludlow, Frederick (Fred. Ludlow) Maxwell, Mrs. (“«M. E. Braddon ”’) Moller, Fraulein Clara . Nash, Thomas A. . ; Ridge, W. Pett . Robins, Miss Elizabeth “ Samuel George ” : Snaith, J. C. : : Sharp, Cecil J... . Stephen, Miss A.G. Thonger, Miss M. Ellen Thurston, Mrs. . : Waddell, Lieut. - Col. L. A., C.B. Whyte, Wolmer . Wingfield, Herbert : Wingate, A. K. P. : Winchilsea and Notting- ham, The Countess of Two of those elected do not desire either their names or addresses to be printed. THE AUTHOR. Elections. Gill Foot, Egremont, Cumberland. 39, Linden Gardens, W. Blea Beck, Worcester. 11, Emperor’s Gate, S.W. 16, Alexander Square, S.W. 42, Deronda Road, Herne Hill, 8.E. Down View, Gore Park Road, Eastbourne. Junior United Service Club, 8.W. Hartley, Bourton- -on- the-Water, Glos. 121, St. James’ Street, Brighton. St. Stephen’s, near Canterbury. Savage Club, Adelphi Terrace, W.C. Mariemont, Birming- ham. ; 9, Laxey Road, Horfield, Bristol. Taubenstrasse 38, Sch- werin i. M., Germany. 60, Elm Park Gardens, S.W. Garrick Club, W.C. 24, Iverna Gardens, Kensington, W. West Bridgford, Not- tingham 183, Adelaide Road, N.W. Peniarth, Dorking. 19, Cavendish Road, Leeds. 20, Victoria Kensington, W. 61, Lissenden Mansions, Highgate Road, N.W. 34, Chapter Road, Wil- lesden Green. 64, Cannon Street, E.C. Underwood, Crieff, N.B. Harlech, Merioneth. Road, 67 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. + Cin the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply particulars. ) ANTHROPOLOGY. THE SECRET OF THE TOTEM. By ANDREWLANG. 9 x 6. 215 pp. Longmans. 10s. 6d.n. ARCH AZOLOGY. THE CLYDE Mystery. By ANDREW LANG. 7? x 51. 141 pp. MacLehose. 4s. 6d. n. ART. THE TEMPLE OF ART. A Plea for the Higher Realisation of the Artistic Vocation. By E. NEWLAND SMITH. Second Edition. Revised and enlarged. 7? x 54. 151 pp. Paignton: The Order of the Golden Age. 3s. 6d. n. ARUNDEL CLUB PUBLICATIONS, 1905. 164 < 12. Robert Ross, Hon. Secretary, 10, Sheffield Gardens, Kensington, W. PETER PAUL RUBENS. Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture. 138 pp. Bell. 5s. n. BIOGRAPHY. WILHELMINA, MARGRAVINE OF BAIREUTH. By EDITH By Hore REA. Bell’s Series of 8 x of E. CUTHELL. 9 x 6. 293 and 411 pp. Chapman & Hall. 21s. n. MASTER WORKERS. By HAROLD BEGBIE. 9 x 5}. 306 pp. Metheun. 7s, 6d. n.. KATE GREENAWAY. By M. H. SPIELMANN and G. 8. LAYARD, 9.x 6%. 301 pp. Black. 20s. n. ALMOND OF LORETTO. Being the Life and a Selection from the Letters of Hely Hutchinson Almond. By R. J. MACKENZIE. 8% x 54. 408pp. Constable. 12s. 6d.n. THE ROMANCE OF WoMAN’S INFLUENCE. By ALICE CoRKRAN. 73 x 5}. 377 pp. Blackie. 6s. Mrs. FITZHERBERT AND GEORGEIV. 2 Vols. By W. H. WILKINS. 9 x 6%. 350 and 340 pp. Longmans. 36s. CAPTAIN JOHN SmitH. By A. G. BRADLEY (English Men of Action). 72 x 54. 226 pp. Macmillan. 2s. 6d. IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES. Impressions of Literary People and Others. By LAuRA HAIN FRISWELL. 9 x 53. 331 pp. Hutchinson. 16s. n. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. THE STOWAWAY’S Quest. By Henry CHARLES MOORE. 72 x 5}. 248 pp. Pitman. 5s. A Kyicut oF Sr. Joun. A Tale of the Siege of Malta. By Captain F. S. Brereton. 7% X 53. 384 pp. Blackie. 6s. Sir Toapy Crusor. By S. R. CROCKETT. 8} X 6}. 406 pp. Wells Gardner. 6s. His Most Dear LADYE. By BEATRICE MARSHALL. 72 x 54. 317 pp. Seeley. 5s. How THINGS Went WronG. By RAYMOND JACBERNS. 243 pp. Wells Gardner. 2s. 6d. OLD FASHIONED TALES. Selected by E,. V. LUCAS. 84 x 6. 390 pp. Wells Gardner. 63, Rounp THE WorLD. By <A. R. Hops. 10} X 8. Blackie. Is. A SoupIER oF JAPAN. By Capt. F. S. BRERETON,. 74 x 5. 350 pp. Blackie. 5s.  68 Mr. PuNcH’s CHILDREN’S BOOK. Edited. by E. V. Lucas. 93 x 8}. Punch Office. Tur LITTLE ONE'S Book or BiBLE STORIES. By Mrs, L. HASKELL. 103 x 7}. Blackie. 2s. 6d. Micky. By EVELYN SHARP. 7} x 9. 240 pp. Mac- millan. 4s. THe LAY OF THE WEE BROWN WREN. By H. W. SHEPHEARD WALWYN. 9% x 7}. 43 pp. Longmans. 2s. 6d. FAMOUS BRITISH ADMIRALS. By ALBERT LEE. 8} x 5h. 360 pp. Melrose. 6s. TENDER AND TRUE. By L. E. TIDDEMAN. 8 x 54. 361 pp. Religious Tract Society. 3s. 6d. Tus WizaRDS or RyErown. A Fairy Tale. By A, CoNSTANCE SMEDLEY and L. A. TALBOT. 7% X 5. 265 pp. Hurst & Blackett. 5s. DRAMA. WHITEWASHING JuLIA. By HENRY ARTHUR JONES. 63 x 44. 136 pp. Macmillan. 2s. 6d. King WILLIAM THE First. By ARTHUR DILLON. 245 pp. Elkin Mathews. 4s. 6d. ENGINEERING. TRANSACTIONS OF THE CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS’ SOCIETY. 46th Session, 1904-5. Edited by A. S. E. ACKERMANN. 8} x 53. 111 pp. Published by the Society. FICTION. THE TUNNEL Mystery. By A. W. 4 BECKETT. Geo. Routledge & Sons, Ltd. 6d. : Tue DIFFICULT WAY. By MABEL DEARMER. 7} x 5. 324 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. Witp WueEat. A Dorset Romance. By M. EH. FRANCIS. 8 x 54. 291 pp. Longmans. FRENCH NAN. By AGNES and EGERTON CASTLE. 72 x 5. 216 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. THE UnKNowN Deprus. By Euiior O'DONNELL. 7k x 5. 315 pp. Greening. 6s. THE PRoFESSOR'’S LEGACY. By Mrs, ALFRED SEDGWICK. 72 x 5. 320 pp. Arnold. 63. THE Man From America. By Mrs. HENRY DE LA PASTURE. 74 x 5. 343 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. THE MAKING OF MICHAEL. By Mrs. FRED REYNOLDS. 73 x 5. 310 pp. Allen. 6s. JAcoB AND JOHN. By WALTER RAYMOND. 430 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. A SECRET OF LesomBo. By BERTRAM MITFORD. 7% x 54. 300 pp. Hurst & Blackett. 6s. THe CHERRY RIBAND. By 8S. R. CROCKETT. 8 x 5. 410 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. THE FLAMING SworD. BySinasK.Hockine. 7} x 53. 440 pp. Warne. 33s. 6d. ‘ue HORNED Own. By W. BouRNE CooKE. 7} x 4. 380 pp. Drane. 6s. Rep Porracr. By Mary CHOLMONDELEY. New and cheaper edition. 73 x 5. 374 pp. Arnold. 2s. 6d. Tur TRAVELLING THIRDS. By GERTRUDE ATHERTON. 74 x 5. 295 pp. Harper. 6s, A LAME Doq’s Diary. By S. MACNAUGHTAN. 253 pp. Heinemann. 6s. SOPRANO. By F. MARION CRAWFORD. 7} X 5}. 386 pp. Macmillan. 6s. Dick PENTREATH. By KATHERINE TYNAN. 344 pp. Smith, Elder, 6s. THE CLEANSING OF THE ‘“ LORDS.” 7% x 54. 303 pp. White. 6s. A MAN FROM THE SHIRES. By Mrs. JoHN TAYLOR. 7h x 5. 299pp. Gay & Bird. 6s. Wuo was Lapy THUME? By FLORENCE WARDEN. 72 x 6. 320 pp. John Long. 6s. 72 x O54. 72% x 5. 7k xX 5. By H. WINTLE. THE AUTHOR. Cuirr’s END FARM AND OTHER STORIES. By FLORENCE WARDEN. 72 x 5. 318 pp. White. 6s. Car Taues. By W. L. ALDEN. Illustrated by Louis Wain. 73 x 5. 303 pp. Digby Long. 6s. HISTORY. BuURFORD PAPERS. Being Letters of Samuel Crisp to his Sister at Burford; and other Studies of a Century, 1745—1845. By W. H. Hutton, B.D., Fellow and Tutor of St. John Baptist College. 9 x 6. 336 pp. Constable. 7s. 6d, n. SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY AND THE RULERS OF THE SoutH. By F. Marion CrAwForp. (New Edition in One Volume). 8 X 5}. 411 pp. Macmillan. 8s. 6d. n. STUDIES FROM COURT AND CLOISTER. By J. M. STONE. 9 x 53. 379 pp. Sands. 12s. 6d. n. LITERARY. Tue Day Book oF CLAUDIUS CLEAR. By W. ROBERT- SON eae 8 x 51. 351 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 3s. 6d. Dip SHAKESPEARE WRITE “TITUS ANDRONICUS?” By J. M. RoBERTSON. 8 X 54. 255 pp. Watts. 5s. n. ON TEN PLAYS oF SHAKESPEARE. By STOPFORD A. BRooKE. 9 Xx 5. 311 pp.- Constable. 7s. 6d.n. THE New RAMBLER. From Desk to Platform. By Sir LEWIS Morris. 8 x 5}. 327 pp. Longmans. 6s. 6d.n. A BEGGAR'S WALLET. Edited by ARCHIBALD STODDART WALKER. 10 x 74. 291 pp. Edinburgh and London: Dobson, Molle. 8} x 5}. EDITORIAL WILD OATS. 84 pp. Harper. 2s. n. In THE NAME OF THE BODLEIAN AND OTHER ESSAYS. By AUGUSTINE BIRRELL. 8} X 6. 214 pp. Stock. 58. D. THE FRIENDLY TowN. 377 pp. THE OPEN Roap. (New and Enlarged Edition.) 369 pp. Compiled by EK. V. Lucas. 7 x 44. Methuen. 5s. each. By Mark TWAIN. MEDICAL. MEDICINE AND THE Pusnic. By S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE, M.D. 72x 51. 293 pp. Heinemann. 63. Tue Foop FactoR IN Disease. By FRANCIS HARE, M.D. 2 Vols. 8% x 5}. 497 and 535 pp. Longmans, 30s. n. Wat Foops Frep Us. By EusTacE MILES. 7} x 43. 93 pp. Newnes. 1s. n. % MUSIC, Tur CoMPLETE COLLECTION oF IRIsH Music AS Norep BY GEORGE PxrrtE, LL.D. (1789-1866). Edited from the original manuscripts by C. VILLIERS STANFORD. 11 x 73. 397 pp. Boosey. NATURAL HISTORY. Narure’s Nursery, or Children of the Wilds. By H. W. SHEPHEARD WALWYN, F.R.Met.Soc., F.Z.8., &e, 7} x 5. 352 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. ORIENTAL. INDIAN PortRY. Selections rendered into English Verse. By Romesa Durr, C.F.E. (The Temple Classics). 6x 4. 163 pp. Dent. 1s, 6d. n. PAMPHLETS. Tye RISE OF THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM IN ENGLAND. By the Rev. 0. J. RnicHEL. Exeter: Pollard. 6d.  THER AUTHOR. POETRY. NEBULA TO MAN. By Henry R. KNIPE. 12 x 9. 251 pp. Dent. 21s. n. By C. WHITWORTH WYNNE. Kegan Paul. 7s. 6d. n. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. Methuen. 5s, n. PoEMS AND PLAYS. 84 x 54. 410 pp. Up-ALONG AND DOWN-ALONG. 103 x 7%. 16 pp. 8 Illustrations, POLITICAL. THE FUTURE PEACE OF THE ANGLO-SAxons. By Major STEWART L. Murray. 8} x 6. 128 pp. Watts. 6d. A TROPICAL DEPENDENCY. An Outline of the Ancient History of the Western Soudan, with an Account of the Modern Settlement of Northern Nigeria. By Fiora L. SHAW (Lady Lugard). 10 x 6%. 500 pp. Nisbet. 18s, n. REPRINTS. THE LETTERS OF HORACE WALPOLE. By Mrs, PAGET TOYNBEE. In 16 Vols. Vols. 13—15. 9 x 6. 447, 448, and 456 pp. Oxford: Clarendon Press. London: Frowde. £4 n. the set. SOCIOLOGY. POVERTY AND HEREDITARY GENIUS. By F.C. CONSTABLE. $x 5. 139 pp. Fifield. 2s. n. IN THE GooD OLD Times. A Review of the Social, Industrial, and Moral Life of England during the last Century and a-Half. By J. C. WRIGHT. 9 x 53. 366 pp. Elliot Stock. 6s. n. A HIsTORY OF ENGLISH PHILANTHROPY. By B. KIRKMAN GRAY. 82 x 5}. 302 pp. P.S8. King. 7s. 6d. n. SPORT. THE SALT OF My Lire. By F. G. AFLALO. 84 x 54. 277 pp. Pitman. 7s. 6d. n. THEOLOGY. THE EVANGELIST MontHuy. Vol. for 1905. Edited by the Rev. A. WHYMPERand FLORENCE MOORE. 9? X 7}. 284 pp. Bemrose. 2s. THE GRACE OF EPISCOPACY, AND OTHER SERMONS. By H. C. BEECHING, D.Litt. 74 x 5. 254 pp. Nisbet. 3s. 6d. n. JESUS OF NAZARETH. By EDWARD CLODD. 8% x 6. 119 pp. Watts. 6d. TOPOGRAPHY. In THE MARCH AND BORDERLAND OF WALES. By A. G. BRADLEY. With Sketches of the Country. By W. M. MEREDITH. 93 x 6}. 430 pp. Constable. 10s. 6d. n. TRAVEL. IypIa oF To-pay. By WaLreR DEL Mar. 8} x 5. 288 pp. Black. 6s. n. Iv THE TRACK OF THE Moors. By SYBIL FITZGERALD. 104 x 74. 204 pp. Dent. 21s. n. THE ITALIAN LAKES DESCRIBED. By RICHARD BAGOT. Painted by Ella du Cane. 9 x 64. 201 pp. Black. 208. n. A Boon OF THE RIVIERA. By S. BARING GOULD. 7% x 51, 320 pp. Methuen. 6s. ————_+-—<>—_+—_______ LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL ; NOTES. \ | RS. JEAN CARLYLE GRAHAM'S illus- trated work on San Gimiguano has been _ delayed by the leisurely proceedings of Italian archivists. ‘Certain necessary documents of 69 the quattro cento and cinque cento, which have reposed undisturbed under the dust of centuries in various Tuscan archives, are now being laboriously unearthed. Until these are copied, the book cannot be brought to a close. We understand that Mr. A. Pavitt, author of “Two Friends of Old England,” which we noticed in October, has been appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour. “The Truth about Man,” by A. Spinster, pub- lished by Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. recently, has gone into a second edition. The writer of this book has, we understand, another work to follow it, in the form of a novel. H.R.H. the Princess of Wales has been pleased to accept a copy of Mr. Walter Del Mar’s “India of To-day,” which we referred to in our last issue. “ French Nan,” by Agnes and Egerton Castle, which Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. published a few weeks ago, is an eighteenth century story, telling of the conflict of hearts and wits, between a spoilt young beauty bred amid the artificialities of the Versailles Court, and her English husband, a chivairous but strong-willed country-loving squire. The same publishers have also issued Mrs. De La Pasture’s new novel entitled “The Man from America.” The scenes of the story are laid in the west country and in London, and the love interest is concerned exclusively with the courtship of men and maidens. The theme is the descent of an adventurous American upon a primitive cottage home in Devon. Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. have also published a new novel by Katherine Tynan, under the title of “Dick Pentreath.” The atmosphere of the story is that of English country life, and the personages introduced are mainly those who make up society in a very quiet and exclusive English county. Mr. F. G. Aflalo has written his reminiscences as an angler in a book which Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons have published, under the title of “The Salt of My Life.” The book contains nearly fifty illus- trations from photographs of actual fishing experi- ences. The price of the volume is 7s. 6d. net. Miss Evelyn Sharp’s new book, “ Micky,” is a story of a little boy of six, who lives in an imagi- native world peopled with fairies and dragons, and beautiful princesses who are shut up in towers and are rescued by wonderful princes. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are the publishers. Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co. announce the pub- lication of a collected edition of the poems and plays of Mr, C. Whitworth Wynne. About a third of the volume is new matter. “A Book of Mortals: being a Record of the Good Deeds and Qualities of what Humanity is  70 pleased to call the Lower Animals,” is the title of Mrs. Flora Annie Steel’s new book which Mr. Heinemann has published. The work is a plea for the recognition of what may be called the human side of animals and their far-reaching influence upon man. Examples are taken from modern instances as well as from the myths of Hast and West. Mr. Holman Hunt’s work, “ Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite,” which is rapidly approach- ing completion, will form two volumes, which will be enriched with forty photogravure plates and many illustrations in the text. In the opening words of this work, which Messrs. Macmillan & Co. will publish, Mr. Hunt opines that the time has come for a complete and final history of the reform movement which began in 1848. Mr. Elliot Stock published about the middle of November a new work by Mr. J. ©. Wright, entitled “In the Good Old Times.” Its aim is to show the changes in the social, industrial, and moral condition of England during the last century and a half, and particularly to note the achieve- ments of the later half of the nineteenth century. By numerous examples and quotations, the author seeks to prove that former days were not better than these—generally speaking were not so good— but at the same time he is disposed to look with a kindly eye on a period which was a turning point in the country’s history. “The Lay of the Wee Brown Wren,” by H. W. Shepheard-Walwyn, is a romance from bird life, in verse, with fifty-four illustrations from the author’s photographs. Messrs. Longmans & Co. are the publishers. Mr. Archibald Colquhoun’s book, ‘The Africander Land,” published by Mr. John Murray, is the fruit of a visit which the writer recently paid to South Africa, and its aim is to depict, untinged by partisan bias, the present political, social, and economic state of that country. Miss Beatrice Harraden’s new story, which Messrs. Methuen & Co. will publish shortly, will pro- bably be entitled “‘ The Scholar’s Daughter.” It has for its heroine the daughter of a retired bookworm. Mr. Baring Gould’s book, dealing with the Riviera, which Messrs. Methuen have also pub- lished, contains an account of the coast from Marseilles to Savona, and treats not only of its history, but of its geology and botany. Mr. J. W. Caldicott has written, and Messrs. Bemrose are publishing, an illustrated work on the values of old English silver and Sheffield plate, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. It is claimed that the work is a practical guide, written both for the buyer and seller. The price to subscribers is two guineas net. “A Golden Trust,” by Theo. Douglas (Mrs. H. D. Everett), which Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. THE AUTHOR. published in the early part of last month, ran as a serial through the pages of The Graphic during last summer. The scene of the story is laid partly in the home of Northumbrian wreckers, which conceals a treasure, partly in the Paris of 1792, whither the murderous designs of his kinsman drive the young hero. Mr. J. M. Lely’s Annual Edition of the Statutes of Practical Utility and Selected Statutory Rules, which was published last month (Sweet and Maxwell: Stevens & Sons, 7s. 6d.), contains, in addition to the Aliens Act, the Unemployed Workmen Act, the Trade Marks Act, and nine other of the twenty-three Acts passed last session, the Education Code and Secondary School Regula- tions of the Board of Education ; the Orders, Circulars, and Regulations of the Local Govern- ment Board under the Unemployed Workmen Act, and the Licensing Rules of the Home Office, which were issued at too late a date to be included in last year’s collection. “My Pretty Jane ; or, Judy and I,” is the title of a story by Alfred Pretor, published in London by Geo. Bell & Sons, and in Cambridge by Deighton, Bell & Co. The work is a studied comparison of the fidelity of a dog with that of a lover. The author depicts the failure of the lover in the first test to which he is put, and contrasts it with the fidelity of the dog which ends with death. “ Up-Along and Down-Along ” ig a volume of poems of the west country, by Eden Phillpotts, which Messrs. Methuen & Co. published early last month. The Strand Magazine for this month contains the opening chapters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s new story “Sir Nigel.” The story which is written in the manner of “The White Company,” will be published in book form by Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. “The Stowaway’s Quest” is the title of Mr. Henry Charles Moore’s latest book for boys. It describes adventures at sea, in Matabeleland, in Barotseland, and is published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd. Miss Edith A. Barnett left about the middle of ast month for a trip to New Zealand and round the world. Miss Barnett, who expects to be away for ten ot twelve months, hopes to bring out a new book in the spring of 1906. The city of Prague has just done honour to an English author, by voting in its senate and council the great silver medal of merit of Prague to Mr. James Baker, author of “ The Inseparables,” &¢., “for his efficient efforts to propagate the knowledge of the kingdom of Bohemia and its capital of Prague, by means of numerous books and articles pub- lished during the last twenty years.” The medal bears on the obverse the arms of Prague and  i, @ THE AUTHOR. at “Praga Caput Regni”; and on the reverse, a figure of Fame standing by the Bohemian lion, holding forth a wreath of bays, with an inscrip- tion, With the medal is an illuminated diploma on vellum, signed by Dr. Srb (the chief burgo- master) ; a covering official letter in Bohemian, with English translation, also illuminated, was sent with it. Our former secretary, Dr. Squire Sprigge, has just published a book with Mr. William Heine- mann, entitled “ Medicine and the Public.” It has for its object the evoking of a more widespread sympathy than at present exists for the difficulties which medical men undergo in the exercise of their professional duties. Dr. Sprigge adduces statistics and official information as to the distribution and qualification of doctors, points to manifold abuses in medical practice, and is never afraid to indicate the lines upon which reform should run for the public good. The fairness of the book is con- spicuous, for throughout all the recommendations for reform the popular interest is kept steadily to the fore ; it is never subordinated to the welfare of the class. Dr. Sprigge advocates various amend- ments—some of them of a drastic nature—to the existing Medical Acts. Everyone knows that Parliament will turn a deaf ear to mere professional grievances, but may be persuaded to listen to a ery for reform based upon public needs. “Somerset House, Past and Present,” is the title of a work by R. Needham and A. Webster, in which is given a continuous record of its history, from its foundation by the Lord Protector in 1547 to the present day. The volume, which Mr. Fisher Unwin is publishing at the price of 21s., is illus- trated with reproductions of prints and a series of modern photographs. Part I. of “King William I.,” written by Mr. Arthur Dillon and published by Mr. Elkin Mathews, deals with the great duke’s marriage with Matilda of Flanders, and his strengthening of his power in Normandy; Part II., with his overthrow of Harold, giving the incident of Edith Swan-neck at Senlac; and concludes with his crowning as King of England ; and Part III., with his quarrel with his rebellious son Robert, his difference with his queen, and his death. Messrs. Skeffington will publish shortly a new book, entitled “The Happy Christ,” in which Mr. Harold Begbie endeavours to prove that the con- templation of Christ as a Man of Sorrows is due to the last act in the Saviour’s life, and is in direct contradiction to the life itself. The 1906 edition of ‘ Who’s Who ?” which will be published by Messrs. Black on December 8th, will contain a couple of thousand more biographies than its predecessor, and in order still further to increase the utility of the book the number of a man’s sons and daughters will be recorded, also his motor-car number, telephone number, and telegraphic address, where necessary. The other year-books published by the same firm, viz., “ Who’s Who? Year-Book,” “ English- woman’s Year-Book,” and “The Writers and Artists’ Year-Book ”—the last named just acquired by them—vwill all be published about the same time. “The Voysey Inheritance,” by H. Granville Barker, produced at the Court Theatre on November 7th, 1905, depicts the downfall of the family of an apparently respectable solicitor. He dies suddenly, and leaves as a legacy a business which he has only been able to maintain by persistent perversion of his clients’ money. The effect of this position on the various parties mainly concerned, and the discussion which it produces, form the theme of the play, which was adequately interpreted by a caste including Miss Florence Haydon, Mr. Eugene Mayeur, and Mr. Dennis Eadie. «The Temptation of Samuel Burge,” by W. W. Jacobs and Frederick Fenn, was produced at the Imperial Theatre on November 9th, in front of. “The Perfect Lover.” The main character—the converted burglar, whose peculiarities are, no doubt, familiar to all who have read the story upon which the piece is founded—was taken by Mr. A E. George. Mr. Alfred Sutro’s one-act play, “ The Correct Thing,” performed at the Shaftesbury Theatre on November 4th, is a social sketch describing the manner in which a man of the world has to disembarrass himself of the mistress of whom he tires, and whose affections threaten to interfere with his chances of social success. The caste included Miss Darragh and Mr. Nye Chart. An original satirical comedy, entitled “The Assignation,”’ will be produced at the Haymarket Theatre on December 7th, at a matinée. A pre- liminary performance of the play will be given at the Grand Stand, Ascot, at a matinée on the 4th December. The proceeds of both performances will be in aid of the Royal Waterloo Hospital. Among the distinguished performers taking part are Miss Genevieve Ward, Miss Edyth Olive, Miss Marie Illington, Mr. Gerald Du Maurier, and Miss Ethel Irving. oo ——_—_— PARIS NOTES. — + JOSE-MARIA DE HEREDIA, whose recent death is so universally deplored, had been a member of the French Academy since the year 1894. M. de Heredia’s literary celebrity was earned by his one volume of  72 absolutely perfect poems, “ Les T'rophées.” These poems were the result of long years of patient work, and the fame of some of the best-known ones is world-wide. “ Fuite des Centaures,” ‘‘ Les Con- quérants,” “ Soleil couchant,” “Soir de Bataille,” and “Le vieil Orfévre,” are among those which are most frequently quoted. M. de Heredia was buried in the little cemetery of Bon Secours, near Rouen. The President of the Socicté des Gens de Lettres pronounced a farewell at the grave. The following are extracts from the funeral oration : “ Messieurs, il y eut & Paris un écrivain d’une production si parfaite qu’elle signifie dans un seul volume, et bien mieux qu’un amas de livres, le labeur constant de lentes et patientes années : un écrivain si passionnément épris de son art quwil put justement relever la fiere devise de Ronsard : L’honneur sans plus du verd laurier m’agrée ... “Le temps de cet écrivain était, par conséquent, précieux entre tous... . Pourtant, chaque fois qu’un inconnu frappait 4 sa porte et lui disait : ‘Maitre, j’ai mis mon effort dans ces vers, dans cette prose ; écoutez-moi, conseillez-moi,’ le grand écrivain posait sa plume, souriait au néophyte, et lui disait : ‘ Asseyez-vous et lisez. . . .’ La chose lue était-elle indifférente ? il osait le dire, mais si paternellement que la blessure était pansée aussitot que faite. Si, par contre, il devinait des promesses de talent, comme il savait, de sa voix chaude et retentissante, conforter le poste, célébrer l’ceuvre, aider A sa fortune ! “ Messieurs, il y eut un tel écrivain 4 Paris. . Nous ne savons pas s'il en existe un autre dune Ame aussi généreuse, maintenant que José-Maria de Heredia est mort... . “Voila pourquoi non seulement la gloire littéraire de la France est aujourd’hui en deuil par ce deuil, mais aussi, corporativement, tous les gens de lettres. Ils ont perdu un de leurs protecteurs, un de leurs guides, un de leurs parrains. Voila pourquoi aussi leur Compagnie devait étre repré- sentée ici et témoigner des rares vertus profession- nelles du Maitre que nous pleurons.” “Au Pays de lHarmonie,” by M. Georges Delbruck, is a novel written with the one aim and object of exposing a philosophical doctrine, which the author proposes later on to treat in further detail. We are taken, in this book, to a land in which the “struggle for life” is unknown, a land where all things are beautiful, where the people dwell together in perfect harmony and happiness. A traveller from modern France arrives in this wonderful country. He is a typical, up-to-date sportsman and man of the world. He has done everything, seen everything, been everywhere, and, THE AUTHOR. at the age of thirty, decides to make some great discovery or bring out some marvellous invention. His great difficulty is that in this present century nearly everything has been discovered, there are so few possibilities left for him. Finally he builds an air-ship and on his trial journey in it discovers the “Land of Harmony,” which is situated in the very centre of Africa. He finds there a race of people hundreds of years in advance of all Euro- peans in matters of science and civilisation. The watchwords of this extraordinary race are Beauty, Harmony, and Love, and the inhabitants of this wonderful country have attained to such perfection by obeying the wishes and instructions of their founder, Déon. The chapter containing these commandments is one of the finest in the book. Psychological, physiological end social problems are all treated and new laws are laid down which differ vastly from those now in vogue in many So- called civilised countries of the present day. Among the new precepts are the following : “ Ilne faut ni punir, ni pardonner, il faut guérir. Il ne faut pas critiquer, il faut créer; il ne faut pas gémir, il faut produire; il ne faut pas réver, il faut penser.” Lysias, one of the inhabitants of this country, explains that while our revolutionists have been fruitlessly endeavouring to suppress wealth, his compatriots have effectually suppressed poverty, and that while, for twenty centuries, our activity has been employed in destroying our fellow-creatures they have used their energy in creating and improving. We have been making of our earth a valley of tears, whilst they have made of their land a wonderful garden of beauty, harmony and love. Whilst we have been, and still are, grovelling in superstition and ignorance they have been climbing to the heights of ideal beauty based on science, so that their life now is glorious yet simple, whilst ours is dull, petty and complex. The book is curious and original, full of thought and ideas, and will no doubt be much discussed here on account of its daring theories and ideals. “Le Fardeau,” by Hugues Lapaire, is a study of peasant life and psychology. Weare introduced to the inhabitants of a certain country village in the centre of France. The story is very true to life; the primitive simplicity of these humble people, their independence of character, the hard, plain existence they lead, their every-day tasks, their love affairs and their sorrows—everything is touched upon with great delicacy and exactitude. The “burden” to which the book owes its title is the load on the conscience of a young peasant, Claude Jacquet, who, in his anxiety to win the woman whom in his rough way he adores, steals the savings of an old peasant woman, and then allows suspicion to rest upon an old man. The  THE AUTHOR. 73 remorse and repentance are well depicted, and the whole story is well told. “ Avant l’Amour,” by Mme. Marcelle Tinayre, is another powerful novel by the author of “La Maison du Péché.” Ever since the publication of the latter book all novel readers have been anxiously awaiting another work of equal charm from the pen of the same writer. The present one is strong, but not convincing, as there is much that appears to be overdrawn. “Comment vout les Reines,” by Colette Yver, is a story dedicated to wives of politicians who, thanks to the pre-occupation of their husbands, are doomed to a life of solitude. “Ta Valeur de la Science,” by M. Poincaré, of the Institute of France, is an interesting book of scientific philosophy. Among the new novels are “‘ Les Bonshommes en Papier,” by M. Jules Perrin ; ‘“ Fumée d’Opium,” by M. Claude Farrere ; “ Les Papiers Brilés,” by M. Montégut; “Les Martyrs de Lyon,” by M. Baumann: “La Conquéte de Paris,” by M. Paul Segonzac ; “Le Précurseur” by M. Jacques Fréhel ; “‘ Les Hannetons de Paris,” by M. Georges Lecomte. Among other new books are “La Comédie Protectionniste,’ by M. Yves Guyot ; «Visite sur un Champ de Bataille,” by Maurice Barres; ‘‘ Vers lHglise Libre,” by Julien de Narfon ; “Les Noéls Frangais,” by M. Noél Hervé. The following publications are shortly expected : “Memoires de Granet,” by Ludovic Halévy ; “Coeur de Josanne,” by Marcelle Tinayre ; “ Jean d’Arc,” by Anatole France ; ‘‘ Balzac,” by M. Brunetiére. The death of Jules Oppert is a great loss to the Assyriologists—he was one of the four greatest of our times. Sir Henry Rawlinson is generally acknowledged to be the first. Fox Talbot and Hincks are the other two. We are told in a French paper that a Biblio- graphical Bureau has been founded in Rome. The idea of it is to provide savants with information they may require at the least possible expense. The Bureau will, when required, supply a réswmé of documents or manuscripts, and even send a photograph of them if necessary. The director is Professor Henri Celani. The question has been raised as to whether the yearly prize given by the Académie Goncourt can be awarded to M. Jules Huret for his book, “New York 4 San Francisco.” The objection brought forward is that this is not a work of Mmagination, but it is said that M. Octave Mirbeau is to plead in favour of M. Huret. In the Revue des Deux Mondes of November 1st, M. de Vogiié writes on “ Les Villes Hanséatiques.” Tn a recent number of the Revue de Paris, the “Lettres & ma Niéce,” by Flaubert, give some te details about that author’s work and ife. In a recent number of the Revue des Deua Mondes, Alfred Fouillée writes an able article on “La Science des Mceurs.” At the Francais, M. Hervieu has read his three- act play “ Le Reveil.” MM. Donnay is now finishing his “ Paraitre,” and M. Bataille has a play to be given this season entitled “ Potiche.” “La Vieillesse de Don Juan,” by Pierre Barbier and Mounet-Sully, is not to be played at the Frangais, as was at first thought. The Comédie-Frangaise celebrated recently the twentieth anniversary of M. Jules Claretie’s administration. It is generally acknowledged that the post he holds is one of the most difficult, and that it would be almost impossible to find in France, at this moment, anyone to replace him. One of the events of the theatrical season has been the representation of “ Les Bas-Fonds,” by Gorki, at the theatre of L’Ciuvre with La Duse in the principalvéle. “La Rafale,” by Henry Bernstein, at the Gymnase, has certainly been the greatest success hitherto of this season. It is an admirably written play, and has been greatly appreciated by the public. “Tia Marche Nuptiale,” by M. Henry Bataille, has been given at the Vaudeville. It is a work that would have been more convincing probably in anovel. A young girl, of good family, elopes with her music master. She marries him and lives in Paris in poverty. She then visits one of her convent friends whose husband makes love to her and pro- poses a second elopement, upon which she commits suicide. “ Bertrade,’ by M. Jules Lemaitre, has been produced at the Renaissance, but is not a play likely to hold the bill a long time. Mme. Rejane is to have a theatre of her own, and will probably put on first a piece by M. Capus. M. Saint-Saéns has written the three acts of his opera “ L’Ancétre,” which is to be staged during the winter. For the Gaité, M. Bazin’s novel, “Les Oberlé,” has been adapted for the stage by M. Haraucourt. Other plays announced at this theatre are “T/Attentat,” by MM. Capus and Descaves, and “‘ Qhantecler,” by M. Rostand. Among the new plays to be produced at the Vaudeville are “Le Bourgeon,” by M. Georges Feydeau, and “La Cousine Bette,” by Balzac, adapted by M. Pierre Decourcelle. M. Antoine has a long list of pieces to produce, some of which are ‘“‘L’Employé du Gaz,” by M. Dieudonné ; “ Mile. Bourrat,” by M. Claude Anet, and “ Vieil Heidelberg.” Auys HaLLarp. SPANISH NOTES. + — ON BENITO GALDOS has not been idle during his so-called holiday in Cartagena, for he has worked several hours every day at the correction of the proofs of his new novel, “‘Qasandra,” which is written in the form of a dialogue, like El Abuelo” ; andthe third and last series of his “Episodios Nacionales” will appear under the title of “Prim y La de los tristes destinos.” The great author showed the genial side of his nature by his visit to the Cacharreria, which is a club for young people ; and, in con- versation with a few friends, he has enjoyed the fine sea view and the climate, which rivals that of his native spot—the Canary Isles. Senor Palaeio Valdés seems also to have mingled work with his recreation during the sum- mer and autumn months at La Hendaye in the Pyrenees, for he tells me that he is engaged on a new novel, which will be published in the early spring. The last romance of this popular novelist is entitled “La Aldea Perdida” (“The Lost Hamlet”), and it is with the pen of a true artist that he describes the transformation of village life and character, when the place falls into the hands of amining company. The author’s rank in moral philosophy, of which he is a great authority in the Atheneum at Madrid, gives particular point to the psychological side of his novels, and in “The Aldea Perdida” this grip on the characters gives an unusual interest to their evolution in the stirring events recorded. To pass from the pen to the brush—and as Valdés shows in his article on “ Art and her Schools” (which I have just translated into English), the two arts are closely related it is in the studio of Lino Iborra that one sees the high standard of modern Spanish art in the hands of a first-rate painter. The artist’s medals, and especially the Cross of Alfonso XII., prove that his work is much appreciated. His “ Sheepfold” received high distinction at the last exhibition at Munich, and although animals are Iborra’s speciality, such figure paintings as “Rachel,” “My Daughter's Death,” “Judas Selling Jesus,” brought him renown ; whilst the picture called “ The Master is Coming,” now hung in the Exhibition of Modern Paintings in Madrid, shows a further development in the painter’s powers. The well-known Spanish novelist, Blasco Ibafiez reveals a great power as an art critic in his book called “En el pais del Arte” (“In the Country of Art”), in which he gives an erudite account of his three months’ tour in Italy. The descriptions of the masterpieces of the country are very forcible, and the interest of the book is THE AUTHOR. increased by his historical settings of his subject, and the mention he makes of the great littérateurs of the land down to Fernando de Amicis of the present day, for whom he expresses great personal admiration. The success of “ Aire de fuera,” on the boards at Madrid, shows that the author, Linares-Rivas Astray, is a first-class dramatist, for, although he treats of ordinary “high life” in the Spanish capital, it is the treatment of one who sees beneath the surface of society. The recent visit of M. Loubet to Madrid was not only the occasion of a gala evening at the theatre, a review, etc., but the French President was shown the palatial offices of the illustrated paper, Blanco y negro, with its marble staircase, frescoed reading-room and picture gallery, as well as its printing machines of the latest inventions. Moreover, as photography has made such strides in Spain, Napoleon, the expert in cinematographic views, gave an exhibition of subjects before Alfonso XIII. and his distinguished French guest, when the programme included a series of views of the Lady Warwick College at Studley Castle, during the visit of Colonel Figuerola Feretti, when he was invited to inspect this system of agricultural education. The King of Spain has lately taken a fresh step for the advance of natural science, by signing a royal decree for the establishment of a biological laboratory on the coast of Morocco, more especially for the study of the fauna and flora peculiar to those parts. Moreover, it is understood that it is at the desire of King Alfonso that the Ministry of Agriculture is about to organise a course of agricultural study for soldiers whilst in active service, so that they will be better equipped for their lives on the land when their time in the army is over. The Spaniards are certainly appreciative of clever women, for they are taking steps to erect a monument to the well-known authoress, Emilia Pardo Bazan, and various important literary centres are organising a commission to carry out the idea. Further recognition of woman’s work has been shown by Sefiora Carmen Burgos de Segiii, the foremost lady journalist in Spain, being com- missioned by the Minister of Education in Madrid to visit all the most important centres of woman’s education on the Continent, and these reports are not only made officially to her native land, but they are also published in her Spanish newspaper, El diario Universel de Madrid. The country- women of the Spanish writer are now hearing of her experiences in France ; and it will not be long before they read in the Spanish Press the impressions she will receive on woman’s work in England. RACHEL CHALLICE. ay  an pt THE AUTHOR. 75 GERMAN LAW RESPECTING PUBLISHERS’ RIGHTS AND CONTRACTS. — Section 1. FYF\HE author under agreement with the pub- [' lisher relating to a work of literature or music is bound to hand over to the pub- lisher the work to be reproduced or distributed by the publisher. The publisher is bound to reproduce and distribute the work. Section 2. The author must not during the continuance of the contract reproduce or distribute the work so far as such reproduction or distribution is forbidden to a third party as long as the copyright lasts. Nevertheless the privilege of reproduction and distribution remains with the author for : 1. The translation into another language or another dialect. 2. The rendering of a story in dramatic form or a stage play in the form of a story. 3. The elaboration of a musical work, as long as it is not merely an extract, or a transposition into another key, or an arrangement for another voice (Tonart oder Stimmlage).* The author is also privileged to reproduce and distribute a work in a collected edition (Gesammt- ausgabe) when twenty years have elapsed, reckon- ing from the end of the calendar year in which the work was published. Section 3. Articles inserted in a collective work for which an author is not entitled to obtain remuneration, can be used by him elsewhere as soon as a year has elapsed, reckoning from the end of the calendar year in which they appeared. Section 4. The publisher is not entitled to make use of a single work in an edition of collected works, nor of a collective work or portions either of an edition of collected works or of a collective work for a separate edition. In so far, however, as such use of the works is free to everyone during the duration of copyright it is free to the publisher. Section 5. The publisher is only entitled to one edition. If the right of preparing several editions is granted him, then in case of doubt the same agreement holds good for every new edition as for the one above mentioned. If the number of copies is not specified then the publisher has the right of producing 1,000 * German musical authorities are doubtful as to the exact legal interpretation of these two words. copies. If the publisher, before reproduction has commenced, has by agreement with the author fixed the number of the edition at less than 1,000 copies, then the publisher is only entitled to pro- duce an edition of the number agreed, Section 6. The customary “extra copies” are not reckoned in the number of the edition agreed upon. The same holds good of free copies as long as their number does not exceed the twentieth part of the edition agreed upon. ‘ Extra copies” which have not been used for replacing or completing those that happen to be damaged may not be distributed by the publisher. Section 7. If the copies which the publisher has in his warehouse are destroyed he can replace them by others ; but he must first give notice to the author. Section 8. So far as the author under sections 2—7 is pledged not to reproduce and distribute and to concede reproduction and distribution to the publisher, so far is he bound to procure for the publisher the exclusive right of reproduction and publication in the absence of any agreement to the contrary in the contract. Section 9. The right of publication (Verlagsrecht) begins with the delivery of the work to the publisher, and ends with the termination of the contract. As long as the protection of the publishing con- tract demands it the publisher can put into force against the author, as well as against a third person, those privileges which are provided by the law for the protection of copyright. Section 10. The author is bound to hand the work to the publisher in a condition fit for reproduction. Section 11. If the contract with the publisher refers to a work already completed, then the work must be handed over immediately. If the work is to be produced only after the signing of the contract, the date of its delivery is to be determined by the scope of the work. If that, however, in no way determines the date, the period shall be reckoned by the time within which the author, according to his circumstances, shall be able to produce the work. Other engagements of the author are only left out of consideration in reckoning the period if the publisher at the time of signing the contract neither knew nor could know of them.  76 Section 12. The author is entitled to make alterations in the work until the completion of the reproduction. Before the preparation of a new edition the pub- lisher must afford the author opportunities of revision. Alterations are permissible only to such an extent as shall not injure the just interests of the publisher. The author may have the altera- tions made by a third person. If the author, after the beginning of the repro- duction, makes alterations which exceed the ordi- nary usage, he is bound to detray the consequent expenses. He is not under an obligation to do this in a case where the circumstances necessitating the alterations have occurred since the completion of the work. Section 13. The publisher may not make abbreviations or alterations either in the work itself or in the title or in the descriptions of the author. Alterations to which the author cannot fairly and honestly refuse his consent are permissible. Section 14. The publisher is bound to reproduce and dis- tribute the work in a suitable form and in the customary manner. The form and the appearance of the copies shall be determined by the publisher in accordance with the customs of the book trade, and also with due consideration of the aim and contents of the book. Section 15. The publisher must begin the reproduction as soon as he has received the completed work. If the work appears in parts, the reproduction must begin as soon as the author has delivered a part destined to appear in the regular order. Section 16. The publisher is bound to produce the number of copies which he is entitled to produce according to the contract or according to section 5. He must take such measures in good time as will provide against the stock being sold out. Section 17. A publisher who has the right of producing a new edition, is not bound to avail himself of this right. The author can fix a time for the exercise of this right. On the termination of the time fixed the author is entitled to cancel the contract if the production has not taken place. If the publisher has refused to reproduce the author need not fix a time. Section 18. If after signing the contract the purpose which the work was to serve does not exist, the publisher can cancel the agreement. The author’s right to THE AUTHOR. remuneration remains unaltered. The same holds good when the subject of an agreement is a con- tribution to a collective work and the reproduction of the collective work does not take place. Section 19. If fresh copies of a collective work are produced then the publisher is entitled with the consent of the editor to leave out single contributions. Section 20. The publisher must provide for corrections. He must supply the author in good time with one roof for correction. The proof counts as approved if the author does not within a stated period notify the publisher of his objections. Section 21. The publisher has the right to fix the published price at which the work shall be sold in the case of every edition. He may lower the price as long as the just interests of the author are not injured thereby. For the raising of the price the consent of the author is necessary always. Section 22. The publisher is bound to pay the author the stipulated remuneration. Remuneration is to be considered as tacitly implied when the circum- stances show that it could not be expected that the work should be handed over without remuneration. Tf the amount of the remuneration is not stated, an equitable payment in money is to be regarded as agreed upop. Section 23. Remuneration is to be paid upon delivery of the work. If the amount of the remuneration is not fixed, or depends upon the dimensions of the published work, in particular upon the number of sheets, then the remuneration is due when the work appears. Section 24. When the remuneration depends upon the sale, the publisher must annually present the author with an account for the previous commercial year, and permit him to examine his books, so far as may be necessary for the verification of the account. Section 25. The publisher of a literary work is bound to send the author one free copy for every hundred copies printed; but under no circumstances less than five, or more than fifteen. He is also bound to deliver the author on his demand one proof copy. The publisher of a musical work is also bound to send the author the customary number of free copies. In the case of articles appearing in collective works separate reprints may be sent as free copies.  THE AUTHOR. 77 Section 26. The publisher must, at the author’s request, supply him with copies of the work which are at his disposal, at the lowest trade price. Section 27. The publisher is bound to restore the manu- script of the work to the author as soon as the work has been reproduced, provided that the author has stipulated for this return of the manu- script before the beginning of the reproduction. Section 28. In the absence of special agreement to the con- trary between the publisher and the author, the pub- lisher’s rights are assignable. But the publisher cannot, without the consent of the author, assign his rights under a contract which is only con- cluded with reference to separate works. Consent cannot be unreasonably withheld. If the pub- lisher demands a declaration from the author of his consent this is regarded as given if the author has not declared his refusal within two months after the receipt of the demand from the publisher. The reproduction and distribution of the work, which are the publisher’s duty, can be effected by his assignee. In the case when the publisher’s assignee makes himself responsible to the pub- lisher for reproduction and distribution of the work, he becomes also, together with the publisher, jointly liable to the author for the performance of all the obligations under the contract. At the same time the obligation does not extend to the payment of damages already accrued due. Section 29. If the publisher’s agreement is confined to a definite number of editions or of copies, the con- tract ceases when the editions or vopies are exhausted. The publisher is bound to inform the author, at the latter’s request, if the single edition or the specified number of copies is exhausted. If the agreement is concluded for a definite time, then at the expiration of this time the pub- lisher is not entitled to distribute the remaining copies. Section 30. If the work is not, either wholly or in part, delivered at the specified time, the publisher can, instead of insisting on his right to demand the fulfilment of his contract, fix a certain reasonable time for the delivery of the work by the author, and give notice that after the expiration of this _time he will refuse to accept the work. If, even before the date at which the work ought (in con- formity with the contract) to be delivered, it appears it will not be delivered, then the publisher may immediately mention the extension of time allowable. The period must be so calculated that it does not expire before the date originally fixed, At the expiration of this extension of time, if the work has still not been delivered, the publisher has the right to cancel the contract, but not to demand that the work shall be delivered to him. This extension of time is unnecessary when it is impossible to produce the work within the period, or when the author refuses to produce the work, or when the immediate cancellation of the agree- ment is justified by some particular interest of the publisher’s. Cancellation of the agreement is forbidden when it is clear that non-delivery of the work at the time specified causes the publisher merely an insignificant loss. These regulations do not affect the rights which belong to the publisher when the author does not deliver the work in proper time. Section 31. The regnlations of section 30 also apply when the work does not present the qualities stipulated for in the agreement. In the case where the failure is due to circum- stances under the control of the author, the pub- lisher, instead of cancelling the contract conform- able with section 30, has the right to proceed for damages for non-fulfilment of contract. Section 32. If the work has not been produced and dis- tributed in accordance with the contract, the regulations of section 30 are by analogy applicable in favour of the author. Seclion 88, If the work is accidentally destroyed after having been delivered to the publisher, the author retains his right to remuneration. In other respects the parties are released from their contract. Nevertheless the author is bound at the demand of the publisher to deliver, for a reasonable con- sideration, another work identical in its essential parts with the first, if he can re-write the work without too great difficulty, with the assistance of his preparatory notes, or of other materials. If the author offers to deliver gratuitously a similar work within a reasonable period, the publisher is bound to reproduce and distribute it in place of the work which has perished. Hither party can also claim these rights when the work, after having been delivered, has perished in consequence of an act for which the other party was responsible. The fact that the publisher has been placed in a position to accept delivery of the work is equivalent to its delivery.  78 Section 34. If the author dies before he has finished the work, and a portion of the work has been delivered to the publisher, the publisher has the right to maintain his contract (so far as the part delivered is concerned) by a declaration addressed to the heirs of the author. The heir can appoint the publisher a reasonable period for the exercise of the right mentioned in the previous paragraph. This right expires if the publisher does not, before the end of this period, state his intention of maintaining his agreement. These regulations apply in like manner if the completion of the work is impossible in consequence of some other circumstance for which the author is not responsible. Section 35. Up to the beginning of the reproduction the author is entitled to withdraw from the contract if circumstances arise which could not be foreseen on the signing of the contract, and which would have stopped the author from publishing the work, after he had known the circumstances and fully considered the case. If the publisher is entitled to produce another edition, then these regulations will also apply for the new edition. If the author cancels the agreement on the grounds set forth in paragraph 1 then he is bound to remunerate the publisher for the expenses he has incurred. If he publishes the work elsewhere, in the course of a year after cancellation, then he is bound to pay damages for non-fulfilment of contract, except in the case when the author has proposed to the publisher that he should ultimately execute the agreement, and the publisher has refused this proposition. Section 36. (This section refers to the bankruptcy of a pub- lisher and the legal position of his trustee or assignee.) . Section 37. The regulations dealing with the right of cancellation of contracts under sections 346 to 356 of the Civil Code apply equally by analogy to the right to cancel a publisher’s contract in sections 17, 30, 35, 36. If the motive for cancellation is a circumstance for which the other contracting party is not responsible the responsibility will be deter- mined according to the regulations relative to restitution on account of any advantage unlawfully allowed. Section 38. When the agreement is cancelled after delivery of the whole or a part of the work, then it will depend on the circumstances whether the contract THE AUTHOR. shall be held to be binding in part. It makes no difference whether the cancelling takes place in consequence of the Act, or in consequence of a clause in the contract. In case of doubt the con- tract will be binding in so far as it applies to copies which are no longer at the disposal of the publisher, to earlier portions of the work, or to editions which have already appeared. In go far as the agreement is binding, the author may claim a corresponding part of the proceeds of sale, These regulations can be applied also when the contract is cancelled in any other manner. Section 39. If agreement is made concerning a non-copyright work the author is not bound to secure to the publisher the rights of publication. Nevertheless if the author fraudulently conceals from the publisher the fact that the work has been previously published elsewhere, then by analogy the regulations of the Civil Code are applicable, which declares the vendor responsible for the non-existence of the rights transferred. The author must abstain from reproducing and distributing the work in conformity with the provisions of section 2 exactly as if a copyright existed. This restriction ceases six months after the publication of the work by the publisher. Section 40. In the case of section 39 the publisher has in common with any third person, the right to reproduce the work which he has published, either with or without alterations. This regulation does not, however, apply if according to the agreement the production of new editions or of more copies depends upon special payments. Section 41. In the absence of any regulations of sections 42 to 46 to the contrary the regulations of this law are applicable when articles are accepted with a view to publishing in a newspaper, a review or any other periodical collective work. Section 42. As long as circumstances do not prove that the publisher is to receive the exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution. The author retains the right freely to dispose of his article. : After the publisher has acquired the exclusive right of reproduction and distribution of such an article, the author can freely dispose of it after the expiration of one calendar year from the date of publication. If the article is destined for a news- paper then the author has this privilege (of freely disposing) as soon as it is published.  THE AUTHOR. Section 48. No restriction is laid upon the publisher respect- ing the number of copies of articles for a collective work. The regulations of section 20 Div. 1 Sentence 2 do not apply. Section 44. When the article appears without the author's name, the publisher is entitled to make in the text such alterations as it is usual to make in collective works of the same description. Section 45. If the article has not been published within one year from the date of its delivery to the publisher, the author can cancel the contract. The author’s right to remuneration remains intact. A claim to reproduction and distribution of the article, or for damages on account of non-fulfil- ment, is only due to the author if the period of time in which the article should be published, has been fixed by the publisher. Section 46. If the article appears in a newspaper the author cannot claim free copies. The publisher is not bound to accord the author copies at the usual trade price. Section 47. If anyone undertakes to create a work in accor- dance with a plan which the person giving the commission describes exactly, determining both the contents of the work, and the manner in which the subject shall be treated in case of doubt, the person giving the commission is not bound to reproduce and distribute the work. The same rule applies when the work of the author consists in collaboration in the production of encyclopeedias, or in auxiliary or supplementary labours for the works of others, or for a collective work. Section 48. The provisions of this law also apply when the person who makes the contract with the publisher is not the author. Section 49. In civil actions, in which by claim or counter- claim, a right is made valid on the basis of the regulations of this law, the final appeal and decision lie within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Empire in accordance with Section 8 of the law dealing with judicial organisation. Translated from the German by Go. i. 7. 19 PROPERTY IN A “NOM DE PLUME,” 1 COUNSEL’S OPINION. N the November number of The Author it I was stated that the committee had decided at their meeting in October to take counsel’s opinion on the question of an author’s property in a nom de plume, and, further, that as counsel’s opinion had been in favour of the member’s con- tention of her right of property, the committee of the society had decided to take the matter up. When the solicitors of the society wrote to the editor of the offending paper, he at once, on his attention being drawn to the point, frankly and courteously consented to withdraw the heading of the column which was the cause of complaint, and the matter thus terminated satisfactorily, without the necessity of any further action. For some reasons we regret that no legal decision was come to, as the point—the property that it is possible to acquire in a name—is one of great importance to all authors, whether they write under a nom de plume or not. As it is not at all unlikely that the same question may arise from time to time, the case as laid before counsel, together with his opinion on the points put forward, is printed below. CASE. Mrs. W. Desmond Humphreys is a novelist who has, during the last twenty-five years, written a large number of books under the nom de plume of “ Rita,” which has become in consequence a very well-known name amongst readers generally. Mrs. Humphreys has written some fifty-two novels under this name. A list of the chief ones will be found under the entry “ Rita,” in “ Who’s Who ?” for 1905. There can, we believe, be no doubt that the name of “Rita” is widely associated with Mrs. Humphreys’ work, that when the name is used in newspapers and elsewhere Mrs. Humphreys is the person intended to be referred to, and that it is of distinct pecuniary value in literary and journalistic circles; what may be called Mrs. Humphreys’ literary “ good-will’? having become attached to it. On the other hand it is, we believe, a not uncommon name, and cannot, we think, be regarded as in any sense a “fancy ” or invented word. Mrs. Humphreys has been a good deal annoyed of late by the publication in a provincial journal of a “ children’s page,” purporting to be conducted by “ Rita.” Mrs. Humphreys says she is constantly being told that she writes in this paper—a report which is at once annoying and calculated also to injure her literary reputation, and consequently, in  80 the long run, her pecuniary results also, which ulti- mately depend largely upon that reputation. The question arises, whether Mrs. Humphreys can in any way prevent this annoyance and the use of her name ? The answer to this question depends, we suppose, upon the same principles as those which have been applied in the case of trade names generally, though there are some practical differ- ences in applying those principles to the profession of authorship. We suggest that if an author writes and acquires a reputation under an invented and fancy name he would be able to protect himself against the use of that name unfairly by other authors. Further, we submit that the fact of an author using a name already known does not alter his rights, save, of course, that no other person could we suppose be prohibited from writing under his own name. Upon these principles we should suggest that if any other person published a novel simply as by “ Rita,” as she could easily distinguish her work by adding her surname, according to the ordinary practice, she would equally be restrained from using the word “ Rita” alone. As regards this user in a newspaper, the question presents perhaps rather greater difficulty, but Mrs. Humphreys has, for the last ten years, constantly written under the name “Rita” in a_ large number of newspapers, and her name is well known. Tt is, no doubt, the usual practice to write “children’s pages” in newspapers under some fancy or other name than that of the person writing. The full name of the writer is seldom ised. Some name is chosen, either the writer’s own, or more commonly some other. ‘The name in this case is, we expect, so far as the author of the page is concerned, a fancy name, and if so, why have chosen “ Rita” ? There may have been no intention to mislead anyone, but we take it an innocent intention is not sufficient. The question is, have Mrs. Humphreys’ rights in the name of “ Rita” been infringed in fact ? Mrs. Humphreys is as well known as a journalist under the name “ Rita” as a novelist, so that the fact of the name being used for newspaper work as distinguished from novels could not be made use of, We suggest, therefore, that in this case also Mrs. Humphreys would have a remedy by injunction to prevent this writer from trading on «“ Rita’s” literary reputation. Counsel is desired to advise Mrs. Humphreys : 1. Whether she can restrain the writer in the provincial journal from conducting the “ children’s page” under the name “ Rita,” and the proprietors from permitting such user ; or whether she has any other and what remedy in the matter ? THE AUTHOR. 2. Whether, if another writer published a novel in ordinary book form, under the name of “ Rita,” he could be restrained from such user of the name ? 3. Generally, whether Mrs. Humphreys has acquired any and what rights in the name “ Rita?” OPINION. In my opinion, where an author has gained a reputation for his works, and has become known to the public under a nom de plume as the writer of such works, he has the right to prevent any other person from holding out to the world that such author is the writer of literary matter which he never wrote. If it were otherwise, writers of inferior merit would be able to put their composi- tions before the public under the names of writers of high standing and authority, and thereby per- petuate a fraud, not only on the writer whose name is used, but also on the public. ; I further think that the principles which govern cases of trade names generally are applicable to this case. The law on the subject is very pithily put by Lord Halsbury, L.C., in Reddaway v. Banham ( [1896] A. C., p. 204), where he says, * The principle of law may be very plainly stated, and that is, that nobody has any right to represent his goods as the goods of somebody else.” In Lord Byron v. John- stone (2 Merivale, 29) the defendant was restrained from advertising for sale certain poems, which he represented by the advertisement to be the work of Lord Byron when such was not the case. In Besant v. Moffat and Paige (84 L. T. Journal, 152), upon an application for an interim injunction, it was held that the publisher was wrong in repre- senting that a book was written by Sir Walter Besant when it had not been written by him, but upon the defendant undertaking to block out the words objected to no order was made on the motion. In view of these cases, and the case of Metzler v. Wood (L. R. 8 ©. D. 606), I think it is clear that if Mrs. Humphreys had written her books and articles in her own name, she would be entitled to restrain anyone else from using her name, as the writer of works which were not hers, in such a manner as would be calculated to deceive persons into the belief that they were Mrs. Humphreys’ works. T have not been able to find any English case where the writer has used a “nom de plume,” but in my opinion the user would not alter the prin- ciples to be applied. There are, however, two American cases upon the subject, viz., Clemens v. Such (Sebastian’s Digest, 429) and Clemens v. Belford (11 Biss. 459). In the first case it was held that the plaintiff,  THE AUTHOR. 81 whose works were published under the “nom de plume” of Mark Twain, was entitled to restrain the unauthorised use of that name by another person. In the second case, it was held that an author who is known to the public under a “nom de plume” has the right to prevent the publication of matter which he did not write, in connection with his “nom de plume” and purporting to be written by him. Of course, the American decisions are not binding on the English courts, but in my view they were correctly decided in accordance with the principles of English law. In all cases of this description the plain- tiff must, of course, show that deception is probable, but in the present I do not think the Court would have much difficulty in arriving at such a conclusion. The Judge, however, cannot act on the mere view, but he must be satisfied by independent evidence that there is at least a reasonable probability of deception (London General Omnibus Co. v. Lavell [1901] 1 Ch. 185). There ought to be no difficulty in getting this evidence, as | understand from my instructions that Mrs. Humphreys is being constantly told that she writes for the provincial journal. I think it is immaterial whether or not the writer in the pro- vincial journal used the name fraudulently (see Worth Cheshire and Manchester Brewery Co. v. Manchester Brewery Co. [1899] A. C. 83), although if it should be proved that the writer has assumed the name of “Rita,” it would be almost sufficient evidence of fraud if taken alone (see per Turner, L.J., in Burgess v. Burgess, 3 De G. M. & G. 896). Assuming that the facts which I have indicated above can be proved, I am of opinion that : 1. Mrs. Humphreys can restrain the writer in the provincial paper from conducting the “ children’s page,” under the name of “ Rita,” and the pro- prietors from permitting such user. She is also entitled to damages, but most probably they would be only nominal, as it would be very difficult to prove any specific damage. 2 and 3. Mrs. Humphreys can restrain any person from using the nom de plume of “ Rita” to any literary work, which has not been written by Mrs. Humphreys, in any manner as is calculated to deceive persons into the belief that it is the work of Mrs. Humphreys. Lastly, before taking any proceedings against either the writer in the provincial journal or the proprietors thereof, a letter should be written asking them to discontinue the use of the name * Rita.” W. OuiverR Hones. 1, King’s Bench Walk, Temple, E.C. MAGAZINE CONTENTS. od BOOKMAN. Geo. Macdonald. By James Moffatt. Book MONTHLY. The Modern Novel. By Hubert Bland. A Literary Peer. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. With Coleridge at Samuel Rogers’. By Robert McClure. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. The Narratives of the Resurrection, By G. Margoliouth. Old and New Lights on Shakespeare’s “ Hamlet.” By Prof. Churton Collins. Humanism asa Religion. By R. Christie. CORNHILL. The Creation of the British Museum. By Sir E. Maunde Thompson, K.C.B. A Book of Martyrs. By Dora Greenwell McChesney. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Geo. Farquhar. By. Wm. Archer. Sir Oliver Lodge on Religion and Science. By W. H. Mallock. A Classic of the Chase. By E. H. Lacon Watson. Life and Literature in France. By W. Lawler Wilson. Henry Irving: A Personal Reminiscence. By TE, 8: Escott. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Charles Lamb. By Herbert Paul. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, Matthew Arnold as a Social Reformer. By H. H. Dodwell. MONTHLY REVIEW. Charles Lamb. By Arthur Symons. Living Legends of the Saints. By Lady Gregory. Society Journalism. By Stephen Stapleton. NATIONAL REVIEW. Arisoto. By W. J. Courthorpe, C.B. Some Public Aspects of “The Times” Book Club, By Hugh Chisholm, NINETEENTH CENTURY. Latin for Girls. By Stephen Paget. The Deans and the Athanasian Creed. By The Very Rev. The Dean of Winchester. The Gaelic League. By The Countess Dowager of Desart. PALL MALL MAGAZINE. Thomas Hardy and The Land of Wessex. By Clive Holland. : d The Romance of a French Artist: Felix Ziem. By Frederic Lees. Lord Acton’s List of Books. By Lord Avebury, TEMPLE BAR. Some Recent Tragedy. By A. Balliol. WorLp’s WORK. The Education of an Artist. By GC. Lewis Hind, (There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, or Musical Subjects in Blackwood’s Magazine or The Month.) 82 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. ———+— ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :-— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement), In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duetion forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (8.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. : : (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. : (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author, IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :-— : (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combimations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —————_1—__+—__—_ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. oe : EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- : “petent legal authority. 2. {t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. _(b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 6 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (‘.<¢., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (6.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. ‘The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully . drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10, An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ++ __ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_-—> + ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two — rights to deal with—performing right and copyright, He  +e ec THE AUTHOR. 83 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. 9 HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. a 1. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinarysolicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. ‘The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary aah without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. embers are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members, 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10, The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. =o Gee: Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ——_—— +o —_ THE READING BRANCH. ee ee oe EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. —_—————_.—>—_e_____ 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 5s, 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “ The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. ges The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. a LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. 1 ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C. AUTHORITIES. —_—— E must congratulate Sir George Darwin on receiving the Birthday honour of K.C.B. ‘he son of a distinguished father, he has followed in his father’s footsteps as @ man of science. He was Second Wrangler and Smith’s Prizeman in 1868 at Cambridge, and was elected a Fellow of Trinity College in the following year. This year, everyone will remember, he was President of the British Association, and in South Africa opened the bridge over the Falls of the Zambesi. His writings on scientific subjects are well known, but too numerous to recount in detail. Iv is constantly argued that the success of adver- tisement depends upon its persistence ; that after a certain amount of repeated advertisement the mind receives the obsession of a certain idea and yields to this obsession. It is essential from time to time to apply this principle in The Author, and to repeat the faults of various methods of dealing with literary pro- perty suggested by publishers, editors, and agents, so that, finally, members may be convinced of the points to be avoided. This repetition—from our point of view completely satisfactory—has, how- ever, its drawbacks. For those authors who are capable of managing their own business satisfac- torily, or whose position is such that they are not over careful about driving hard bargains, some- times come to the conclusion that the Society of Authors is the embittered enemy of all publishers. It is needless to repeat, what has been repeated so often, that the society is nothin of the kind. Only the other day a certain ell known author, on being asked to join the society, refused to do so for the reason already mentioned. If the accu- sation were true—which we deny—there would still remain many reasons why the author, however successful, and however little he might need the help of the society in the conduct of his own special business, should still become a member. He benefits indirectly, and he has no right to live or to gain part of his livelihood from the guineas of his more gregarious fellow writers. It is possible he might deny the position, but he should remember that every effort made by the society to obtain better copyright laws in Great Britain, her colonies and dependencies, in the United States, and in the direction of international legislation, or to obtain a wider protection by agitation for the adhesion of other countries to the Berne Convention, increases the value of his property. This applies to the case of an author of established position more than to the case of a beginner. It is needless also to mention that the committee THE AUTHOR. of the society have all these points before them, and are constantly moving in one direction or another to increase and to protect the value of literary property. Tt is for reasons such as these, then, that every writer should join the society. The guinea paid is not in charity—it is paid to an insurance company. In this month’s issue we print the German Law ~ of Publishers’ Contracts. In the July, 1905, number we printed the German Law of Copy- right. These two translations cover the Acts dealing with literary property in Germany, and deserve the careful consideration of members of the society. The former law, that of publishers’ contracts, is a most interesting document, showing with what minute preciseness legislation is carried in the Fatherland. We may fairly say that it would be impossible for such a law to pass through the Parliament of Great Britain. However, it is an exceedingly instructive document, and a studied perusal will enable the author to obtain many suggestions of clauses and terms to be embodied in contracts with publishers. There are some points, however, which would appear almost superfluous. For instance, in Section 1, “1f there is an agreement between the author and the publisher to publish a work, the author undertakes to deliver the work and the publisher undertakes to reproduce and distribute it.” Again, in Section 29, “if the agreement with the publisher is restricted to a definite number of editions the relationship of the con- tracting parties ceases when the editions or copies are exhausted.” There are other examples of what would appear to be self-evident platitudes. Of the clauses containing useful hints to authors we should like to draw attention to clause 5. “In the absence of agreement the publisher is only entitled to produce one edition limited to 1,000 copies.” Again, in clause 8 (a hint for publishers) in the absence of any stipulation to the contrary the author must secure to the pub- lisher the exclusive right of reproduction and distribution. In clause 12, again, there are some curious points which refer to the alterations allowed to authors, In clause 23 payment to the author becomes due on delivery of the work to the pub- lisher—a most important point often overlooked in English contracts. We do not desire to go through the law clause by clause, but leave to members of the society the full consideration, as the study will afford them many useful ideas as to the manner of dealing with their literary property. 6  THE AUTHOR. 85 THE PENSION FUND CO MMITTEE. 1 N order to give members of the society, should I they desire to appoint a fresh member to the Pension Fund Committee, full time to act, it has been thought advisable to place in Zhe Author a complete statement of the method of election under the scheme for administration of the Pension Fund. Under that scheme the committee is com- posed of three members elected by the committee of the society, three members elected by the society at the general meeting, and the chairman of the society for the time being, ex-officio. The three members elected at the general meeting when the fund was started were Mr. Morley Roberts, Mr. M. H. Spielmann, and Mrs. Alec ‘Tweedie. These have in turn during the past three years resigned, and, submitting their names for re-election, have been unanimously re-elected. This year Mr. Morley Roberts again, under the rules of the scheme, tenders his resignation and submits his name forre-election. The members have power to put forward other names under clause 9, which runs as follows :— Any candidate for election to the Pension Fund Com- mittee by the members of the society (not being a retiring member of such committee) shall be nominated in writing to the secretary at least three weeks prior to the general meeting at which such candidate is to be proposed, and the nomination of each such candidate shall be subscribed by at least three members of the society. A list of the names of the candidates so nominated shall be sent to the members of the society, with the annual report of the Managing Committee, and those candidates obtaining the most votes at the general meeting shall be elected to serve on the Pension Fund Committee. In case any member should desire to refer to the list of members, a copy, with the exception of those members referred to in the note at the beginning, can be obtained at the society’s office. This list, dated 1902, owing to the small demand, has not been re-edited, and is, therefore, not absolutely accurate. A further list of the elections for 1903 was published in separate form, and all further elections have been duly notified in The Author. They can easily be referred to, as all members receive a copy every month. It would be as well, therefore, should any of the members desire to put forward a candidate, to take the matter within their immediate consideration. The general meeting of the society has usually been held towards the end of February or the beginning of March. This notice will be repeated in the January number of 7'he Author. It is essential that all nominations should be in the hands of the secretary before the 31st of January, 1906. THE NOBEL PRIZE COMMITTEE. ee HE Nobel Prize Committee of the Society of Authors met on November 15th at the offices of the society, 39, Old Queen Street, when the chair was taken by Lord Avebury. Among those present were Mr. Austin Dobson, Mr. Edmund Gosse, Mrs. John Richard Green, and Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace; Mr. G. Herbert Thring acted as secretary. The chairman expressed the hope that the English Nobel Committee would not be dis- couraged if the prize of £8,250 should this year be awarded to a foreign poet or poets, since we have the assurance of the director of the Swedish Academy that any “idealistic” writer strongly supported by the authors of England “ has every prospect of gaining the Nobel prize for litera- ture at some future time.” Mr. Austin Dobson suggested that unanimity and persistence were of the greatest importance, and that the committee should not be impatient if the prize were not immediately given to the English candidate. <At the suggestion of Mr. Gosse it was agreed that the committee should take the same steps as were taken last year to collect the votes of all qualified British voters. ————Cc—>—o——_ SOME CANADIAN WRITERS. a te No. 1.—PortTry. HE Editor of The Author has asked me to write something about Canadian literature, with which a residence of seventeen years in the Dominion may be supposed to have made me acquainted. I comply with his request with some diffidence, knowing the “invidious bar” that stands in the way of him who would treat of living artists, whether of the pen or brush, and knowing also the difficulty of escaping, in such an article as the editor wants, from a certain simi- larity to a mere list of names, that might remind one of a directory or of the genealogical chapters of the Book of Chronicles. It is not possible to speak of everybody, and it must be said that this article does not touch the French-Canadian branch of the subject. I will speak first of poets. In the preface to his valuable and laborious “ Bibliography of Canadian Poetry,” published in 1899, Mr. O. C. James says that it is “based on a collection of about four hundred volumes and pamphlets brought together by the author during the last ten years, and now in the library of Victoria University, Toronto.” The earliest book of poetry in Mr. James’s list is “The New Gentle Shepherd,” by Lieutenant Adam Allan, which was published in 1798. ‘Two  86 volumes of Canadian poetry were published in 1815 and one in 1816, after which came a hiatus of seven lean years in which no poet ventured into the open. Perhaps the fate of those three earlier works showed that the air of Canada in that day was a little too frigid for poets. From 1824 to 1850, however, there was no year without the appearance of some modest book of Canadian verse, and in 1846 no fewer than six saw the light. It is touching to look at some of these yolumes, which bear the marks of rural printing presses, well-worn type, and home-made binding. ‘After 1850 the number of singers began to grow larger, so that in the following decade forty-five poets ventured before the public, and in the next sixty-six. From 1870 to the end of the century the poetical output of the publishers steadily increased, till it culminated in its last decade with no fewer than one hundred and forty-one volumes, which, for a population of five millions, containing no leisured class, is a little remarkable. In 1864, Rev. Dr. Dewart published a work entitled ‘Selections from Canadian Poets.” In that book forty-seven authors are noticed, and one hundred and seventy-two poems. In 1889, Mr. W. D. Lighthall, of Montreal, issued his collection entitled “Songs of the Great Dominion,” in which we find fifty-six authors and one hundred and sixty- three poems. In 1900, Dr. Theodore H. Rand gave us his “ Treasury of Canadian Verse,” which quotes three hundred and forty-four poems from cone hundred and thirty-five authors. From these interesting books one may derive much informa- tion as to Canadian poetry, and a comparison of them enables us somewhat clearly to judge as to the respective places of Canadign poets according to the opinion of competent judges. Among those who have passed away, the most prominent names ‘are those of Charles Heavysege, Charles Sangster, D’Arcy McGee, Alex. McLachlan, Isabella Valancy Crawford, and Archibald Lampman. To read the lives of these writers is to feel through what difficulties poetic genius has, in this country, ‘struggled to its goal. Of Heavysege’s great poem, ‘“ Saul,” published anonymously in Montreal in 1857, the North British Review for August, 1858, says : “ We have before us perhaps the only copy that has crossed the Atlantic. At all events we have heard of no other, as it is probable we should have done, through some public or private notice, seeing that the work is indubitably one of the most remarkable English poems ever written out of Great Britain.” Dr. Dewart assigns to Charles Sangster the first place among Canadian poets. While I do not agree with this verdict, I am willing to concede him a high place as one of the most representative .of our Canadian bards. THE AUTHOR. He was born in Canada, his themes are Canadian, he lived in an atmosphere of Canadian sentiment, and everything he wrote is permeated with the spirit of the scenery of his country. He may be said to be the pioneer of what has developed into that distinctively Canadian school of verse which has been inspired by the grandeur of our mountains and forests, and the impressiveness of our lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and boundless prairies. Thomas D’Arcy McGee, M.P., was born in Treland in 1825, and came to Canada in 1857. He was a Canadian statesman of high repute, and was assassinated in the vicinity of the parliament buildings in Ottawa, in 1868. He was the author of “Canadian Ballads and Occasional Verses,” and his poem entitled, “ Our Ladye of the Snow,” is as good as any of Sir Walter Scott’s. Alexander McLachlan has been called the Burns of Canada, and that is, perhaps, a convenient way of indicating his status to the over-seas reader. Like Burns, he was a farmer. In his work, as in that of D’Arcy McGee, the divine Celtic fire is visible. The following verses are from his poem entitled “ The Scot.” “ Dour as a door-nail he’s indeed ; To change an item of his creed Is tearing hair oot o’ his heid, He winna budge, Nor will he either drive or lead, But just ery ‘Fudge !’ “ And in his bonnet apt is he To hae some great big bumming bee, Sic as his Stuart loyalty, When hope is past ; Despite their stupid tyranny, True to the last. “A man o’ passionate convictions, A mixture queer o’ contradictions, Big, liberal, but wi’ stern restrictions ; Yet at the core, To a’ mankind wi’ benedictions, His heart rins o’er.”’ To the memory of Isabella Valancy Crawford, who came to Canada from Ireland in 1856, and died in Toronto in 1887, at the age of 36, an increasing number of tributes is yearly offered. As the appreciation of what is truly worthy in Canadian poetry becomes more cultured and critical, her fame is bound to increase, though she produced very little, and died disappointed at the lack of recognition which was the fate of her publications. The name of Archibald Lampman seems to bring us suddenly down to the present, since he died in Ottawa but six short years ago ; so young—he was only thirty-eight—that one almost feels he ought to be living now. Living he is, still, in the hearts of all who knew him, for he was not only a poet, but the most lovable of Nature’s gentlemen. His 1 r i THE AUTHOR. 87 complete poems in a volume of four hundred and seventy-two pages, edited by his friend and fellow poet, Duncan Campbell Scott, with a memoir which is one of the most beautiful examples of biographical literature in the language, were published in 1900. As heat is measured by the quantity of ice it will melt, a poet’s ability may be roughly judged by his skill in attacking a prosaic subject. I will quote Lampman’s sonnet entitled “ The Railway Station” :— “The darkness brings no quiet here, the light No waking : ever on my blinded brain The flare of lights, the rush, and cry, and strain, The engines’ scream, the hiss and thunder smite ; I see the hurrying crowds, the clasp, the flight, Faces that touch, eyes that are dim with pain ; I see the hoarse wheels turn, and the great train Move labouring out into the bournless night. “So many souls within its dim recesses, So many bright, so many mournful eyes : Mine eyes that watch grow fixed with dreams and guesses ; What threads of life, what hidden histories, What sweet or passionate dreams and dark distresses, What unknown thoughts, what various agonies! ” Writing of Lampman in the Canadian Magazine some years ago, Mr. Arthur J. Stringer, himself a Canadian poet and critic of no mean ability, says : “Of the group of Canadian poets who have obtained a recognised standing—Roberts, Lamp- man, Carman, Campbell and Scott—probably Lampman is the most thoroughly Canadian, and in Canada the most popular. He is not as scholarly as Roberts; he has not the strong imaginative power of Campbell ; he may not have the mysterious melody of language peculiar to Carman, nor the pleasing daintiness and occasional felicitousness of Scott; but he is the strongest and broadest poet of the group, possessing the most of what Landor has called ‘substantiality.” He has an artist's eye for colour, and the quiet thoughtfulness of a student for scenery—the true nature poet.” This quotation is not only valuable for what it says about Lampman, but it suitably introduces our other chief poets, Charles G. D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, William Wilfred Campbell, and Duncan Campbell Scott, to whom I will add R. H. Kernighan, Frederick George Scott, Ethelwyn Wetherald, and W. H. Drummond, as the best selection I can make for this poetical guest-table. Charles G. D. Roberts has done so much in the forty-five years of his life, not only in poetry, but in other departments of writing, that he necessarily takes a chief place in any comparative view of our literature. He had a good start, for he comes of a cultured family, and he received an adequate and comprehensive education, The variety of his aims may have hindered in some degree the production of the monumental ; but he has written four or five volumes of noble poetry, a most readable and useful History of Canada, several picturesque Canadian stories, a few charmingly-handled _ historical romances, the best “animal stories’? that have been written on the continent, and of late a quantity of flesh-coloured verse that rivals Swin- burne and hints at Rossetti. If thereis a touch of the chameleon in his genius, the genius is there ; and if he had lived and written in England instead of in Canada his fame would by this time be world-wide, since he is, on the whole, in advance of most of his English contemporaries in poetry. I have only room for a few lines from Roberts—this whole magazine might well be taken up by quota- tions from his verse : “THE FALLING LEAVES. “ Lightly He blows, and at His breath they fall, The perishing kindreds of the leaves ; they drift, Spent flames of scarlet, gold aérial, Across the hollow year, noiseless and swift. Lightly He blows, and countless as the falling Of snow by night upon a solemn sea, The ages circle down beyond recalling, To strew the hollows of Eternity. He sees them drifting through the spaces dim, And leaves and ages are as one to Him.” Bliss Carman, a cousin of the foregoing, is an unmistakable poet. He is another of the young men, who having celebrated their native country in serious, and no doubt sincere poetry, have, like Roberts, been carried by the torrential stream of life to the accelerated atmosphere of American cities, where life goes with a greater rush than in London because the air is more stimulating, and there is more money per capita to spend ; where, also, the English poise and phlegm are absent. The circumstances and conditions of Carman’s education were the same as those of Roberts, except that he took post-graduate courses at Harvard and Edinburgh. He also, like his kinsman, indulged somewhat in editorial work, but ultimately forsook the chair for the freer road of independent literary endeavour. That this road léd him far afield, the titles of two of his books, “Songs from Vagabon- dia” and ‘More Songs from Vagabondia,” seem to indicate. He had already, however, shown his distinctive poetic genius, in his books “ Low Tide on Grand Pré,” “ Behind the Arras—a book of the Unseen,” and “ Ballads of Lost Haven.” He writes splendidly of the sea—no poet better ; living or dead. “QO, the shambling sea is a sexton old, And well his work is done. With an equal grave for lord and knave He buries them every one. THE “Then hoy and rip, with a rolling hip, He makes for the nearest shore ; And God, who sent him a thousand ship, Will send him a thousand more. “ But some he'll save for a bleaching grave, And shoulder them in to shore— Shoulder them in, shoulder them in, Shoulder them in to shore.” But Carman can write other poems besides those which somehow remind us of the volume, the strength, and the irresistible impetuosity of a brass band. He has the poet’s subtle insight, and he understands the delicate flavour of word and phrase. Withal he has originality and a com- prehensive grasp of life that are rare in modern oets. William Wilfred Campbell was born in Western Ontario in 1861, studied at Toronto University, and has been in the Canadian civil service for some years. His poetry has frequently appeared in the best magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, and he is a writer of great originality and power. It was with respect to a poem of his that a com- petent reviewer wrote: “The nearest approach to a great poem that has cropped out in_ current literature for many a long day is ‘The Mother.’ ” This poem first appeared in an American magazine in 1891 and at once stamped its author as a man of conspicuous and virile originality and force of imagination. He has published “ Lake Lyrics and other Poems,” “The Dread Voyage,” ‘“ Mordred and Hildebrand ” and “ Over the Hills of Dream.” These four books of verse place him in a high position in contemporary verse. He has written also a very beautiful elegy on his fellow-poet Lampman, which begins :— , “ Soft fall the February snows, and soft Falls on my heart the snow of wintry pain ; For never more, by wood or field or croft, Will he we knew walk with his loved again ; No more with eyes adream and scul aloft, In those high moods where love and beauty reign Greet his familiar fields, his skies without a stain.” And he has written several other pieces of occa- sional or national interest. His is no vagrant muse, though he knows his Hastern Canada, and his eye for the larger aspects of nature is un- doubtedly keen. Duncan Campbell Scott, besides being a most artistic and genuine poet, is a very competent member of the civil service of Canada, where he holds a highly responsible position in the Depart- ment of Indian Affairs. For the sweetness of his song, and its dainty . perfection of form, Scott stands to a great extent alone. There is a delicate reticence, and a high- bred refinement about his poetry which marks it as the work of a masterly literary craftsman. He is a devotee of music, and there is music in all his AUTHOR. lines. Besides this there is a condensed force in some of his utterances that marks them as the sublimed essence of a strong and subtle mind. He has produced less than some Canadian poets, having issued but two books, “ The Magic House” in 1893, and “ Labour and the Angel” in 1898, but of the high quality of his output there is no question. In R. H. Kernighan, who has written much verse, more or less fugitive, under the nom de plume of “The Khan,” and has published a very popular volume of poems entitled “The Khan’s Canticles,”” we have an example of genuine native genius, essentially Canadian, imitative of nobody, full of vigour, and giving evidence everywhere of being that of a poet born and not made. He is a farmer, and has had no advantages of higher edu- cation, but where any of the poets before mentioned has an audience of a hundred, Kernighan has a thousand. The others appeal chiefly or solely to the “fit audience though few.” Kernighan appeals to everybody. Another poet who has a similarly wide circle of readers is Dr. W. H. Drummond, medical practi- tioner, hunter, camper, and sympachetic interpreter of the French Canadian habitant to his fellow Canadians who speak English, and to people of all English-speaking countries. Dr. Drummond may be said to have discovered the habitant just as Mr. Kipling discovered Tommy Atkins. He is the only Canadian poet who has had the pleasure of seeing his works run into many and large editions. The medium of expression he adopts is the habitants broken English, so that all his poems have a certain dramatic force. It is the peasant of Quebec who speaks and says :— “ Venez ici, mon cher ami, an’ sit down by me—so, An’ I will tole you story of ole tam long ago— W’en ev'ryting is happy—w’en all de bird is sing, An’ me !—I’m young and strong lak moose an’ not afraid no ting” ; and who tells us on the occasion of the late Queen’s jubilee :— “ Yaas, dat is de way Victoriaw fin’ us dis jubilee, Sometam’ we mak fuss about not’ing, but it’s all on de familee, An’ wenever dere’s danger roun’ her, no matter on sea or lan’, She'll find that les Canayens can Englishman.” fight de sam as bes’ Miss Ethelwyn Wetherald is not only an in- dustrious contributor of prose articles to the magazines, but she is distinguished as a poet whose work has received much appreciation during the last decade. That she is a genuine lover of Nature and a skilful interpreter of Nature’s moods is shown in the three books of verse she has published : “The House of the Trees,” “Tangled in Stars,”  THE AUTHOR. and “The Radiant Road.” Much of her work has a piquant lightness of touch and originality that give it a distinctive character. I have only = room for a small quotation :— “THE SCHOOL OF PAIN. “This is the hard school kept by Pain, With pupils sad and white ; While some shed tears like falling rain From dreary morn till night ; ‘Some knit the brow and clench the fist, And fill the heart with hate : And some cross languid wrist on wrist And say Pain is their fate. * But those that study very hard, And learn that Pain can bless, Are sent out in a leafy yard To play with Happiness.” Though Frederick George Scott is the last name to be mentioned in this division of the subject, he is by no means our least poet. On the contrary, he works on a high plane of excellence ; very little of his published poetry can be reckoned as mediocre, and occasionally he reaches the sublime. Indeed it is impossible to rise from a perusal of such a poem, for instance, as his “ Samson,” or some of his sonnets, without feeling that he takes a very high place in contemporary poetic literature, whether of this continent or of England. He has published three books of verse: ‘The Soul’s Quest,” “My Lattice,’ and “The Un-named Lake ;” and he has also written several stories of considerable interest and merit. There is perhaps less of a distinctively Canadian flavour about his verse than in that of his confréres, and there is not so much celebration of the aspects of Nature. BernarD McEvoy. (To be continued.) —_———_o—>—_+__—_ “LITERATURE” IN ADVERTISEMENTS. — HAT is “literature”? and what is the scope of its applicability to written com- position? very century upsets the standards of its forerunner, or literature might be pronounced comprehensively the work of men of letters, that is to say, of the esoteric devotees of grammar, syntax, style and expression. But here, come to me within the last few days from an American agency for the “ placing” of “ copy,” are a letter and a bulky package of circulars and pamphlets. The latter include a booklet of written testimonials to the firm ; another, treating of its school for journalism, with fecs, diplomas, certi- ficates and all the rest of it, very praiseworthy and profitable ; various leaflets containing urgent entreaties and calls upon man and womankind 89 generally to make or augment their incomes by an investment of their waste faculties in the gold mines of fiction (of which “there is not half enough to go around”); and, finally, forms to fill in, would I become one of that industrial army of “writers for profit.” Well, we have no right of quarrel with all this. If fiction has become the very bread of life, there must arise A. B. O.’s to meet a demand for which the humble bakery 1s inadequate. But why refer to such a budget of business self-puffery as “literature”? That is my anxious difficulty. ‘‘ After you have carefully read our literature,” says the Agency’s paternal letter, referring to the voluminous package. I have read it, or some of it. It is good plain advertising stuff, but it will not compare, say, with ‘‘ The Critic,’ or Autolycus’ crying of his wares in Bohemia. To call it literature seems to me to smack of those verbal appropriations to contorted uses by the free and independent, which dispossess the old without dignifying the new. Perhaps if American letters basked in the light of their own stately antiquity, Americans would be more jealous of the term. Perhaps if—this, that or the other had happened differently ! What an utterly idle speculation! and yet how the kingdom of romance is builded on such. “ Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’” America, for instance, might have had at this day a very damask of historical dyes to paint into her literature, had not that confederacy of States limited her drafts upon romance to a beggarly couple of wars. There were the original thirteen, each sovereign and independent, and at the outset intending to remain so : thirteen embryo principalities, duchies, counties—or twelve, or eleven, perhaps, with a virulent republic interposed here and_ there. Think of it! Washington’s struggle for the suzerainty, his hard-wrung success, and the piece- meal lopping of its limbs by his rival survivors, the rise of the Salt Lake popes, instead of a Zion whopping creation ; anarchy, militarism, chaos, reason, in turn and intermingling ; a constellation of despotisms ; falling stars and fountains running blood ; the tocsin ; slaughter and frenzy in the streets; State marching on State, the clashing cymbals of discordance ; sack, pillage, the roar of musketry and babbled prayers of girls. Then, the sense of design emerging—wild theories of order, and patterns of art and government ; fervid apostolicism and a Christ-like vision of beauty ; mutinies of wickedness bubbling here and there, and complicating the design in their suppression— at the end, Roosevelt crowned King, at Washington, of the United States. Dismal, dismal! a lurid thing to picture ; and, instead, the gods of progress be praised ! we have  90 ‘‘ literature” in business circulars, art in advertise- ments, and a religion—not common, or Catholic, but of commonness. Romance’s potentialities have ended in electric cars, and heaven and earth run upon parallel lines. Still, it is not yet illegal, though it is out of date, for a dreamer to dream. Whittier’s postulate turns, after all, upon a question of dollars, the republican cachet of distinction. Suppose the inroad of enterprisers bringing steel instead of finance to the internecine problem; suppose adventure running free, nor brought up blank against that impenetrable keep of Wall Street. We should not have had Bartholdi’s gigantic statue of Liberty, it is true; nor, on the other hand, should we have had business advertisement expressing itself in the following terms of elegance : “First thing you know, a good, snappy, zero day will catch you outside of an ulster.” We should have had, perhaps, at this day, a multiplex tradi- tion of conflicts in the matter of all that makes for picturesqueness—war, art and love—the ruins of a Doges’ palace at New York, of a causeway in Colorado built entirely of silver bricks by some self-exalted hidalgo of New Mexico. With such a continent, such enterprise, such a vigorous hybrid race, a century would have sufficed for the weaving of a very tapestry of history ; and, instead, we have America—it is her boast—leading the commonsense of creation. Art—it is a lamentable fact—abhors a mild and sagacious order. She derives of the gods, before reason was. Tyranny and passion are her right provocatives; dirt and decay a necessary part of her kaleidoscopic scheme. She withers in the breath of municipalities, fears ostentation, shrinks from the very term progressiveness. In statuary, in architecture, she knows her place subordinate to the mountains. She will not dwart her trees, nor, as literature, allow her appropriation to a circular. At least, that is the creed of her acolytes of the Old World, but our transatlantic Agency thinks otherwise. ———_—__$_-—— A CANDID FRIEND. ++ ““F you think,” said Desmond, reloading the pipe, which had gone out during his ener- getic denunciation of my craft, “if you think of the hundreds of abortive novels - “ Well,’ I answered, “ then for consolation you must remind yourself of the thousands of acorns that make food for pigs to every one that grows into an oak.” “Do you mean to suggest that the more trash is published, the more literature we may expect?” THE AUTHOR. demanded Desmond, striking a match and letting it go out before he used it. “Perhaps,” I suggested, “ we ought to find a fresh name for it.” “Certainly, nobody in his senses,” he cried, “would describe its manufacturers as Men of Letters.” “Yet what ought we to be called ? We are not precisely journalists, although the work of a man who puts forth two or three novels and goodness knows how many short stories a year, seems to resemble journalism. After all,” I said, “a story- teller is an inoffensive person " “’m, sometimes. It depends on the story.” “ You were kind enough to say you would point out some of our most glaring faults,’ I reminded him—a little unnecessarily. Desmond crossed his legs and scowled as he struck a third match : “A rather large order,” he muttered. “ But what strikes me first is your egregious confusion of thought. You are utterly unable to discriminate between love—which seems to be the proper sub- ject for a novelist, and the—improper subject, which also begins with an ‘L.’ In fact the con- temporary novel may be defined as a study of bad manners.” “Would you wish all novels to be society novels ?” I asked. “My dear fellow,” he answered, with the air of a man who was scoring a point, ‘‘ those are pre- cisely what I had in my mind. Uncultivated manners are no more bad manners than humble life is bad life. Then,” he continued, ‘‘ your tales are far too long.” “They are shorter than they used to be and we are constantly being told that we are incapable of a sustained effort.” “Ttisvery often because athree andsixpenny book naturally brings in less than a six shilling one,” said Desmond, with a rather unpleasant laugh. “ However,” he added, “there may be something to be thankful for if what you say is right. But was any English novel ever written which wouldn’t be improved by curtailment? That is where the press notices often mislead one. Your reviewer is a practised and judicious skipper—otherwise he couldn’t keep on. He digs out the plot which I suppose is generally hidden away somewhere in the three hundred and fifty pages and it sounds interesting enough in his summary, but when one comes to the book one is lost in the maze of twaddle.”’ “Yet I constantly read that our stories are too ‘thin’—that our younger writers keep too closely to the fable, and you must admit that some quite unnecessary characters are amongst the best that have ever been drawn.”  THE AUTHOR. 91 “ Oh dear yes,” said Desmond. “Tam prepared to forgive you almost anything provided you draw me a character.” “Then what on earth are you growling about ?” I asked, pushing across the whiskey. “You insist on relating your incidents twice over,” he answered. “ First in dialogue, again in what you would call the analysis. You may de- scribe your scene either dramatically or in narrative, but why do both? Read the conversations in an average novel and you can usually gather all you wish to know, but as if the author distrusted him- self, he almost invariably goes on to explain them as well.” “ Still,’ I urged, “an explanation may be illuminating. Mayn’t there be an advantage in judicious repetition. You become more saturated with the subject.” “How often is it worth while ?” he demanded. “ Give your readers credit for a little imagination if you possess none yourself. Now explain this,” he continued, still appearing to find a difficulty in making his pipe draw. ‘‘ Leaving on one side the relative literary merits of plays and novels, why do people insist more and more on being amused. when they go to the theatre, but less and less when they read fiction ?” « Now you are accusing us of a lack of humour,” I suggested. “Humour” he exclaimed, throwing his arms above his head. “Humour! That is a great thing to ask for. Humour, let me tell you, is one of the rarest qualities in the world. Of course the word is generally used when one means merely a sense of the ridiculous.” “ What is the difference ? ” “Oh well, I take it that humour implies a touch of emotion combined with an idea of incongruity. Humour surely lies betwixt tears and smiles, closely akin to both. We mustn’t expect to find it very often. I stipulate for something far more com- onan simply for a little—well, for a little un.” «A funny novel would be as depressing as a fonny man,” I returned. “7 don’t wish for a funny novel, but for a novel with some fun init . . . quiteanother thing. On the stage we have a good deal of what is at least intended for fun. In novels with one or two exceptions we have remarkably little. Now, how do you account for that ?” he asked, leaning back in his chair as if he were content to wait in vain for a reply. “(Can it be,’ I ventured, “because a larger proportion of men go to the theatre than to the circulating libraries ? The bulk of novel readers are women and one naturally tries to suit one’s public.” Desmond glared at me over his spectacles, so that I began to feel more than ever like a guilty thing : “You justify that kind of truckling?” he exclaimed. « A man who tells you a story that you don’t wish to hear, is just a bore, you know.” “ Besides,” said Desmond, “ you must be forget- ting that the moralists warn us that the craving for amusement on the part of women is one of the serious evils of the day.” “What they crave is entertainment,” I returned. “They require their attention to be held. Now ‘amusement’ seems to signify entertainment with agreeable objects.” “The fact of the matter is,” cried Desmond, “that novel writing is ceasing to be an art.” «“T was under the impression,” I said very humbly, “that in spite of all our faults, we were credited with a certain improvement in technique.” « Well, that may be so,” he admitted grudgingly. “A good many of you are clever, but few are wise. No doubt many write fairly well, but what you have to say is not often concerned with the beautiful.” “You forget that for the most part we have to deal with modern life !” “My dear chap, you shouldn’t try to be cynical off duty,” was the answer. “If you are worth your salt, you ought to have enough insight to see through the trappings that modern life is as beautiful and as ugly—neither more nor less—as life has ever been. You simply put beauty on the shelf—or at least,’ he added, with a laugh, “you don’t. Look through the contents of any circulating library—I see girls doing it every week.” “Oh come,” I cried, “you are not going to drag the young person into it again.” “Well, I certainly don’t like her books,” he confessed. “And yet, you prohibit certain undesirable advertisements on street hoardings. The circulating library shelves are almost as accessible. Still, we will leave the young person out of it, and think only of those others who still possess a sense of decency. If you are not careful you will have a censor of novels as well as of plays.” “ Poor wretch ! sinecure !” «J was going to say when you interrupted me,” Desmond continued, “that if you look through the shelves of any circulating library, it is absolutely appalling to open one book after another full of sheer hideousness. I suppose, though, it is rather old-fashioned to believe that vice is hideous.” His berth wouldn’t be a  92 «You ought to define your terms,” I hinted. But Desmond shook his head : “ Tt’s too close to midnight,” he said. “Anyhow, you must admit that a great deal depends on the treatment,” I persisted. “A great deal, I grant. But then the open air treatment is ousting every other. The windows are thrown up, the blinds are absent, very nearly everything is done out of doors. Surely there are human functions which it is undesirable to witness, to talk about, even to write about.” “In fact, you would discourage any attempt to deal seriously with life !” “ With life! Good Lord,” cried Desmond, “ isn’t it possible to deal seriously with life and yet not to be everlastingly trafficking with the seventh commandment.” “ You would prefer a story with a moral !” “ ] should hate it,” he answered, furiously. “It may be as unmoral as you please, but for goodness’ sake let me have something as a change from immorality. Don’t you understand that ugliness in art should be used only as a foil to beauty ! But you make the hideous an end in itself. You are sel- dom tragic, but instead of making me shudder, you make me sick, and you compel me to hold my nostrils instead of my sides.” “Well,” I suggested, “let me give you some more whiskey.” “No, thank you, no more to-night,” said Desmond and the following day I learned that he was keeping his bed with influenza. Of course, he must have been sickening the previous night ; no doubt the poor fellow’s temperature had already risen above the normal, thus accounting for his extremely crude and sweeping assertions. 3 ——____+—~»—_ —__<_ COMMENTS ON COMMENTS. 1 CANNOT allow the “ Comments on Thack- eray’s ‘Essay on Pope,” which appeared in the November issue of Zhe Author, to pass without one or two words of protest. The contemptuous estimate of Pope’s character by the writer of the article will be rather galling to those to whom his personal good qualities far outweigh his disagreeable ones. It must never be forgotten, in thinking over what he accomplished, that he was deformed, and from a child of a sickly nature. And yet a weak body must have contained a strong and attractive mind, to allure to itself as staunch and life-long friends the author of the “ Beggar’s Opera,” John Gay; he of the “ Seasons,” James Thomson ; and last, but perhaps the greatest of THE AUTHOR. the trio, Dean Swift. Nor must I omit “ My St. John,” the brilliant and versatile politician, Lord Bolingbroke :— : “ Awake, my St. John ! leave all meaner things To low ambition and the pride of kings. Let us (since life can little more supply Than just to look about us and to die) Expatiate free o’er all this scene of man. . * * + - Laugh where we must, be candid where we can ; But vindicate the ways of God to man.” This keynote is struck by one of whom, accord- ing to the essayist in The Author, “it is a little difficult to think generously.” That Pope’s heart was in the right place is evidenced, I think, by the modest and truly unselfish wish that his might be the task to “rock the cradle of reposing age .. . and keep awhile one parent from the sky.” The most virulent critics do not deny that he was a good son to father and mother. That he was capable of deeper feelings than he is given credit for in the article under review is proved by the mournful lines commencing :— “ How loved, how honoured once,” etc. These are worthy of being placed side by side with the solemn, the sad, the true reflection on human existence as “rounded by a sleep,” which is one of the gems in Shakespeare’s “ Tempest.” This man, whose “ philosophy of life is just one bitter satire,” so the comments run; this mis- shapen, small and delicate creature, how reads a portion of his literary record? This is what Professor Henry Morley says :—‘‘ Under Queen Anne he was anoriginal poet . . . under George I. he was a translator and made much money . . . he also edited Shakespeare, but with little profit to himself, for Shakespeare was but a Philistine in the eyes of the French classical critics.” This man, then, of sarcasm, more or less venomous, more or less cruel, could so admire the ‘ unvalued book : (so spoken of by Milton in his day) that at little profit to himself, but with much labour, he edited Shakespeare’s plays; he tried to turn men’s attention “from the culture of the snuff-box and the fan” to the problems and pathos of humanity, as discussed and displayed in undying glory of wit and wisdom and individuality of character—those plays whose words of matchless diction irradiate with beauty and truth. One more quotation from the comments ere I bring my remarks to a close :— There is hardly a page in all Pope’s poetry which does not hold a satire.” Well, I find many pages quite otherwise.  THE AUTHOR. 93 4 As, for instance, I find on one page this glorious og poetry, as fine as anything ever written :— fe 4 HT “What blessings Thy free bounty gives, Let me not cast away ; For God is paid when man receives, To enjoy is to obey. “Tf Tam right, Thy grace impart Still in the right to stay ; If I am wrong, oh, teach my heart To find that better way. “ Teach me to feel another’s woe, To hide the fault I see ; That mercy I to others show, That mercy show to me. “This day be bread and peace my lot : All else beneath the sun Thou know’st if best bestowed or not ; And let Thy will be done.” There are many whoare proud of being English- men ; there are not a few who are just as proud of the heritage left to them by the “little crooked thing” in their land’s language. Filmy fancies, charming conceits, and the ‘solid pudding” of sound common sense are offered to all with a wealth of graceful poetic illustration. It is as a com- panion Pope excels. He ranges ‘from grave to gay, from lively to severe”; he is a persuasive teacher of worldly prudence, of good morals, of healthy hopes, and this without the jargon of the schools and, above all, without cant. J. Harris BRIGHOUSE. ——_+—<—_+___—__- THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AND ARTISTIC ASSOCIATION. ——>— (Liége, Brussels, Antwerp ; 18-24 September, 1905.) HIS congress, brightened by a greater diver- sity than usual of féfes and excursions of : a very interesting character, consisted of six séances. Three were held at lLiége, one at Brussels, and one at Antwerp. Of these, four were devoted to strictly copyright questions ; the subjects under discussion in the first and last were connected with the important problem of the further extension of the Berne Convention. Several of the debates were occupied with the consideration of questions that are only of secon- dary interest to authors, such as ‘The Industrial Applications of Art,” “The Public Performance of Musical Works,” ‘Gratuitous Performances,” * Protection of Public Sites and Ancient Monuments,” and “The Protection of Objects in Museums.” A mention of these may suffice. The purely literary questions were, however, of very great interest, and will demand fuller attention. Foremost amongst the literary questions must be placed the duration of copyright, which was discussed at some length. This is a matter of the highest interest to all authors, and of particular interest to British authors, who may be well dis- contented with having a duration of rights shorter than that accorded by many insignificant States possessing but a poor literature, and that dura- tion of rights placed upon a confused and highly unsatisfactory basis. We call the basis unsatis- factory because it is liable in certain cases to be calculated from the date of the first publication of the work protected. That date is often, even in the case of well-known authors, extremely difficult to discover. The date of the author's death, on the other hand, can be always easily ascertained. And for that reason alone pro- tection for life, anda definite period afterwards, is infinitely to be preferred to any arrangement based upon the moment of the publication of a work. The congress was, of course, entirely opposed to quaint anomalies of any kind. In fact, they found a constant source of grave inconveniences even in the diversities of the dura- tions of copyright in the different countries of the union. When legal action is taken in accor- dance with the provisions of the Convention, the judges find themselves in every case obliged to take into consideration the durations of copyright in the country of origin, and in the country of reproduction ; and where a difference of duration exists, difficulties of various kinds invariably arise, whilst in any case only the shorter period can be legally dealt with. The result of this is an amount of confusion that has much assisted to generate a cynical scepticism concerning the actual utility of the Berne Convention. This is to be deplored. But all these difficulties will immediately vanish as soon as a general radical reform shall have made the duration of copyright equal in all States. ‘The advantages of such a reform would be so great that anything to be urged against it may be justly held to be of minimal importance. A comparison of the various durations of copyright led the congress to believe that the period of “life and fifty years afterwards ” seemed to have the best chance of universal accept- ance. The congress was unanimous on this im- portant point. At the same time it was disposed to consider of no small moment the fact that the term of protection in Spain is life and eighty years afterwards. For which reason the congress opined that life and fifty years should be regarded as a minimum.  94 A more complicated question is that of formali- ties, and this question occupies a larger space than any other in the report of the congress. The congress was of opinion that in international relations formalities have no right to exist. They are the source of nothing but nuisances, and con- stantly impede successful legal proceedings. It was contended that the mere fact of having pub- lished a book should entitle the author to all rights accorded him by the Convention. (This amounts to the suppression of the second clause of Article 2.) It appears that at present the formalities of deposition or registration, or of both, are necessary only in Haiti, Spain, and Italy. Italy and Spain allow the author some time during which to comply with the requirements —but at the risk of piracy, against which he can- not proceed during the interval. In Great Britain, France, and Japan, deposition and registration are necessary only before taking legal action. The various speakers on the subject were theoretically in favour of the complete suppression of formall- ties, and regarded this as the certain ultimate solution of the various difficulties. But it was admitted that, at least at present, it was highly doubtful whether this was possible. Meanwhile, the proposition that the neglect of formalities should have no international importance involved the in- consistency that, in this case, it would be possible for an author who had no rights in the country of origin, to have in other States larger rights than its own citizens legally enjoyed. On the question being put to the vote, a fundamental proposition in favour of the abolition of formalities was carried. A suggestion that a new form should be given to Article 14 of the Convention, which deals with retroactivity, led to a discussion of a somewhat confused character. The danger of trespass beyond the legitimate province of international relations appeared to be involved, and the con- ference contented itself with a modified resolution, which will be found below. : The fourth article of the Convention was also subjected to criticism, as wanting in “system.” A new text was proposed, but as it was not discussed, nor indeed regarded as final, it may suffice to say that it offers a somewhat fuller and more orderly definition of what should be understood by “literary and artistic works.” Scenic decorations in theatres, photographs, architectural designs, engineers’ designs, and lectures would be included. The report mentions also that a hope was enter- tained that the duration of secondary rights (trans- lations, &c.) would ultimately be made commen- gurate with the duration of the copyright itself. In the discussion of the Extension of the Union, three States only of those which are outside it came into consideration—the United States of THE AUTHOR. America, Holland, and Roumania. A full dis- cussion of the relations of the unionist countries with the United States was not possible; and the congress contented itself with acquiescing in M. Osterrieth’s conclusions, which recommended that, on the one hand, the unionist countries — should make common cause in seriously pressing the United States to accord strangers a more satisfactory protection; and that, on the other © hand, within the United States themselves authors and publishers should take a saner view of the © ij advantages that would accrue to themselves from "2 this protection, in the shape of a higher develop- ment of the national literature. : Holland was described as “The Holy Land of © Pirates” : a country where ‘‘ a coalition of mercan- tile interests, ingeniously disguised as protective of national labour, and yet more ingeniously as a means of popular diffusion of the highest forms of literature,” supported a system that paid no~ regard to rights of any kind. It was further hinted that, even at the present date, literature is not considered a profession in Holland. All § authors are mere dilettanti who amuse themselves _ with writing in their spare moments, and any man who considers his pen a source of income is beneath contempt. Some hopes of more en- lightened views are, however, entertained since the foundation of the Dutch Society of Authors (Vereeniging van Letterkundigen), which has on its roll of members the names of 120 of the best known writers in Holland. The Roumanian Government, on the other hand, was officially represented. The delegate was not able to announce the adhesion of Roumania to the Berne Convention—an adhesion mistakenly reported in some journals. But he informed the congress that his government was engaged in drafting a new copyright law, which will supersede the imperfect one of 1862. The passing of this new statute will greatly facilitate Roumania’s adhesion to the Berne Convention. And in the name of his government he invited the association to hold their next congress at Bucharest, an invitation that was immediately accepted. The following resolutions, with some others of minor interest, were passed by the congress. The congress again approves the project of the revision of the Berne Convention adopted at the - congresses of Weimar and Marseilles, and it desires that the provisions affirming the following principles should be inserted in the project :-— I The enjoyment of the rights recognised by the ye Convention ought not to be conditional upon Hite compliance with any formality. AMigogon T tte (a Ode yt ge Og 7) dramatic talent—‘ The Pioneers.” THER AUTHOR. LT, The duration of copyright shall be a minimum of the life of the author and fifty years afterwards. Il. The stipulationsrespecting retroactivity (Art. 14) should apply to all new rights recognised by the Conferences of Revision. —_—_————_+—_—___——__ CORRESPONDENCE. os Pornts oF VIEW. Str,—May I offer a few words in reply to 1 Mr. Ascher’s interesting article in the November _ Author ? I do not think my point of view actually diverged from that expressed in Mr. Begbie’s sensible advice to journalists. He dealt frankly with the com- mercial side of our profession: I dealt with the artistic, and the two sides have little to do with each other. The fact I wished to emphasise was, that while there is a mighty number of magazines for a certain class of reader, another class, and not a small one, goes lacking. Also, that there is no opening in our English magazines for original work of a high order. He who writes to make a living and he who writes because he can’t help it need not interfere with each other. The best advice to the former is: “Strive to please the ordinary public.” The best advice to the latter is: “Strive to satisfy your own artistic conscience and the most fastidious taste.” Some day or other the best must come to the top, but the process is a slow one at present— much slower than in the days of George Eliot and Jane Austen—and I would see it gently assisted by the great English magazines, whose readers are waiting impatiently for it—those readers who want literature, not journalism. Thanking Mr. Ascher for the kind things he says of my work. T am, yours truly, Mary L. PENDERED. —_-—<—+— Matters DRAMATIC. Dear Sir,—As no one, so far, has called attention in Ze Author to what is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting literary events of the passing year, may I be permitted todoso. I refer to the formation of a new society, whose primary object is the discovery and exploitation of native Under the 95 management of a strong executive council, of which Mr. Arthur Bourchier is chairman, the society proposes not “ to bewail the decadence of the British drama,” but to give a hitherto non- existent chance to the as-yet-unacted British dramatists, who may, it is hoped, revive it. Plays can be sent in by the aspiring playwright, whether a member of the society or not, with the certainty of their consideration by the council. From amongst the number submitted the most suitable for theatrical representation will be chosen, and duly presented to an audience which should be ideal from a dramatic author’s point of view, for it will consist of theatrical managers, actors, authors, brother-playwrights, and others whose first interest is in the play as a play ; and not as a vehicle for an hour or two’s amusement. The inaugural per- formance is to take place at the Scala Theatre on December 17th next, and has already aroused widespread interest. The welcome accorded to the new society can only be described as enthu- siastic, but an increase of membership is very desirable. The subscription is one guinea for the year, and carries with it the right to two tickets for every performance given by the society. Any enquiries addressed to the hon. sec., 1, Trafalgar Buildings, Northumberland Avenue, W.C., will, I am sure, be readily answered, and | would suggest that all who have the interests of the British drama at heart should put themselves in communication with him forthwith. SretitaA M. Dirine. rt THE JATERATURE OF AUSTRALIA. i Duar Srr,—Noticing an interesting account of Australian writers in your last issue, | was some- what surprised—considering its fullness—that no mention was made of that best known of all colonial novelists, Ethel Turner, whose stories for children have been so well received in England. In Australia, as I happen to have heard from friends in that country, she is, without exaggera- tion, a household name, far above many your writer has mentioned, and equal to any that he has. I have also read and noticed reviewed this year a novel by * Constance Clyde,” which gives a new and vivid description of Sydney city life, she, I read from one of the reviews, being a well- known writer on one or two of the best papers in Australia. oe a Hoping you will pardon this slight criticism of your correspondent’s article. Yours obediently, E. BROADFIELD.  96 Il. Srr,—I am very sorry for the omission of Miss Ethel Turner’s name from my article on “« Aus- tralian Literature,” and do not know how I came to forget so well known an author. I am glad that the error will be corrected by the publication of your correspondent’s letter on the subject. Indeed, I fear that owing to my not having been lately in the colonies, there may be yet other omissions, but I trust this may not be the case with authors of note. My idea was rather to give the general trend of Australian literature from its beginning than to enumerate contemporary writers, and I confess that I do not know the author, “Constance Clyde,” of whom your correspondent speaks. I am, yours sincerely, R. M. PRAED. CHAPTER HEADLINES. Dear Srr,—A novel reader recently asked me why many books are now published without chapter headings. Can any novelist answer ? Is it art, or simply idleness, or just a vogue ? If the chapters of a novel have no title or head- line, why not abolish the table of contents also ? Such information as “Ch. V. p. 50” is of no use to anyone. It would be much better to put the number of each chapter either as a headline, or a “Sig.” on each odd page. Then, what is the use of repeating the title of a novel as its headline on every page. “Old Brown” may be all right on the cover, but as he probably is the subject of every one of three hundred pages it is quite unnecessary to have the title paraded in large caps three hundred times or more. When the title is no indication to the contents of the volume its vain repetition is but the constant reiteration of an unwarrantable impertinence. In a recently-issued American novel the story is divided into more than half-a-dozen titled “books,” and each book consists of from six to twelve un- titled chapters—but there is no table of contents ! There appears to be no rule, and the practice varies. Any story which is not intended to be read through at a single sitting should consist of sections; and, as a convenience to the reader, these sections or chapters should be named rather than numbered only. his is my opinion and that of novel readers I have consulted. What do the novelists say ? WILL. GREENER. THE AUTHOR. Unit oF AN EbITION, Srr,—With reference to what is mentioned in the November issue of Zhe Author, under the heading of ‘‘ Committee Notes,” about the unit of an edition, I would like to suggest (what, doubtless, has already been proposed) that the society agree with the Publishers’ Association that the word “sedition” mean all the copies of a work in which the wording is the same, and the word “ issue” all those copies of an edition which are published at one time. To say that a work is in its second or any other edition would then show how many times it has undergone alteration. These words are, I think, used in this sense by Messrs. Macmillan, but I do not know whether by any other firm of publishers. There does not seem to me much real need to define how many copies constitute either an issue or an edition, for the number must depend so much upon the nature of the work ; but what people do most urgently want to know is that they are buy- ing really a copy of the latest revised issue of any work, and the use of the word edition in the above-suggested sense, with the date, would always give them that information. Husert Hass. A Muissine VOLUME. Sir,—Permit me to rectify two slight slips which crept into my communication under this head in last month’s organ. The name of the supposed authoress of “ Rebecca, or the Victim of Duplicity,” is Mrs. Holebrook of Sandon, Derbyshire, and the precise style of the present resting-place of the two volumes, the Library of the University of Paris, Bibliotheque de la Sorbonne. I may add that the third volume we are so anxious to find has not, as yet, been traced. Crcil CLARKE. —— REFERENCE BOOKS. Srr,—In reply Littérateur ” on page 64 of the November number, he should certainly obtain a copy of F. Howard Collins’s ‘Author and Printer,” revised, in which he will find on p. xiv. the books constituting ‘a useful library of reference,” from which a selection for travelling could be made. A MEMBER. to the question of “A Struggling — second edition — Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 16 Issue 03 (December 1905) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 03 (December 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-12-01-The-Author-16-3 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/512/1906-01-01-The-Author-16-4.pdf 81ef472f263871bef8417089401081d7 PDF Text Text �������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1906-01-01 Volume 16 Issue 4 Pages Page range in volume 97–128 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19060101 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin be Author. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XVI.—No. 4. JANUARY I1sT, 1906. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_____+—>—_+___ NOTICES. + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. —_1+——+— List of Members. Tux List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —1 <9 The Pension Fund of the Society. Tur Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. ‘They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Vou, XVI. > Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consols. 24%. £1000 Tioeal WOdNse ea. 500 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............-.- War loan... London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture StOCKk 25.9 ee Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4 % Certificates .............++ 291 201 250 200 0 0 otal. eee £2443 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £8. ds July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon, the Lord ; : : : : : Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. | » suorban, WM. Nov. 9, “ Francis Daveen”’ » >», Adair, Joseph 21, Thurston, Mrs. ae Dec. 18, Browne, F. M. Donations, 1905. July 28, Potter, the Rev. J. Hasluck Oct. 12, Allen, W. Bird : Oct. 17, A. O. N. ; : : Oct. 17, Hawtrey, Miss Valentina Oct. 31, Williamson, C. N. Oct. 31, Williamson, Mrs. . Nov. 6, Reynolds, Mrs. Fred. Nov. 9, Wingfield, H. Noy. 17, Nash, T. A. . Dec. 1, Gibbs, F. L. A. Dec. 6, Finch, Madame Dec. 15, Egbert, Henry Dec. 15, Muir, Ward ; Dec. 15, Sherwood, Mrs. A. . Dec. 18, Sheppard, A. T. Dee. 18, 8. I. G. ‘ CRKH eH acon KOR OROCORrRrFOFRCSO — —_ awe _ _— S omoooanoaonoocooorcoe fot o 98 COMMITTEE NOTES. > MEETING of the committee was held on Monday, November 27th, at 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and signed, the election of members took place. The names of those elected will be found in another column. The committee are pleased to report that the election of members is still well maintained, and that the peculiarly large election of last year of 233 members has been surpassed during the present year, when 238 members have been elected. : : Certain questions relative to Imperial copyright and United States copyright were discussed, and the question of Egypt and the Berne Convention was considered. The secretary read a letter he had received from the Foreign Office, and the committee decided to write for further details with regard to the jurisdiction of the Mixed Tribunals in Egypt in cases of copyright. The remainder of the sitting was devoted to general business. —_——>+—_ Cases. Eight cases have been in the secretary’s hands during the past month. Three were for the pay- ment of money. In one of these the amount has been paid and forwarded ; the two others are still in the course of settlement. There has been one case for accounts and one for money and accounts. The one for accounts has been settled and the one for money and accounts is still awaiting the publisher’s answer. The return of stock and the cancellation of an agreement between an author and publisher was another matter that required adjustment. Although on many occasions the society has negotiated this kind of settlement to the satisfaction of both parties, in this special case the publisher refused to deal with the society. We quite understand his motive for adopting this attitude, but are sorry for the member’s sake that the society has not been able to complete the matter satisfactorily. No doubt the author will be able to carry through the negotiations with the publisher himself. One case which has occurred for infringe- ment of copyright will not be settled for some time, owing to the fact that the infringer lives outside England. The question of the loss of a MS. by a publisher—always difficult from the legal point of view, is in the hands of the society’s solicitors for their opinion. We are pleased to report that the society’s action in Norway has now been settled, and the amount for infringement of copyright has been paid. The other questions in the hands of THE AUTHOR. tere the society’s solicitors have not as yet been settled, but, with the exception of one case, all the matters in the secretary’s hands prior to the beginning of last month have been finished. ‘The one unfinished is rather a complicated question of accounts, but ja. the secretary has already obtained the statement | from the publisher. ee oe eee December Elections. Abbott, J. H. M. . 4, Ilchester Gardens, W. Brook, Miss Lottie 1, Waverley Place, St. 2: John’s Wood, N.W. Cooper, T. G. 11, Quay Street, Haver- - fordwest. Crane, Walter 13, Holland Street, Ken- <<. sington. Fry, 0. B. . Westend, Hants. Gibbs, F. L. A. The Hall, Bushey, ¥9! Herts. ; Leach, Henry 26, Romola Road, Herne 61:5 Hill, S.E. Logan, J., F.R.G.S. Ormond School, Dublin. .i/i! Meynell, Mrs. 4, Granville Place Man- -a:¥! sions, Portman fF. Square, W. Morgan, Miss F.L. . 24, King Street, Car- -in) marthen. ; Nisbet, John Villa Bella Vista, Boule- -3/' vard de Cimiez, Nice, 2 France; and Royal sy Societies Club, 63, .% St. James’ Street, 10). S.W. : Sheppard, A. T. 54, Huron Road, Upper “0 Tooting, S.W. ee BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. 1 (in the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may f serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. |@ Members are requested to forward information which will ~ enable the Editor to supply particulars. ) ARCH AOLOGY. THE ARTOF ATTACK. By H.S.COWPER,F.S.A. 83 x 5}. 312 pp. Weverston. Holmes. 10s. n. ART. How To JDENTIFY OLD CHINESE PORCELAIN. By Mr. 8. W. Hopa@son. With 40 Illustrations. 8} x 5%. 178 pp. Methuen. 6s. PRE-RAPHAELITISM AND THE PRE-RAPHAELITE BRo- THERHOOD. 2 Vols. By W. HouMAN Hunt. 8} X 53. 512 + 493 pp. Macmillan. 42s. n.  _ OSWALD BASTABLE AND OTHERS. BRITISH PORTRAIT PAINTERS AND ENGRAVERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Kneller to Reynolds. With an Introductory Essay and Biographical Notes. By EpmMuND Gossy. 154 x 12}. 100 Full page Ilus- trations. Goupil. £8 8s. n. and £20 n. THE ART OF PORTRAIT PAINTING. By. the Hon. JOHN Conner. 114 x 8%. 108 pp. Cassell. 10s. 6d. n. How To DRAW IN PEN AND INK. By HARry FURNISS. With numerous Illustrations. 10 x 64. 115 pp. Chap- man and Hall. 3s. 6d. n. Axe Herman Haiac AND His Work. By E. A. ARMSTRONG. £1 ls. n. (Edition strictly limited to 1,500.) (EDITION DE LUXE at £3 3s. sold out.) Fine Art Society. IDEALS IN ART. By WALTER CRANE. Bell. 10s. 6d. n. 93 x 6. 287 pp. BIOGRAPHY. Being some Recollections of 9 x 6. 499 pp. TWENTY YEARS IN PARIS. a Literary Life. By R. H. SHERARD. Hutchinson. 16s. n. PETER PAUL REUBENS. in Painting and Sculpture. 5s. n. AUBREY BEARDSLEY. Edition. Revised and Enlarged. 9} x 7h. 103 pp. Dent. 6s. n. THE LETTERS OF WARREN Hastings To His WIFE. Transcribed in full from the Originals in the British Museum. Introduced and annotated by SYDNEY C. GRIER. 9 x 53. 484 pp. Blackwoods. 15s. n. Sir Henry Irving. By HALDANE MCFALL. 7} x 5. 128 pp. Foulis. 2s. n. THE Story OF THE PRINCESS DES URSINS IN SPAIN. By Constance Hin. 7% x 5}. 256 pp. Lane. 5s. n. Great Masters By Hope REA. 138 pp. Bell. Ts xX 8. By ARTHUR Symons. New 29 Reproductions. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. By E.NEsBIT. 8} x Wells Gardner. 6s. 5§. 369 pp. By KATHERINE TYNAN. THe LUCK OF THE FAIRFAXES. 8 x 53. 397pp. Collins. A LirrLe Princess. Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe, now told for the first time. By Francis H. BURNETT. 8% x 53. 302 pp. Warne. 6s. THe Happy Curist. By HAROLD BEGBIE. 6% x 44. ll7pp. Skeffington. 2s. FRIENDS WitHour Facrs. A Fairy’s Rebuke to Vanity. Written and [llustrated by H. Furniss. 9% x 74. 62pp. S.P.C.K. Fun at THE Zoo. Pictures (coloured) by Louis WAIN. Verses by C. BINGHAM. 5} x 73. Collins. CLaws AND Paws. By Louis WAIN. 12} x 10}. 23 pp. Collins. A Flower WEDDING. Decorated by WALTER CRANE. Cassell. 6s. 104 x 74. 40 pp. BOOKS OF REFERENCE. Dictionary oF INDIAN BioGRAPHY. By C. E. BuckK- LAND. 8 x 5}. 494 pp. Sonnenschein. 7s. 6d. COOKERY. THE AMATEUR Cook. By KATHERINE BURRILL and Anniz M. Boorse. 73 x 53. 296 pp. Chambers. 38. 6d. n. DRAMA. A Tragic Play of Church and Stage. 7% x 53. 196 pp. Grant THE THEATROCRAT. By JoHN DAvIpson. Richards. 5s. n. Described by two Wallflowers. | THE AUTHOR. 99 EDUCATIONAL. ENGLISH COMPOSITION SIMPLIFIED. Murby. Is. 6d. ARITHMETICAL WRINKLES. By J. LOGAN. Sonnenschein. Is. HISTORICAL AND MODERN ATLAS OF THE BRITISH By J, LoaGan. Empire. By C. G. ROBERTSON and J. G. BaR- THOLOMEW. 114 x 8%. 64 pp. Methuen. 4s. 6d.n. Let YoutH BuT Know. A Plea for Reason in Education. By Kappa. 73 x 5. 256 pp. Methuen. 3s. 6d. n. BLACKIE’s LITTLE GERMAN CLASSICS. GRIMM’S DIE ZWEI BRUDER. 40 pp. SCHMID’s DIE OSTEREIER. 40 pp. Edited by A. R. HoPE MoncRIEFF, 6} X 41. Blackie. 6d. each. BLACKIE’s LATIN TEXTS. Edited by W. H. D. Rovuss. VirGIL. AINEID VI. 30 pp. Blackie. 6d. n. each. FICTION. THE WEAVERS SHUTTLE. By C. G. HARTLEY (MRs. W. GALLICHAN). 74 x 4%. 319 pp. Greening. 6s. THE CRUISE OF THE “ CONQUISTADOR.” Being the Further Adventures of the Motor Pirate. By G.S. PATERNOSTER. 7i x 43. 312 pp. The Car Illustrated. 3s. 6d. THE ARMY OF A DREAM. By RuDYARD KIPLING. 7i x 5. 62 pp. Macmillan. 6d. n. THE WINNING OF WINIFRED. By LOUIS 72 x 5. 310 pp. White. 6s. VENDETTA IN VANITY Farr. 7% x 54. 278 pp. TRACY. By ESTHER MILLER. Heinemann. 6s. THry. By RupyarD KIpLine. 84 x 54. 80 pp. Macmillan. 6s, THE Kine’s REVOKE. By MArGARET L. Woops. 72 x 5. 334 pp. Smith Elder. 6s. A PRETENDER. By ANNIE THOMAS. 73 x 5. 318 pp. Digby Long. 6s. HISTORY. FLORENTINE PALACES AND THEIR STORIES. toss. 81 x 5}. 411 pp. Dent. 6s. n. SOMERSET HOUSE—PAST AND PRESENT. By R. NEED- HAM and A, WEBSTER. 9 xX 6. 340 pp. Unwin. 21s. n. GLEANINGS FROM VENETIAN History. By FRANCIS MARION CRAWFORD. 2 Vols. 8 x 54. With 225 Illus- trations by Joseph Pennell. 517 -+ 441 pp. Macmillan. 21s. n. A History oF OUR OWN TIMES. By JUSTIN McCartHy. 3 Vols. Fine Paper Edition. From the Accession of Queen Victoria to the Diamond Jubilee, 1897. 61 x 4, 549 + 582 + 596 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. n. By JANET LAW. STATUTES OF PRACTICAL UTILITY PASSED IN 1905, IN CONTINUATION OF CHITTY’S STATUTES. With Notes and selected Statutory Rules. By J. M. Lely. 10 x 6}. Pp. 557—787. Sweet & Maxwell and Stevens & Sons. 7s. 6d. A Digest oF ENGLIsH Civin Law. By EDWARD JENKS. Book I. General. 10 x 64. 101 pp. Butter- worth. LITERARY. STUDIES IN POETRY AND CRITICISM. By JOHN SHURTON CoLLIns. 83} x 5. 309 pp. Bell. 6s. n. MISCELLANEOUS. Tom BROWNE'S Comic ANNUAL. Christmas, 1905. 84x 53. Drane. 6d. WHat Wr TALKED ABOUT. CAMPBELL. Jarrold & Sons. By M. MonTGgoMERY Is. 6d. FLEET STREET FROM WITHIN. The Romance and History of the Daily Paper. By Henry LEACH. 64 x 4}. 192 pp- Arrowsmith and Simpkin, Marshall. is. NATURAL HISTORY. Nores oN THE LIFE History OF BRITISH FLOWERING prants. By the Right Honourable LoRD AVEBURY, P.c. 9 x 53. 450 pp. Macmillan, 15s. n. A Book oF Mortats. Being a record of the good deeds and good qualities of what humanity is pleased to call the lower animals. By F. A. STEEL. 103 x 74. 141 pp. Heinemann. 10s. 6d. n. PHILOSOPHY. A Criticism of Professor Heeckel’s By Sir OLIvER LODGE. 2s. 6d. n. LIFE AND MATTER. “Riddle of the -Universe.” 74 x 5. 200 pp. Williams and Norgate. POETRY. Tye PASTOR OF WyDON FELL. A Ballad of the North Country. By A. M. Buckron. 72 X 6}. 20 pp. Elkin Mathews. Ils. n. New CoLLECTED RHYMES. By ANDREW LANG. 7x 5. 101 pp. Longmans. 4s. 6d. n. THE Two ARCADIAS, PLAYS AND Porms. By ROSALINE TRAVERS. With an Introduction by Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. 7% x 54. 142 pp. Brimley Johnson. Love’s FICKLED AND OTHER PoEMs. By W. BirD ALLEN. 6 x 44. 57 pp. Clark. Toe IRISH SQUIREENS, AND OTHER RANDALL MCDONNELL. 7 x 43. 45 pp. Sealy. VERSES. By Dublin. POLITICAL. IMPERIALISM. A Study. By J. A. Hopson. Revised Edition. 74 x 43. 3831 pp. Constable. 2s. 6d. n. ELECTION ANECDOTES FoR ALL Parties. By J. H. SETTLE. 7 x 4%. 140 pp. Skeffington. 1s. n. REPRINTS. Tur PLAYS AND PoEMS oF ROBERT GREENE. 2 Vols. Edited with Introduction and Notes. By J. CHURTON Commins. 9 x 53. 319 pp. and 415 pp. Clarendon Press. 18s. n. THE PoEMS OF WILLIAM COWPER. Introduction and Notes by J. C. BatLEy. With 27 Illustrations. 83 x 53. 741 pp. Methuen. 10s. 6d. n. THe Fancy. By JoHN HamiInTon Reynoups. With a Prefatory Memoir and Notes by John Masefield ; and Thirteen Illustrations by J. B. Yeats. 7 x 43. 88 pp. Elkin Mathews. ls. 6d. n. A CoLLOTYPE FACSIMILE OF SHAKESPEARE’S POEMS AND PERICLES. Withan Introduction. By SIDNEY LEE. 104 x 81. Oxford University Press. London: Frowde. In sets of five volumes. £3 10s.n. and £65s.n. Ina single volume £3 3s.n. and £4 4s.n. PROVERBS IN PORCELAIN, to which is added “AU Revorr.” A Dramatic Vignette. By AUSTIN DOBSON. 63 x 44. 118 pp. Kegan Paul, 2s 6d. n. Edited with an SOCIOLOGY. THe CANKER AT THE HEART. Being studies from the Life of the Poor in the Year of Grace, 1905. By L. CoPE CoRNFORD. 72% x 53. 236 pp. E, Grant Richards. 3s. 6d. n. THEOLOGY. THE APOSTLE’S CREED. Six Lectures given in Westminster Abbey. By H. C. Beecuine, M.A. (Canon of West- minster). 7% x 5. 100 pp. Murray. 2s, 6d. n. THE AUTHOR. Av THE MASTER’s SIDE: STUDIES IN DISCIPLESHIP. 3v the Rev. ANTHONY DEANE, 64 x 44. 99 pp. Wells Gardner. Is. 6d. Tue LIFE ELYSIAN. Being more leaves from the Auto- biography of a Soul in Paradise. Recorded for the Author by R. J, Lens. 73 x 49. 349 pp. Long. 6s. Vrrus IN CRETE, OR ‘‘ THINGS WHICH BECOME SOUND DocrRINe.” By F. BouRDILLON. 7% x 5. 131 pp. Thynne. 1s. 6d. n. TRAVEL. RounD ABouUT My PEKIN GARDEN. BALD LITTLE. Illustrated. 9 x 5}. 15s. n. THE SOURCE OF THE BLUE NILE. By A. J. HAYES. Andan Entomological Appendix by E. B. Poulton, F.R.S. (Hope Professor of Zoology in the University of Oxford). 84 x 53. 315 pp. Smith Elder. 10s. 6d. n. By Mrs. ARCHI- 284 pp. Unwin: LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. | R. MARION CRAWFORD’S book on a) Venice was published by Messrs. Mac- © | millan & Co. early last month, under the 9: title, “Gleanings from Venetian History.” The volume is illustrated with over 200 pictures from =m drawings by Mr. Joseph Pennell. . With the publication of two volumes of lectures and essays, Canon Beeching completes his task of arranging the literary remains of the late Canon Ainger. The subjects of the lectures and essays are almost entirely of literary interest. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are the publishers. The same publishers announce a new edition of Tennyson’s “ In Memoriam,” with the author’s own notes, It is anticipated that the publication will excite some interest among students of the poet, and will give the curious in these matters an opportunity of comparing many published inter pretations of the allusive passages with the poet’s own explanations. Mr. Kipling’s story, “ They,” which appeared last year in “ Traffics and Discoveries,” has just been issued by Messrs. Macmillan in a volume accompanied by fifteen coloured illustrations by Mr. T. H. Townsend. Dr. Charles Reinhardt has written, and_ the London Publicity Company, of 379, Strand, W.C., have published, a pamphlet dealing with the con- sumptive poor of England, in which he traces, in simple language, the evolution of the disease, and suggests, as the remedy, the erection and main- tenance of open-air sanatoria. The price of the pamphlet is 6d. We are requested to state that Mr. Henry R.  AtATT saunas TAB has kindly consented to take the place of the late Mr. F. R. Daldy as honorary secretary of the Copyright Association. All future communica- tions should be addressed to him at 1, Berners Street, W. In the preface to his new work, “Notes on the Life-History of British Flowering Plants,’ pub- lished by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., Lord Avebury states that his aim has been to describe points of interest in the life-history of our British plants ; to explain as far as possible the reasons for the structure, form and colour; and to suggest some of the innumerable problems which still remain for solution. In addition to 328 illustrations, the book contains a glossary of scientific terms. Vol. IV. of Dr. Beattie Crozier’s “ History of Intellectual Development ” is nearly complete, and will be published early in this year. Its sub-title will be “The Wheel of Wealth,” being a recon- struction of the science and art of political economy. Dr. Stopford Brooke’s new volume of criticism, which he is preparing, will probably be entitled «The Poetic Movement in Ireland.” The book will be published by Sir Isaac Pitman’s Sons, and will contain appreciations of Matthew Arnold, Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Clough, and William Morris. “The Dream and the Business” is the title of John Oliver Hobbes’ new novel, the publication of which may be looked for in the early part of this year. Mr. Frederic Harrison has completed a drama on which he has been engaged since the publication of his Byzantine romance, “ Theophano.” It is not a dramatised version of that tale, but it is a tragedy founded on the same incidents. The play will not be published until it has appeared on the stage. Geo. Paston’s new work, “ Social Caricatures of Clayton _ the Eighteenth Century,” has been published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. representative view of the The book gives a general social caricatures, including emblematical, satirical, personal, and humorous prints of the eighteenth century, and contains over 200 illustrations. Its price before publication, £2 2s. nett, has now been increased to £2 12s. 6d. nett. “A History of English Philanthropy,” by Mr. B. Kirkman Gray, is an attempt to deal with a familiar subject from a new standpoint. The interest centres in the resolve to bring the origin and growth of an institution into relation with the general sociological problems of the period. The Volume falls into three divisions: 1. The construc- tion of the apparatus of elementary relief following _ the dissolution of the monasteries, and an attempt to bring them into touch with the Elizabethan AUTHOR. 101 poor law. 2. In the Puritan ascendency, the loss of the insight thus gained. 3. The rise of the voluntary subscriber at the end of the seventeenth century, and his growing importance in the eighteenth century. This account of the evolu- tion of voluntary associations for philanthropic action, drawn from the reports of numerous insti- tutions, opens out many lines of inquiry as to the social importance of charitable work. The work, as a whole, should serve as an introduction to the study of one of the pressing problems of the present day—What is the meaning and worth of philanthropy? “ How to Identify Old Chinese Porcelain,” by Mr. S. Willoughby Hodgson, is a book put forth primarily to help the amateur to make a beginning in a difficult study. It contains a history of the art, and explains the difference between English and Chinese porcelain decorated in blue under the glaze. The work, published by Messrs. Methuen & Co., contains many illustrations, taken from both national and private collections. The volume of the “ Poems of Shakespeare,” which the Oxford University Press have published, contains five separate introductions by Mr. Sidney Lee. In these new material is given confirming Mr. Lee’s theory of the dependence of the “Sonnets” on foreign models. Messrs. Methuen & Oo. have puolished “'The Student’s Modern Atlas of the British Empire,” by C. Grant Robertson and F. G. Bartholomew. The atlas illustrates the historical development of the British Empire from the earliest times to the present day, It contains sixty-four maps with numerous insets, historical tables and notes, an introduction, an historical gazetteer, a biography and an index. Mr. H. A. Vachell, author of “The Hill” and “Brothers,” has written a new novel entitled «A Face of Clay,” which will run as a serial through the Monthly Review, prior to its publication in book form by Mr. John Murray. Miss Valentina Hawtrey’s translation of “The Life of St. Mary Magdalen,” from the Italian of an unknown writer, was published in the early part of last month by Mr. John Lane. Mr. Dent is publishing a new and enlarged edition of Mr. Arthur Symons’ critical apprecia- tion of Aubrey Beardsley, which first appeared some years ago. It has been greatly enlarged, both in its text and pictures. The price of the ordinary edition is 6s. nett. There is a large paper edition, with a hitherto unpublished drawing by Beardsley. Mr. Brimley Johnson published, in the early part of last month, a volume of verse from the pen of Miss Rosaline Travers. The book opens with a drama in blank verse, entitled “ Arcady in Peril.” 102 The title of the whole work, to which Dr. Richard Garnett contributes an introduction, is “The Two Arcadias.” : The December issue of the “ Transactions of the St. Albans and Herts Archeological Society ” contains an article by Mrs. Knight dealing with “ Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.” : Mr. Henry James’ “ Impressions of America,” on which he is now engaged, will probably be published in the spring of 1906. The “Lyceum Annual,” published by the Lyceum Club, is the first-fruit of its literary members, and is published as a venture in international periodicals, The international character of the work may be gathered from the fact that it contains contributions from writers in America, Australia, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, New Zealand and Roumania, in addition to stories and articles from a dozen British writers. The price of the volume is 2s. 6d. nett. Among Mr. Eveleigh Nash’s announcements are a new volume of “Sea Stories” by Mr. Morley Roberts, and a new novel by Mr. Charles Marriott, the title of which is “The Lapse of Vivien Kady.” We have been requested to correct an error which crept into Miss Mary lL. Pendered’s letter in the December issue of Zhe Author. Miss Pendered did not write ‘The best must come to the top, and I would see it gently assisted by the great English Magazines,” but “The best must come to the top, and I would see it gently assisted by the Great English Magazine.” ‘We understand from “ Rita’’ (Mrs. Desmond Humphreys) that her book ‘‘ The Seventh Heaven,” lately issued, is a new edition called for by many inquiries, as the book has long been out of print. It has been persistently reviewed as a new and late work from her pen, whereas it was originally published some fifteen years ago. Miss Marris, whose life of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain was published by Messrs. Hutchin- son & OCo., in 1900, has written an abridged biography of that statesman, which Messrs. Routledge are hurrying through the press in view of the coming elections. A large number of extracts from Mr. Chamberlain’s speeches, defend- ing his political position, are appended to the work, Mrs. Penny has recently re-written “ Caste and Creed,” which was originally published as a three- volume novel. Messrs. Chatto and Windus will publish the work in one-volume form. The heroine is a girl who is one half East and one half West, for as a child in India she has been brought up under Hindu influence, and as a girl in England under Christian influence. Mr. Watts Dunton hopes to see his new novel THE AUTHOR. out early this year. The title “Carniola” is the name of the heroine, and the story itself is laid partly in England, partly in Venice, and partly in Hungary. Although, like “ Aylwin,” it is a love story, it is more various in its pictures of life than that work. We understand that Mr. Watts Dunton has a further novel in hand. We are informed that Mr. Charles P. Sisley, who is resigning the editorship of the London Magazine and other Harmsworth publications, has purchased § a controlling interest in the Library Press, of 9, © 4 Duke Street, Charing Cross, publishers of the well- [sy known “Cameo Classics,” ‘“ Children’s Classics,” “2 3 &c., and we understand that in future the business ‘za, ; will be known as Sisley’s, Limited. as “The Might of a Wrong-doer,’ by Shirley sf?” Brice, published by John Long, tells of a murder i9h0* which for many years passed as a “‘ death from mis- in’. adventure,” but which at last is traced to its =: #’ author. It is the life tragedy of a lad with high (3i:0" ideals, who, yielding as a boy to selfish motives, has “ed + committed a crime, the shadow of which falls list’ ‘ upon his after life, bringing about his rnin, when, 199i by an act of unselfish honesty, he has angered bow! the unscrupulous acquaintance who knows his 7 # secret. Mr. A. C. Fifield has just published a new survey (97 "8 of the World’s History, under the title of “ A Bird’s 71%! Eye View of History,” by “Sursum Corda.” The of). « author expresses the hope that the work, which is 4 s)i described as a concise but graphic sequence of 10 #1» History from the earliest times to the Fall of Con- to. stantinople before the Turks in 1453, may be of 19 9),, assistance to those who desire to follow the course 9#iiiy, of Modern History and politics, a proper under- =%b. standing of which, in his opinion, can only be «d obtained by a knowledge of the events of more 90: remote times. The book is published at the price %F of 1s. 6d. nett. a Messrs. Black announce the publication of a & | bock on the Italian lakes, by Richard Bagot. io: The volume is in no sense intended as a guide sbi: book, but aims merely at furnishing the reader ‘bry: with some impressions of the scenic beauties and His _ of the historic and artistic traditions of the region | 4 described. The work, illustrated by Mrs. Ella Du Cane, is published at 20s. net. Messrs. Warne & Co. will shortly publish a new child’s book by Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, based on @ her play “A Little Princess,” which has been running in America. The book will be illustrated by Mr. Harold Piffard. ‘ Mrs. Archibald Little’s new book “ Round about My Pekin Garden,” which Mr. Fisher Unwin published recently, is described by its — author as “a tribute to a time of dalliance in one of China’s many pleasant places.” It contains descriptions of walks and excursions in and round  the Chinese capital, and is illustrated with a coloured frontispiece and about ninety illustra- tions, mostly from photographs by the author. Messrs. Newnes have added to their sixpenny 4 editions “At Sunwich Port,” by W. W. Jacobs ; ~<@ and Mrs. Humphry Ward’s novel “ Eleanor.” Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published a new fi edition of “The Poems of William Cowper,” ““@ which Mr. J. C. Bailey has edited. In the a preparation of his critical introduction and notes, the editor has been able to consult a large number of new letters of the poet and his friends. The “9 work contains more than twenty unpublished “cf letters, in addition to one entirely new poem. 4 Mr. Rider Haggard has revised the text of his ¥4 “King Solomon’s Mines,” for an illustrated edition 4 which Messrs. Cassell are issuing. The illustra- ¥ tions, which are from drawings by Mr. Russell Flint, are said to elucidate the text very well. a Mr. Andrew Lang’s “New Collected Rhymes,” ‘M® which Messrs. Longmans have published, contain + aseries of loyal lyrics, cricket rhymes, and poems “i? “critical of life, art, and literature.” Following af these are “jubilee poems,” one or two “ folk * gongs,” and finally a bouquet of ballads. In “Major Barbara,” produced at the Court “4? Theatre on November 28th, Mr. Bernard Shaw takes for his main theme the enthusiasm of a girl for the work of the Salvation Army, and shows how it disappears on account of the army’s accept- ance of a donation of £5,000 from her father, whose wealth has been amassed by methods which she +i rightly disapproves. The caste includes Mr. Louis Granville «@ alvert, Miss Annie Russell and Mr. «Barker. ————"__o—_+—__——_ PARIS NOTES. ’ — 1 a E Bel Avenir,” by M. René Boylesve, is another novel by the author of “L’Enfant 4 la Balustrade.” It is extremely realistic and admirably written. Each personage lives and stands out in relief. One feels that it is a book which is the result of shrewd and careful observa- _ tion, and that it has been thought out line by line. _ The theme of the story is the education of three young men, and the chief interest centres in them and in their respective mothers. The most sym- pathetic family is that of Alex, who is living with his widowed mother and grandfather near Poitiers. All goes well until the time comes to decide on the future career of the young man, who is intelligent and a general favourite, but without any special aptitudes. The grandfather had been a magistrate, THE AUTHOR. 103 and it is finally decided that Alex shall go to Paris to study law. His mother writes to one of her friends who is living there, all the necessary arrangements are made, and the young man com- mences his student life in the capital. His mother’s friend has a son Paul, who seems to be farther advanced in his studies than Alex, but not so attractive personally, hence there is jealousy between the two mothers. Money matters soon become a serious question, for Alex is a spend- thrift, and means are limited at home. One of the farms belonging to the family estate has to be sold, and when the young man fails in his examina- tion, his mother and grandfather decide to let the old home and take up their abode with Alex in Paris. There is a great charm about the descrip- tion of the simple family life led by the trio in the neighbourhood of Saint Sulpice, almost in the heart of the Latin quarter. There is the sublime devotion and abnegation of the mother, the philosophy of the old grandfather, and then, by the side of this, the life of Alex outside his home, the life led probably by hundreds of his fellow- students. Just as interesting, though far less sympathetic, is the study of Paul, his family, and his career. A third psychological study in the book is that uf a shrewd woman of the lower class named Lepoiroux. Her husband died just as her child was born, and the mother of Alex took pity on her, provided for her, and later on made arrangements for her son to be educated by the Jesuits. This boy, Hilaire, makes the best of his opportunities, studies hard, surpasses Alex and Paul, and, after obtaining his education from the priests, with the understanding that he shall later on become one of them, refuses to take holy orders. The three young men then pursue their career in Paris. There are several extremely realistic episodes in the book, and among others a very touching story of one of the last of the genuine grisettes. The author shows very clearly the ugly side of a student’s life, and his picture is all the more effective as he merely lays it before us without any comment. The whole novel is well worth reading. Many of the personages are not sympathetic, their circle is a narrow one, their horizon limited, and they care little what goes on in the world outside, but such as they are, their portraits are drawn for us by a true and faithful delineator, and in these days when books are so plentiful and well-written books comparatively so rare, the latter are doubly welcome. “Constance,” by Th. Bentzon, is a new edition of a novel which gained the Montyon prize some years ago. It has been published now with an admirable preface by M. Brunetiére. The subject of this book is extremely apropos just now, when 104 the question of divorce is being discussed so warmly in France. The story is told by an able psychologist, and the principles involved are clearly set forth, whilst the characters all live and the interest is well sustained from the first chapter to the last. “De |’Histoire” is the title of another posthu- mous volume by Barbey d’Aurevilly. It is a series of critical essays on books by various authors on widely different subjects. Some of these books were written quite a long time ago, and yet most of them are of current interest. The chapter entitled “Léon XIII. et le Vatican’? seems now to have been prophetic. ‘“ L’Eglise libre dans |’Htat libre,” writes the author, “ c’est-a dire l’Eglise morte dans un Etat délivré delle. . . 2” Speaking of monar- chies, he says: “Jl y a encore des monarchies debout, mais elles tremblent sur leurs bases et elles sont capables de se précipiter demain dans le gouffre fascinateur des républiques. . . .” Two more interesting chapters are those on “ La Révolution d’Angleterre” and “La Révolution francaise.” Another essay isa criticism of Macau- lay’s “History of England from the time of James IJ.” ‘There are twenty-two essays in all, among which are “La Gréce Antique,’ “Les Césars,” ‘Histoire des Pyrénées,’ “ Napoléon,” “La Révocation de l’Edit de Nantes,” ‘“ La paix et la tréve de Dieu,’’ “ Rome et la Judée,” ‘ Gus- tave III.,” and “ Le Comte de Fersen et la cour de France.” “La Russie Libre,” by M. Georges Bourdon, is profitable reading for all those who care to know much of contemporary Russian history. “La Guerre contre |’ Allemagne,” by the General Baron Faverot de Kerbrech, is a volume written from notes taken down by the author during the campaign of 1870. It is a very graphic picture of the times, with anecdotes of many men whose names are honsehold words. “ Maxime Gorki” is a little book, published at one franc, by M. de Vogiié, on the works of the Russian novelist, who is just at present more read, perhaps, than any other. “Marie Caroline, duchesse de Berry,” by M. de Reiset, is an illustrated volume dealing rather with the private life of the unfortunate princess than with the romantic adventures of the Vendean struggles. Other recent historical works are “La Fortune des Orléans,” by M. Ad. Lanne ; “ Quinze ans Ga’histoire,’ by M. Jehan de Witte ; “ L’Amiral Nelson,’ by M. Armand Dubarry ; ‘ Les Derniers Républicains,’” by M. Guillaumin. * Lamartine de 1816 4 1830, Elvire et les Médi- tations,” by M. Léon Séché, tells us much that is interesting about “the exceptional woman who in life and death was the good genius of Lamartine.” THE AUTHOR. “George Sand et sa fille” is a volume by M Rocheblane judging mother and daughter by their correspondence. Among the new books are “ Le Sphinx rouge,” by Han Ryner ; “Le Précurseur,” by M. Jacques Fréhel ; ‘‘Aimons,” by M. Francois Gillette; “EKeyptiens et Anglais,” by Moustafa Kamel Pacha, with a preface by Mme. Adam. The latest translations from the English are « Quand le dormeur s’eveillera,’ by H. G. Wells; “ Une jeune anglaise a Paris,” by Constance Maud, translated by Gausseron. Among the authors who received prizes at the recent distribution by the French Academy are the following :—M. Charles Leconte, M. Paul Adam, Madame Daniel Lesueur, M. Paléologue, M. Guil- laumin, Mlle. A. de Bovet, M. Jaray for “ La poli- tique franco-anglaise et l’arbitrage international,” M. Biorés for “Warren Hastings,” M. Ernest Daudet for “Histoire de Emigration pendant | la Révolution francaise,’ M. Doumergue for “ Calvin.” La Vie Heuwreuse, a woman’s magazine pub- © lished by Messrs. Hachette, has awarded its annual ib prize of five thousand francs for the best novel of 4% the year to M. Romain Rolland for the volume « Jean-Christophe.” The jury is composed of twenty well-known women writers, so that it was scarcely surprising this year that a proposal should be made to award the prize to a man instead of to a woman. The annual prize of the Goncourt Academy has been awarded to M. Claude Farrére for his book “Tes Civilisés.” This author, like Pierre Loti, is more at home on sea than on land, and it is thanks to his long voyages in the Far East that he has been able to give such graphic descriptions of Oriental countries. He has only written one other book, entitled “Fumée d@’opium.” Unlike the jury of the Vie Hewreuse the Goncourt Academy would refrain from giving their annual prize rather than award it to an authoress. 4 O18 OM #0 | a By Bina. ae BBL. Bou { ilo 4 BE. eu. 10” mo? au) qa OS| In a recent number of the Revue des Deux ae Mondes M. Auguste Filon writes on “ Bernard Shaw et son théatre.”” He points out that, although an Englishman, Bernard Shaw’s plays have more > success in Germany and America than in his own 97 country. This critic considers that though rich in 4° character, the plays are poor as regards dramatie situation. In the same number of this review is an article by Maurice Barres on “Un voyage A Sparte.” , an interesting article by Madame Arvéde Barine on acurious historical episode of 1707. The letters from Flaubert to his niece are continued in this number. An extremely interesting series of articles is now appearing in La Revue, entitled “ La Morale sans In the Revue de Paris there is 4:  a ca a te Dieu.” They are written by MM. Berthelot, Brunetidre, Claretie, Faguet, Anatole France, Jules Lemaitre, Octave Mirbeau, Max Nordau, Charles Richet, Sully Prudhomme, and other well-known authors. In the December number of La Revue there is also an article by Madame Juliette Adam on Moustafa Kamel Pacha, the head of the nationalist party in Egypt, and various articles on questions of the moment, “ Les Types littéraires de la Crise russe,” ‘La Presse turque,”’ “La Diplomatie allemande,” &c. At the Comédie-Frangaise the event of the month is the new piece by M. Paul Hervieu, entitled “Le Réveil.” M. Claretie has just received a comedy in two acts by M. Daniel Riche, the title of which is “Le Prétexte.” “Claire Fresneau,” a piece in three acts by MM. Paul and Victor Margueritte, has also been received for the Comédie Francaise. At the Odéon “ Jeunesse ” has been produced. : The adaptation of Balzac’s “ La Cousine Bette,” by Pierre Decourcelle, is having great success at the Vaudeville, and at the Gaité M. Bazin’s novel “T/Oberlé,” adapted for the stage by M. Harau- court, is still running. At the Nouvelle Comédie (formerly the Bodiniére) a one-act play entitled “La Nuit Rouge,” by MM. Charles Foley and A. de Lorde, has had, and is still having, immense success. It is, like “ Heard at the Telephone,” adapted from one of M. Foley's stories, and the scene takes place in the signal-box of a railway station. The pointsman is compelled by duty to remain at his post, while from the win- dow of his signal-box he sees his fiancée overtaken at midnight by assassins. The moral strugele between the two duties makes the play a stronger one than “ Heard at the Telephone,” which is now running again at the Antoine Theatre. Anys HALLARD. —___—_+—_<>_0—__—__ SPANISH NOTES. + . Spanish literary world has been mainly marked by striking scientific and dramatic works during the last month. The most notable one of the former class is that by Joaquin Castellarnau, entitled ‘Estudio del systema lefioso de las especies forestales”’ (a study of the timber class of the forest species). The author has long been well known for his scientific reports on such subjects as firs, the unity of the generative plan in the vegetable kingdom, the ornithology _ of the royal seat of San Ildefonso, etc., which have appeared in the annals of the Spanish Society of Natural History, and have given him a high rank THE AUTHOR. 105 among natural scientists. This last work is an erudite explanation of the nutrition and the internal structure of the vegetable class, and it is so scientifically supported by the microscopic investigation brought to bear upon it that the gradual transformation of chemical substances into the organic material of living things is seen to be a natural sequence of facts. The great naturalist’s laboratory in Segovia has promised also to be the scene of. the microscopical discoveries of the chemical changes induced by the want of water, and the constant action of air and dampness upon the vegetable system. In his play called “ Love and Science,” which is now being performed at one of the chief theatres of Madrid, Galdos portrays a clever physician, who tries to train his children in his own intel- lectual lines of thought. Some of the situations are strong presentations of psychological truths, but the dénowement rather falsifies the hopes which the commencement of the work promised. The well-known dramatist, Ignacio Inglesias, has cer- tainly struck a good blow for his country by his play entitled ‘‘ Urracas” (Magpies), for it is a powerful exposé of the evils attending the wide- spread lottery system of the South. A simple, happy household is nearly wrecked by the unbridled avarice and cruelty evoked by the craving for the unearned wealth. At the distribution of tickets the room of a quiet, respectable citizen is changed into a pandemonium, and Peregrin, the hero, find- ing himself robbed of all he possessed and a victim of the evil passions around him, awakes to the realisation of the value of love and work, which had been temporarily submerged by the fever of chance. The alternate sway of terror and joy, disgust and content, is well rendered by such actors as Llano, Rosario, Pino, and Enrique Borras. The Spanish Press reports with pride that // Giornale d@ Italia says that no modern French dramatist can compare with Jacinto Benavente, and certainly “ Los Malhechores del Bien” (well- meaning malefactors) shows that he is a playwright of a high order, for he sustains the interest of the audience in the evolution of the story, show- ing how all the laws of suitability, which only can be the base of a happy marriage, can be upset by the well-intentioned, but short-sighted wishes of people only concerned with outward prosperity. To Heliodoro, the original thinker, such a union appeared a crime, and he is fortunately able to prevent his sister, the Marquise, pursuing the matrimonial plan for her protégée, which would have been her moral death. “You would give the girl luxury and wealth, but I have secured for her the love and liberty, which are of far higher worth,” ‘The expression of such a sentiment on the 106 Spanish stage shows that strides are being made jn woman’s education ; and those interested in the question are pleased to see that the institution of the college for middle-class girls by the ladies’ committee, under the presidency of the Marquise de Ayerbe, in conjunction with the Ibero- American Society, will take place early in January. This event will mark a new era for Spain, and Her Majesty Queen Maria Christina has expressed her sympathy with it, for hitherto the education of girls has been chiefy vested in the hands of governesses at home ; and such books as “El Intruso” (The Intruder), by Blasco Ibaiiez, show how fatal to the happiness of home life is the present want of the education of women. Last week the Spanish Press rang with the plea of Montero Rios for the unity of the integral elements of the Government. ‘It is the want of this union,” said this orator, who has so recently resigned his post of Prime Minister, “‘ which made the course of the last cabinets so brief and diffi- cult, and which will make that of the present or any subsequent cabinet unbearably arduous and painfully uncertain.” The words of the ex-Premier have an especial import as the cabinet now appointed, under the premiership of the distinguished Moret, who con- descended to discourse to me so eloquently when I was in Madrid on the necessity of the improved education of women, is the fifth in office in the course of one year, and one can understand the consequent standstill of legislation on matters which concern the vital interests of the country. In despair at the want and misery caused by the crippled industries, Boada, in the province of Salamanca, recently sent an official request to Buenos Aires to be allowed to emigrate thither, “ with all their labourers, artisans, blacksmiths, and officials,” for, as they pathetically said, “ the love of their country could not give them bread to live in it.” This projected departure of hundreds of capable people seems likely to show the necessity of the unity of Government for which Montero Rios pleads so eloquently, and which can only be obtained by the parliamentary deputies being elected by the votes of the public, instead of the voice of the ministry ; and Ramiro Maeztu is now reporting to his country the English system of parliamentary elections, which gives the people a voice inthe government. Such patriots as Figue- rola Ferretti, who sacrificed himself to voicing the plea for this reform, may thus still live to see their countrymen recording their votes at the polls as monarchists, and forming a steady Govern- ment for the legislation of a land which is, as Maeztu says, “fitted by nature to sustain more than fifty millions of inhabitants.” THE AUTHOR. Free from the continual chaos of changes of ministry, the country will have time to settle the laws respecting the Customs reform, the com- mercial treaties, and the wine tariff ; and to these courses the Spaniards are naturally stimulated by the recent report from their special correspondent in Berlin, which shows that the trade between Germany and Spain is steadily increasing, and the satisfaction of the demands of the German commissioners in the Peninsula will add much to the prosperity of the land. Moreover, as there is now a large market for Spanish wines in Italy, it will remain for the country to sustain its reputation in that line at the forthcoming exhibi- tion at Milan, instead of only following the sug- gestion of Seor Villanueva to send some specimens of Spanish shipbuilding. This call to action about the Commission of Treaties is published in the Spanish Press, and supported by the appeal of José Juan Cadenos for a legislation which will set the seal to the present advantageous trend of commerce. Spain is cer- tainly favourably inclined to foreign influences, and it may be mentioned that the first public sign of preference for the royal alliance with England which is now so much discussed, was manifested by the overwhelming majority of votes accorded to the Princess Ena of Battenberg, when a competition was opened some months ago in the pages of the illustrated Spanish paper, 4.B.C., whereby the lady readers were severally invited to give their mark of approval to the particular princess among the number of whose portraits were published as eligible for the crown of Spain. Percy Hotspur. MISLEADING TITLES. — HE book trade is peculiar in this, that no two books are in the slightest degree alike. Hence it is impossible to estimate with accuracy the value of a book until it has been read through from beginning to end. When that pro- cess has been completed the value is, in a few cases, increased, but in the majority either cane bit tee agit gps 63 ‘01! pail oar AIO Om Gh destroyed altogether or reduced enormously. More- 9 c over there cannot be any standard value in a oe a The value of a mutton chop is to most persons some for each buyer has a totally different taste. thing between sixpence and a shilling, but the value of a book may be to some few appreciators © very great, and to the rest of mankind nothing at all. In these peculiar conditions it is, perhaps, not  our knowledge in money and in time. Us were taken in by “An Englishwoman’s Love _ Letters,” which had not the look of a work of surprising that the purveyors of books should have given up all idea of suiting individual requirements. They have deliberately done their utmost to dis- courage independence of mind. Competition in the trade has been competition in fashion- making ; with the natural result that the book- buying public has been narrowed to those comparatively few persons who do not care much what the contents of a book may be, but can be herded together, and forced to accept any book that they believe others are discussing and buying. It has recently been discovered that there is another public—that there are many who would enter the market if they were assisted in the task of estimating the quality and value of the articles offered. Hitherto, men who can easily afford to buy hundreds of books every year have been chary about risking their money over a single specimen, not knowing what they were likely to find in their hands. The trade has supposed this reluctance to buy books was due to want of literary taste. It was, in fact, due to excess of literary taste in pro- portion to the opportunities offered for indulging that taste. Authors might do well to consider whether they also have not sometimes been to blame. Are the titles they give to their books always so carefully chosen as to leave no room for doubt as to the general nature and aim of the work? There is some ground for thinking that, since the value of a “catchy” headline has come to be realised, authors, in their turn, have been trying, by means of deceptive titles, to palm off upon a guileless public books which are not what they seem to be. Any habitual reader of novels would know that “Cometh up as a Flower ” is not a work on botany, and that ‘‘ The Seven Streams ” is not a treatise on physical geography. Buta botanist or physicist who does not happen to be acquainted with the modern affected fashion in titles for fiction might easily be deceived by these names: and before we laugh at such simplicity we should consider whether even the most experienced are not sometimes deceived. _ Weall know now that a book called “ All about My Garden” may be poetry, or fiction, or cookery ‘Tecipes, or wise sayings, but we have had to buy Many of fiction. Who could tell that “ The Life of John William Walshe, F.S.A.,” is not a biography ?” It never was easy to distinguish between geo- graphy, topography, and travel; many books are ‘difficult to place in their correct sub-heading. _ But, until late years, the two elementary classes of : ™ Fiction’ and “ Not Fiction” were easily recog- Nised. Now, however, the most expert reader Must be continually at fault in dividing books into THE AUTHOR. 107 their two great branches, by the title alone. Here are some examples, gathered in a few minutes from the catalogue of a circulating library. Many specimens far more perplexing could doubtless be found without difficulty :— Britain’s Greatness Foretold. Britons at Bay. Enchanted Woods. The Wise Woods. The Mystic Rose. The Rose Garden. Roses. The Vision Splendid. The Money Market. Lady Anne’s Waik. An Appeal to Rome. The Magic of Rome. The Heart of Rome. The Spirit of Rome. The Purple Cloud. The Long White Cloud. The World’s Desire. The World’s Desires. It is curious to observe that, while serious books are given a skittish appearance, writers of fiction prefer a solemn aspect. In some cases the author soothes his conscience with a sub-title : but what, then, is the aim and object of the title? Here is a typical example of the wrong principle : “The Art of Creation: Essays on the Seif and its Powers.” The chief title, which is all that most catalogues print, is obscure, and should be elimi- nated in favour of the sub-titles. ‘Those who are attracted by the title might be the very persons who do not desire a book of that kind ; while others who want just such a book as that described by the sub-title are unable to find it. It may be that most authors would prefer to seil their books to disappointed, perhaps enraged, pur- chasers, rather than fail to sell at all. But it must often be the case that the book would scll better if the title left no room for doubt as to the con- tents. If some are caught, others are repelled by the vague and mysterious. In some instances the title is so misleading that one wonders whether the law would not come to the rescue of a deluded purchaser. I had sent to me the other day three large volumes purporting to be a “History,” which were something quite different, not answering to the title in the smallest degree. Surely I ought to be compensated for the loss I have sustained, and the responsible person punished for the deceit practised upon me. How- ever that may be, and apart from the morality of the thing, it is worth remembering that a character for honesty may be of value to authors as much as to any other traders. Authors can assist the dis- tributors in establishing good relations with the 108 Misleading titles, whether accidental or intentional, work in the opposite direction. They put books into the wrong hands, and thus tend to keep away the best clients. They are a misfortune for all concerned, for authors as well as distributors and readers. public. Norwoop YOuNG. —_———_+—>_+—___ RE GRANT RICHARDS’ ESTATE. oe E F. T. GRANT RICHARDS, of 2, Park Crescent, Portland Place, carrying on busi- ness at 48, Leicester Square, and 8, Smart’s Buildings, Drury Lane, all in the County of London, Publisher. Under Receiving Order dated the Dr. Estimated to produce per p, Debtors RECEIPTS. Statement. To Total Receipts from Date £3. di. £ sd, of Receiving Order, viz. : : Stock-in-Trade ... we 18711 20.0 Copyrights and Publish- ing Rights ... ... 12,514 4 6 4,991 16 Lease of No. 8, Smart’s Buildings 700 0 O ae Office Furniture... oe 150 0 0 42 5 6 “World of Billiards” Shares ... Se ae 200 0 0 --- Surplus from Securities in the hands of Credi- tors fully secured 8,920 10 8 342 0 1 Receipts ver ‘Trading Q : Account is Ae 4,513 6 9 Other Receipts ... > = Total... ... £41,195 15 2 9,889 9 0 Less— Deposit returned to Petitioner... AG --- Payments to redee Securities... : 454 6 6 Costs of execution ... — Payments per Trad- ing Account .» 2,448 16 0 2,898 2 6 Net Realisations £6,991 6 6 eee THE AUTHOR. | By Board of Trade and Court Fees (including 17th day of January, 1905. Statement showing position of Estate at date of declaring a First Dividend is printed below. The assets not yet realised are estimated to pro- duce £4,000. Creditors can obtain any further information by inquiry at the office of the Trustee, Dated this 6th day of December, 1905. H. A. MONCRIEFF, Trustee, It. will afford a subject of serious consideration to the creditors to note the difference between the debtor’s estimate and the net realisations ; but it is an unfortunate fact that no property depreciates more quickly than literary property if the flow of the circulation of a book is suddenly stopped. G. H Cr. PAYMENTS, £ 82 Stamp of £5 on Petition) ao a 78 6 2 Bard: Law Costs of Petition under taxation, estimated Law Costs ... bee hee Other Law Costs,some under taxation, estimated 60 0 0 216.04 800 0 0 1,075 Trustee’s remuneration, as fixed by the Committee of Inspection, viz.: 5 per cent. on £6,991 6s. 6d. assets realized : ie 5 per cent. on £4,280 2s. 6d. assets distributed in divi- dend 349 11 4 214 0 1 Special Manager’s charges ee ene Person appointed to assist Debtor under s. 70 of Bankruptcy Act, 1883 ... Auctioneers’ charges as taxed Other taxed costs Costs of possession ... : os ees Cost of Notices in “Gazette” and local papers... os s : oes Incidental outlay Total cost of realization Allowance to Debtor Creditors, Viz. — S$ a. 6 Preferential 341 11 6 812 Unsecured. First Dividend now declared of 2s. in the £ on £42,802 lbs. 8d. 4,280 2 6 The Debtor's estimate of amount expected to rank for dividend was £44,551 0s. 8d. Balance ... o i £6,991 6 6  f i = i MACMILLAN v. DENT. ——-—— (Reprinted with the kind permission of the Editor from the Law Journal, December 9th, 1905). HIS was a witness action to determine the " right of publication of sixteen letters written between 1798 and 1840 by Charles Lamb, the famous essayist, to his friend Robert Lloyd, which had been found in an old box in the posses- sion of Mr. and Mrs. Steeds, descendants of the Lloyd family. On May 5th, 1895, the plaintiffs Smith, Elder & Co., publishers, bought from the Steeds for £250 all copyright which they possessed and the exclusive right of publishing the letters, the originals of which were returned to the Steeds after making copies, which were subsequently used in a book entitled “Lamb and the Lloyds,” published in 1898. In 1899 the plaintiffs Smith, Elder & Co. granted a licence to the plaintiffs Macmillan (Lim.) to use the letters for another edition of Lamb’s letters. In 1902 the defendants, J. M. Dent & Co., also publishers, being aware of the previous transac- tion, bought for £250 from the Steeds, the original autograph letters with other literary papers, and also “ any right which they might still have in the letters.” In 1903 the defendants published the letters in an edition of Lamb’s letters, and the plaintiffs in April, 1904, commenced this action for infringe- ment of their registered copyright. In January, 1905, administration de bonis non to Charles Lamb’s estate was granted to one Moxon, the only son of the residuary legatee under Charles Lamb’s will, who subsequently assigned all his rights, if any, to the defendants. T. B. Scrutton, K.C., and R. A. Wright, for the plaintiffs, contended that the plaintiffs had ‘ the property of the proprietor of the author’s manu- script” at the time of the publication by them and were therefore entitled to sue for infringement. W. O. Danckwerts, K.C., and L. B. Sebastian, for the defendants, argued that the defendants, having the original letters and the rights of Charles Lamb’s representatives, had such an interest in the private letters as to disentitle the plaintiffs to obtain any registered copyright or even to publish them—Pope v. Curl (1741), 2 Atk. 342 ; Gee v. Pritchard (1818), 2 Swanst. 402 ; Thompson v. Stanhope (1774), Amb. 737 5 Queens- berry (Duke of) v. Shebbeare (1758), 2 Eden, 329 ; Oliver v. Oliver (1861), 31 Law J. Rep. Chane. 4 ; 11 C. B. (ws.) 139; Lytton (Harl of) v. Deevey (1884), 54 Law J. Rep. Chance. 293 ; Labouchere v. Hess (1898), 77 L. T. 559 ; and Caird v. Sime 1887), 57 Law J Rep. P.C. 2; L. R. 12 App. as. 326, THE AUTHOR. 109 Kekewich, J., said it was an extremely difficult question, but he thought that the defendants’ title through the Steeds was obviously defective, as the Steeds had assigned to the plaintiffs ; while it was difficult to see how, at such a distance of time, the administrator of Charles Lamb could have any right in them at the date of his death. The com- mon law was perfectly clear up to a certain point that the writer of letters has a right to prevent their publication, but on the true construction of sect. 3 of the Copyright Act, 1842, he thought that the plaintiffs were entitled to succeed. He accordingly declared that the right of publishing these particular letters vested in the plaintiffs Smith, Elder & Co., and ordered the defendants to render an account of profits and to pay the costs. —_____e—o—_+—____. SERIAL RIGHTS. —+—+— IR,—The following experience, through which I have just passed, may afford a useful warning to my fellow-writers. I offered the serial rights of astory [ was writing to an important provincial firm, who, when I had sent them the first half to read, replied that the story had already been offered to them by my agent. As the story was in the hands of no agent, I knew that the serial rights in question could have been offered by no one but a well-known publisher, who had asked me for a novel, and to whom T had in reply offered the volume rights of this same story. Inquiry proved that this publisher, whose name I will give to any writer who would like to know it, had been offering the serial rights of my novel, although he possessed no rights whatever in the story, and although the serial rights were not on offer to him. I also discovered that the provincial firm I have mentioned had been going from publisher to pub- lisher on the look-out for a strong serial story, surely a backstairs method of obtaining what they wanted, and little more to their credit than the action of the publisher himself was to his. Yours faithfully, FLORENCE WARDEN. The letter which is printed above has been received at the society’s office. The subject is one which concerns all those members who are engaged in writing fiction, Serial rights, if properly managed, can be a source of very considerable income to members of the society, and in placing serial rights, the agent is perhaps of more use than in the disposal of any other kind 110 of literary property. To place these rights in both Great Britain and the United States effec- tually and simultaneously is a matter very often of considerable difficulty even for a writer whose name is well-known. It is needless to repeat that the agent’s charge for placing these rights is, as a general rule, 10 per cent. for England and some- times 15 per cent. for the United States. Such remuneration, in the case of some authors, brings in a large return to the agent, and in these instances no doubt it would be as well to make a special contract with the agent on the matter, but though the agent charges 10 per cent., the pub- lisher charges from 25 to 50 per cent. on the nett returns if these rights are left to his disposition, and out of the hundreds of agreements that have come before the secretary he has never seen a lower charge in a publisher’s agreement for the placing of serial rights than 20 per cent. This is not the only difficulty that may arise by the author leaving these rights in the publisher’s hands. First, the author, in carelessly settling an agreement, often passes over this clause thinking it is merely formal, and that he is dealing with the publisher merely for the book publication. He finds the publication of his book delayed for twelve months and more owing to the publisher’s endeavour to obtain his 50 per cent. of the profits of the serialisation, and he thereby loses a valuable market. It may be of great importance that his book should appear at a fixed time. Secondly, publishers have not the facilities for placing serial rights that an agent has. If he is a good publisher, his time is too much taken up with his own business to attend to the sale of serial work, and vice versd if he is attending to the sale of serial work he is not attending to his proper business. Thirdly, it not infrequently happens that the author obtains an offer for the serial rights himself, and in these circumstances it is a great trial to be bound to pay the publisher 50 per cent. for doing nothing; but when the publisher acts as his own “ drummer ”—if we may use an expression borrowed from the United States —he is playing the game very low. This special feature, although it has been a cause of complaint against the agent, has never, hitherto, been a cause of complaint against the publisher. Agents not infrequently go round to publishers and editors and endeavour to obtain offers for authors who may, or may not, be their clients, and, if successful, place the offer before the author. This method of doing business may be of great advantage for authors who are their clients, but for authors who are not their clients it is very often a source of difficulty and danger. It is not necessary again to point out the disadvantage of dealing with agents in these circumstances. We desire to confine our- selves to publishers as agents, and to repeat that THE AUTHOR. authors cannot be too strongly advised not to leave the placing of their minor rights, 7.¢., serial rights, translation, and Continental rights, in the hands of the publisher. ee REGARDING SIMILAR NAMES. + I HAVE read with very great interest the paper “Property in-a Mom de Plume,” and am wishful to venture upon a suggestion or two, if you can but spare me a little space. It seems to me, that whether “Rita” (Mrs. Humphreys) will be able to make good her claim to the exclusive use of her nom de plume or not, there is still something that must prove very un- satisfactory to the author in the present method of identifying himself with his books, merely by attaching thereto his name. I believe I am right in assuming that, should the writer of the “children’s pages” in some un- known publication prove that her surname is “ Rita,” no power could prevent her, should she so choose, from attaching that name to any work from her pen; and, even though she should be forced to prefix it by her initials, there would be always a large number of readers who would think merely that “ Rita” had taken to using the first letters of her christian names, so as to have her name distinguishable from the “ other” Rita. Then would rise among the members of the public another form of confusion. The question would be asked: “ Which is che ‘Rita’?” And some would answer: “The one without any initials.” But others, again, would reply, ‘“ ‘lhe one with the initials.” And the deuce himself would be bothered in the end to say which was which. Of course, I am aware that it is ridiculously im- probable that the new ‘ Rita” should prove to have made use of her own name, and I have but pre-supposed this to make clear my point. Leaving now the case of Mrs. Humphreys, all readers will be able to call to mind the confusion ot identity ensuing upon two writers, possessing the same name, making their appearance. ‘True, their initials may be different ; but to discriminate by means of initials is a work requiring some effort of memory, more than it is wise for an author to expect from the “big” public. Re- calling a few instances of authors possessing names alike, we have books from the pens of J. L. Allen —G. Allen; A. Barr—R. Barr; E. Castle—G. Castle; R. N. Carey—W. Carey; F. J. Fraser— Mrs. Fraser; A. K. Green—J. R. Green; J. Hocking—S. Hocking; A. Hope—G. Hope; F. Norris—W. E. Norris; ©. Russell—W. Russell— G. H. Russell ; H. G. Wells, and another Wells. THE AUTHOR. I might go on and fill a page, but these are suffi- cient to show how confusing to the “big” public must be such similarity in names. Therefore, it seems to me that now, whilst this case of Mrs. Humphreys is before the Society, it might be a sensible thing to consider seriously some means that shall secure to authors a certainty of no one coming into the field in future and selling “ stuff” under, and often to the detriment of, some more renowned name. The expedient I have to suggest may seem some- what primitive, and some will cry out against the odour of trade which, at first, it will appear to carry; but, at least, let me put forth my idea. It is that each author, in addition to his name, have some distinguishing totem or mark, Thus, Kipling might print his name always with, say, a “camuel” or an elephant’s head alongside of it ; this last, indeed, being practically what Messrs. Macmillan are doing at the present time on the covers of his books. Bullen might distinguish himself—as he has done already in type—by means of a whale ; Mason by four feathers; H. G. Wells by means of a star; Cutcliffe Hyne by means of a kettle; and so forth. I imagine that each of these designs could be registered in the same way as a trade mark, and, therefore, confer upon their owners the right to take proceedings against any who should copy them. I would suggest that such totem or signation be printed not only on the covers of books, and at the heads of magazine stories and articles, but also at the heading of every chapter throughout a book, and in such wise the reader would become familiar with it, and associate it always with the author whom it identified. Further, that in all advertisements of a book or literary work, the totem be in evidence beside the author’s name. One thought more : editors of magazines might object to the trouble of preparing special blocks of the author’s totem—especially in the case of anunknown man. To obviate this, the author could have one or two made—they would cost very little —and send one to the editor of any periodical ac- cepting any of his stuff: of course, asking for its return. Such an expedient as I have suggested should prevent confusion, though a thousand Smiths, Browns, and Robinsons chose each of them to court immortality by that most fallible of methods —a book: One could go to the bookstall : “J want Smith’s latest book, please. Er—I’m afraid I’ve forgotten the title.” “Yes, sir—certainly. Perhaps you can re- member which Smith it is, sir?” ““Q yes; the Smith who always has a pair of tongs printed on the covers of his book.” “Very good, sir.” 111 Then to small boy : “Tom, fetch down the last thing Smith’s.” And there you are. WinuraAm Hopr Hopason. of Tongs Nn aE EERIE MAGAZINE CONTENTS. + BOOKMAN. Antonio in “The Merchant of Venice ” A Character Study. By Jane T. Stoddart. Classics of the Nursery: or the Development of Books for Boys and Girls. By Thomas Seccombe. Book MONTHLY. Ghosts of Yesterday, and Why They Are No More in Current English Fiction. By Hubert Bland. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAT.. Rejected by the Publishers. CORNHILL. An Examination in English Literature. Canon Beeching. The Christmas Book. By the Rev. By Joseph Shaylor, CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. By G. G. Coulton. By Emma Marie Catholic Truth and Historical Truth. The Relation of ‘Theology to Religion. Caillard. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. René Bazin. By André Turquet. Jos¢—Maria de Heredia. By Thomas Seccombe and L. M. Brandin. Mr. Mallock on Knowledge and Belief. Lodge, LL.D. Three Scandinavian Schools of Composers. Keeton. By Sir Oliver By A. E. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Catalogues of the Library of the British Museum. By Rudolf de Cordova. MONTH. By J.H Pallen. By the Edmund Campion’s History of Ireland. The Great Antiphons: Heralds of Christmas. Rey. Herbert Thurston. MONTHLY REVIEW. Public School Education. By A. C. Benson. Italian Painting in the Prado Gallery. Hutton. By Edward NATIONAL REVIEW. Modern Biblical Criticism and the Pulpit. Rey. R. J. Campbell. NINETEENTH CENTURY. Some Aspects of the Stage. By Adolphus Vane Tempest. The Deans and the Athanasian Creed. By the Rey. W. Crouch. By the PALL MALL MAGAZINE. British Musical Progress. By Frederick Norman. Modern Ceramic Art. (There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, or Musical Subjects in Blackwood’s Magazine or Temple Bar.) 112 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. eo ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an | | agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for ‘office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. Allother forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —_+——_e__——__ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. —— oe — EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. THR AUTHOR. 8. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (‘.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. —__————_e—>—_e__—_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —— ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical — composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. +-—<—__+—___—__ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —_1—~<>—+ — ve VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4, Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are*fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them, (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeayour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society ; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. 113 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_-———_ HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ee THE READING BRANCH. —-+>+ MEMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this M branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. ‘Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach, The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. —___—_-—_@—+_____- NOTICES. —_+—+—_ YT | Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, §.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. soe The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. —_——_____—_>_o—___—_ LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —1—~—+— ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  114 THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. oe E regret to hear that Mr. George Meredith, the President of the Society, was unable to attend the King’s Investiture at Buck- ingham Palace, owing to the fact that he had not sufficiently recovered from the accident which occurred to him some little time ago. It is with much pleasure, however, that we see the Order of Merit, with the insignia and the warrant, was, by the command of his Majesty, officially conveyed to Mr. Meredith at Box Hill, Dorking. We see that Mr. E. Marston has been writing to the Times concerning the book trade in the Australian market. ‘ It is common property that the Australians have drafted, and are pushing forward, a Copyright Bill; but it would not only be inexpedient, but impossible, to discuss it at the present time. The question Mr. Marston raises, however, is really one of contract between the American and Australian booksellers. It would be quite possible for an American publisher to publish simultaneously in America and Australia, thus securing the British copyright, and then sell a licence to publish for the Australian colonies, and retain a further licence for England, Canada, and other portions of the world should he think fit. Mr. Marston says: “ According to the present law there is absolutely nothing to prevent an American publisher or author selling his copyright to an Australian publisher in Sydney, and, by publishing there first, secure for himself copyright throughout the British dominions ; but then, of course, he cannot sell to an English publisher as well—that would be selling his copyright twice over.” Mr. Marston seems to have forgotten the fact that once the American publisher or author has secured the copyright, it is not essential that he should sell his whole copyright to the Australian publisher, but, as we have suggested, he may merely sell a limited licence to publish. In the same way, it is not an uncommon thing for an English author, when he has once secured his copyright, to make separate contracts for Canada, for the United States, and sometimes, even, for Australia and India. It is possible that the whole copyright question may be before the public at no distant date, when Mr. Marston will have ample opportunity of dis- cussing the points to which he refers. For many years past we have had our eye on the third section of the Copyright Act of 1842, which, referring to works published after the death of their author, runs as follows :— ‘And the copyright of every book which shall be pub- lished after the death of its author shall endure for the term of forty-two years from the publication thereof, and shall be the property of the proprietor of the author’s manuscript from which such book shall be first published, and his assigns.” Often has it been the custom for the personal representatives, trusting to the common law right of an author, and therefore, after his decease of his personal representatives, to control the right to publish unpublished work, to insist upon the right of sanctioning, or withholding their sanction, from the publication of letters. It was not long ago that a case came before the secretary of the society in which one of its members held the MS. of a deceased author, and his right to publish the same was disputed, on the ground that the right of publication was vested in the personal representatives. This case referred to a completed MS., and not to letters. The secretary of the society, advised that the right of publication rested with the member under section 3, the statutory right overruling the common law right. But as no judgment existed on the point, it was decided to take counsel’s opinion, and counsel’s opinion supported the view of the secretary. This interpretation of the Act has now been confirmed. Mr. Justice Kekewich appears by his decision to hold that section 3 embraces not only MSS., but also letters. It would be satisfactory, however, if the matter were carried to a higher court, as there is no doubt that the decision will upset the view of the law which many have adopted. We see that the Daily Mail for December 7th states : “‘ Mr. Macgillivray lays it down, copyright is personal property, and descends on the death of the owner to his personal representatives. That view had been generally held and acted upon.” The writer in the Datiy Mail has mistaken the position. The decision given in Mr. Justice Kekewich’s court does not alter Mr. Macgillivray’s statement in the least. The question is, whether the right to sanction the publication of MSS. unpublished at the author’s death lies with the personal representatives or with the owner of the MSS. This is not copyright—copyright being entirely a creature of statute. It has now been decided that the common law right which was supposed to exist in the personal representatives, enabling them to sanction or to withhold their sanction for publication, is overriden in the par- ticular case, Macmillan v. Dent, by section 8 of the statute of 1842, quoted above. Mr. Macgillivray’s statement still holds good, for since the property becomes copyright under the statute by the  publication of the letters or MS. in the possession of a person after the decease of the author, the property will descend to his personal representatives as personal property. By the kindness of the Editor of the Law Journal we are printing a report of the case ; but we hope to print in a later issue the full judgment, of which we have been unable to obtain a copy for this issue. We thought that the half-profit agreement had died a natural death many years ago, but, like the hardy annual, it seems to come up again and again. One publishing house in particular, by no means the least of the publishing houses of England in its own and the public’s reputation, is continually putting forward this method of publication, and from the number of half-profit agreements that have come recently before the secretary, seems to publish an increasing number of books on this basis. The publishers state that they advise this form of agreement, and that it is a satisfactory form for the author. The usual consequence follows : the result is unsatisfactory to the author. It cannot be repeated too often that the difference in the profits of an author publishing under the half-profit agreement, and those of an author publishing under the royalty agreement, is extraordinary, though both forms of agreement seem to pay the publisher equally well. In addition the accounts are complicated and difficult to understand, and cannot fail to give rise to an uneasy feeling in the author’s mind. For the author is absolutely ignorant of the cost of production and methods of advertisement, and those items which should be settled to the minutest detail before the contract is signed, in order to assist the author in calculating his possible returns, are generally left in the hands of the publisher, and come as ashock to the author’s system only when the first accounts are rendered. We regret having to publish this warning against the half- profit agreement once more, as we had hoped that publishers anxious for their own reputation, and the Publishers’ Association, would have finally discarded it. —_ +4 — THE PENSION FUND COMMITTEE. 1 i order to give members of the society, should they desire to appoint a fresh member to the Pension Fund Committee, full time to act, it has been thought advisable to place in The Author a complete statement of the method of election under the scheme for administration of the Pension Fund. Under that scheme the committee is com- THE AUTHOR. 115 posed of three members elected by the committee of the society, three members elected by the society at the general meeting, and the chairman of the society for the time being, ez-officio. The three members elected at the general meeting when the fund was started were Mr. Morley Roberts, Mr. M. H. Spielmann, and Mrs. Alec Tweedie. These have in turn during the past three years resigned, and, submitting their names for re-election, have been unanimously re-elected. This year Mr. Morley Roberts again, under the rules of the scheme, tenders his resignation and submits his name for re-election. The members have power to put forward other names under clause 9, which runs as follows :— Any candidate for election to the Pension Fund Com- mittee by the members of the society (not being a retiring member of such committee) shall be nominated in writing to the secretary at least three weeks prior to the general meeting at which such candidate is to be proposed, and the nomination of each such candidate shall be subscribed by at least three members of the society. A list of the names of the candidates so nominated shall be sent to the members of the society, with the annual report of the Managing Committee, and those candidates obtaining the most votes at the general meeting shall be elected to serve on the Pension Fund Committee. In case any member should desire to refer to the list of members, a copy, with the exception of those members referred to in the note at the beginning, can be obtained at the society’s office. This list, dated 1902, owing to the small demand, has not been re-edited, and is, therefore, not absolutely accurate. A further list of the elections for 1903 was published in separate form, and all further elections have been duly notified in 7he Author. They can easily be referred to, as all members receive a copy every month. Tt would be as well, therefore, should any of the members desire to put forward a candidate, to take the matter within their immediate consideration. The general meeting of the society has usually been held towards the end of February or the beginning of March. It is essential that all nomi- nations should be in the hands of the secretary before the 31st of January, 1906. —+—~<+ — SIR RICHARD JEBB. ———~ IR RICHARD JEBB was not, I am told, a member of our Society; but our Society, none the less, owes, and will pay, its tribute to the memory of an author who was, unquestion- ably, the greatest classical scholar of his generation, not in England only, but in the world. The justest appreciation of Jebb’s work will 116 perhaps be to say that it combined what are gener- ally considered the distinctive merits of Cambridge and Oxford scholarship. We look, as a rule, to Cambridge for technical perfection in the craft of scholarship ;_ to Oxford for its use in fruitful association with polite learning of other kinds. In “ pure ” scholarship of the Cambridge sort Jebb had no equal. He particularly excelled in those ingenious exercises in composition which are the supreme test of scholarship—those “tours de force” in which so many Cambridge scholars have found their favourite recreation. Benjamin Hall Kennedy’srendering into Latinelegiacs of a circular calling a meeting of a Sanitary Board is perhaps the best known production of the kind. Jebb’s reproduction of “ Abt Vogler.” as a Pindaric Ode ranks, not with it, but above it. Mastery of the Greek language could go no further. The feat astonished Jebb’s contemporaries ; it would doubt- less have astonished Pindar. As an example of his skill in composition of a more conventional order, one is tempted to quote his version of, “ Home they brought her warrior dead” :— Mortuus a bello sua fertur in atria miles ; Nec fluit ad terram sponsa, nec ore gemit. Aspiciunt, unfque canunt hee voce puelle : “A! fleat, est lacrimis, ne moriatur, opus.” Inde viri repetunt, submisso murmure, laudes : “ Dignus erat,” narrant, “quem sequeretur amor ; Fidus amicitiis, ipsos generosus is hostes.” Illa tamen nullos dat stupefacta sonos. Labitur e mediis nota statione puellis Et leviter gradiens nympha cadaver adit. > Demovet a rigido feralem sindona vultu ; Tia tamen siccis torpet, ut ante, genis. Surgit ibi ter sex lustris jam consita nutrix, In gremium pignus dat puerile viri. Imber ut aestivus, rupit pia lacrima fontes—— “Tu, puer, in vita cur morer,” inquit, “ eris.” Scholars of Jebb’s high mark are generally scholars and nothing more. Jebb was a man of letters also. Even when he merely edited “Sophocles” for schools, the man of letters stood revealed. Many of us can date our delight in the literature of Greece from the moment when his “ Ajax” was first put into our hands. Afterwards, as all the world knows, he edited ‘‘Sophocles” for scholars, and, at a stroke, superseded all the earlier editions. His translations were as eloquent as Jowett’s, while they were also distinguished by an accuracy to which Jowett did not pretend—or, at all events, did not attain. His volume on Bentley in the “English Men of Letters Series” showed humour and humanity as well as erudition. No man could have represented Cambridge more fittingly, whether in the Commons’ House of Parlia- ment or in the select ranks of the recently constituted Order of Merit. FRANCIS GRIBBLE. THE AUTHOR. UNITED STATES NOTES. —+—— + — HOUGH we have not as yet before us definite data as to the complete year, it may be asserted without hesitation that the output of books during 1905 has been one of the largest on record. ‘There is an increase of a third over last year’s aggregate of full publications ; and the list is the largest of any recent year since 1901. Some of these books, such as Mrs. Pennell’s Life of Charles Godfrey Leland, will, no doubt, overflow into next year ; but, with all such deductions, the sum total is almost unprecedented. Mr. Henry James and Mrs. Craigie have renewed their acquaintance with America; and we have also had visits from England, by Mrs. Humphry Ward and Mr. Jerome K. Jerome. Mrs. Ward has not as yet, so far as we can remember, portrayed an American, so that one awaits results with some degree of curiosity. An interesting subject for comparison is Mr. James’s “English Hours,” and Mr. W. D. Howell’s “London Films,” though the former is not new. Both will be appreciated by some who do not invariably relish the fictional methods of these distinguished writers. Mr. James has also pub- lished his lectures upon Balzac and his Bryn Mawr deliverance, “ The Question of Our Speech,” both of which contain some highly suggestive criticism. We are glad to fancy that we can discern some revival of the Essay, not only from the above instances, but in others, like Dr. Van Dyke's graceful “Essays in Application,” Prof. Trent’s “Greatness in Literature,” and the “ Shelburne Essays” of Paul Elmer-More, not to mention any: more. And in this connection we should like to testify our appreciation of an article written for the Dial by Mr. Charles Leonard Moore upon “Style in Literature.” Though he has some unkind remarks upon the English language, maintaining, in fact, that “the great mass of our words are low or indifferent,’ amends are made by the contention that words in themselves have very little to do with the evolution of style, in which English is pre-eminent. This last is the main thesis, and it is admirably sustained. The President has enriched the literature of sport by his “Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter,” thus adding another item to the long and varied catalogue of his literary achievements. Bear hunting in Colorado, wolf hunting in Oklahoma, hunting with cougar hounds, and the chase of the prong-buck, are amongst its most fascinating chapters. Mr. John Burroughs appeals to the nature lover rather than the sportsman in his “ Ways of Nature.” (he ila  THE AUTHOR. He does not believe in animal psychology, and advises writers to humanise their facts if they can, but to “leave the dog a dog and the straddle-bug a straddle-bug.” This is not exactly the method of Mr. Thompson Seton ; and had he followed it, what would have remained of Mr. Charles Roberts’s remarkable “ biography,” “Red Fox”? Ornithologists and others will be delighted with the sumptuous record which Mr. C. William Beebe has published of the quest of himself and his wife after birds in Mexico. ‘Iwo other notable out- door books of the season are William J. Long’s “Northern Trails,” and animal stories, called collectively ‘“‘The Race of the Swift,” by Edwin C. Litsey, which excel both in observation and descriptive power. The controversy about the commercialisation of Literature is still raging in various quarters. One hopes that some good may be the outcome, at least to the public. The contestants themselves blink certain facts : on the one side, that books are and must be bought and sold, if authors are to live, on the other, that good taste counts for something in the eyes of those who have even a modicum of culture, not to speak of intelligence. We note the first conviction under the new copy- right law, as having occurred in the United States District Court at Keokuk, Ia., on October 29th. James L. Glass was found guilty of producing a play on which a theatrical manager of Minneapolis held copyright. In its October number, the Bookman asserted that a certain popular motor-novel was “ frankly and flatly the advertisement of a make of auto- mobile, of an automobile tyre, and of a toilet soap,” and further, that a suit had been brought by a German firm of motor-manufacturers against the authors in connection with certain disparagements of their machine in the novel. We are happy to say that all these charges were unfounded ; and the periodical makes full amends this month for its unusual lapse. It is at present running “ A Motor Car Divorce” through its own pages as a serial ; so far there has been more of the motor than the divorce. America has had the distinction of introducing to the English-speaking world the author of “Peer Gynt” and “Brand” as a letter-writer. The late Dr. Albert Bielschowsky’s great life of Goethe has also been translated by an American, Dr. W. A. Cooper, the first section of whose work has appeared within the past month. Of international importance is also Captain Mahan’s last work on the War of 1812, also, perhaps, Poultney Bigelow’s “ The German Struggle for Liberty,” the issue of the fourth volume of which completes the work. Of scarcely less rank will be held Dr. John Ti% Basset Moore’s “ American Diplomacy, its Spirit and Achievements,” and Prof. Breasted’s “ History of Egypt”; whilst W. W. Rockhill’s ‘* China’s Intercourse with Corea,” and the ‘General Sociology,” issued by the Chicago Press for Prof. Albion W. Small, have far more than a national interest. From the same quarter comes Prof. Milyoukov’s timely “Lectures on Russian Civilisation.” A second volume of Prof. Dunning’s useful and well-written work on the “History of Political Theories” has appeared. It extends from Luther to Montesquieu, and includes sum- maries of the political doctrines of Bodin, Grotius, Hobbes, the Catholic Controversialists, the English Puritan Philosophers, and Locke. Mr. Geo. H. Warner’s study of the Semitic problem, “ The Jewish Spectre,” is an indictment of theocracy rather than an attack upon its votaries. It is full of varied information, and bristles with controversial matter, but does not advance the question far. Dr. Frank J. Goodnow’s “ Principles of the Administrative Law of the United States” is an important contribution to its subjects, designed not only for jurists and students of law, but also for those actually engaged in official work. Amongst biographical works of strong interest we would single out Mrs. Bayard Taylor's “On Two Continents,” and Thos. Wentworth Hig- ginson’s “ Parts of a Man’s Life.” The author of the former is the translater of “ Faust’s” second wife, née Marie Hansen. She gives us portraits of Thackeray, Horace Greeley, and George P. Putnam, amongst other celebrities, and relates anecdotes of Browning and Bret Harte. Col. Higginson’s medley of reminiscence and reflection will prove of interest to readers in two continents. The volume, which has a decidedly optimistic tone, contains interesting comparisons of Englishmen and Americans based on a wide personal knowledge of both, and some outspoken criticism of Herbert Spencer. Then there are volumes on Lowell and Blaine, by Ferris Greenslet and Edward Stanwood ; and the first complete life of Sidney Lanier, which comes from the pen of Edwin Mim. “The True Andrew Jackson,” by Cyrus Townsend Brady, is a careful study of another American worthy. A work of some authority upon an important subject, is Charles A. Conant’s “ Principles of Money and Banking.” Randell Parrish’s “Historic Illinois’ may be commended to students of American history, together with George Wharton James’s account of the Franciscan missions of California. Probably the most significant publications concerning art are 8. Isham’s “ History of 118 American Painting,” and Kenyon Cox’s “Old Masters and New.” Coming to fiction, we have had new works from Mrs. Wharton, Mrs. Atherton, M. E. Wilkins, and R. W. Chambers, besides Mark Twain’s “« Rditorial Wild Oats,” and the inevitable Marion Crawford novel. “The House of Mirth,” a relentless study of New York society, from the point of view of one of its victims, will, we think, fully maintain its author’s reputation ; whether the same can be said for “The Travelling Thirds” of Mrs. Atherton is more doubtful. Mrs. Wilkins Freeman, and that best of American romancers, Mr. Chambers, are as excellent as ever in their different ways. There is a new “ Uncle Remus” book for young and old ; and Kate Douglas Wiggin has renewed her hold upon her public with her charming “‘ Roge o’ the River.” Booth Tarkington has probably never done any- thing better than his ‘‘ Conquest of Canaan” ; and Emerson Hough’s “ Heart’s Desire,” is a capital western story with plenty of atmosphere. “The Edge of Circumstance,” by Edward Noble, is a strong sea story. There is originality in “The Ballingtons,” by Frances Squire, a new writer, if we mistake not. James Huneker’s short stories, labelled ‘ Vision- aries,” will be judged morbid by some readers and praised as uncommon by others ; they are, at any rate not to be set down as conventional. The author of “ The Plum Tree” has written a story of “high and frenzied finance” in his new work, “The New Deluge,” but has skilfully inter- woven it with love interest. We could enumerate many another novel, displaying unusual talent, but must conclude the catalogue with ‘‘ Shakespeare’s Sweetheart,” which purports to be Anne Hathaway’s love story, written by herself, deposited in the hands of Ben Jonson, and recently discovered among old archives ! An English novel holds the highest place in the most recently compiled list of ‘ best-sellers,” Mr. McCutcheon’s newest story “Nedra” coming second, with Mrs. Wharton and Kate Douglas Wiggin taking the next two. places. We con- gratulate the author of “The House of Mirth” upon her popularity. America has had to mourn this year a heavy loss, both to her literature and her statesmanship, in the death of Mr. John Hay, upon whose achievements we need not dwell here. Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge, who died in the succeeding month, was a lesser light in the firmament. But her Dutch story, “ Hans Brinker,” endeared her to more than one genera- tion of children, and her recently published “ Poems and Verses” had some success, whilst she did good service as editor of St. Nicholas. THE AUTHOR. There have been no other recent losses of note ; but the year which has seen the death of “ Rip Van Winkle” and the author of the “Pike Country Ballads,” as well as Lafcadio Hearn and Laurence Hutton, has left sad gaps in American literature and art. Just before going to press we heard of the death of Henry Harland, one of the select band of what may be called Anglo-American authors. “The Cardinal’s Snuff-Box” alone would have assured him a niche in the temple of fame. —_+-~<— —_ PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ON COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION. —— > (The following is quoted from the American Publishers’ Weekly of December 9th, 1905.) RESIDENT ROOSEVELT in his annual message, transmitted to Congress on De- cember 5th, refers to the United States copyright laws as follows : “*QOur copyright laws urgently need revision. They are imperfect in definition, confused and inconsistent in expression ; they omit provision for many articles which, under modern reproduc- tive processes are entitled to protection; they impose hardships upon the copyright proprietor which are not essential to the fair protection of the public ; they are difficult for the courts to interpret and impossible for the Copyright Office to administer with satisfaction to the public. Attempts to improve them by amendment have been frequent, no less than twelve Acts for the purpose having been passed since the Revised Statutes. To perfect them by further amendment seems impracticable. A complete revision of them is essential. Such a revision, to meet modern conditions, has been found necessary in Germany, Austria, Sweden, and other foreign countries, and bills embodying it are pending in England and the Australian colonies. It has been urged here, and proposals for a commission to undertake it have, from time to time, been pressed upon the Congress. The inconveniences of the present con- ditions being so great, an attempt to frame appro- priate legislation has been made by the Copyright Office, which has called conferences of thé various interests especially and practically concerned with the operation of the copyright laws. It has secured from them suggestions as to the changes necessary : it has added from its own experience and investiga- tions, and it has drafted a bill which embodies such of these changes and additions as, after full discussion and expert criticism, appeared to be sound and safe. In form this bill would replace the existing insufficient and inconsistent laws by THE AUTHOR. one general copyright statute. It will be presented to the Congress at the coming session. It deserves prompt consideration. 999 1 ANTHONY TROLLOPE. ane J. THe WaGce-EARNER. OME few years ago a well-known man of letters, writing of Victorian novelists, gave it as his opinion that among disappearing authors must be included Charles Reade, Charles Lever, and Anthony Trollope. This statement must not be allowed to pass unchallenged ; for Reade must surely endure, by virtue of the great historical romance, “The Cloister and the Hearth,” and the delightful, pathetic “¢ Christie Johnstone”; and it is inconceivable that the world will be content to let die the rollicking, madcap stories of “Harry Lorrequer.” These writers were fully appreciated during their lifetime —indeed, in the case of some of their books, they may have been over-praised—and the adverse criti- cism to which they have since been subjected may, perhaps, be attributed to the apparently inevitable reaction./ Every writer has his ups and downs in the estimation of the generations immediately succeeding his own; but of all the mighty none have fallen so low as Anthony Trollope. His has been the worst fate that can befall a writer; he has not been abused, he has been ignored. He is not disappearing : he has disappeared ; and reaction alone cannot satisfactorily account for the lowly position he occupies to-day, with few so poor as to do him reverence. Indeed, so entirely have his books gone out of fashion that, in this age of reprints, when an attempt is made to galvanise into life the works of Mrs. Aphra Behn and Mr. R. M. Bird, it is impossible to obtain a set of his best books. Trollope’s most ardent admirers would not ask, nor could they desire, a complete edition of his writings. His books of travel, ‘The West Indies,” “ North America,” “ Australia,” and “New Zealand,” and “South Africa,” may be allowed to sink into oblivion ; and with them may go the monograph on Cicero, and that work to which Dean Merivale referred as “your comic Ceasar.” It is as a novelist Trollope has come down to us, and it is as a novelist he will live for posterity. .~ He wrote much, far too much ; and many, nay, the majority, of his stories may be put aside. His industry was prodigious, and in quantity he rivalled another author who to-day also does not receive his full share of praise—Bulwer Lytton. “ T feel confident,” Trollope said, speaking of the years 1859 to 1871, “that in amount no other writer 119 contributed so much during that time to English literature.” The truth of his remark cannot be gainsaid, and the output is the more remarkable in so much as during this period he was a busy Civil servant. The secret of his prolixity is that he never waited for the spirit to move him. The mere word “inspiration ” aroused his ire ; and for the men who thought they could work only when “inspired ” his contempt was boundless. “ ‘To me it would not be more absurd if the shoemaker were to wait for inspiration, or the tallow-chandler for the divine moment of melting,” he declared. “If the man whose business it is to write has eaten too many good things, or has drunk too much, or has smoked too many cigars—as men who write will sometimes do—then his condition may be unfavourable for work ; but so will be the condi- tion of a shoemaker who has been similarly imprudent. I have sometimes thought that the inspiration wanted has been the remedy which time will give to the evil results of such impru- dence: Mens sana in corpore sano. The author wants that, as does every workman—that and a habit of industry. I was once told that the surest aid to the writing of a book was a piece of cobbler’s wax on my chair. I certainly believe in the cobbler’s wax much more than in the inspiration.” Undoubtedly Trollope adhered to the cobbler’s wax theory all the days of his life. He found he could write as well when he was travelling as when seated at his desk—the proof of this is to be found in the merits of “ Barchester Towers,” written almost entirely in railway carriages. For many years, while in the postal service, he rose at half- past five and worked until half-past eight, writing two hundred and fifty words every quarter of an hour ; and he found the words came as regularly as his watch went. It is unlikely he would have done better work if he had not laboured so methodically, but it is probable he would not have turned out so many mediocre works. Perhaps the temporary eclipse of Trollope is largely due to his autobiography. “ I confess,” he said therein, in a characteristic passage, “ that my first object in taking to literature as a profession was that which is common to the barrister when he goes to the bar, and to the baker when he sets up his oven. I wished to make an income on which I and those belonging to me might live in comfort.” Nothing could be more laudable! He prided himself upon being a tradesman, ready and willing to work to order. Again and again he declared ostentatiously that he wrote only for money ; that he found his reward in the publishers’ cheque, and that he attributed to the pecuniary result of his labours all the importance he felt them to have at the time. The autobiography bristles 120 with figures. He tells us that in 1847 he pub- lished his first book, ‘‘ The MacDermotts of Bally- jeloran,” on the half-profits system. ‘I can with | truth declare that I expected nothing,” he has | recorded, “and I got nothing.” In the following | year Colburn brought out “The Kellys and the O’Kellys.” The terms were the same, and so was the result. The former was still-born ; the latter sold to the extent of 140 of the 375 copies printed. These stories of Irish life failing to attract, in 1850 he published an historical romance, “ lia Vendée,” for which, on delivery of the manuscript, he received £20 on account of future profits. It was not until five years later that “The Warden” appeared. For this he received £20 3s. 9d. But “The Warden,” though its pecuniary success was infinitesimal, attracted attention in the Press, and the author began to be regarded as one with whom it might be necessary to reckon. Even the publishers were impressed, and Longmans offered to print the next novel and to pay in advance £100. This was “ Barchester Towers.” During twenty years these two books, the first of the Barset series, brought the author £727 lls. 3d. “The Three Clerks” followed, Bentley buying the copyright for £250. Thus encouraged, Trollope demanded £400 for “ Doctor Thorne.” Bentley would not give more than £300, so the author, who was leaving ye “T sai the next day, went to Chapman & Hall. what I had to say to Mr. Edward Chapman in a quick torrent of words. Looking at me as he might have done at a highway robber who had stopped him on Hounslow Heath, he said he sup- posed he might do as I desired. I considered this | to be asale, and it was a sale. I remember that | he held the poker in his hand all the time I was with him ; but, in truth, even if he had declined to buy the book, there would have been no danger.” “The Bertrams”’ went to the same firm for the game sum ; and, in the meantime, his first book of travels having proved a success, he demanded £600 for an Irish novel as yet unwritten, “ Castle Richmond.” ‘“Framley Parsonage” was com- missioned for Zhe Cornhill Magazine for £1,000 ; and after this he received £600 for a one-volume novel, or £8,000 for a story running to twenty parts. Sometimes he received more—once, at least, he was given £3,525 : for many years he contrived to keep up his price, and, though in later days he was compelled to accept considerably less, it is wonderful, remembering his enormous output, he should have been able to sustain it so long. Including £7,000 made by journalism—political, critical, and sporting articles—he earned £70,000, which result he looked upon as “ comfortable, but not splendid.” Considering his popularity, it was certainly not magnificent. Literature was then the worst paid profession. Think what a doctor THE AUTHOR. or a barrister of similar eminence would have made! ‘To-day, thanks partly to the American copyright law, a popular writer may amass a modest competence with one book. Now, all authors write for money. But if they are worth their salt, they take pleasure in their work. Despite the unfortunate autobiography, it is probable Trollope did not differ greatly from his fellow-workers. Certainly his desire for money never induced him deliberately to lower the standard of his work ; and, thongh he may not have realised it, he loved the pen, for surely no one, not urged by want of pence, could otherwise have worked so hard as he. He was proud of his books, and believed that some at least might live; while his affection for his characters was profound. The public naturally has not gone below the surface, and it has accepted Trollope’s statements without reservation. It will not willingly think, however, of the man of letters as a tradesman, turning out his wares with one eye on his paper and the other on his banking account. It likes to think of him as imbued with romance: it will not place the writing of books on the same plane as the making | of buttons or the baking of bricks ; and it is dis- gusted to learn that one of its favourites always wrote so many words in so many minutes. It dis- tinguishes, as Trollope would not, between the work of the brain and the work of the hand, It has already been said that the first book in which Trollope did himself justice was “The Warden.” Within the next few years he issued “ Barchester Towers,” ‘‘ Dr. Thorne,” “ Framley Parsonage,” and ‘‘ The Last Chronicles of Barset.” These are the Barset series of novels, and, undoubtedly, they contain his best work. During this period appeared also “ The Small House at Allington,” “ The Three Clerks,” and “ Orley Farm” ; and later, ‘Can You Forgive Her ?” “Phineas Finn,” “ Phineas Redux,” and “The Prime Minister,” in all of which is a semi-political atmosphere. The student of English literature may be content with these, though perhaps “The Eustace Diamonds” might repay perusal. These are the books upon which Trollope’s fame depends, and a very sound basis it is upon which to rest a reputation. Trollope’s most enduring title to rank with the greater novelists is as the chronicler of Barsetshire. The new shire he added to the English counties was very real to him, and he had it all in his mind —its roads and railroads, its towns and parishes, its members of parliament, its different hunts, its great lords and their castles, its squires and their parks, its rectors and their churches. Alone of the working population he had nothing to say ; not of the village shopkeepers, nor, though he insisted on the fact that Barsetshire was entirely agricul- tural, of the farmer and his labourers. On the  THE AUTHOR. one side he saw Gatherum Castle, where lived the Duke of Omnium in almost feudal state, and the great county families ; on the other, the professional nen, the doctors, clergymen and attorneys. When he invented Barsetshire he limited his outlook to the cathedral city ; and in his famous trilogy, he confined himself mainly to the exposi- tion of the humours of clerical life, and to the introduction of ecclesiastical dignitaries. He wrote of their respectable, humdrum lives ; of their little squabbles, their ambitions, hopes and disappoint- ments, failures and successes ; and if at times he was severe, at least he was always fair, and he presented no theatrical figures of ranting parsons and red-nosed, over-fed rectors. Satire he some- times allowed himself, but caricature never ; and if Precentor Harding was the best, the hishop’s chaplain, Slope, was the worst. He was agreeably surprised to find he could write so well about clergymen. He has related proudly how he was often asked in what period of his early life he had lived so long in a cathedral city as to have become intimate with the ways ofa close. Asa matter of fact he had never resided for any length of time in any cathedral city, except the metropolis, and he was not closely acquainted with any clergyman. “ My archdeacon (Grantly), who has been said to be life-like, was the result simply of an effort of my moral consciousness. It was such as that, in my opinion, that an arch- deacon should be, or, at any rate, would be with such advantages as an archdeacon might have been ; and lo! an archdeacon was produced, who has been declared by competent authorities to be an archdeacon to the very ground.” ‘The accuracy of Trollope’s ecclesiastical figures has never been called into question, and, indeed, he wrote of them as easily, and with an instinct as true, as young Benjamin Disraeli wrote of dukes. Lewis MELVILLE. —+-—>—9 — THE LITERARY YEAR BOOK.* aes 1. Law AND LETTERS. E have received the tenth annual edition of the “ Literary Year Book,” but as it came to hand just as Zhe Author was going to press for January, it has been impossible to review the legal portion exhaustively. Forina book which is supposed to be issued for the benefit of authors, the matter that comes under the heading Law and Letters should meet with the most exact scrutiny. * «he Literary Year Book,’ 1906. George Routledge & Sons. 5s, net. 121 We have taken a cursory glance at this portion of the book, but regret to notice that it has not been altered in any way, as far as we can see, since last year. At any rate, the mistakes pointed out in Zhe Author have not been corrected. It may have been too late to add the important case which has just been tried in the Courts. Smith, Elder and Macmillan & Co. vy. J. M. Dent & Co. This may justify its omission, but the case is one of such importance that some subsidiary note ought, if possible, to have been inserted. The paragraph dealing with section 18 of the Copyright Act still retains the false statement that “the contract between the contributing author and the publisher or proprietor of the periodical work need not be in writing, nor is an express agreement that the copyright shall belong to the latter neces- sary ; and thus in ordinary cases the agreement that the copyright shall belong to the publisher or proprietor may be inferred from the mere employ- ment and payment of the author.” In support of this statement the editor refers to the case of Aflalo v. Lawrence and Bullen. That case dealt merely with encyclopedias, and the point has never been settled with reference to periodicals. It is quite possible that a judgment of this kind, which applied to encyclopedias, might not apply to periodicals, as an encyclopedia is looked upon as having a permanent and lasting position which the contents of periodicals, when published in periodical form, have not. Again, at the com- mencement of the same paragraph, the writer states : “ As regards literary work contributed to encyclopedias or for periodical or serial publica- tion on the terms that the copyright shall belong to the publisher or proprietor, the copyright in all such work becomes the property of the publisher or proprietor,” &c., &c. He does not mention the most important point, that such work must be paid forthe mere agreement that the copyright shall belong to the publisher or proprietor is not sufficient. Again, referring to colonial copyright, he has made no mention of the Act passed through the Canadian House on July Ist, 1900. As this Act is one of some importance, it should not have been omitted. The writer maintains the same views as ex- pressed in former years on authors, publishers, and agents, and again omits all mention of the Authors” Society in his statement, ‘“ Who will protect the: author against the rapacity of the agent.” It would have been fair, in view of the position the Society holds, to have mentioned its name when raising questions of this kind, for as the Society is in no way connected with the financial success of the production of books, it can take an absolutely impartial view, and can and does act as effectually 122 against agents as against publishers. His view of agents is, on the whole, in accord with that which has been expressed from time to time in The Author. Lastly, the criticism of agreements lacks many important points for the protection of both author and publisher, and cannot be considered at all exhaustive, and the propositions put for- ward are in many ways unsatisfactory from the author’s standpoint. The writer inveighs bitterly against the advance on royalties, and states: “In all business transactions the last person to whom one would go with a request for ready money is the person who has already staked his capital in a speculation suggested by the borrower.” He does not for a moment seem to consider the author’s capital as represented by his MS., which may, in some cases, be the work of years ; but, surely, quite apart from this point, if a publisher, who is a man of business, considers it worth his while to advance money on royalties, it is absurd to characterise such an arrangement as unreasonable. Business men do not readily enter into unbusinesslike agree- ments, or else they cannot be looked upon as fit persons to act as publishers. The forms of agree- ment which the writer has chosen to criticise are certainly not the best forms of agreement that come on the market, and if this work is to be of the value to authors that it ought to be, the writer must keep their point of view more promi- nently before him. He may take it for granted that a business man like the publisher will not buy the ‘‘Literary Year Book” in order to obtain advice on agreements, but to the author such a work should be of the greatest assistance; but if an author were to act on the advice at present given, he might find himself—unless he were a member of the Society of Authors—in considerable difficulties. G. H. T. Il. GENERAL REVIEW. WessteR deems that ‘“ Precision in the use of words is of prime excellence.” Especially should this be the case in the compilation of what is called a bookman’s directory. To substantiate convincingly the desirability of stricter atten- tion to detail, we pointed out, in six columns of The Author last year, many unfortunate slips. The object was to get them rectified in a future edition. This would have pleased us more than the grateful acknowledgment in this year’s preface, that “ Special thanks are due to The Author for its full and suggestive reviews of the last volume of the annual. The reviewer was, if anything, a trifle too precise about details, such as the inclusion of Shenstone’s birthday in our calendar ; but in this particular, and in other respects, a genuine attempt THE AUTHOR. has been made to carry out his wishes, directed ag they are to the same object as our own—the pro- vision of a serviceable annual for the use of members of all branches of the literary world.” Now, this is very pretty. Relying on such blandishments one feels that at last a Literary Year Book, worthy of the land of Shakespeare, after twelve months’ careful and accurate collation of material, has been evolved to do honour to the profession of letters in general, and the firm of Messrs. Routledge in particular. But it is the duty of a reviewer not to be biased by prefatory compliment, no matter how elegantly it is worded. We repeat that our remarks last year were not due tocaprice. It is pleasant to knowthat they have been received in the spirit in which they were written. Yet we fail to perceive how it is possible, in a book of reference, to be “ too precise about detail.” The editor expresses a hope that credit will be given for his endeavours and indulgence for his mistakes. We are ready to give full measure of ‘credit ” where it may be due, although the pub- lishers may not supply the Year Book on the same terms. Before bestowing the laurel wreath, how- ever, it is necessary to examine the volume as far as space permits, in order to ascertain and estimate what exertions have heen made by way of in:prov- ing on the issue of 1905. It was a saying of Sir Joshua Reynolds that “ Excellence is never granted to man but as a reward of labour.” It is not our intention to undervalue the care which the com- pilers may have taken in the production of this Year Book ; but it is the duty of the troublesome reviewer, who holds a brief for the purchaser rather than the publisher, to discover whether pains have been taken to make the book really serviceable, or if the necessary work has been delayed unduly and the publisher has relied on hoodwinking the critic by reshuffling various sections and singing to him, in an imploring tone of voice, “Please go gently,” & la “Spring Chicken.” OBITUARY. This year the Obituary List, instead of occupy- ing five pages, has been reduced to a paragraph, the omissions including the death, as far back as last April, of the well-known war-correspondent, Henry Pearse; in July of Captain Montagu Burrows, Chichele Professor of Modern History at Oxford ; and in September of Walter Macfarren, who, for half a century, was reviewer to the Queen, and whose ‘“ Memories,” published before his death, are not mentioned in the biographical section. If abstracts from the daily papers were taken systematically day by day during the year, the record of departed writers would be complete and more reliable for future reference. aS  THE AUTHOR. Tue INDEX. We are pleased to note that the contents list has been rearranged alphabetically. Yet it is not so good a key to unlock the contents of the book as it might be made. For example, if one wishes to refer to the titles of works classified under the headings of theology, art, or fiction, considering that these three sections occupy forty-four pages, it seems strange that they should not be separated in the Index from the general heading “‘ Catalogue Raisonné.” Moreover, what is the meaning of “Fayourite Books of 1906,” paged in the Index exliv. 2? There is no such section on that page. Why cannot there be, as is customary in Whitaker and most books required for rapid reference, first, a contents table showing the general arrangement of material, and, secondly, a general Index of a com- prehensive character, so as to enable the inquirer to take in the component parts of the volume at a glance? But here the indexing is muddled. First we have, on page 11, an Index which is neither a contents table nor an index, and on page 321 we have a table of the contents of Part II., and, two pages further on, a statement of the contents of the legal section, although these lists are not notified in the Contents-Index at the beginning of the book. If the various sections were arranged alphabetically, the inquirer-within might be_ helped, instead of being confused by “ Libraries” coming after “Societies,” “Booksellers” after “ Law and Letters,’ and so forth. AUTHORS. Last year, in looking through this list, we marked privately in our copy the inclusion of the name of Sir Frederic Bateman, whose death had been announced in the papers months before. Turning to the letter “ B” this year, we find that the honoured name of that long-since departed physician is still classed amongst living writers. After this, the introductory assurance of the care which has been taken regarding the list of authors loses weight. We have ticked the name of another dead literary lion in order to see whether, twelve months hence, the Year Book will still proclaim that he has been resurrected. Although, in the majority of cases, if an author fails to make the return requested, it may be safe to reinsert the entry regarding him, an exception should be made and particular care taken concerning all writers over seventy years of age. CATALOGUE RAISONNE. Turning to the Classified Catalogue—we beg pardon, ‘‘ Catalogue Raisonné ”—it is gratifying to note that, according to the sub-title of this section, it is confined to “Twentieth Century Literature.” 123 That, we take it, implies that books published before the year 1900 are excluded. Nevertheless, on the first page of this list of titles, which the preface tells us has been drawn up with “ consider- able pains,” we note “ Art in Provincial France,” published in 1838, three books dated in the "seventies, and as many in the ’eighties—showing that the sub-title isa misnomer. This Catalogue Raisonné occupies no fewer than 143 pages in the book. As these are indicated by Roman numerals, the inference is, that, while the bulk of the sheets have been printed in advance, and go to press shortly after December 1 (see note on p. 33), this section has been kept back and inserted at the last moment, so as to be quite up-to-date. Why, there- fore, should there be so many omissions? At the risk of being again called ‘a trifle too precise,” we give a few of the exclusions. Our list could be considerably extended did space in these columns permit. Under the heading of Art, ANTIQUITIES, and following books are con- spicuous by their absence — ARCHITECTURE, the Furniture of Windsor G. F. Laking. Bradbury and Castle. Agnew. Great Zambabwe. R. N. Hall. Methuen. Lace Book. Singing of the Future. Hudson Moore. Chapman and Hall. Ffrangcon Davies. Lane. Under BroGrapuy there is no mention of — Brahms, 2 vols. Florence May. Arnold. Bygone Years. Leveson-Gower. Murray. Bygones Worth Re- G.J.Holyoake. Unwin. membering, 2 vols. Froude. Herbert Paul. Pitman. Mary Queen of Scots, Henderson. Hutchinson. 2 vols. Mirabeau and the Warwick. Lippincott. French Revolution. William Pitt, 3 vols. Von Reville. Cotta’sche Buch- handlung. Queen Henrietta Taylor. Hutchinson. Maria, 2 vols. Wemyss Reid. Stuart Reid. Cassell. Scarlatti. Dent. Arnold, Taine, vol. 3. “ Historian.” Hachette. Under Ficrron, many books which have met with more than usually favourable comments in the Press have been overlooked. Amongst these we note — Ayesha. Haggard. Ward Locke. Barbara Rebell. Mrs. Belloc- Heinemann. Lowndes. Heritage of the Free. Edna Lyall. Hodder and Stoughton. Irrational Knot. Bernard Shaw. Constable. The Lake. George Moore. Heinemann, Lohengrin. Bernard Capes. Dean. Saints in Society. Mrs. Baillie- Unwin. Saunders. 124 Mrs. Baillie-Saunders’ name is also omitted from the list of authors, although she was much adver- tised as the winner of a £100 prize in the autumn publications, before the Year Book went to press. We fail to find under the ambiguous heading of GENERAL LirerRATURE the following books, which might well have been included — The Awakening of OkakuraKakuzo, Murray. Japan. Jiu-Jitsu. Secret of the Totem. On Ten Plays of Shake- speare. Captain Skinner. Andrew Lang. Stopford Brooke. Gay and Bird. Longmans. Constable. Under Porrry there is no mention of — History of Ottoman Gibb. Poetry, Vol. 4. Luzac. Under THEOLOGY we do not see Williams and Norgate. Chapman and Hall. Evolution of Religion. Farnell. g Reconstruction of Be- Malloch. lief. Under TraveL and Topograpuy the following are left out — Gabriel taux. Cox. Macdonald. Alfred Stead. Barclay. Hollis. Contemporary France, Hano- Constable. vol. 2. Forests of England. In Search of Eldorado. Great Japan. Land of the Horn. The Masai. Methuen. Unwin. Lane. Unwin, Clarendon Press. Baron Constable. atsu. Cooper. Sir H. Maxwell. Captain Scott. The Risen Sun. Suyen- Story of York. Story of the Tweed. Voyage of the Dis- covery, 2 vols. Stock. Nisbet. Smith, Elder. The 12 blank pages which should have been indexed cxlix. for “ Favourite Books of 1906,” however, furnish space for noting the many excel- lent volumes omitted. ‘Future recensions,” we are assured in the preface, “will be fuller and more accurate.” Let us hope that this excellent intention will not furnish a supplementary paving- stone to a place never mentioned in polite society. Nevertheless, if the resolution is carried out, we venture to recommend that the bulk of the volume should not be increased unnecessarily, but that all titles of books prior to 1901—or five years preceding date of issue—be eliminated. REVIEWS. Only two books helpful to the literary worker are here given. Mention might at least have been made of that important publication “The Rhymer’s Lexicon,” by A. Loring, with an introduction by Prof. Saintsbury. THE AUTHOR. PUBLISHERS. The list of publishers, we are informed, has been thoroughly revised at first hand, and the informa- tion is based on replies received to circulars. This, of course, is: as it should be; but, after the pre- fatory statement that a ‘genuine’ attempt has been made to correct the omissions of last year, so as to make the book serviceable for the use of members of “all branches of the literary world,” it comes as a shock to find that the section devoted to ‘Foreign Publishers” has not been altered in any way. Surely this is a “just requirement” on the part of authors living abroad. There was ample time to do what was needed in twelve months, and to remove from the Year Book the reproach that not a single firm in Geneva or Neuf- chatel is mentioned, and that the publishing houses of Rome are overlooked. PERIODICALS. Checking the list of “ Periodical Publications ” with the flagrant omissions and mistakes pointed out last year, we find that this section is much improved. We tender our most cordial felicita- tions. Another year approximate payments per thousand words, by editors of those periodicals who welcome outside contributions, might be more generally indicated. A minority of promi- nent writers may command their own prices. What the majority of contributors, especially those living at a distance from Fleet Street, desire to know is the average rate of remuneration given. SOCIETIES. We are assured that the list of societies has been thoroughly revised. We feel thankful for this statement, until we read, on page 5384, that the “Sette of Odd Volumes” dines at Limmer’s Hotel on the fourth Tuesday in each month. Some two years ago the entire Press of the country was para- graphed with a veiled advertisement regarding the metamorphosis of thesporting hostelry into a piano shop. The “Odd Volumes,” when they dine together every fourth Tuesday, must feel excep- tionally odd, with pianos allaround them. Buttue question is, are such premises licensed for the purposes of dining ? Moreover, if this literary club which meets on Tuesdays at Limmer’s is included, why should the “Fraternity of the Whitefriars,” which foregathers on Friday evenings, at Ander- ton’s Hotel, be excluded ? LIBRARIES. So far as Great Britain is concerned, the freshly prepared library section is animprovement on last year. Again, we offer felicitations. But, owing  to letters received from correspondents residing abroad, we begged last year that interest and yalue might be added to this annual, by mention of certain renowned public libraries on the Con- tinent. We specified a number of omissions. Alas, the old and useless list has been again published without revision. Le. In conclusion, we hark back to the fascinating : preface. In this, the editor says, that © No a responsibility can be taken for unintentional errors q in this issue.” Zrgo, he takes responsibility for intentional errors, although we thought that an “error” was always an “ involuntary deviation ” from the path of rectitude, whereas a deliberate 4 misstatement was—whisper it softly—an in- “@ gannation. If we have pointed out more short- of comings than virtues, we have done so regretfully and without prejudice. We are not uncharitable, and have no desire to detract from the unques- tioned value of the major part of the material. By those who live dependent on the pen, and have to find constantly fresh markets for their literary labours, there is much advantage to be derived from the 1906 Year Book. Seeing how numerous is this body of men and women writers, the issue even of an imperfect Literary Directory is a matter ‘ of no small moment, and any effort made to supply the requirements of authors and journalists merits i wide support. It has not been our intention, therefore, to overlook the usefulness of much solid stuff by unduly magnifying the flaws we have come ws across. So far Messrs. Routledge have no rival in the field. That fact ought to encourage the Editor to improve, diligently, a property which should become very valuable alike to publishers and pur- chasers. Nothing but constant and precise atten- tion to detail, however, makes for perfection in a directory. Carelessness in such matters does more damage than want of knowledge. A. B. —-->+—_ LITERARY TREASURE TROYE.* _— 4 / ELL printed, handsomely bound (although perhaps not quite so substantially as is advisable), and arranged—so far as their contents go—with taste and skill of the highest order, the four volumes containing this encyclopedic record of English literature of fifteen successive centuries reflect the greatest possible credit on both editors and publisher alike. The avowed design of those responsible for this catholic and discriminatingly sympathetic compilation has been * “English Literature,” an illustrated record, in four volumes. By Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D., and Edmund Gosse, M.A., LL.D. London: William Heinemann. THE AUTHOR. 125 to produce a work which shall at once stimulate and gratify intelligent interest in English authors, from the first of their number who committed his thoughts to paper down to those of the end of the nineteenth century. Readers and writers are thus introduced to one another, and the latter can, through this medium, learn for themselves exactly what manner of men were and are those who have fired their enthusiasm on the printed page. They may find out here where and when those authors lived, what books they wrote, what measure of suc- cess they achieved, and how they appealed to their contemporaries. Further than this, the volumes are illustrated both by portraits and reproductions of documents, wherever necessary for the elucidation of any special point referred to in the text. In brief, the compilation forms a rapid, but careful, summary of the country’s literary history which, without professing to be exhaustive, nevertheless presents a wealth of easily assimilated information that has never yet been obtainable within a com- paratively restricted area. A fascinating record is the result, and one upon which the editors, Dr. Garnett and Mr. Edmund Gosse, cannot be too highly congratulated. Not the least attractive feature of this record is furnished by the inclusion therein of biographies of the authors referred to in the main critical narrative. These have been selected from among practically every writer whose work has had any real influence upon this country’s literature. Con- siderations of space have perhaps been responsible for a few omissions here and there, but they are certainly not important ones. In the first volume, which is prepared by Dr. Garnett, the period under examination ranges from the pre-Christian era down to that of the first Tudors, from the scarcely more than legendary Widsith (in all pro- bability, by the way, an assumed name—for the use of such a disguise is by no means a modern innovation) down to the George Cavendish, who wrote an excellent account of Cardinal Wolsey’s life. This is a stirring piece of writing and a vivid representation of its subject. A thoughtful essay on Chaucer, and an informative chapter on the history of the English Bible and the evolution of the religious drama are the notable features of this initial volume. The illustrations—many of them reproductions from rare MSS. in the British Museum—give an added interest and value to the accompanying letterpress. In the second volume, which covers but seventy years (whereas its predecessor gives the literary history of seven centuries) the period under examination commences with Henry VIII. and ends with Milton. ‘wo chapters are devoted to Shakespeare. ‘These, from the pen of Dr. Garnett, do not appear to say very much that has not been 126 said before, but they contain some interesting remarks on the vexed question of the chronology of the dramatist’s plays. Mr. Gosse follows with three chapters on the Jacobean authors in the fields of poetry, prose, and drama. The influence on Letters occasioned by the death of Elizabeth was a subtle one, but none the less a strongly marked one. It gave the death blow to the almost medizval sentiment which the Virgin Queen had so stoutly upheld throughout her long sway, thus delaying the renaissance for which the country was hungering. JamesJ. hankered him- self after literary fame with all the ardour of a “popular” novelist of the present day, and effusively welcomed everyone who could wield a pen. Judging from the specimens here given, some of his kingly lucubrations are amateurish in the extreme, despite his proud boast, in “ Invocations to thé Goddis,” ‘I lofty Virgil shall to life restore,” and similar comforting assurances scattered about in his other efforts. Yet it will ever be remembered that the issue of the Bible in its present form was due to his instrumentality. The concluding chapter of this section treats largely of the historians, such as Sir John Hayward (knighted for his researches in 1619), Sir Henry Spelman, and Richard Knolles (who won the admiration of so severe a critic as Dr. Johnson). The. third volume merits, perhaps, a special word of commendation on account of its illustrations. The choice of these could hardly have been improved upon, including as it does characteristic examples of the artistic genius of Rowlandson and Hogarth, together with portraits by Reynolds and Gainsborough of the literary giants of the period (from Milton to Johnson), and reproductions of the title-pages of famous first editions. What, for want of a better term, may be called the democratisation which the cause of authorship underwent in England during the fifth and sixth decades of the eighteenth century is remarked upon in illuminating fashion. With the death of Anne, and the consequent removal of the some- what debilitating influence she exercised upon literary growths, the love of reading spread rapidly among allclasses. Books and authorship generally were no longer the close preserve of the aristocracy. English literature spread its wings and extended its influence. Instead of being insular and almost entirely confined to London, it became cosmo- politan and European. France, Italy and Germany recognised its worth and were proud to borrow from it. The great Continental writers—Rousseau in particular—welcomed the work of British authors into the salons of Paris, Rome and Berlin, while our own men of letters borrowed freely from the genius of their foreign models. The mutual interchange of thought, combined with the healthy THE AUTHOR. rivalry thus brought about, had the happiest results. To its stimulating influence we owe the rescue of English literature from the slough into which it had fallen, and the loosening of the pedagogic shackles that had bound it so long. The scope of the fourth and final volume is to give a survey of the age which commenced with Johnson and terminated with Tennyson. The limit of the period under review is the death of Queen Victoria, and, except in the epilogue, no living writer is dealt with. The four chapters of this last section discuss respectively the ages of Wordsworth, Byron, the Early Victorians, and Tennyson. They make up a critical estimate— unmarked, one is glad to note, by any arrogant dogmatism—of English literature from 1780 down to within the dawn of the twentieth century. The opinions expressed are, as must always be the case in any such undertaking, formed in accordance with the individual temperament of the historian, formed on a series of esthetic principles. Although this may be an unsatisfactory way of creating a critical estimate of books and writers, it is at least less open to abuse than any other. As Mr. Gosse points out, “ The history of literary criticism is a record of conflicting opinion, of blind prejudice, of violent volte-faces, of discord and misapprehension.’ In his own day Shakespeare occupied but a small niche: to-day he is universally regarded as an inspired genius. Conversely, a great reputation in one age becomes a laughing-stock in another. The reason for this is not far to seek. Changes are constantly passing over human thought which materially affect the whole atmosphere of criticism. The individualist method has at times reduced really great minds into ludicrous excesses, but, despite this, it still remains the best we have. Horace WYNDHAM. ————+ THE “ MIRACLE’S” OBITUARIES. —+~ + « ULLO, you're alive!” exclaimed (with variations) four out of seven men stand- ing in a group round the tape in the hall of the Pandemonium Club. “How did you manage it?” asked the other three, or they used words to that effect, and the last comer, declining to corroborate what was evident to everyone, growled a few words of explanation in reply to the question. “Nothing else to do; fog everywhere; saw nothing ; came away first train ; wrote a column on all that a new dockyard must contain, before going down ; wrote half-a-column on fog in the  ae ae train. I had the only empty carriage to myself, and we stopped for ten minutes out of every five ; sent my copy down to the office from the station, and came on here. Anything else you'd like to know ?” «You came away before the show was over?” “Why not? If a retiring first Lord of the Admiralty chooses to give a beanfeast to the Cabinet and all that’s left of his followers in the House to celebrate the opening of a new dockyard that nobody wants, need I wait for their departure for London before describing a ceremony that nobody could see?” “Tjucky you didn’t try to come up in their train and get personal interviews with statesmen vacating office ?” said the youngest of the seven. The last comer was becoming interested in their demeanour. He took up the tape, at the other end of which the machine choked and clucked like a croupy hen trying to attract attention to the latest failure in eggs. “If anything has happened I wish you'd say so plainly,” he grumbled. “I’ve had four hours in the train over a two hours’ journey, and I know nothing. Has anything happened ?” The youngest condescended to be explanatory. «Nothing at all,” he remarked lightly. “ Only a smash half-way down the line ; not more than nine Cabinet Ministers killed, and only thirteen remains of common M.P.’s identified up to now !” “ What !” “Never know your luck—eh ? passed just before ?” The last comer was looking dazed, but was evidently making an effort. “ Anybody thirsty ?” he asked at last, adding, “oo into the smoking-room.” They acted upon his invitation without demur, leaving him to hang up his overcoat and give orders to the waiter. It was an occasion which no doubt demanded some form of celebration, but when he appeared a few minutes later, preceded by a tray loaded with magnums of champagne, and a box of the club’s longest and costliest cigars, they iooked a little surprised, and one of them hinted in a whisper that the train which came through must at least have been provided with a refreshment bar. Their entertainer, seated on the edge of the table before them while the waiter drew corks and filled glasses, was apparently reckoning with the aid of his fingers. “ Here’s to fog and newspaper managers,” he said, raising his glass, while they followed his example, ‘nine and thirteen make twenty-two. Poor beggars,” he went on meditatively, “it’s death to them, but it’s a good start in the New Year for me. Perhaps you don’t understand.” You must have THE AUTHOR. 127 The eldest journalist present remarked that he was gifted with invention but not with second sight, and refilled his glass, and the other continued. “ Half-a-dozen years ago, as you all know, the Miracle was restarted with the idea that it was to be made a live paper at a popular price. It began by giving away half-a-pound of tea weekly to its subscribers, and it promised, to those who paid by the year, a sausage for breakfast as well, but it did not quite get so far as fulfilling that. Still, it increased its circulation. Just about that time the editor sent for me, and told me that all the biographies they had in the office—the obituary notices, you know—were obsolete and wanted writing up-to-date, and that many of them relating to new men in the Government and new members of Parliament had never been written at all. He wanted them all done in a new way, too; done so as to be worthy of a ‘live paper ’—he seemed fond of the expression, and used it all the time. The terms he offered were uncommonly good ; something like a tenner a life, and anything over a column extra at the same rate, so I jumped at it and thought I’d struck it rich at last. I got the price put in writing, threw myself into the job, and as I was slack at the time did very little else for a year. They were not common ‘ Who’s Who ?’ sort of work. He said they were to be done from ‘the inside’; and that is what I tried for. I inter- viewed the men themselves, and had to keep it dark that the notice was not to be printed till they were dead. JI saw their parents when they had any, and I talked to two old nurses more than eighty years old. I interviewed their wives—I interviewed their housemaids. The housemaids told me a few useful things. The wives mostly told me what no one would ever have believed, except one who became confidential and told me things that even the Miracle would not have printed. In short—I did it jolly well and the editor said so, and when I asked for payment he gave me a special note and asked me to apply personally to the manager.” “Ah,” said someone, “what did the manager say ?” “‘Oh, he liked the notices very much too, and said so. I observed casually that a tenner apiece had been arranged for, and that as I had written about seventy-two, I wanted a cheque on account «And he said they would think of it when all were completed,” suggested the man who had spoken before. “Not he; he said that, like other matter, the obituary notices on the Miracle were paid for immediately after publication.” The gentle murmur, scarcely to be called a groan, that went round the group of listeners was THRE AUTHOR. suggestive of patience in tribulation rather than of resentment or even surprise. “T said what I could, of course, and he told me newspapers had to live ; though it did not seem to strike him that journalists might find it difficult to write for newspapers unless they could live too. He was quite polite and said that no doubt I should regard my work as an investment of capital bring- ing in interest at a fair rate, with just those fluctuations dependent upon fortune that are attractive to a speculative mind.” “Did you tell him that half the men you had written about would probably outlive you ?” asked a clean-shaven man. “ Not being a lawyer I did not take the trouble to make obvious points. I said rather more than I can remember, and I ended by telling him that nothing so iniquitous had been attempted since the eighth commandment forbade larceny, but he only smiled and said that of course there were well-established precedents for all that was done on the Miracle, so I left him. But now a “Now, you’ve scooped it; and as half your biographies refer to men who would have lost their seats in the House in a month’s time you are considerably lucky—there will have to be some notice as to each, and the Miracle won’t be able to say that your work was not used at all.” “ That is so, of course.” He seated himself in an easy chair and stretched out his feet towards the fire. The clean-shaven man had not quite liked the tone adopted towards him, and had been meditating deeply. “ Do you feel nervous ?” he asked suddenly. “ Of course not—why should I?” “Leaving out the question of motive for the present,” began the other in measured tones, ‘“ you passed the spot shortly before the accident hap- pened, and you say that your train often stopped for ten minutes at a time ; [ suppose anyone in it could have laid the usual iron chair on the line— or a few large stones—without being seen in the fog, and you had the only empty carriage to yourself. It is not usual, I suppose, for a journalist to leave what he is going to report before everything is over, when he need not do so—and just look at the motive! Now I come to think of it, the tele- gram says that foul play alone can account for an accident at such a spot. Of course we can all point to your evident pleasure at the news, and your noteworthy absence of surprise and sorrow at so terrible a catastrophe—your want of gratitude to Providence for your own escape—and the motive ye His host was pulling at his cigar with a contented and benignant smile upon his face. “Tt does seem as if I was growing a little hard-hearted,” he remarked, interrupting; ‘but twenty-two articles at a tenner apiece—all the work done—and perhaps more to follow, don’t fall in every working day. It’s only a question of your point of view. From my point of view it is a pity that it was not the roof of the station when they were all getting out of the train! Anyhow we shall see what the Miracle has to say about the negligence of railway companies, and the wanton sacrifice of valuable lives to earn dividends.” + THE NOBEL PRIZE. ee N December 11th, under the rules of the Nobel Prize Foundation, the awards for 1905 were declared by those bodies anthorised to make the selection. The literary prize has this year been awarded to Henryk Sienkiewicz, the Polish novelist, who is known to all English readers for his powerful novel “Quo Vadis,” which made his literary fame international. The following is a list of the prizewinners in former years :— 1901. The French poet, Sully Prudhomme. 1902. The German historian, Th. Mommsen. 1903. The Norwegian poet, Bjdérnstjerne Bjornson. 1904. The Provencal poet, Fr. Mistral, and to the Spanish dramatist, José Echegaray. ee CORRESPONDENCE. ae On AGREEMENTS. Sir,—A considerable time since Sir Walter Besant pointed out that it was the right of the seller to draw the agreement. I believe that this statement was, from a business point of view, per- fectly correct. Have authors yet taken any steps towards availing themselves of their right to draw the agreement ? And if not, why not ? Also, in many cases at least, authors are invited to contribute towards the cost of production. In business the individual who assists with money another insufficiently supplied with capital to conduct his affairs, rightly claims and enjoys a definite share in the control of every step subse- quently taken in the use of that money. Do authors (if any are still so weak) who contribute money towards the costs of production, sist upon being consulted by the person to whom they have lent their money respecting all the steps which be subsequently taken ? And if not, why not ? EB, K. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 16 Issue 04 (January 1906) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 04 (January 1906) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1906-01-01-The-Author-16-4 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/513/1906-02-01-The-Author-16-5.pdf 8b92e5985a6b8d69662ca4caf77a510e PDF Text Text �������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1906-02-01 Volume 16 Issue 5 Pages Page range in volume 129–160 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19060201 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che HMutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. X VI.—No. 5. FEBRUARY I1sT, 1906. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_——-+-~> + NOTICES. + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. THe Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. ——++— List of Members. Tu List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. 1 The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. VoL, XVI. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consoin 26 Gs STOOD UY Juocal ligans=. 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 Wart Wont 3... es. 201° 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture SbOcK 6 ee 250 0 9 Egyptian Government — Irrigation Trnst. 4 °% Certificates ............-.. 200 -0 © otal ee £2,443. 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £8. a. July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon. the Lord : : . : : 20 5 20 Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. ; : / 0 5 oO ., Chorbucn, WM. : 0 100 0 Nov. 9, ‘ Francis Daveen ’’. : 70. 8 6 5s alr, J Osep)) : : .- it 1 0 », 21, Thurston, Mrs. ; ; ei Dec. 18, Browne, F. M. ; : 7 0. 60 Donations, 1905. July 28, Potter, the Rev. J. Hasluck GO 5 0 Oct. 12, Allen, W. Bird : O25 0 Oct. 17, A. C. N. : : : 1 0 30 Oct. 17, Hawtrey, Miss Valentina 0. 52.0 Oct. 31, Williamson, C. N. 1150 Oct. 31, Williamson, Mrs. 1 6 Noy. 6, Reynolds, Mrs. Fred. ea) Nov. 9, Wingfield, H. 0 10 6 Nov..17, Nash, T.A. . le 0 Dec. 1, Gibbs, F. L. A. 010 6 Dec. 6, Finch, Madame 113 6 Dec. 15, Egbert, Henry 0 5 0 Dec. 15, Muir, Ward . : P16 Dec. 15, Sherwood, Mrs. A. . 010 O Dec. 18, Sheppard, A. T. 010 6 Dec. 18, 8. F. G. : 010 0 1906. Jan. 2, Jacobs, W. W. . : 7b 8 0 Jan. 6, Wilkins, W. H. (Legacy) 50 0 0 Jan. 10, Middlemas, Commander A. C. 0 10 0 130 COMMITTEE NOTES. — 1 rYNHE first meeting of the committee for the year 1906 was held at the Society’s offices, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, on Mon- day, January 8th. : The year opened auspiciously with an elect on of twenty-three members and associates. The three members of the committee who, under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, are bound to,retire were Sir Henry Bergne, Mr. A. W. 4 Beckett, and Mr. Austin Dobson, These gentlemen resigned, submitted their names for re-election, and were re-elected in due course. The next question to be considered by the com- mittee was the appointment of a sub-committee to settle the report for the past year, and Sir Henry Bergne and Mr. A. Hope Hawkins kindly con- sented to pass the draft. This, when it has been settled, will as usual be circulated to all the members. There were two or three important cases before the committee for discussion. In one, referring to the insufficiency of a publisher’s accounts, the committee decided to appoint an accountant on behalf of the member to go fully into the matter and check the details. In another the com- mittee decided, subject to the approval of the Society’s solicitors, to print a letter in The Author. No legal remedy existed, but the committee thought it essential to bring the facts to the notice of the members of the Society through the columns of The Author. ‘here was another case, referring to the infringement of artistic copyright, which, owing to the unsatisfactory state of the artistic copyright law, contained many legal difficulties. In consequence, the committee decided to take counsel’s opinion before any further action was sanctioned. On the other cases it is impossible to report, owing to their confidential nature. The Secretary reported that he had received during the past month another letter from the Foreign Office, with reference to Egypt and the Berne Convention. With the consent of the Foreign Office, the correspondence will be printed in one of the coming numbers of Z’e Author. It would appear that under existing arrangements it is possible to protect the copyright property of English authors in the mixed tribunals in Heypt. The Secretary announced to the committee two donations to the pension fund—one from Mr. W. W. Jacobs—an amount recovered through the Society’s agency for infringement of copyright in Norway, and the other a sum of £50 left under the will of the late Mr. W. H. Wilkins. oo THER AUTHOR. Cases, During the past month six cases have passed through the secretary’s hands. One referred to the settlement of a contract. This has not as yet been terminated. One referred to accounts, and in this case the accounts have been delivered and forwarded to the member. One referred to a demand for publication and money due. This has been settled by the editor consenting to pub- lish within the next two months and pay the amount due on publication. The author has agreed to the arrangement. ‘Two of the others were demands for money for articles that had been published. In the one case the cheque has been for- warded to the author, in the other the editor has refrained so far from answering the secretary’s letters. The last case was for the return of a MS. As this has only just been placed in the secretary’s hands the editor has not as yet had time to reply. Of the cases mentioned in the previous issue of The Author there are still four unsettled. Two of these refer to actions abroad, one in America and one in Canada, and will take some time to negotiate. The others are still in the course of negotiation, but one of the demands for money is in an un- satisfactory condition, as the editor repudiates liability and refuses to answer letters, and purports to hold letters from the author, of which the latter has no copies. Members of the society cannot be advised too strongly of the importance of retaining copies of their letters, otherwise, energetic action on the part of the committee is almost impossible, as at any moment they may be met with a letter which, having escaped the recollection of the mem- ber, upsets the legal position of the contract and the member’s demands. 1+ January Elections. Alwyn, Harold Crowther Wentworth House, Folkestone. Berry, William Grinton, 838, Vesta Road, M.A. Bromley. Branson, William P, 8. 59, Gordon Square, WiC, Buckton, Miss Alice M. Sesame House, 434, Acacia Road, St. John’s Wood, N.W. 34, Westbourne Gar- dens, W. Chettle, Blandford, Dorset. 16, Montgomerie Cres- cent, Glasgow, W. 121, Rue de Varenne, Paris. Burdon, The Rev. H. N. Castleman, Henry C. ff. . Clark, Miss Margaret S. Dawson, Francis War- rington  2, St. James’ Square S.W. 4, Grange Road, Gun- nersbury, W. 49, Drayton Gardens, S. Kensington. c/o. Agent-General for Queensland, Victoria Street, Westminster. c/o. Messrs. Grindlay & Co., 54, Parliament Street, S.W. 25, Colville Road, Bays- water. 74, Carlisle Mansions, Victoria Street, S.W. Falmouth, The Viscountess Maxwell, H. B. Middlemass, Commander A. C., R.N. Mills, Miss Ethel Norman, F. J. : : Palmer, J. E. Prichard, Mrs. Hesketh . Rowland-Brown, Miss Othey Grove, Harrow Lilian (Rowland Grey) Weald. Sergeant, P. W. . . The Authors’ Club, 8, Whitehall Court, S.W. Still, Alfred Yette Lodge, Ellesmere Park, Eccles, Lanca- shire. Bank of Scotland House, Callander, Perthshire. 229, West 139th Street, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.A. Charlottenburg, Uh- landstrasse, 194. Royal Societies Club, St. James’, S.W. The Anchorage, Como, Province of Quebec, Canada; Constitu- tional Club, W.C. Thomson, William Harold Vance, Louis Joseph Wentzel, Frau Grace D. Barlow von Whyte, Frederic W. Wintle, Gilbert C. H. ——— BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. —-—— (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etce., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve ‘to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply particulars, ) ART. SocIAL CARICATURE IN THE 18TH CENTURY. By Gro. Pasvon. 15} x 11}. 144 pp. Methuen. £2 12s. 6d.n. BIOGRAPHY, JosEPH CHAMBERLAIN, IMPERIALIST. By N. MURRELL Marris. 71x 5, 275 pp. Routledge. Is. THE AUTHOR. 131 DRAMA, THE AUTHOR’S APOLOGY FROM FESsION. By BERNARD SHAW. by John Corbin. 7 x 44. 60c. n. Mrs. WARREN’S PRO- With an Introduction 66 pp. New York. Bretano’s. EDUCATIONAL. AN EMBASSY TO THE GREAT MOGUL. A SosgourN AT LHa-ssa. 112 pp. SINTRAM DE LA MOTTE-FOUQUE. 140 pp. THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN JAMES. 118 pp. PRESCOTT’S CONQUEST OF PERU (abridged). THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 132 pp. THE ADVENTURE OF MoNTLUC. 117 pp. ENGLISH ScxHoon Texts. Edited by W. H. D. Rouse, 136 pp. 128 pp. Litt. D. 6} x 44. Blackie. 6d. STORIES FROM GRIMM. Edited by A. R. Hope Mon- CRIEFF. (Modern Language Series.) 6} x 4}. 122pp. Blackie. Is. 6d. FICTION. A SICILIAN MARRIAGE. 5. 308 pp. White. 6s. THE EXPIATION OF EUGENE. FOUR. 73x 5. 452 pp. THROUGH THE RAIN. x 302 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE Scar. By Francis W. Dawson. 7% x 5}. 310 pp. Methuen. 6s. Six WomEN. By VICTORIA CROSS. Werner Laurie. © 6s. AT SUNWICH PoRT. Will Owen. 188 pp. x 53. Newnes. 6d. THE Beauty SHop. By DANIEL WOODROFFE. 338 pp. Werner Laurie. 6s. THE ARROW OF THE‘NorTH. By R. H. Forster. 7} x 5. 316 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE House oF RIDDLES. 3y DoROTHEA GERARD. 7% x 5. 320 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. Her HIGHNKSS. By FRED WHISHAW. 7} x 5. J. Long. 6e, STELLA FREGELIUS. -A H. RIDER HAGGARD. Longmans. 3s. 6d. PEARL, or A PASSING By DoUGLAS SLADEN. 7} x By Freperic H. BAL- Greening. 6s. By Mrs. HUGHES-GIBB, 7} X 5}. 7% x 5. 293 pp. 3y W. W. JAcoss. Illustrated by (Newnes’ Sixpenny Novels.) 83 7% x 5. 317 pp. Tale of Three Destinies. By New Edition. 8 x 53. 361 pp. 3RIGHTNESS. By OLIVE KATH- ERINE Parr. 74 x 53. 260 pp. Sands & Co. 3s. 6d. GARDENING. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL FLOWER GARDENING. Edited By W. P. Wricut. 74x 5. 152 pp. Cassell. 1s. n. HISTORY: ByY-PATHS OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE History, By J. Por- TER Briscon, F.R.S.L. 73x 5. 160 pp. Saxton. Nottingham. 3s, 6d.n. LITERARY. TREASURE OF THE HUMBLE. 3y MAURICE Translated by ALFRED SuTRO. 6} Humphreys. 6s, n. THE MAETERLINCK. 6, - 218 pp. MISCELLANEOUS. CHILDREN'S ANSWERS. Shrewd, witty, nonsensical, and pathetic. Collected by J. H. Burn. New and Enlarged 64 x 49. Edition. 282 pp. Treherne. 2s. n. 132 PAMPHLETS. HAPPINESS AND THRIFT. Being the Substance of an ‘Address to the Members of the Booksellers’ Provident Institution. By THE Rigut Hon. LORD AVEBURY, Macmillan. ls. n. POETRY. INNocENCcIES. By KATHERINE TYNAN. 7] X 5. TOpp. Bullen. 3s. 6d. n. A LADY oF Kricock. With Other Lays and Relays. By J. M. Lowry. 73 x5. 71 pp. Dublin: Hodges. London: Simpkin. 1s. n. POLITICAL. FiscaL RerorM. Speeches delivered by the Right. Hon. A. J. Balfour, from June, 1880 to December, 1905. With a Preface. 8} x 53. 280 pp. Longmans. 2s. 6d. n. REPRINTS. VERSES AND TRANSLATIONS, By CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY. With an Introduction by Owen Seaman. 184 pp. Blackie. Is. 6d. n. THE Last Essays or ELIA. With an Introduction by Augustine Birrell. Blackie. 2s. 6d. n. SELECTED POEMS OF ROBERT BURNS. duction (40 pp.). By ANDREW LANG. Kegan Paul. ls. 6d. n. LYRISTS OF THE RESTORATION. From Sir Edward Sherburne to William Congreve. Selected and Edited by JOHN and CONSTANCE MASEFIELD. 5 X 3}. 282 pp. Grant Richards. 3s. 6d. n. By CHARLES LAMB. 296 pp. With an Intro- 64 x 4. 223 pp. THEOLOGY. THE SACRED TENTH, or ANCIENT AND MODERN. Two Vols. 82 x 53. STUDIES IN TITHE-GIVING, By H. Lanspeun, D.D. 752 pp. S.P.C.K. 16s. TRAVEL. InDIA. By MORTIMER MENPES. Text by FLORA ANNIE STEEL. 9 x 6}. 216 pp. Black. 20s. n. THE WoRLD oF To-Day. A Survey of the Lands and Peoples of the Globe as seen in Travel and Commerce. By A. R. Hope Moncrierr. Vol. IV. 103 x 73. 266 pp. The Gresham Publishing Co. THE AFRICANDER LAND. By A. R. COLQUHOUN. 93 x 6. 438 pp. Murray. 16s. n. ri LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. — 1 E regret that in the magazine contents for January, we missed chronicling an article that appeared in the December number of The Monthly Review, by Mr. Eden Phillpotts, entitled “'To the Lamp-Bearers.” We take this opportunity of repairing the omission by recom- mending this. interesting essay to our members. THE AUTHOR. Mr. Phillpotts uses De Quincy’s “ Life of Goethe ” as the germ for some thoughts on other great writers, such as Ruskin, Rabelais, Aristotle. The Seatonian prize of the University of Cam- bridge, 1905, has been obtained by the Rev. A. C. Deane, for a poem on St. Columba. St. Columba died on June 9th, 597, and the incidents described in the poem are derived from the chronicle of Adamnan, ninth abbot of Iona. “The Sacred Tenth, or Studies in Tithe-giving, Ancient and Modern,” is the title of a work written by the Rev. Henry Lansdell, and pub- lished by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The author traces the history of the practice of tithe-paying, and argues the need and possibility of reform in charitable giving and of a general resumption of the practice of tithe- paying. Messrs. Harper Bros. have recently published Vol. iv. of Mr. Poultney Bigelow’s “‘ History of the German Struggle for Liberty,” which closes with the popular upheaval of 1848. Mr. Bigelow is at present in Boston, where he is delivering a course of twenty-five lectures before the department of jurisprudence, Boston university. The subject of the lectures is “Colonial History and Adminis- tration.” Mr. Desmond F. T. Coke, author of “Sandford and Merton,” “ The Dog from Clarkson’s,” etc., has written a story which attempts to paint life as it is at one of our great public schools, and to satirise false sentiment and melodrama. The book is called the “Bending of a Twig,” and is pub- lished by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, at 6s, It will be illustrated with many photographs of scenes at Shrewsbury, where the action of the story passes. “The Beauty Shop” is the title of a novel which Mr. Werner Laurie published last month. It is from the pen of Daniel Woodroffe, author of ‘Tangled Trinities.” The story concerns a Bond Street beauty shop, and the art of the beauty doctor is exhibited as a grave social peril. The schemes by which this establishment gathers within its meshes of deception and blackmail both rich and poor, form the purport of the story. Mr. Werner Laurie has also published Victoria Cross’s new book “Six Women,” which in the main is oriental in character. Messrs. Joseph Williams, Limited, have recently published, at the price of 1s. net., a work entitled “Songs for Children,” set to music by L. Budgen. The songs include “ Simple Simon,” ‘Good King Arthur,” “Mr. Do’s the Man for Me,” “ Dame Get Up and Bake Your Pies,” ‘We Willie Winkie,” “Try Again.” “The Rosebud Wall and Other Poems” is the title given to a collection of verses from the pen of  Agnes H. Begbie, published in Edinburgh by Wm. J. Hay, and in London by 8. Bagster & Sons, Limited. Most of the pieces deal with nature and the deity, and all of them are reverent in conception. * Sir Theodore Martin will publish shortly, through Mr. John Murray, a volume of “ Monographs,” containing biographical sketches of Garrick, Mac- ready, Rachel and Baron Stockmar. The volume is based on articles published in the Quarterly Review and elsewhere many years ago. Mrs. Mona Caird is publishing a series of travel sketches under the title of “ Wanderings in Pro- vence.” In this work, which Mr. Joseph Pennell and Mr. Edward Synge will illustrate, consider- able attention is given to the associations of the region with French history and with the troubadours. Miss Alice C. C. Gaussen has written a memoir of Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, the friend of Dr. Johnson and the translator of Epictetus. Mrs. Carter was a prominent member of the Bas Bleu — and enjoyed not a little notoriety in her ay. Messrs. Longmans & Co. announce the publica- tion of “The Elements of Geometry in Theory and Practice,” by A. E. Pierpoint. The work, which is published at the price of 2s., is based on the report of the committee appointed by the Mathematical Association, 1902, and comprises the subject matter of Euclid, with an experi- mental section and additional theorems and problems. The latest additions to Messrs. Geo. Newnes’ series of sixpenny copyright novels are, Mr. Rider Haggard’s “ Nada, the Lily,” and Mr. Douglas Sladen’s story of old Heidelberg, “ Trincolax.” Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Williamson have written a story which they have entitled “ Lady Betty across the Water.” It tells of the experiences and adven- tures of a young English girl who goes to America for the first time. It also compares English and American manners. Messrs. Chatto & Windus will publish shortly a new vovel by Mrs. Campbell Praed, the title of which is “The Lost Earl of Ellan.” he story deals with the wreck of the Quetta, which took place off Thursday Island in 1889. The hero of the book is a lost earl—hence the title. “In the Sixties and Seventies,” by Laura Hain Friswell, which Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. pub- lished recently, has gone into a second edition. The book has been extensively reviewed in England, and an edition for the United States is also in preparation. “A Chaplet from Florence” is the title of a collection of sonnets by M. G. J. Kinloch, author of “A History of Scotland, Chiefly in its Hccle- THE AUTHOR. 133 siastical Aspect,” and ‘A Song-Book of the Soul.” The volume, which contains twenty photogravure plates illustrating views in Florence and famous paintings in Florence, is published at the price of 10s. 6d. net. Copies can be obtained at Giennini, Piazza Pitti, 20, Florence, or from Messrs. Sands & Co., 23, Bedford Street, Strand, London, and 13, Bank Street, Edinburgh. At a meeting of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076, held at Freemasons’ Hall, London, early in January, the following resolution was unani- mously passed: “That official recognition and sanction be given by this lodge to, and permission to use the lodge emblems in, the medal about to be issued by Brother Carl C. Wiebe, Past Grand Master of Hamburg, in commemoration of the jubilee anniversary of Brother Robert Freke Gould’s initiation into Masonry.” The first of Mr. St. John Lacy’s series of concerts for 1906 took place on Wednesday, January 17th, at the Clarence Hall, Imperial Hotel, Cork. The next two concerts will be held on February 21st and March 17th, respectively. Among others it is hoped that the following works will be performed during the season :— Bach Concerto in D major (piano and strings) ; Bazzini, quartet in D minor (strings) ;_ Beethoven, the kreutzer sonata (piano and violin); Bossi, sonata in E minor (violin and piano) ; Gade, trio in F (piano, violin, and ’cello). Miss Florence Warden will produce, at the Great Queen Street Theatre, in February, a comedy written by herself, entitled ‘“‘Parlez-vous Frangais ?” Members of the Press and managers of theatres are specially invited, and members of the dramatic profession will be welcome. “The Harlequin King,” adapted from the German of Rudolf Lothar, by Louis N. Parker and Selwyn Brinton, was produced at the Imperial Theatre on January 38rd. The Harlequin (Mr. Lewis Waller) is the living image of the King, and, after quarrelling with the latter, in a fit of fury kills him and assumes his position. The natural results of this impersonation form the main theme of the play. In addition to Mr, Lewis Waller, the caste includes Miss Evelyn Millard, Miss Mary Rorke, Mr. Norman McKinnel, and Miss Brooke. Mr. Henry Arthur Jones’ new comedy, “'The Heroic Stubbs,” was produced at Terry’s Theatre on January 24th. “The Heroic Stubbs” is a bootmaker, whose admiration for one of his fair customers is the spur behind all his endeavour ; although he recognises that the object of his worship belongs to an entirely different social sphere. When, therefore, he hears the details of a scheme which he considers likely to wreck her domestic happiness, he feels morally bound to go to 134 ler assistance. His adventures whilst engaged in this labour of love, and the success which he finally achieves, form the purport of the play. The caste included Mr. James Welch in the title part, Miss Gertrude Kingston and Mr. Dennie Eadie. —_—_—_———_+—>_o—_ PARIS NOTES. — 1 HE book, “ Jean Christophe,” by M. Romain Rolland, which has won the prize of 5,000 francs awarded by the review, La Vie Heureuse, for the best novel of the year, is the story of the life of a musician. The novel is in three volumes, “T’Aube,” “Le Matin,’ and “ L’Adolescent.” Tt commences with the birth of the child in a little Bhenish town, where his father is violinist at the theatre and his grandfather had been conductor of the orchestra for the Grand Duke’s concerts. We follow day by day the progress of the baby-child, and are initiated into all his secret thoughts and feelings. The old grandfather, a sturdy, upright, rugged man, with a kindly heart, is introduced to us; the father a contemptibly weak nature and an inveterate drunkard. Jean Christophe’s mother, a typical German wife of the household drudge order, devoted to her husband, family and home. Of course, it is obvious that the author has been inspired by the life of Beethoven for very much in this novel. The child’s home and surroundings, the reprobate father, through whom the boy’s early days were clouded and his nature warped, the young musician’s first compositions which, in the novel, date from his eighth year, his independent character and hatred of patronage, his keen sensitiveness and difficult character, together with all his family troubles and pecuniary difficulties, are minutely described, and remind one strongly of Beethoven’s biography. As a matter of fact, it is somewhat confusing, for one is inclined to wonder all the time which is history and which fiction. As a psychological study, it would be more interesting without this dual personality. ‘‘ T Etat et la Liberté,” by M. Waldeck-Roussean, is a collection of speeches and articles by the late eminent statesman, several of which are of special interest at the present moment. “ L’Eglise ouverte a la foi et non A la politique” is the subject of a speech made at Montreuil-le-Gust in 1879. In another speech, “Les Congrégations contre la Republique,” pronounced in 1880, he says: ‘Le Gouvernement n’ a aucune animosité contre cette Eglise francaise, qui, il y a deux siecles, par la voix de ses évéques, condamnait si hautement ces doctrines ultramontaines et anti-nationales sous lesquelles on veut aujourd’ hui la courber... . Il THER AUTHOR. y a quelques semaines, nous avons fondé une Société d’agriculture. ... . Nous en avons arrété les statuts, puis nous les avons soumis a M. le Préfet, et comme ils ne contenaient rien que de licite, nous avons immédiatement été autorisés, . : . Eb bien! ce que nous venons de faire, c’est ce que le Gouvernement veut que les congrégations fassent. C’est le dernier mot de sa tyrannie et de sa persécution.” Other interesting chapters are on “Te ‘Travail, levier des Destinées humaines,” “Te Clergé et les Elections,” “De PAutorité,” “Défense de la Politique du ministere ‘ Gam- betta,” “La Loi Municipale,” “ La Loi sur les Récidivistes,” &c. Among the new novels are: “ Le Mauvais Pas,” by Jacques des Gachons; “Cousine Laura,” by M. Marcel Prévost ; ‘‘Sous le Fardeau,” by J. H. Rosny ; “ Les Etourderies de la Chanvinesse,” by Léon de Tinseau. M. Paul Doumer has written a book ‘entitled “Livre de mes fils,” which is attracting a certain amount of attention just now. The volume is divided into four parts : the man, the family, the citizen, country. Another book by a politician is entitled “ Idées contemporaines.” It is by M. Poincaré and treats of widely diverse subjects. Some recent historical and biographical works are the following : “* Le Comte Paul Stroganof,” by the Grand Duke Nicolas Mikhailovitch ; ‘‘ Six Mois en Mandchourie,” by M. Ivan de Schneck. The author started from St. Petersburg, February 24th, 1904, with Veretschaguine, and went to Siberia, Moukden, Port Arthur, Dalny. He describes the catastrophe of Petropavlosk, the death of Verets- chaguine, the siege of Port Arthur, &c. Another book of interest is “ La Carriére d’un navigateur,” by Prince Albert of Monaco ; and “La Fin de notre ére,” by Tolstoi; ‘ Michel Ange,” by M. R, Rolland; “ La Russie, au dix- huitiéme siécle,” by M. Emile Haumant; “ La France ¢t I’Italie,” by M. A. Billot, ex-ambassador ; ‘Histoire des relations du Japon avec i’Europe, aux seizieme et dix-huitiéme siécles,” by M. H. Nagoake, attaché to the Japanese legation of Paris ; “Te Maroc pittoresque,” by M. Jean du Taillis ; “J, Empire du travail” (Life in the United States), by M. Anadoli. Among translations from the English : “ Les Exploits du Colonel Gérard,” by Conan Doyle ; “THistoire des Gadsby,” by Rudyard Kipling ; “Une jeune Anglaise & Paris,” by C. Maud; “Hypocrite sanctifié,” by Max Beerbohm. Money prizes varying in amount from £120 to £5 have been awarded by the Société des Gens de Lettres for literary work, to the following authors : Mmes. Pommerol, Gevin Cassal, Jeanne Leroy Brada, Dalvy, Jean Barancy, and to M. M.  Reibrach, Vergniol, Lepelletier, Labitte, Rosay, du Bled, Saint Maurice, Grison, de Grave, Jho Pale, des Granges, Boyer d’Agen, Guiraud, Pourot, Poulailler, Andre. The death of Paul Meurice, at the age of eighty- seven, has taken away one of the most sincere and devoted admirers of Victor Hugo. He was the poet's executor, and for many years had devoted nearly all his time to the publication of the last and complete edition of Victor Hugo’s works. M. Paul Meurice wrote novels, translated several of Shakespeare’s plays, and adapted many other plays for the French stage. ; A voyage in Greece is being organised for the month of March by the Revue génerale des Sciences pures et appliquées. M. Gaston Deschamps will have the scientific management of the cruise, and will give lectures on board on the art and civiliza- tion of ancient Greece. When visiting the various sites and monuments, he will act as_ historical guide. The Cercle de la Librairie has now opened a fresh bureau for the protection of French literary and artistic rights abroad. In the Revue des Deux Mondes, Maurice Barres continues his “ Voyage 4 Sparte,” M. Goyau writes on “Le Péril primaire,” and M. Bruneticre on “Les époques de la Comédie de Moliére.” In La Revue there is an admirable article by Jean Finot, entitled “ La Volonté, comme moyen de pro- longer la vie” ; and in the second number of the month an article by M. Georges Pellissier on “ Les Femmes écrivains en France,” the conclusion of an anonymous article commenced in the preceding number, entitled “Tues Dessous de la Révolution russe”; and an exquisite poem, “ Solitaire,” by Sully Prudhomme. Maurice Donnay’s play, “ Paraitre,” is soon to be given at the Théatre Francais, and M. Claretie has just received a comedy, in two acts, by Daniel Riche, entitled ‘‘ Prétexte.” The success of “ La Rafale” continues, but it is announced that the next play to be given at the Gymnase is “ Benjamine,” by Jean Aicard. Sardou has recently read a new piece to the actors of the Variétés. “Vers l’Amour,” a comedy in five acts, by M. Léon Gandillot, has had great success at the Théatre Antoine. It is an episode taken from the Mont- martre life of Paris. ‘The characters are all well drawn, and the whole play is convincing. Anys HALLARD. —____+—>—+- —____ THE AUTHOR. 135 COPYRIGHT CASES IN THE UNITED STATES. —_+—@ + [Reprinted from the United States Publishers’ Weekly, of December 23rd, 1905. ] i. NOTICE IN BOOKS PRINTED INVALIDATES COPYRIGHT. HE following is the decision rendered by Judge Kohlsaat in the suit brought by the G. & C. Merriam Company in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division) to restrain the United Dictionary Company, of Chicago, from publishing and offering for sale copies of “ Webster’s High School Dictionary ” and “ Webster’s International Dictionary,” which the Merriam Company published in England jointly with George Bell & Sons, with the omission of the American copyright notice :— “The question in this case is whether one who publishes in this country a copyrighted book, containing due notice of copyright, and who sub- sequently takes the plates which are made from type set within the United States, and were used in printing said copyrighted book, to England, and there in conjunction with another publisher publishes another edition of the book from said plates, intentionally omitting therefrom the notice of the American copyright, can maintain a suit for infringement against another who imports a copy of the English book and proceeds toreproduce the same. “The only limit for the purposes of this hearing placed upon the right of the English publisher is contained in a written contract with him, to the effect that he should not import the book or sell it for the purpose of importation into the United States. No breach of this condition is asserted. Defendant imported a copy of the English publi- cation ‘for use,’ as he states, and ‘not for sale,’ for the purpose of reproducing it in the United States. So far as the record shows, this and another subsequently imported by defendant were the only volumes of the English edition in the country. Defendant thereupon proceeded to photograph the book and make plates therefrom in this country, and to reproduce said imported book. The bill herein was filed to restrain defen- dant from such act. The case is now oefore the Court on final hearing. “The Copyright Act prohibits the importation of a book not made from plates from type set in the United States, during the life of the copyright, but contains no prohibition as to a book made from type set in this country as was the case here, In the latter case there is no restriction placed upon importation, except that imposed by the OMISSION OF ABROAD 1386 Revenue Act, which it is not necessary here to consider. So far as disclosed in the agreed state- ment of facts, the two books in question were rightfully in the possession of defendant—as much so as though complainant had in person delivered the same to it without condition. If such an act constituted a publication within the terms of Section 4962 of the statute, which provides that no person shall maintain an action for the in- fringement of his copyright unless he shall give notice of his copyright by inserting in the several copies of every edition published the words pre- scribed by the section, then complainant falls within the prohibition, and cannot maintain this suit. I can see no distinction in legal effect between the status of the imported book under the above circumstances and that of a book pub- lished in this country from plates made here which omits the requirements of notice prescribed in said Section 4962. “‘ Any person desiring to take advantage of the copyright law must follow its provisions strictly : Wheaton v. Peters, 6 Peters, 593; Thompson v. Hubbard, 131 U.S. 123; Osgood v. Aloe Instru- ment Co., 88 Fed. 470. “Tt was held in Gottsberger v. Aldine Pub. Co., 33 Fed. Rep. 381, that a sale of one volume constituted a publication and came within the prohibition of the copyright statute. In the case of Larrows-Loisette v. O'Loughlin et al., 88 Fed. Rep. 896, the Court decided that one claiming copyright could not free himself from the strict terms of the statute by disposing of or printing books in which copyright is claimed, to be used by others under a contract which bound them not to disclose the contents. “The volumes in question amounted in my opinion to such a publication as will bar the complainant from maintaining this suit. What might have been the effect if the English edition had retained the notice of copyright appearing in the American edition need not be discussed. Such a notice was of no moment in England, and might, conceivably, have been deemed detrimental to the sale of the book. The equities of the situation are with complainant, and it is with regret that I find myself driven to a legal conclusion which ignores them. The remedy rests with Congress and not with the Courts. The bill is dismissed for want of equity.” II. COPYRIGHT IN PAINTING UPHELD. For the second time a decision was handed down on December 18th in the Federal Courts, concerning the copyright of the painting “The Chorus,’ owned by the artist, W. Dendy Sadler, and exhibited in the ].ondon Royal Academy in 1894. Judge Holt, of the U.S. District Court, THE AUTHOR. in New York, reiterating the opinion of Judge Townsend, of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, rendered in November, 1904 (a substan- tial part of which was given in The Publishers’ Weekly, May 13th, 1905), sustains the contention of the plaintiff, that, under the circumstances of the case, a painting or sculpture need not be marked “‘ copyright” to protect them from piracy, and granted an injunction. Emil Werckmeister brought the action against the American Litho- graph Company and the American Tobacco Com- pany, charging them with having violated his copyright in the painting of which he had obtained the rights from the artist for a photographic repro- duction. eg EGYPT AND THE BERNE CONVENTION. — T the meeting of the Committee of the Society of Authors, held in October, it was decided, owing to the increased sales of authors’ works in Egypt, to make enquiries of the Foreign Office with a view to ascertain whether it were possible for English copyright to be protected in the mixed tribunals, or by Egypt’s adhesion to the Berne Convention. The following letter was accordingly written to Lord Lansdowne, who was then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs :-— [ Copy. | October 12th, 1905. The Most Noble The MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G. My Lorp,—I am desired by the Committee of the Society of Authors for whom, from time to time, your Lordship has obtained information concerning International Copyright relations, to enquire if a report could be obtained from Lord Cromer as to whether it would be desirable or possible for Egypt to join the Berne Convention, and the Additional Act of Paris. Since the occupation of Egypt the circulation of English books has increased enormously in that country, and as Egypt is not a party to the Berne Convention there appears to be no effective means to prevent pirated copies of English works from being sold there to the detriment of English authors. If there is no reason to the contrary, the adhesion of Egypt to the Berne Convention and the Additional Act of Paris would appear to be the best mode of meeting the difficulty, but before definitely proposing such a course, the Society of Authors would be very grateful if Lord Cromer’s opinion upon the subject could be ascertained. I beg to remain, Your Lordship’s obedient humble servant, (Signed) G. HERBERT THRING. And on November 10th, the Foreign Office, after kindly taking the matter in hand and making full enquiries from Egypt, wrote to the Secretary of the Society as follows :— FOREIGN OFFICE, November 10th, 1905. Srtr,—I am directed by the Marquess of Lansdowne to state that he referred to the Earl of Cromer, his Majesty's Agent and Consul General in Cairo, your letter of the THE AUTHOR. 12th of October last, respecting the question whether it would be desirable or possible for Egypt to join the Berne Copyright Convention and the Additional Act of Paris. A despatch has now been received from his Lordship reporting that as long as the Egyptian Government is, owing to the Capitulations, unable to make a copyright law giving them the power to punish criminally any infringe- ments committed by Europeans, the adhesion of the Egyptian Government to the Berne Convention would give to foreigners no advantages over those now conferred on them by the practice of the Mixed Tribunals. The Mixed Tribunals have, however, done what they could to supply the omission by dealing with such matters under the terms of Article 34 of the Statute of Judicial Organisation, and Article 11 of the Civil Code: ‘‘En cas de silence, d’insuffisance ou d’obscurité de la loi le juge se conformera aux principes du droit naturel et aux régles de Véquité,” Tam, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, E. GoORST. The Secretary to the Society of Authors. This letter was placed before the committee at their meeting on November 27th, and very carefully considered. As it was apparent that under the Berne Convention and under the British Copyright Law, criminal proceedings were not necessary, the committee decided to write again to the Foreign Office and enquire whether it were possible to obtain adequate remedy for infringement of copyright. [ Copy. ] November 30th, 1905. The Most Noble The MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G. My Lorp,—The letter from your Lordship’s office, dated November 10th, 1905, was placed before the Committee of the Society of Authors at their meeting on Monday, November 27th. While thanking your Lordship for the trouble you have taken in the matter, the Committee would be glad to be clearly informed whether a British subject can sue for a civil remedy in the mixed tribunals of Egypt in regard to the piracy in Egypt of works which are copyright in the British Dominions. fam to point out that neither under the Berne Conven- tion, nor under the Copyright Law of Great Britain—with the exception of that dealing with musical publications— is there any reference to criminal proceedings. May I, at the same time, enquire whether your Lordship would have any objection to the correspondence in this matter, or a summary thereof, being printed in The Author —the organ of the Society—for the information of members. I beg to remain, Your Lordship’s obedient humble servant, (Signed) G. HERBERT THRING. Again the Foreign Office gave the matter their kind attention, and obtained the further report contained in their letter of January 4th, printed below. FOREIGN OFFICE, January 4th, 1906. Siz,—With reference to your letter of the 30th of November last, respecting copyright in Egypt, I am directed by Secretary Sir E. Grey to state, for your information, that it would appear to be sufliciently es- tablished, by decisions of the Courts of Justice in Egypt, that a British subject can sue for a civil remedy in the 137 Mixed Tribunals of Egypt, in regard to the piracy in Egypt of works which are copyright in the British Dominions. I am to transmit herewith copies of head-notes of cases decided in the Mixed Tribunals as to copyright, I am, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, E. Gorst. The Secretary to the Society of Authors. We must thank His Majesty’s Government for the trouble it has taken in obtaining for the Society this necessary information, which, with the consent of the Foreign Office we have much pleasure in printing. [| COPIE. | HEAD-NOTES OF CASES DECIDED IN THE MIXED TRIBUNALS AS TO COPYRIGHT, Puthod v. Ricordi, B.J.L. (1889), L. 77, A défaut de toute convention ou loi spéciale, la propriété littéraire et artistique est protégée en Egypte par les régles ordinaires du droit commun. En conséquence le préjudice qui résulte d’une atteinte portée 4 cette propriété donne lieu contre celui qui en est Vauteur 4 une action en réparation du dommage qu’il a causé. ' L’achat de la partition d’un opéra n’en confére que la jouissance personnelle, et non pas le droit de jouer Vopéra sur une scéne publique et dans un but de lucre, Société des gens de lettres vy, Philip, B.L.J. (1899) Z. 110, Le droit de l’auteur sur son oeuvre est un véritable droit de propriété. A défaut de loi spéciale en Egypte, le droit de propricté littéraire est protégé et garanti par l'article 34 du Régle- ment d’Organisation Judiciaire. La réproduction dans un journal, sans autorisation et sans compensation, d'oeuvres littéraires pour lesquelles l’auteur a conseryé, d’aprés la loi de son pays, son droit de propriété, est une atteinte portce 4 droit et constitue un préjudice donnant lieu 4 une action en réparation. oer MACMILLAN v. — DENT.* JUDGMENT. R. JUSTICE KEKEWICH: “This isan extremely difficult question, and perhaps a satisfactory solution of it can only be obtained by a decision of the ultimate Court of Appeal, but having pondered over it since the Court rose, and looked at the cases to which Mr. Danckwerts referred me, I see no reason for thinking that my opinion would be any better for being postponed. I, therefore, propose to say what conclusion I have arrived at, in the hope that my remarks may assist the parties in obtaining somewhere a complete solution of the question which is raised. * Transcript from the shorthand notes, Printed by the kind permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co,, who inform us that the defendants have appealed from the decision.— ED. 138 “The plaintiffs claim the right of publication of certain letters of Charles Lamb which are many years old, and they say that they have purchased that right from a gentleman and lady named Steed, who were in possession of the letters up to some ten years ago. It seems to me that, as there is no suggestion that those persons obtained the letters by theft or otherwise improperly, I must assume at this distance of time from the date of the writing of the letters that they were in rightful possession of the letters. What that implies is really the question to be decided, but I begin with tracing the letters to rightful possession. “There is no doubt that they assigned their rights, whatever those rights were, as regards the publication to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs have vested in them any right of publication which Mr. and Mrs. Steed could pass. If they are entitled to publication—if they have a right of publication— then, of course, they are entitled to restrain every person who is not entitled to publish, and that raises the question whether the defendants are entitled to publish. The defendants claim also through the Steeds, and in addition through the administrator of Charles Lamb. « Now as regards their title through the Steeds, it, is obviously a defective one, because the Steeds had already assigned everything that they could assign to the plaintiffs, and nothing was left for them to assign to the defendants, and they were perfectly conscious of that ; they only purported to confer on the defendants such rights, if any, as remained in them. “ As regards the defendants’ other title, I confess I do not understand it. I do not understand how the administrator of Charles Lamb at the present day can have any property whatsoever in these letters of any kind .or description, even on the assumption that a right of property did vest in Charles Lamb at the date of his death, and could pass by his will. It is not competent for me to decide on the present occasion what the meaning of Charles Lamb’s will is, or whether such property as he had passed by that will. But whatever property passed, it cannot, it seems to me, Dow be vested, as it could not have vested in the adminis- trator of Charles Lamb when these letters of administration were granted only the other day. But I thought it right to say that, because it may be that a question of that kind will arise. “The defendants decline to prove their title. They say: ‘All we have to do is to show that the plaintiffs have no title, and if we satisfy the Court that the plaintiffs have no title, then, of course, they cannot restrain us. It matters not to us or the Court whether we have a title or not.’ That is a perfectly proper view, if they are so THER AUTHOR. advised to take it, for the defendants to take. It is the view they take, and, therefore, I will not pursue that subject any further. All I have to consider is the bare question, not whether the right of publication is vested in the plaintiffs as between them and the defendants, but whether it is vested in the plaintiffs abstractedly, so that they have a good title. That question depends entirely on the proper construction to be placed on a few lines, indeed of a few words, in the third section of the Copyright Act, 5 & 6 of Queen Victoria, It is not easy to understand, but in order to under- stand it one must, of course, have in one’s mind and present before one’s eye the common law as it stood at the date of the Act of Parliament. “Now, about the common law up to a certain point there is no doubt whatever on that. I have been referred to a large number of cases, beginning with, I believe, the first—it is always quoted as the first—-Pope v. Curle, decided by Lord Hard- wicke. Probably one or two would have sufficed, and, indeed, I venture to say, as the observation which I made to Mr. Scrutton in opening the case indicated, that no reference to any case at all was really necessary. But I certainly should not refer to many of them. “‘T have said that the common law is perfectly clear up to a certain point, and I use that expres- sion advisedly, because I think the point is a limited one, and there is a great deal of doubt about the common law beyond that. Mr. Danck- werts referred me, among other cases, to Caird v. Sime, which is an important case in the House of Lords, arising out of the publication—touching the right of publication—-of lectures on Moral Philosophy delivered by Dr. Caird. The case is very much concerned with the peculiar circum- stances connected with the delivery of lectures, and all the judges who took part in the decision go into those circumstances, and the dissenting judgment of Lord Fitzgerald is extremely instruc- tive as regards lectures delivered as those were, as distinct from letters or books, or other manuscripts. Mr. Danckwerts quoted largely from the judgment of the present Lord Chancellor, but to my mind, without saying what the Lord Chancellor said— really the same thing in other language — the precise position is more accurately stated as regards language by Lord Watson on page 343." He says: ‘The author of a lecture on Moral Philosophy or of any other original composition retains the right of property in his work which entitles him to prevent its publication by others. until it has by consent been communicated to the public.’ -He calls it ‘a right of property in his. work. The Lord Chancellor in his judgment calls it a proprietary right in his unpublished literary productions. In many of the other cases *  THE AUTHOR. 139 the presiding judge has used the expression ‘the right of property.’ I think the phrase ‘pro- prietary right’ is peculiar to the judgment of the Lord Chancellor in Caird v. Sime. But some other judges have used a different expression, and called it a joint property, that is, a right in the author of the letter—I am talking of a letter-— jointly with the sender. Vice-Chancellor Bacon, so late as 1884, in a case of Earle v. Maudelay, said ‘the property in the letters remains in the person to whom they are sent.’ But it is obvious from his judgment that he perfectly understood there wasa right of property in the sender, and he no doubt was speaking there of the property in the letters as the property in the paper with the writing upon it—the actual physical thing and nothing more—and that no doubt is in the person to whom the letter is sent. It has been decided that he can maintain an action of detinue for it by reason of the right of property in the physical thing. To that point it seems to me that the law is perfectly clear. Beyond it I will not say it is obscure, but I think there is very little light. What the right of property is, and how it ought to be defined, none of the judges seem to me to tellus. To read again Lord Watson’s words, it is a right of pro- perty in his work, which entitles him to prevent its publication by others. That is the right of property. What other privileges it gives him, how otherwise you can spell out the right of property, I am unaware. I do not think there is any judgment anywhere which helps at all. Even the numerous judgments—numerous according to the manner of the particular judge—in (ee v. Pritchard, which is extremely instructive, do not, as far as I have studied them, really give us any guide to determine what the right of property is beyond this, that it entitles the author, the com- poser, to prevent its publication by others, I need not go beyond that on the present case. I think it is well deserving of disquisition or dis- cussion on these very interesting questions, but these questions would be purely academic on the present occasion, because it is sufficient for me to say that according to the law the writer of the letter, notwithstanding that he sent it to some- body else, who has a right to the physical thing, retains that peculiar right of property which entitles him to prevent publication by others. Now that being the common law, what does this statute mean? The section is divided into two parts, and the division into two parts is to my mind the origin of the puzzle. The first part of the section deals with a book which is published in the lifetime of its author, and a book includes a letter. I need not go back to the authority on the point, because it is assumed all through this argument, and it is common ground that ‘ book’ does include a letter. It was contested in one case, but held at once without hesitation, that a book must include a letter. ‘The copyright in every book or letter which after the passing of this Act is published in the lifetime of its author shall endure for a certain time, and shall be the property of such author or his assigns.’ ‘Then, having enacted that, the Legislature goes on to deal with the case of a copyright in a book which has been published after the death of its author, and it does not say, what it would have been extremely easy to say, in plain language, that the copyright in that book shall remain in the author or his assigns, or his legal personal repre- sentatives. JI am not professing to frame the words in which it could have been enacted, but no difficulty would have been entertained by a reason- ably experienced draughtsman in saying in plain and unmistakable language that the copyright belongs to those who claim through the author, whether by assignment—which would include, of course, a bequest—or as legal personal representa- tive, if that had been the intention of the Legisla- ture. I think it is fair to conclude that the Legislature did not intend that. But what does it intend ? That it shall be the property of the proprietor of the author’s manuscript ? I will not go further for the moment. I do not think it necessary to consult dictionaries to understand what the meaning of the word ‘manuscript’ is. Manuscript, of course, means that which is written by the hand. That in the case of a letter would be the actual letter written by the writer with his own pen or pencil. Ihave no doubt that in these days the Court would haye no difficulty in extending that to a typewritten letter. It might even, I think, without difficulty extend to a printed letter if the writer would not be the writer’s printer, but used a private printing press. I have no doubt also that if the writer of the letter, instead of using his own hand, used that of an amanuensis to whom he dictated the letter, that would be a manuscript within the meaning of this Act. I go further and say that if the writer wrote out the letter with his own hand, and then had a copy made of it in order to send it away, and made that really the original letter, though in truth it was more a copy than an original, that that might be a manuscript. “ But it seems to me that it must be that which proceeds from the writer as his own work in the first instance, and that must be, I think, the author’s manuscript. It is not the manuscript made by somebody else for the author for the pur- pose of really constructing an original letter. Also ‘manuscript’ must mean, I think, that which filled the place of the manuscript in the ordinary sense; that is to say, the letter written by the author’s own hand, If it was the 140 one original letter which he intended to be the original, then that is the author’s manuscript. Take the case of a man sending a letter, and keeping a copy of it. I do not know that it is necessary to decide it, but I should think the letter sent, and not the copy kept would be the author’s manuscript. So far there seems to be little difficulty in understanding what the Legisla- ture meant. “¢ But then comes the question of who is the pro- prietor of the author’s manuscript. If we can ascertain who the proprietor of the author’s manu- script is, then there is no difficulty in determining what the statute means, because it says it shall be the property of the proprietor, not that the pro- prietor shall have a proprietary right—not qualified in any way ; not that he shall have the property jointly with anyone else—but it shall be the pro- perty, and the Legislature being, of course, cognisant with all the decisions of the common law must be taken to have meant the property being the exclusive property of the proprietor. “Now who is the proprietor of the author’s manuscript ? According to the common law, as I have already said, there are two proprietors of the letter who can bring detinue for it. That is, he who is entitled to the physical thing, and the writer of the letter, who has that peculiar right of property which entitles him to prevent publication by others. Did the Legislature here intend to perpetuate any notion of that kind in the pro- prietor of the author’s manuscript ? It seems to me, having regard to the division into two parts which I have already called attention to, and to the care of the Legislature not to repeat in the second part, as it might have done in slightly different language, the first part, it must be that the pro- prietor of the author’s manuscript means the pro- prietor of the physical thing ; that the manuscript here is the thing written—the actual paper on which the writing is and the writing on it. That seems to me to be the only legitimate construction which I can place upon the words ‘ the proprietor of the manuscript.” I will leave out ‘author's manuscript’ now, because I have said enough about that. «That seems to me to be what the Legislature said, and the result then is that that belongs to the person to whom it is sent, and as I have said already, I have no reason to doubt in this case, and I think I ought to assume, that Mr. Steed and his wife were the proprietors of those letters ; that is, of the manuscript. There can be no question of the fact that it was from the manuscript the book was first published. They were sent to Mr. Mac- millan, or to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co., in order that they might be published, and the publication was from these original letters, and through the THE AUTHOR. assigns of Mr. and Mrs. Steed. I put to. Mr. Scrutton, when replying, a question about the meaning of ‘assigns’ there, and he endeavoured to convince me that the right interpretation of the section was, that the assigns had the right of publication. I do not think that is the strict construction of the sentence ‘The proprietor of the author’s manuscript from which such book shall be first published,’ which is put paren- thetically, ‘and his assigns’ must, I think, mean the assigns of the author’s manuscript ; but the point is not essential to my decision, Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. were the assigns of the author’s manuscript and in my view they fill that position. The result is, it seems to me, that I must come to the conclusion that the Legislature intended that the persons in that position, Mr. and Mrs. Steed, having these letters rightfully in their possession, were entitled to publish them themselves, or to hand them over, or otherwise, to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co., and to give them the right of pub- lication, and that that having been done, nothing remained in Mr. and Mrs. Steed which they could have passed to anyone, except, of course, the right to the letters themselves. Those they retained, and those they can part with. The right of publica- tion, it seems to me, was gone.” Judgment was given for the plaintiff, with the declaration of Mr. Justice Kekewich that the right of publication in these particular letters was vested in the plaintiffs, Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. Accounts with profits and costs were also given with the judgment, and a stay of execution for fourteen days in case of appeal. ——$—$— <_< ANNUAL RESUME OF THE NUMBER OF BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THE PAST YEAR. 1 (Reprinted by the kind permissiom of the editor of the Publishers’ Circular.) HE total number of books reported during 1905 is almost the same as in 1904— only four score fewer. The number of Theological books, in spite of a fall of thirty in November, shows an increase on the year, due more to Francis of Assisi, Thomas i Kempis, and other devotional authors, than to Torrey and Alexander or Church and Education. The number of Educational works is a hundred down, so is that of Political and Commercial books and of reprinted novels. The issue of new novels 1s almost to a unit the same as last year (1731— 1733). The number of Law books reported is practically unchanged, so is that of books on the Arts and Sciences, and that of Biographical and  THE AUTHOR. 141 | 460 | 626 | 786 | ANALYTICAL TABLE or Books PUBLISHED IN 1905. bo : ; ae | 3 : 5 Subjects. Pp os : 3 2 H 2 Ss = Fast ; < . = 2 = a ea ee ee ete < = 5 5 < R } % | | | a | aS sae: {ji @ 34) 31 69 | 73} 63 7 21 50 62 68 | 81 66 | 665 1. Theology, Sermons, Biblical ... ba 4} 10 1 3 3 2 3/ 1 bis) Be | | et 745 2. Educational, Classical, and (| a 54| 63 62) 62) 44 Ai Sd 68- (09 || 66 6 | 35 | 642 Philological ... se ae 7 4) 11 S110 5 1 9} 15 7 BU 92 | 734 3. Novels, Tales, Juvenile Works, || @ 78 73 | 141 | 144 | 151 | 133 88 | 140 | 235 | 139 | 247 | 164 1733 ce ae (i hos) o2 wey 69 | 84 62) 88) 63) 58 | 74) 74] 398 | 680 | | 2363 : a8 FT| 22) 3 5 3 4 5 5) 6) 4) 5 56 4, Law, Jurisprudence, &c. AB Al oe 6 4 5 2 8 ee ele a | Bl \—— 107 5 s aac 5. Political and Social Economy, )| @ 45 | 33) 22) 58) 44 34} 29) 47 29 70 | 50] 41 | 502 Trade, and Commerce... J| b 3 a) isp od At 6| 10) 13] 30} 12] 17 | 135 | | 687 @ Aris, Science, and Illustrated )| a 40| 29| 45| 51| 42| 45) 11) 49/ 51) 46 | 60) 58 | 522 Works one ie Sto =) 5 4 7 4 3405 4 3 | 3 2} 49 | 57) 7. Voyages, Travels, Geographical )| @ 7| 12] 8 S113 | 1s Fa | 2h le | 30 | 28 |) 30 | 234 Research... os 48 5 EE 7) 10 6 7 6 7 8 Bee 4| 73 | 307 - : : a 40 37 | 35 65 48 38 14 41 32 73 |. 01 63 | 557 8. History, Biography, &c. _— i hoo Gi 5 7 | 7 7 4 8 6 9 8 | 79 | |_— 636 | ‘ ‘ ‘ ro | ae s : (| @ 25 Ve 15 31 34 32 14 16 39 31 |. 49 58 | 361 9. Poetry and the Drama “1b 5 5 | 16 13 5 8 i 2 9} 19| 112 | | 473 “10, Year-Books and Serials in||@63| 20| 24| 31| 30) 37/ 9| 33 39) 56 | 37 | 79 | 458 Volumes... ee je —f— |S Pe | fe ee Bol il 1 01 is} ib] | 2 ere . as ~ {| a@ 17 19 6421 lk 0 ‘ O42) 26 15 | 180 11. Medicine, Surgery, &c. ib 2 2 5 8 2 10 L 6 a1 15 9 Ci | | 251 12. Belles-Lettres, TP . Mono- a moO) 90 1-28) 20) 24) 22) 11) 384) 28) a2) 4 46 | 320 graphs, Xe. a | Ji) 12) 107 261 | —— 381 13. Miscellaneous, including || @ 25] 27) 54) 49) 44 651 4185 | 67 | 8t 45 | 68 | 587 Pamphlets, not Sermons | be Se ee 2 | — —— 589 509 | 694 | 664 | 361 | 700 | 805 | 849 | 954 | 844 | 8252 | | Ce a New Books; b New Editions. The Analytical Table is divided into 13 Classes; also New Books and New Editions. Divisions. 190 New Books. 4. New Editions. | New Books. 1905. New Editions. Theology, Sermons, Biblical, &c. Educational, Classical, and Philological Novels, Tales, Juvenile Works, &c. Law, J ‘urisprudence, &e. Political and Social Economy, Trade and Commerce Arts, Sciences, and Illustrated Works ae Voyages, Travels, Geographical Research History, Biography, &c. Poetry and the Drama . Year-Books and Serials in n Volumes Medicine, Surgery, Xe. . Belles- Lettres, Essays, Monographs, &e. Miscellaneous, including Pamphlets, not Sermons ... : “ | 568 98 665 694 142 | 642 1,731 817 1,733 55 48 | 56 594 181 502 458 74 522 229 60 234 540 113 557 309 98 361 421 = | 458 148 71 180 173 47 | 320 536. | 103 587 6,456 1,878 | 6,817 80 92 630 51 136 49 73 ig 112  142 Historical works. In Belles-Lettres the previous table showed a falling off of nearly a hundred, but this table shows an increase of one hundred and sixty-one. A slight increase is shown in books on Journeyings and Geography, Poetry books and dramatic works, Year Books and Serials, Medical and Surgical works. But for Africa and for the Tariff question Political books would be few indeed. ————__+—~—_+—____—_- COPYRIGHT AT THE CAPE. — 1 Copyrigut Act In CERTAIN WoRKS OF ART ASSENTED TO JUNE 6TH, PROMULGATED OcToBER 81st, 1905. E it enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly thereof, as follows :— 1. Inthis Act, unless the context shall otherwise indicate or require, the following terms shall have the meanings hereby attached to them :— “Work of Art” and ‘ Work” shall mean a painting or drawing and the design thereof, a photograph and the negative thereof, and any positives or copies made therefrom, an engraving or a piece of sculpture. Copyright ” shall mean the sole and exclusive right of copying, reproducing, repeating, or otherwise multiplying copies of any work of art and of the design thereof, of any size, in the same or any other material, or by the same or any other kind of art. “Author” shall mean the inventor, designer, engraver, sculptor or maker of any work of art: provided that the author of a work of art made by the employé of any person or firm in virtue of his employment shall mean the person or firm under whose orders, or in the course of whose business, the work of art was made by such employe. ‘¢ Assions”’ shall include every person in whom the interest of an author is vested, whether derived from such author before or after publication or registration, and whether acquired by sale, donation, legacy or by operation of law or otherwise. “Court” shall mean the Supreme Court, the Eastern Districts Court, the High Court of Griqualand West, and any Circuit Court. “ Registrar’? shail mean such official, in the Civil Service, as the Governor may appoint to oe the duties of Registrar under this ct. 2. The author of every original work of art pro- duced in the Colony shall have the copyright ‘ THE AUTHOR. therein, provided that when any work of art shall, for the first time after the passing of this Act, be sold or disposed of or shall be made or executed for or on behalf of any other person, for a good or valuable consideration, the person so selling or dis- posing of or making or executing the same shall not retain the copyright thereof, unless it be expressly reserved to him by an Agreement in writing, signed, at or before the time of such sale or dis- position, by the purchaser or assignee, or by the person for, or on whose behalf, the same shall have been so made or executed, but the copyright shall belong to the vendee or assignee, or to the person for or on whose behalf the work of art shall have been made or executed. (1) The copyright hereinbefore given shall, in the case of paintings and sculpture endure for the life of the person to whom the same is given, and thirty years next after his death; and in the case of engravings not published in, or forming part of, a book, and photographs, for the term of thirty years next after the end of the year in which they or any copies may have been first offered for sale, delivered to a purchaser or advertised or exposed as ready for sale to the public or for delivery to a purchaser, or delivered for registration. 3. Nothing in this Act contained shall prejudice the right of any person to copy or represent any - work in which there shall be no copyright, or to represent any scene or object, notwithstanding that there may be copyright in some representation of such scene or object. 4. A Registry Book entitled “The Register of Proprietors of Copyright in Works. of Art” shall be kept at the office of the Registrar, wherein shall be registered the proprietorship of every copyright in works of art and assignments thereof; and there shall be entered in such Register the follow- ing particulars in reference to every copyright entered therein :—the name and abode of the pro- prietor of the copyright, the title, if any, of the work, a short description of the nature and subject thereof, and, if the person registering so desire, a sketch or outline or photograph of such work, and all such further particulars as may be prescribed by the Registrar in that behalf; and for every entry of proprietorship or assignment of copyright in the Register, there shall be paid to the Registrar such sum as the Governor may prescribe : provided that in the case of a photograph the fee shall not exceed one shilling, and in the case of a series of photographs commonly known as living pictures, cinematographs, or bioscopes, the said fee shall only be payable on the first and every succeeding hundredth negative or photograph constituting any one continuous film or series of photographs.  (1) The Register shall at all convenient times be open to the inspection of any person on payment of one shilling sterling for every entry which shall be _ searched for or inspected in the said Register ; and the Registrar shall, whenever thereunto reason- ably required, give a copy of any entry in such Register, certified under his hand, to any person requiring the same, upon pay- ment to him of the sum of five shillings sterling ; and such copy so certified shall be received in evidence in all Courts, and shall be prima facie proof of the proprietorship or assignment of the copyright as therein stated, but subject to be rebutted by other evidence. (2) If any person shall deem himself aggrieved by any entry made in the Register under cover of this Act, it shall be lawful for such person to apply by motion to the Court, or in vacation to a Judge thereof in chambers, for an Order that such entry may be expunged or varied; and tiereupon such Court or Judge shall make such Order for expunging, varying or confirming such entry, either with or without costs, as to such Court or Judge shall seem just ; and the Registrar shall, on the production to him of any such Order for expunging or varying auy such entry, expunge or vary the same accordingly. 5. It shall be lawful for the registered proprietor of copyright to assign his interest or any part thereof in writing, under his hand, duly witnessed by two witnesses ; and on production of such assignment by or on behalf of the assignee, the Registrar shall make an entry in the Register of such assignment, and of the name and place of abode of the assignee thereof ; and such assignment so entered shall be effectual in law to all intents and purposes whatsoever, without being subject to any stamp or duty. 6. If any person, not being the proprietor for the time being of the copyright in any work of art, shall without the consent of such proprietor make or cause to be made any copy, reproduction, repeti- tion or colourable imitation of the work in which such copyright exists, for sale, hire, exhibition or distribution, or shall knowingly sell, let to hire, exhibit or distribute or cause to be sold, let to hire, exhibited or distributed any copy, reproduction, repetition or colourable imitation, made without such consent, or if made abroad, imported without such consent, or shall import, or cause to be im- ported, any copy, reproduction, repetition or colour- able imitation, such person shall be liable to an action for damages for infringement of the copyright, and all such copies shall be forfeited to such proprietor. THER AUTHOR. 143 7. No person shall do or cause to be done any of the following acts, that is to say :— (1) No person shall fraudulently sign or affix, or fraudulently cause to be signed or affixed to or upon any work of art any name, initial or monogram. (2) No person shall fraudulently sell, publish, exhibit or dispose of, or offer for sale, exhibition or distribution any work of art having thereon the name, initials, or mono- gram of a person who did not execute or make such work. (3) No person shall fraudulently utter, dispose of or put off, or cause to be uttered, or disposed of, any copy, colourable imitation, engraving or print of any work of art, whether there shall be subsisting copyright therein or not, as having been made or executed by the author or maker of the original work from which such copy or imitation shall have been taken. (4) Where the author or maker of any work of art, whether made before or after the pass- ing of this Act, shall have sold or otherwise parted with the possession of such work, if any alteration be afterwards made therein by any other person, by addition or other- wise, no person shall be at liberty during the life of the author or maker of such work, without his consent, to make or knowingly to sell or publish or offer for sale such work, or any copies of such work so altered as aforesaid, as or for the unaltered work of such author or maker. Every offender under this section shall on con- viction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, or in default of payment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month; and all such copies, engravings, imitations or altered works shall be forfeited to the person aggrieved, or his assigns : Provided always that the provision of this section shall not apply unless the person whose name, initials or monogram shall be so fraudulently signed or affixed, or to whom such spurious or altered work shall be so fraudulently or falsely ascribed as aforesaid, shall have been living at, or within seven years next before, the time when the act complained of may have been committed. 8. Whenever after the commencement of this Act any portrait or photographic likeness of any person is painted or taken on commission, neither the photographer, nor any other person, whether he owns the copyright therein or not, shall sell, or give, or exhibit in public in any shop window or otherwise, any copy of such likeness, if the person whose portrait or likeness was painted or taken, or for whom such was painted or taken, shall object to such sale, gift, or exhibition ; and any photographer 144 or other person selling, giving or exhibiting any likeness or portrait after being called upon to desist from so doing shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and every copy of such portrait. or likeness in his possession shall be for- feited and delivered up to the person for whom the work was executed. : 9. All penalties and forfeitures under this Act may be summarily imposed and awarded by the Resident Magistrate provided that any person summarily proceeded against shall be entitled, on lodging security to the satisfaction of the Magis- trate, to stay of execution pending appeal to the Court, and all the provisions of the Resident Magistrate’s Court Act No. 20 of 1856 in regard to appeals in criminal cases shall apply. 10. In any action for the infringement of any copyright vested under this Act it shall be lawful for the Court in which such action is pending, or if the Court be not sitting, then for a Judge, on the application of the plaintiff or defendant respectively, to make such Order for an interdict, inspection or account and to give such directions respecting such interdict, inspection or account, and the proceedings therein, respectively, as to such Court or Judge may seem fit : Provided that the work of art or work shall bear on it a mark or notification showing that it has been copyrighted. 11. No proprietor of copyright in a work of art, first produced in the Colony, shall be entitled to the benefit of this Act until he shall have registered his copyright, nor shall any prosecution or action be competent for anything done before registration. 12. The Governor may make such rules and reculations as may be necessary or expedient in order to detect and prevent infringements of pro- prietors’ rights under this Act, and impose reasonable penalties for the breach thereof. 13. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the “ Copyright in Works of Art Act, 1905.” —_____—__+ 2 —__<_. MAGAZINE CONTENTS, —+-—~<—1+ BLACKWOOD’'S. Cleopatra’s Needle. By St. John Lucas. BOOKMAN. _ Shelley. By H. Buxton Forman, C.B. Samuel Richardson. By ‘“ Ranger.” Liberal Leaders in Literature. By Thomas Seccombe. Art, By Alfred Noyes. “Fiona Macleod.” By Alfred Noyes. Book MONTHLY. Stories on the Stage: The Art of the Novelist Dramatist. 3y Hall Caine. Our Literary Gods and the Going of Them to America, To American Millionaires. By James Milne. Dickens as Artist or Genius and The Cry of “Art for Art’s Sake.” By Brimley Johnson, THE AUTHOR. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. Unpublished Letters to Wm. Hunter. Edited by Victor G. Plan. Literary Elbow-Grease. Notes and News from a Diary. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. An Agnostic’s Progress. By Wm. Scott Palmer. The Bankruptey of Higher Criticism. By Dr, Emil Reich. Chopin. By A. E, Keeton. CORNHILL. Mayfair and Thackeray. By The Right Hon, Sir Algernon West, G.C.B. An Early Victorian Tale. By A. H.S. “ Judge’s Writ.” By Viscount St. Cyres. From a College Window. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Of Our Anxious Morality. By Maurice Maeterlinck. Nero in Modern Drama. By J. Slingsby Roberts. Pepys and Shakespeare. By Sidney Lee. Notes on the History and Character of the Jews. By Laurie Magnus. The Sportsman’s Library : Some Sporting Books of 1905, Fiona Macleod : A Sonnet. By Alfred Noyes, INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Mr. Swinburne and the Sea. By C. C. Michaelides. A Note on Mr. Bernard Shaw. By G. K. Chesterton. The Author of “Ionica.” By Herbert Paul. The Teaching of Reynolds. By Laurence Binyon. Walt Whitman. By F. Melian Stawell. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, An American Rhode’s Scholar at Oxford By Stanley Royal Ashby, Monru. By The Rev. C. Lattey, A Philosophy of Religion. By The Rev. Herbert The Marriage of Mrs. Fitzherbert. Thurston. MONTHLY REVIEW. Relics. By Eveline B. Mitford. Among the Felibres in Provence. Maude. By Constance E. NATIONAL REVIEW. Sparks from the Anvil or Thoughts of a Queen. By H.M. The Queen of Roumania (Carmen Sylva). The Uses of History. By St. Loe Strachey. NINETEENTH CENTURY. The Antagonism of the Prophet and the Priest, By G. Monroe Royce. Stafford as a Letter Writer. By Lady Burghclere. The Tragedy of Kesa Gozen. By Yei Theodora Ozaki, Lafcadio Hearn. By Nina K, Kennard. PALL MALL MAGAZINE. A Painter of French and American Society: An Hour with M. Théobald Chartran. By Frederic Lees. TEMPLE BAR, Vladimir Korolenko. By G.H. Perris. Sea Songs. By John Masefield.  WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. ———_— + agreement. There are four methods of dealing cy Hx are a few standing rules to be observed in an with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be pbiained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement), In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor | III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong lothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright, ——_+——_+—____ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. — EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the c Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. {t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. THE AUTHOR. 145 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory, An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (‘.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (}.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event, It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced, 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11, An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ———+—__——_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —-——9—— assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He I ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the 146 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —— HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. — VIEERY member has a right toask for and to receive 4) advice u pon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of tlie Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion, All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. ‘Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers, (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) I'o enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 is. per annum, or £10 10s. for life membership. THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. cn! HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamips are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble, <> THE READING BRANCH. —> EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. ‘ihe term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, ——— NOTICES. + HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of I the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Ottices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. very effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. 1 The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Ss LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. ——>— + —_ ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  AUTHORITIES. — In the last number of Zhe Author we printed some comments on the haif-profit agreement. Another disadvantage that may arise from a half-profit agreement occurs in the following cir- cumstancesi:—The publisher goes bankrupt when there is a deficit against the book of, say, £100. All the publisher’s rights in the contract and the remaining stock are purchased by another publisher for a paltry sum of, say, £15. The new publisher proceeds to put the remaining stock on the market, and, perhaps, realises from the sales £50 to £60. On the author demanding a statement of account he is met with the deficit of the £100 against his book, which the new publisher is legally entitled to charge, so that although there is no profit to the author—in fact, the accounts still show a deficit against the book of £50 or £60—yet the new publisher has, in reality, made a profit of £45 or £35, and in consequence a good bargain. Such a position could not possibly occur in the case of a royalty agreement. THERE is another form of agreement equally unsatisfactory, which must be mentioned. Certain letters pass between author and publisher, then the author asks for a formal agreement. The publisher, in the pride of his position, refuses to forward a formal agreement, as he states it is the custom of his house not to do so; their letters make a binding contract. This statement, no doubt, is absolutely true. The letters are excellent examples of caligraphy, but not of legal documents. If the publisher has been exceedingly exact in the form which his letters take, and has set out all the points of which an author is usually ignorant, and if the series of letters is not too long, then, well and good; but these conditions are never fulfilled. In the letters which have come before the secretary —they are not infrequently placed before him— the omission of so many items which should have been inserted in the difficult contract of publica- tion make the letters, although, no doubt, binding, altogether unsatisfactory from the point of view of a definite contract, As we have pointed out again and again, what is wanted in a contract is finality. The author may get the better of the publisher, or the publisher, as sometimes happens, may get the better of the author; but if the con- tract is clear and binding, both parties will be held to abide by the legal position. There may be grumbling, but there will be no necessity for the intervention of the Society of Authors. A CERTAIN publisher who, by his methods of dealing with literary property, and by his form THE AUTHOR. 147 of agreement, has, on many occasions, given trouble to members of the society, is in the habit of placing before those members who enter into negotiations with him, a fixed form of agreement. On the member desiring an alteration in some of the clauses which it contains, he has openly stated in writing that this is the form of agree- ment signed by all his authors. This, however, is not the case, although the statement has, on some occasions, had the result of inducing young authors to sign very unsatisfactory clauses. ‘To this method of dealing he has now added a further statement to the effect that this fixed form of agreement is not only signed by all his authors, and therefore as unalterable as the laws of the Medes and the Persians, but that it is the same agreement as is signed by Mr. He mentions an author of world-wide reputation who, we regret to state, is dead, and therefore unable to answer for himself. From this it is clear either that Mr. was very ill-advised in signing the agreement, or that the publisher has seen fit to deviate from the truth. It cannot be possible, surely, that this latter deduction is correct ? We put the following statement before members of the society, and ask them to consider the position from their own point of view. This author of world-wide reputation is asked to sign an agreement by which he is forbidden to translate or dramatise his work without the con- sent of the publisher; by which serial and Colonial rights are left to the publisher to negotiate, and, under the special agreement we refer to, yield half the returns to the publisher. These two points alone will give those members who care to investigate the circumstances food for consideration. THERE is a similar case which this method of quoting well-known authors as signatories to agreements calls to mind.._A publisher contem- plates the production of a series of books, and in order to start the series, finds a gentleman of great distinction in his special line of thought, but ignorant of the commercial value of literary property. The publisher enters into an agreement with him to open the series, and pays him a ridiculously low figure. ‘The publisher then goes round to others, from whom he desires volumes for the series, and on their specifying to the publisher the terms they are willing to accept, they are met by the dead weight ahead of the publisher's reply, that Mr, So-and-so is going to open the series ; that these are the terms he has accepted; and that it is impossible to give other writers higher terms than these. The unfortunate writer has, accord- ingly, to consider whether he will accept totally inadequate, terms or miss the opportunity of 148 appearing in the series. We do not in any way desire to cast a slur on those specialists who accept inadequate terms, as first, no doubt they are ionorant of the value of their work on the literary inarket, and secondly, their knowledge of the subject makes the work exceedingly easy to them, and they forget for the moment the years of experience and hard work which has given them the power to carry out such a contract without much effort. These two instances are no imaginary instances, but have come not infrequently to the society’s office for explanation. We should like to mention one further point dealing with the question of agreements. In the March (1904) issue of Zhe Author we printed a certain agreement with full comments. The heading of the article was “ Mr. Absolute’s Agree- ment.” It is with considerable regret that we find that “ Mrs. Absolute ” is now placing the same form of agreement before those authors for whom she desires to publish. Mr. W. H. Witkins, whose last book ‘“ Mrs. FitzHerbert and George IV.,”’ published by Messrs. Longmans & Co., is having such a large sale, died at the end of last year. Mr. Wilkins had been a member of the society for many years and had taken active interest in its work. He has been kind enough, by his will, to leave £50 to the pension fund of the Society of Authors. This is the first legacy the pension fund has received, though, no doubt, after the fund shall have endured for some years, such donations will come to increase the amount standing to its credit. ei 9 SOME CANADIAN WRITERS. — Part IJ],—Prosz WRITERS. PYFNUE first novel written in Canada was “ The History of Emily Montague.” It was the work of Mrs, Frances Brooke, the wife of an army chaplain who was stationed at the garrison of Quebec, soon after the great battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, when the sovereignty of Canada passed from France to England. Mrs. Brooke appears to have written . her novel in 1766, or thereabout. She was the daughter of a clergyman named Moore, and the title-page informs us that she had written a previous story entitled, “ Lady Julia Mandeville.” ‘ Emily Montague” was written in the style of a flighty girl, a worshipper of wealth and fashion, and is in the form of a great number of letters written THE AUTHOR. by the different characters to one another, Although, after the fashion of the time, the agonies and trials of Emily are spread out over four volumes, it is worth while for the student of Canadian history to wade through them on account of the lively impression they give of contemporary manners, customs, and amusements. Mrs. Brooke’s story was a lonely star in the firmament of Canadian literature, and in the first half of the nineteenth century, with a few bright exceptions, little was done in the way of writing. In 1840 Mrs. Ethelind Sawtell came before the Canadian world of letters with “The Mourner's Tribute: or Effusions of Melancholy Hours,” two hundred and seventy-two pages of them; while evidence of the attention paid to the youthful mind is found in the title of that juvenile work, “Every Boy’s Book: or, a Digest of the British Constitution,” which was published at Ottawa in 1842, “The Adopted Daughter : or, The Trials of Sabra,” published twenty years after- wards, seems to have struck a responsive chord, since it ran into two editions. That the aboriginal inhabitants of the country were not neglected is proved by two books printed in Toronto respec- tively in 1846 and 1850. The first of these was entitled : ‘ Shahguhnahshe ahnuh - meahwene muzzeneegun ojibwag anwawand azheuhnekeno- otahbeegahdag,”’ and it shows that the Toronto printers of that day were not behind their brethren of the same city of to-day in all-round capability, particularly as the volume (it was a prayer book), ran into four hundred and seventy pages. Major John Richardson, of Upper Canada (now Ontario), a soldier and, as he says on the title page of one of his stories, “ Knight of the Military Order of St, Ferdinand,” has been called by some the Fenimore Cooper of Canada. The same people say that his best work was ‘‘ Wacousta.” This was an historical novel of the time of Pontiac, and the scene of it is laid chiefly in Detroit. It was followed by a sequel called “The Canadian Brothers.” Richardson also wrote a poem on Tecumseh, the great Indian ally of the British in the war of 1812. Down in the Maritime Provinces, however, which have the reputation of having always pro- duced more intellectual people in proportion to population than any other part of Canada, a “bright occidental star” had arisen in the person of Judge Haliburton—the subsequent creator of the renowned “Sam Slick’”—whose “ Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia,” in two con- siderable volumes, was published at Halifax in 1829. On the title page of these interesting volumes, which in their day did much to make Nova Scotia and its great resources known to the world, the author is deseribed .as ‘Thomas ©, Haliburton, THE AUTHOR. Esq., Barrister-at-Law, and Member of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia.” The first series of “The Clockmaker,” in which are recorded the adventures and opinions of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, appeared in The Nova Scotian in 1835 and 1836. It was published in book form in Halifax and Londonin 1837. Afterwards followed —with the same theme—“ The Attache,” “ Wise Saws,” and “ Nature and Human Nature.” There are two other works, “The Letter-Bag of the Great Western,” and ‘‘The Bubbles of Canada,” which purport to be written by the redoubtable Sam. Haliburton’s last historical work was “ Rule and Misrule of the English in America,” which was published in 1851. In 1858 and 1859 he contri- buted a series of acute articles, entitled “The Season Ticket,” to the Dublin University Magazine. They are, ostensibly, a collection of remarks and narrations by a Mr. Shegog, who has a season ticket on an English railway. No writer has at present arisen in Canada who for calibre, breadth of view, keen insight, observation, and humour can begin to supplant Haliburton in his premier position among native writers. in his day he did more to make eastern Canada known— and intimately known—than any score of his con- temporaries. He was one of the first of our imperialists, and British readers were naturally attracted not only by his genius and humour as a writer, but by his unmistakable attachment to England. Mrs. Catherine Parr Trail, a writer of much merit and a relative of Agnes Strickland’s, author of “The Queen’s of England,” made the best of her experiences as a settler in Canada. She was an ardent naturalist, and possessed abundant kindliness and common sense. Her ‘ Female Emigrant’s Guide,” which was published in 1854, was very popular, and her “Canadian Settlers Guide,” ran into half-a-dozen editions. Her last book was published in 1894, and was entitled “Pearls and Pebbles: or, Notes of an old Natura- list.” Professor James De Mille, who was born in New Brunswick in 1836, and died in Halifax in 1880, besides being a writer of occasional verse, was a prose author in several kinds. He wrote a religious novel called ‘ Helena’s Household: a Tale of the First Century,” which was very popular in “the sixties” both in the United States and in England. It is a very good example of that kind of work, and abounds in glowing ideas and thoughtful passages. It is possible that in his next book, ‘‘ The Dodge Club Papers,” he was influenced both by Dickens and by Haliburton, but he cannot therein be regarded as an imitator. In a succeeding book, “Cord and Crease,” he describes a typical Yankee journeying x 149 abroad, and in it he evidently grows the flower for which Haliburton had provided the seed. Mr. De Mille took high rank in his day as a writer of essays, and produced, in all, about forty books. At about the same time Miss Louisa Murray, of Ontario, wrote a capital serial story entitled “The Settlers of Long Arrow,” which appeared in 1861, in Once a Week, and on which the British press bestowed high praise. She also contributed stories both to United States and Canadian periodicals. William Kirby, the author of the most cele- brated of Canadian novels, “ Le Chien D’Or,” was born in England in 1817. He is consequently a veteran verging towards ninety, but by the last accounts he is still able to take an interest in life at his quiet home in Niagara where he has resided for many years, and where for thirty-four years he was Collector of Customs, retiring from that post in 1895. He appeared before the public in the first instance as a poet, with an epic poem, entitled “The U.E.” (United Empire) consisting chiefly of a series of historical tableaux, studded with portraits of loyalist personages. His master- piece, “ The Golden Dog,” was first published in 1877, at Montreal. But although the reviews of the work were exceedingly flattering, the sales So inadequate were they were far from being so. indeed that the author reaped next to nothing in the way of financial return from the book which is: destined to live as one of the most noteworthy in Canadian literature. A second edition was published in Boston in 1896, and there has been something like a renaissance of this admirable work. It has been complained by some critics that Kirby’s style, in some parts of this great novel, is diffuse, and lacking in movement. But it will be confessed by all, that there is in it a dignity, a marvellous drawing of character, and a mastery of all the strings of its artistic plot that give it a high place among important works of fiction. It has already proved its inherent vitality by the failure of time permanently to bury it; by a resurrection in new and eagerly called-for editions after twenty years of comparative neglect; and by its new and successful appeal to a second generation of judges. As a rule, at the present time, Canadian authors who desire a more extended market, have to make arrangements with United States or British publishing houses. Canadian publishers then borrow the electrotype plates, on a royalty basis, and print from these a “Oanadian copyright edition,” or they import the work in ready-printed sheets, bind them up, and put them into circula- tion. Among the earlier Canadians who took advantage of the more recent mode, was Miss Lily A. Dougall, of Montreal, who in her novel, ‘‘ What- 150 Necessity Knows,” and in others of equal note, has shown conspicuous literary ability and grasp of character. Her literary training was Canadian, and it is from her native soil that she derives her original literary impulse. Tn his fine novel, “The False Chevalier,” and in other stories, Mr. W. B. Lighthull has shown an intimate acquaintance with French-Canadian _his- tory, and has vividly delineated the period of which he writes. He has also rendered good service to the cause of natural literature. In his self-reliance, his great industry, and his determination to make the best of the mental outfit with which Providence has provided him, and in a certain adventurous courage, Sir Gilbert Parker is very typical of the Canadian young man, and Canadians are proud of the position which his special genius, added to the qualities which his country breeds, has enabled him to attain. He was one of the first to take advantage of the condi- tions of the field occupied by the modern novel, and nothing better illustrates the contrast between those conditions and the previously existing ones than a comparison between the reception accorded to the 1877 Montreal edition of Kirby’s “ Golden Dog” and that which was received, for instance, by “ When Valmond came to Pontiac,” or “The Seats of the Mighty,” eighteen or twenty years afterwards, when they were started on their career by London and New York publishing houses. Sir Gilbert’s work is so well known in England that I shall not carry coals to Newcastle by attempting any extended review of it here. His most success- ful books have, in my opinion, been those with Canadian themes, and he has done much to awaken interest in the history of what was so well called New France, while his portrayal of French-Canadian character is firm and accurate. Among the story-writers who have so success- fully exploited the field of what may be called psychologic zoology there are few who will not acknowledge that the first who ever burst into that well-explored region of jungle, forest and prairie was a Canadian. ‘The first of these stories, with animals instead of human beings for heroes and heroines, so numerous now, appeared in a New York magazine. It was written by Ernest Thompson-Seton, a Canadian from his childhood, and a man in every way fitted to write the interest- ing series of books that have appeared from his pen. In “ Wild Animals I Have Known,” and in his other stories, Thompson-Seton had only to accentuate with an inventive touch his experiences as field naturalist for the Government of Manitoba, and his adventures in the wilds of North-western Canada. It was asa painter that he first displayed his abilities, and his vigorous illustrations add much to the charm of his popular books, . In the THE AUTHOR. stories of the animal kind that C. G. D. Roberts has given us, and to which allusion has already been made, there is perhaps a superior literary flavour, and scarcely less of poignant interest. W. A. Fraser is another well-known and successful Canadian writer who has turned aside from hig chosen path of stirring stories of action and breathless adventure to humanize the buffalo and to make us weep at the intellect and sentiment of the dog ; while Miss Marshall Saunders, although the writer of many bright and clever books, is best known by her “ Beautiful Joe,” a humane work which has been translated into a number of foreign languages, and has been in itself a whole Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. If our Canadian poets have celebrated our flora, our writers of fiction have lifted our fauna to a position of eminence such as has never been occupied by members of the brute creation since their ancestors left Noah’s Ark. There have been other Canadian writers besides Kirby, Gilbert Parker and W. H. Drummond who have turned to the French-speaking province of the Dominion for their material. William McLennan obtained a perfect knowledge both of French- Canadian dialect and character. H.W. Thompson, in his “ Old Man Savarin and Other Stories,” dis- plays much skill in depicting character and much synipathetic insight ; Henry Cecil Walsh, in a volume of stories entitled “ Bonhomme,” is not 80 pronounced in dialect, but is equally true in character-sketching. Mrs. 8. Frances Harrison, both in her book of poems entitled “‘ Rose and Fleurs de Lis” and in her “ Forest of Bourg- Marie,” has given evidences of very accurate observation of the people of Quebec and the scenery that surrounds them, and also of the possession of great literary skill and story-telling capacity. We have already seen how, sixty years ago, the British Constitution was supposed to be suitable literary pabulum for every boy. Many readers of these lines will have a grateful memory of a voluminous writer for boys who thought differently —J. Macdonald Oxley. He belongs by birth to our maritime provinces, and in his time was dux of the Halifax Grammar School. He has done much good literary work besides that in the juvenile department, his pen having borne prolific fruit in all the principal magazines ; but it is as a provider of sound, manly, wholesome fiction for boys, most of it with Canadian themes, that I introduce him here. : Sara Jeanette Duncan (Mrs. Cotes), author of — “A Social Departure,” “An American Girl in ~ London,” ‘The Path of a Star,’ and other — stories, is Canadian born, and is well remembered as a- brilliant member of the staff of a: Toronto  newspaper. Her freshness of conception, her buoyant humour, and her excellent literary craftsmanship, have been very widely appreciated. Agnes C. Laut is another Canadian woman-journalist who has achieved fame in the particular section of the book world of which I am writing. Her ‘‘ Lords of the North” gives a vivid picture of the region of Canada which was the field of the operations of the Hudson’s Bay Company and its great rival, the North-West Company, while her “ Pathfinders of the North-West” attacks existing allotments of fame with a vigorous and unflinching hand. Among those who have commemorated the far west of Canada in books are Clive Phillips-Wolley, Lily A. Lefevre, Julia Henshaw, D. W. Higgins (late Speaker of the British Columbia Legislature), and “ Ralph Connor ” (Rev. C. W. Gordon). The last-mentioned of these is well known through very large editions of “ Black Rock,” “ The Sky Pilot,” “The Man from Glengarry,” and others, both throughout this Continent and on the other side of the Atlantic. His powerful descriptions of the lumber-camp, the mine, and the prairie, and his great moral force, appeal to larger audiences than it has been the lot of any other Canadian author to address. I have come to the end of the space at my dis- posal. I have endeavoured to give some idea of the work of Canadian authors in poetry and fiction, but I have no intention of attempting to construct a Canadian Academy-Pantheon out of the forty names I have mentioned. I would rather imitate the Japanese commander and say that if this army be demolished I can bring up another forty to take its place immediately. For I am conscious that there are many valiant and skilful writers that J have not been able to parade. Heavy guns of history we have, too, and a theological phalanx, besides a small but very admirable corps of skir- mishing essayists, not to mention our more than a corporal’s guard of able and veracious biographers. Bernarp McEvoy. ——___+—>_+—___—_ ANTHONY TROLLOPE. — ++ IJ. Toe Novetistz. HAT action there is in the trilogy, “The V Warden,” “ Barchester Towers,” and “The Last Chronicle of Barset ’—and it is but little—takes place in the quiet ancient close of Barchester Cathedral. But, as compensation, there is a great gallery of portraits. The gentle Bishop Grantly is reverently portrayed, and is admirably contrasted with his son, the Archdeacon, energetic and overbearing. In “Ihe Warden ”’ the THE AUTHOR. 151 latter is unsympathetic; but further acquaintance in the next book renders him more acceptable, and when he is opposed to the crafty Slope his faults become virtues: eyen at his worst, the Archdeacon is a gentleman. The hen-pecked Bishop Proudie is a poor creature, under the thumb of his wife, who recalls inevitably the Mrs. Caudle of the “ Curtain Lectures.” Trollope loved to introduce the charac- ters of one book into the others, and the reader may meet in many a volume with the Duke of Omnium, the De Courcys, Doctor Thorne, Miss Dunstable, and the Proudies among others. The author only killed Mrs. Proudie after overhearing a conversation between two clergyman at the Atheneum Club, who, discussing the books, and especially this character, remarked that they would not write novels at all unless they could invent new figures. ‘Then Trollope went home and killed the bishop’s wife; but he regretted her to the end of his days. Trollope rarely indulged in the luxury of any but the very slightest plot. ‘The Warden” and “ Barchester Towers” have but the merest thread of story, and digressions are frequent. In the former is dragged in a somewhat ill-natured parody of Carlyle, who is re-christened Anticant ; and a reference to Dickens, who figures as Mr. Popular Sentiment ; while many pages are devoted to a disquisition upon the influence of the press, which would be more in place in an essay. In the latter the description of the sports at Ullathorne, and the desires of the Lookalofts to take precedence of the Grenacres are amusing enough, but they irritate because they needlessly stop the action of the tale. In ‘Doctor Thorne” he overcame this fault. He had a more concise tale to unfold— it was suggested by his brother Adolphus—and with the exception of the Duke of Omnium’s dinner- party there is no ground for such a complaint; which may account for the fact that, in his lifetime at least, this was the most popular of his stories. With ‘Doctor Thorne” Trollope also took a broader canvas, and added to the scenes of clerical life the humours of county society. But if he rarely had a plot, he often had a purpose, “I have ever thought of myself as a preacher of sermons, and my pulpit as one which I could make both salutary and agreeable to my audience.” He realised that it was the first duty of the novelist to be readable, and he never allowed his sermon to interfere with the story. The strongest theme he ever introduced is in “The Vicar of Bullington,” where he introduced a girl to whom he refers—to save ears polite—as a castaway. How is the woman to return to decency to whom no decent door is opened, is the problem he put before his readers? He held that what was sauce for the gander should be sauce for the goose, 152 in so far at least, that while the fatted calf is killed for the prodigal son, pardon should not be withheld for the erring daughter. In ‘‘ The Way We Live” he tilted against commercial profligacy ; and having taken: in hand the satirist’s whip, he turned it against girls who sunk their self-respect in their eagerness to secure husbands, young men who were too selfish to abate a single luxury for the sake of matrimony, and against the puffing pro- pensities of authors. Elsewhere he had a word to say of mothers who would not nurse their children, and he indulged in quiet raillery when he raised the question of doctors’ etiquette. But he was no satirist. His method lacked delicacy; he used the bludgeon instead of the scalpel. He was at his best when exposing the shams of society, and castigating arrogance, undue pride of race, and snobbishness generally, which he did as fervently, though not so humourously, as Thackeray. He endeavoured to make vice repellent and virtue attractive, and to secure the reader’s affection for the good, the beautiful, and the true. Trollope never troubled about novel situations or dramatic effects. As often as not there is no denouement ; and he was quite indifferent to the advantage that might accrue from the preservation of some ignorance as to the ending of the tale. If a book was not good enough to be independent of mystery, which could always be solved by a glance at the last chapter, why then, in his opinion, it was worthless. The result of this feeling caused him often to interrupt the narrative to assure the reader that all would be well in the end, and that the heroine would not marry A., the fortune-hunter, or B., the unworthy, but C., who was her affinity. This naturally weakened the interest that otherwise might be felt for the lady. But Trollope was perhaps never entirely at his ease with his lovers. In “The Warden,’ where the love interest is between Bold the reformer and Eleanor Harding, the figures are not very real ; and in “ Barchester Towers,” where Eleanor reappears as a widow, it is not easy to be very anxious about her admirers. The affairs of sweet Lucy Mary Thorne and Frank Gresham, and Lord Lufton and Lucy Robarts, are, however, a marked improvement. Trollope did not take for his province the matters of life and death. He was pre-eminently a chronicler of small-beer ; and he was at his best when dealing with such trifles as the appointment to a deanery or a wardenship and the consequent intrigues. His humour found its most pleasing field when describing such scenes as those which constitute the duel between Mrs. Proudie and the crafty Slope for the control of the bishop. His favourite devices were the pursuit of an heiress by impecunious admirers, and the courtship of a maid of comparatively low degree by the squire or the THE AUTHOR. lord of the manor. These he introduced. into more than one story. For the most part his characters are of flesh and_ blood. He presented neither devils nor saints; and, if he had a weakness for heroines, his heroes were rather poor creatures. His bad men were Slope, Henry Thorne, Sir Roger Scatcherd and his son, Louis Philippe. It cannot be said that he was as successful with his good young men. They were as unstable as water; and their hearts were so little under control that they flitted from girl to girl, even after they had to all intents and purposes plighted their troth. His girls were better drawn: Lucy Robarts, Kate Woodward, and Mary Thorne, charming: creatures all; and excellent, too, is Griselda Grantly, who when she hears from her mother that, at the eleventh hour, her marriage may be broken off, remarks placidly, ‘Then, mamma, I had better give them orders not to go on with the marking.” He was happier still with his elder men. Archdeacon Grantly has already been mentioned ; and Harding, whom Trollope pre- sented confidently to the reader, “not as a hero, not as a man to be admired and talked of, not as a man who should be toasted at public dinners and spoken of with conventional absurdity as a perfect divine, but as a good man without guile, believing humbly in the religion which he had striven to teach, and guided by the precepts which he had striven to learn.” A fine fellow, Harding, and a credit to his cloth. Admirable, too, was Doctor Thorne, with his loving, trusty heart, and almost womanly tenderness ; but somehow it seems wrong to have married him to Miss Dunstable. But then Trollope wanted everybody to be happy at the end of the last chapter of the last volume. The author’s favourite was Plantagenet Palliser : “Tf he be not a perfect gentleman, then am I unable to describe a gentleman.” Plantagenet is all that is claimed for him; but the greatest character in all the books is the Rev. Mr. Crawley, who ranks with the best creations of modern fiction. This unhappy gentleman, whose pride prevents him, owing to his poverty, from associat- ing with his equals, and who is anxious only to hide from the world the barrenness of his house- hold. At last, when his wife falls ill, he is com- pelled to allow the aid of his friends ; and at the end, when his pride is conquered, he thanks Lucy Robarts for all she has done, he seems to reach the level of some great patriarchal figure of old. “May God Almighty bless you, Miss Robarts. You have brought sunshine into this house, even in the time of sickness, when there was no sun- shine ; and He will bless you. You have been the Good Samaritan, binding up the wounds of the afflicted, pouring in oil and balm. To the mother of my children you have given life, and to me you  have brought light, and comfort, and good words —making my spirit glad within me as it has not peen gladdened before. All this hath come of charity, which vaunteth not itself, and is not puffed up. Faith and hope are beautiful, but charity exceedeth them all.” And, having so spoken, instead of leading her to the carriage, he went away and hid himself. There is nothing finer in Trollope, and perhaps nothing better in English fiction. ‘Also he excelled in the presentation of what, in theatrical parlance, are styled “ character parts,” such as the Countess de Fourcy, Lady Arabella Gresham, Lady Lufton, Miss Thorne of Ullathorne, Martha Dunstable, the Oil of Lebanon heiress, and Lady Glencora. The latter ranked among the author’s favourites. “She is by no means a per- fect lady ; but if she be not all over a woman, then am I not able to describe a woman.” In this category comes Mrs. Proudie and Mademoiselle Neroni ; but the portrait of the latter, an unscru- pulous coquette, was by no means a success. What ‘Trollope said of “Barchester Towers a may be said of most of his books. “ The story was thoroughly English. There was a little fox- hunting and a little tuft-hunting, some Christian virtue and some cant. There was no heroism and no villainy. There was much Church, but more love-making. And it was honest, downright love.” To this need only be added that some- times there was a little electioneering. Trollope had some pathos and a quiet humour that vented itself not so much in the dialogue as in the delineation of the characters. Nor did he lack tenderness, as all are aware who have read of Arabin’s courting of Eleanor Bold : “ And now it remained to them each to enjoy the assurance of each other’s love. And how great that luxury is! How far it surpasses any other pleasure which God has allowed to His creatures! And to a woman’s heart how doubly delightful! When the ivy has found its tower, when the delicate creeper has found its strong wall, we know how the parasite plants grow and prosper. They were not created to stretch forth their branches alone and endure without protection the summer’s sun and the winter’s storm. Alone they but spread themselves on the ground, and cower unseen in the dingy shade. But when they have found their firm sup- porters, how wonderful is their beauty ; how all- pervading and victorious! What is the turret without its ivy, or the high garden-wall without its jasmine, which gives it beauty and fragrance ? The hedge without the honeysuckle is but a hedge. There is a feeling still half existing, but now half conquered by the force of human nature, that a woman should be ashamed of her love till the husband’s right to her compels her to acknowledge THE AUTHOR. 153 it. We would fain preach a different doctrine. A woman should glory in her love; but on that account let her take the more care that it be such as to justify her glory.” As the preceding passage shows clearly enough, Trollope wrote easily and without strain. But his style generally was undistinguished. There are no purple patches, no fine passages of description, nor are there many scenes which the reader feels impelled to re-read again and again. He was no phrase-maker, and epigrams are few and far between ; but occasionally a page is lit up with a flash of Disraelian wit. We read of the Duke of Omnium, who “was very willing that the Queen should be Queen so long as he was allowed to be the Duke of Omnium” ; and of the Hon. George De Courcy, who “ for his part liked to see the people go quiet on Sundays. The parsons had only one one day in seven, and he thought they were fully entitled to that.” Trollope’s best books are veritable human docu- ments, and his scenes are as true to life as his characters ; while his peers, his county families, squires, political folk, clergymen, doctors, attor- neys, civil servants, are so many accurate portraits of the men and women of the time. Within his limits he did excellent work ; and the fact that he was for many years prior to his death the most popular of English writers of fiction is a tribute alike to his powers and to the public which had the discernment to recognise them. He must for ever rank high among the exponents of English county life in mid-Victorian times; and the day cannot be far distant when he will take his place, not perhaps with the greatest English novelists, but certainly not far below them. Lewis MELVILLE. ——————_1 > _____ COMMERCIALISATION OF LITERATURE. es R. HENRY HOLT, of the firm of Messrs. Henry Holt & Co., of New York, has written a very interesting article in the Atlantic Monthly on “The Commercialisation of Literature.” The article is prompted by “The Confessions of a Publisher,” a book which was reviewed some months ago by Mr. Bernard Shaw in these columns, but though it deals incidentally with the book and the review referred to, this is not the main object of the paper. Its title is its own explanation. At first it appeared desirable, with the permission of the Editor, to republish the paper in Zhe Author, but, as it extends to twenty-three pages of the review, it would be much too long for the pages of this magazine. In these circumstances a few remarks on the contents will serve the purpose. 154 The article is divided into three parts. Part 1, “ Author and Publisher.” Part 2, ‘‘ Publisher and Publisher.” Part 3, “ Publisher and the Public,” The first part is interesting as containing the opinions of an American publisher; but its subject, frequently dealt with in 7'he Author, presents little that is really fresh, but it may be mentioned that Mr. Holt takes a very pronounced attitude against the position of the agent. He says in one place, “The agent can be very useful in arranging the business of a few authors popular enough to be published in both serial and book form in England, the United States, Canada, and Australia, and sometimes—occasionally through translations—in other places, although such business could be as well, and perhaps better, arranged by a competent publisher.” ‘This is the publisher’s opinion. The real facts of the case, as far as English authors are concerned, have frequently been set forth in these columns. The publisher is the worst person to whom to entrust these rights. When he is entrusted to obtain the United States copyright he makes an effort—a small effort—through his United States agent and drops the matter, as it is very often a better financial business for him to sell sheets or stereos to the United States market than to secure the copyright for the author. Over and over again this position has been laid before the Secretary of the Society, with the same result and the same dissatisfaction on the part of the author. Where, as in some cases, the publisher has given the author sufficient notice of his inability to obtain the United States copyright, the author has with business promptitude carried the matter through himself. The result has generally been satisfactory. Again, publishers often delay the publication of a book quite unwarrantably in order to obtain a serial market for the work, and their whole method of procedure proves that the machinery at their offices is unsatisfactory to obtain this end ; and lastly, publishers charge from 25 per cent. to 50 per cent. for doing this small agency business, and unblushingly take the sums which result while they are crying out about the extravagant charges of agents. The writer continues : “ Among the first things the literary agent set himself to do, in London at least, was to break down the old relations between authors and publishers, and to make their connection mainly a question of which publisher would bid highest.”” We do not know what this “old rela- tion” may have been—an “old relation” may sometimes be a nuisance—but here again the publisher, looking at the matter from his own point of view, has overlooked the patent fact that if “the old relations” between publisher and author had been satisfactory the agent would never have existed, but the publishers so frequently and on THE AUTHOR. so many occasions took advantage of the author's ignorance that it became necessary to have some business head intervening who could put the literary wares on the market satisfactorily. The publishers alone are to blame for the creation of the agent, and although they may not find hig methods entirely satisfactory, they must remember that the position of this middleman is due to their own fault. The agent may—as in this imperfect world nothing is perfect—bring his disadvantages with him—and the publisher may perhaps suffer more than ghe author; but, as in all cases of natural evolution, if a part is unneces- sary it atrophies, if an agent is unnecessary between the creation of the book and the public demand for it, he will gradually decay and die out ; but his continued existence tends to show that he is a necessity. “A literary agent told me that among authors the feeling is quite frequent that the publisher ig to be squeezed to the last possible cent. The agents have not been slow to please their clients by falling in with this feeling. Between them, the publisher has lately been treated merely as a corpus vilum to be exploited for money.” Though we can but guess at the meaning of corpus vilum, it is pleasing to see that at any rate the publisher has fathomed the lack of gender of the corpus, although his classical education does not seem to have carried him further, but if the agents have experimented on the publisher’s body again it must appear that the publishers are respon- sible for the situation. He goes on to talk about the publisher as “ golden goose,” and ‘‘ who are to look after the agents?” It is impossible to think that the old fallacy that the publisher is the “ golden goose” can still exist, though, of course, here again, it is not the goose but the egg that is golden—in this distinction lies the very point of the story. The ovum of the publisher’s fortune—golden or not—must come from the author, who is, if the evidence of many hundreds of contracts goes for anything, very often the goose, as far as the busi- ness incidents are concerned. As to the question of who will protect the author from the agent, in Great Britain, at any rate, the author has some kind of safeguard owing to the position of the Society of Authors, though we regret to say in the United States no such substantial body exists, able, to act promptly as legal defenders of the author and guardian of his property. It is whispered that this position arises owing to the fact that a great many of the best-known authors in the United — States are “in the pockets of the publishers.” Finally, the feelings of the publisher are poured — forth in the following quotation, in which he seems — to have burst through all restraint and to have laid bare his heart : me  “J unhesitatingly say that in carrying his functions farther”—(this refers to the agent’s capacity as a lawyer to look over contracts and an auditor to check the accounts)—“ the agent has been the parent of most serious abuse, has become a very serious detriment to literature and a leech on the author, sucking blood entirely out of pro- portion to his later services, and has already begun to defeat himself. These are hard truths, and [ shall probably find it expensive to tell them, but they need telling, and I am trying to do justice to the better side of the agent’s activities as well.” Generous publisher ! So far the first portion of the article has come under consideration. : The second portion, “ Publisher and Publisher,” does not carry with it very much of interest, but the third part, ‘Publisher and the Public,” is fall of fresh statements on the advertising of hooks. Referring to the author of “ Confessions,” Mr. Holt observes: “He states about the adver- tising of books nobody knows anything,” bat proceeds to point out that the writer appears to know a great deal, and that finally he shows how there are three kinds of books from the advertiser's point of view. ‘‘ The first class do not need adver- tising, the second class cannot be helped by it, and the third class can. Much money spent on Class 1 is wasted. All money spent on Class 2 is wasted. Money can be profitably spent, then, only on Class 3.” Mr. Holt then proceeds to make the following statement : “The sales of books that do not need much advertising constitute the bulk of the mis- cellaneous publishing business, and nearly all of the business done at a profit, while books, which will not return dollar for dollar spent in advertising, make up the bulk of the remainder. If this is trae, my class three, that will return a profit on advertising, cannot be a very large class.’ He goes on to quote an instance where a book was put on the market by a publisher and hardly went at all. One of the firm happened to read it ; considered it would be likely to respond to advertising, and began to advertise. The book responded ; he continued to advertise ; and the book still responded, but as soon as he abandoned the advertising the book ceased to sell, and it was found that the amount of money spent in advertising had taken away all the profits on the book from its increased sales. According to Mr. Holt’s judgment, therefore, a book of this kind ought to have died at birth because it does not pay the publisher to push it. ‘This trade point of view is exceedingly interesting and important, and demonstrates the fact which must often be brought to the minds of authors and is constantly in evidence in the work of the Society, namely, that publishing is a business ; that THE AUTHOR. 155 the author’s reputation is, in the majority of cases, of little account to the publisher ; and that the old worn-out statement of the ‘old relations” between author and publisher, as a general rule, cannot be substantiated. To quote another instance which often comes before us. A publisher will take a book of an author; will print about 1,500 copies ; will sell in the first three or four months about 800 or 900 on the English market and 400 or 500 to the United States or the Colonies; will thus turn over his money with little advertising and little effort, and secure to himself a sound per- centage on it. He will then refuse, having broken up the type, to publish another edition, finding that the further circulation is not worth the trouble that may have to be expended upon it either in money or application. The author, therefore, finds that in three or four months his book is dead, and the publishers complain of the short life of the modern novel, while, in a great many cases, their own business methods are responsible for this result. The next point which Mr. Holt makes is the rage for advertising which has seized some of the pub- lishers in the United States, and his deduction is that many publishers have been badly bitten ; have found that the excess of advertising does not pay and that a reaction is now setting in. He is inclined to think, and, no doubt, his deduction is correct, that good reviews, with a small amount of advertising, are the best things for a book. A liberal advertiser in the United States market men- tions 800 dollars for the advertisement of a book he desires to boom, but this Mr. Holt considers excessive, and thinks that very few books would stand 800 dollars. He continues:: “Let us be bold and enterprising: for that’s the present fashion, and risk 300 dollars on each book. Where do we come out? ‘Take as an example a house that advertises thirty new booksa year. As we have figured 9,000 dollars would be a very liberal amount to spend in initial advertising before books show to which class they belong.” He thinks the statement about spending 30,000 or 50,000 dollars a year must either be incorrect or a great waste of money. While stating that all figuring on the question must be based on assumption and guess-work and the results be conjectural, he figures out as follows :— «A house advertising thirty books a year may, with fair success, reach a year’s sale of about 200,000 copies, of which 80,000 would be fairly apt to come in class three. Half of these, say 40,000, could reasonably be expected to pay for their advertising. A net profit on them, exclusive of advertising, would reasonably be about 15,000 dollars ; then the small publishing house would, according to the 156 author of ‘A Publisher’s Confession,’ have to pay out of this 15,000, from 20,000 to 40,000 dollars in advertising. Now I have proved too much, or our author has asserted an error, or our publishing house has failed. Each is probably the case.” These figures are of great importance, and Mr. Holt goes on to state that of the dozen publishers who meet at monthly lunches in New York, who are leaders of the trade, one of them never spent over 25,000 dollars in any one year, a second never spent so much, and a third, he has reason to believe, never spent half of it. It is probable, therefore, if Mr. Holt’s figures are correct, that the reaction in United States advertising must set in pretty severely or all the United States publishing houses will be ruined. He is afraid that some of the English publishing houses have been bitten by the One or two, perhaps, but same advertising mania. not more. In dealing with this subject, he quotes an amus- ing remark by Prof. Cooley, who says that com- petition varies inversely as the intelligence and character of the customers appealed to, and that competition in advertising is the same as any other competition. ‘Is it too much to say that the vulgarest things are the most widely advertised, and that wide advertising, while it has its justifica- tions, inevitably has, unless it conveys knowledge that people actually want, a note of vulgarity ?” If, therefore, his reasoning is correct, wide advertis- ing, successful as regards other utilities, is false as regards books ; and that it is so, is proved, not only by previous experience, but by the fact that reckless advertising is on the decline, but surely it is not the case, as he seems to think that this state of affairs is prompted by the passage of the International Copyright Law. From a full consideration of the arguments put forward, the following deductions may be drawn : That publishing is a business ; that if advertise- ments do not pay the publisher, books will not be advertised, although such advertising might help the author; that, as in other businesses, so in publishing, there is no sentiment ; that the “old relations” between author and publisher, except in a few cases, never really had any existence unless the author was blind to his own interests ; that good reviews are the best means of selling books ; that these are no good or very little good unless coupled with judicious advertising ; that judicious advertising does not necessarily mean a large expenditure. : There is another point which Mr. Holt has not touched upon and which may not, perhaps, be a feature in United States publishing, and that is, the advantage of a good traveller. There are some houses in England obtaining very large sales for their books owing to the fact that they have THE AUTHOR. travellers whose knowledge of the booksellers in various cities and of the clientéle of these book- sellers is “ peculiar and extensive,” and who have a correct knowledge of the contents of the book or books which they are travelling. Such a person is of more value to a publisher than many advertise- ments, for gradually the booksellers begin to trust his knowledge, and in their turn, if they are good business men, begin to push his wares among their book-buyers. It is, however, to be regretted that many of the travellers employed fail conspicuously in the knowledge of the wares in which they are dealing. Here again it is clear that the marketing of books is entirely different from the marketing of other wares. A sample in the case of merchandise is sufficient, and the retailer has his remedy if the merchandise does not come up to the sample ; but in the case of books each book has an identity of its own, and cannot, therefore, be travelled in the same way. This point of view may not occur in the United States, where distances are so large and travelling so expensive, but there is no doubt that careful attention should be paid to it in the English market—much more attention than is at present customary. Thanks must be rendered to Mr. Holt for his enlightened and elucidating article, and, no doubt those—publishers and booksellers—whose business is the sale of books, will profit by his remarks. G. H. T. —-——+—— WRITERS’ YEAR BOOK.* —1—— + —_ HE credit for the inception of this little book was due to Miss Irene Bastow, who, we believe, drifted into journalism from typing, instead of, as is more often the case, taking up typing after seeking in vain a market wherein to sell, and not throw away, carefully penned MSS. Miss Bastow’s scheme was a practical one. She set about obtaining information from every English periodical of standing, first, regarding the style and length of copy accepted from outside con- tributors, and secondly, the rates of payment made, when such promises would be fulfilled, and whether the contributor should send in an account. Such knowledge she compressed into a small com- pass by means of abbreviations from the letters A to Q. Not only did she economise her time and energy in a way that experienced free-lances had done before her, but she desired to let her fellow- strugglers in journalism benefit by her discoveries. This intention she carried out in a way as * « The Writers’ and Artists’ Year Book, 1906, a Directory for Writers, Artists and Photographers.” Adam & Charles Black. Is. net. THE AUTHOR. altruistic as it was commercial, by offering the information within two green covers at the price of a shilling. Yet the book was often difficult to procure. Its date of issue was irregular. Doubtless it involved too much work for one busy person to attend to, or the then publishers had not the necessary machinery to exploit it properly. Thus, owing to the difficulty of getting the useful little green manual, in its flimsy paper wrapper, the impression had of late gone abroad that the « W. Y. B.” was dead. It is therefore pleasant to chronicle that, on the 15th ult., this scribblers’ erutch rose like a phcenix from the ashes. Although it is now clad in blazing Scarlet, as befits a fiery phoenix, it bears the imprint of Messrs. Black. Albeit its blushes are vivid, they are substantial ; for its cover is of cloth, without an advance being made on the original charge of 1s. Despite the fact that various press guides have appeared annually for many years with the object of obtaining advertisements for the periodi- cals noted, Miss Bastow was the first to bring out a press guide, the prime motive of which was to impart practical information to contributors, un- obtainable elsewhere. It should be gratifying to her, therefore, that this little book is likely to become a hardy annual, since it has been taken over by the old-established firm which published three editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica and bought the copyright of the Waverley Novels. THE PREFACE. Previous issues of the W. Y. B. have appealed _ to free-lances partly because the standpoint of the editor was a purely business one and there was no flummery in the introduction. We regret, therefore, on opening this reissue of the book, to read “of all pleasant forms of work few are more delightful than that (sic) which falls to the lot of the free-lance, who is fairly confident of finding a market for his work.” Apart from slipshod grammar, the sentiment conveyed savours of cheap-jack auctioneering. Made solemnly in cold print, it is calculated to augment the already too numerous army of unemployed scribblers. After its flaming red cover has fired the imagina- tion of many half-baked young men and women, the misleading words in the preface are not un- likely to cause them to relinquish some regularly paid employment in order to reduce still further the paltry remuneration too often offered to out- siders by editors. But this year the familiar W. Y. B., to be quite in the fashion, has been given a double- barrelled name. It is now called _ the “W.A. Y.B.,” or the “ Writers’ and Artists’ Year Book.” Prominence is imparted, in heavy type, 157 to those periodicals which accept illustrations, because this is a pictorial age. The fact that the ever-increasing host of illustrators ‘‘ bids fair to rival in numbers even the mighty army of con- tributors ” should, of itself, have sufficed to show what an ample market there is for the new Red Book, without. the need of hampering the domgs of the aforesaid mighty army by an unwieldy gang of camp followers. Good wine needs no bush. It is surely inexpedient to “puff” the wine in the W. Y. B. by making any statement calculated to do a disservice to and alienate former purchasers, or still further embarrass editors whose budgets of unsolicited communications already exceed their powers of fair examination. If a well educated quart cannot be contained within a pint measure, is it seemly to invite the semi-educated gallon to seek a bubble reputation by toppling over into the mouth of the self-same pewter, which, as every school-board prodigy knows, is only capable of admitting an eighth part of a gallon ? The copyright section of last year has been ex- cluded from the present issue. This is as well. The attempt of the compiler to give a digest of the Copyright Acts so that writers might have a hazy idea of how legally to protect their interests, was no doubt laudable. But such matters are more ably dealt with in Chap. V. of Besant’s ‘* Pen and the Book.” ALPHABETICAL List OF PERIODICALS. Out of 75 pages 50 are devoted to a list of journals and magazines issued mostly in London. This, therefore, forms the bulk of the book, the reputation of which stands, or falls, by the accuracy and utility of this section. On the whole, the periodicals noted seem to have been selected with careful discrimination. A favourable point is that the alphabetical list is not loaded unnecessarily by the enumeration of provincial papers in which local amateurs make their gratuitous débuts, and con- cerning which conditions of acceptance are easily ascertainable on the spot. Omission, however, of the former abbreviations already alluded to— regarding times of publication and various informa- tion about payment—to our mind, militates against quick identification of the precise enlightenment a writer may seek, especially if he has become accus- tomed to the letters in former issues. By their elimination, it would appear that the publishers now take the side of the editor who may advertise in the W.A.Y.B., rather than that of the free-lance who buys the book. Be that as it may, the para- graphs do not now reveal at a glance, as was formerly the case, those periodicals whose editors responded fully to the circulars and thereby showed that they welcomed the outsider. Beginning with 158 the letter A, it appears that the editor of the W.A.Y.B. is not an anti-vivisectionist ; for, while the “ Animals’ Friend” is given, the “ Animals’ Guardian” is ostracised. ‘The weekly “ Army and Navy Gazette” is duly noted, but the monthly « Army and Navy Chronicle” is omitted. While the “Art Journal,” price 1s. 6d. appears, the shilling ‘Art Decorator” is conspicuous by its absence. Although the “ Baptist Times and Freeman”’ is notified, the older publication of the same denomination, ‘‘ The Baptist,” is over- looked. Moreover, in a manual inaugurated by a lady, it is passing strange that the twopenny monthly “Beauty and Health”? should be unrecorded. Surely, for facile and nimble pens, there is much good copy suggested by such a pretty subject. ‘To free-lances, the practice of printing the names of editors is sometimes useful. It is always interesting. It is scarcely fair, there- fore, that while the name of the editor of “ Baby, the Mother’s Magazine” should be given, that of the “ Author” is omitted. PUBLISHERS. There are numerous omissions in this list. We can well understand an old-established firm looking askance at many mushroom houses that grow up around it. But if the W.A.Y.B., as its preface implies, is intended for the free-lance, it is often the small outside publisher who gives the non- established author his first opportunity of bringing out a book. Another year, therefore, it would be well to make this section more complete. It excludes, for instance, the Art & Book Co., Ltd., Thomas Baker, Brown, Langham & Co., Catholic Truth Society, Caxton Publishing Co., W. H. and L, Collingridge, the De la More Press, and Bertram Dobell. Space precludes further detailed investiga- tion. The fact that the business of Mr. Grant Richards continues, under the name of E. Grant Richards, is not noted. LITERARY AGENTS. Here we have only seven names instead of five times that number, no mention being made of the Cambridge Literary Agency, Central News Agency, London News Agency, National Press Agency, and so forth. In conclusion, whilst welcoming the reappear- ance of this useful manual, we venture to suggest that the excellent list of “ Pseudonyms and Pen Names” given in the ‘“ Who’s Who Year Book,” published by the same firm, might be transferred to the W.A.Y.B., as well as particulars of literary societies and clubs, in the next edition. A. R, THE AUTHOR. A NOTE ON THE WORD “ AUTHOR.” —t : E may suppose that the spelling and pronunciation of author commend them- selves to learned men. Nevertheless, both are abnormal, if not extraordinary, as may be seen by consulting the New English Dictionary. The name means “originator,” or “one who makes a work to grow”; from the Latin ace, auctorem, one who makes to grow, from augere, to wax. The old Norman form was, at first, autur, then autour; but some scribes, who were accus- tomed to the Greek th in Thomas and thyme, chose to vary the form to authour, without intending any difference in the sound ; and this misleading custom became popular. Soon people began to suppose, naturally enough, that the th was the English fh, of native origin, and pronounced the word accord- ingly; sometimes varying the form to author, with but one vw. And this is how the sound of th gob into a word of Latin origin. But Thomas and thyme have preserved their Norman ¢f to the present day, with the Norman sound of ¢; whilst the Middle English zeaére, teme, and trone have been turned into theatre, theme, and throne. All these five words are pronounced as with ¢in French; and so is the French auteur, | Water W. SKEAT. a 8 CORRESPONDENCE. —-—~< > A PRovest. Srr,—No one can detest the attitude of the public-complainer more than I, but there are occasions when one has no option but to adopt it. May I have a little space in which to do so now, and to call attention to a piece of literary imitation too close to pass unnoticed. I refer to a new book called “The Footpath Way: An Anthology for Those who Travel by the Country-Side,” compiled by Alfred H. Hyatt, and published by Mr. Foulis of Edinburgh. In every way except the cover (which had already been borrowed by another firm for a book called “The Voice of the Mountains), in its title, sub-title, format, its editorial note and acknowledgment, its arrangement of headlines, its use of mottoes, and, to the extent of many pages, — in its contents, this volume copies my anthology — “The Open Road,” although neither that work nor myself is (perhaps not unnaturally) ever men- tioned ; and to add to the flattery, at the end of “The Footpath Way” an annoancement that the same editor and publisher have in preparation — “The City’s Heart: A Little Anthology of the Town ;” which also is to be divided into sections [  approximating to those in my recent volume “ The Friendly Town: A Little Book for the Urbane. There is no doubt plenty of room for new antho- logies both of country and town life, and I should be one of the last to complain of ordinary competition. But “The Footpath Way” bears so many traces (yet not quite enough, I am advised, for the law to interfere to protect Messrs. Methuen and myself) of a kind of competition which happily is extra- ordinary, that 1 feel compelled to draw this attention to the matter. When one man has devised a special form of book, and brought to its arrangement sufficient thought and taste to give it several original characteristics and a personal quality, it Is a menace to conscientious authors if another is encouraged in the production of imitations as close (and apparently safe) as “The Footpath Way.” I am, yours faithfully, E. V. Lucas. st Tue Literary YEAR Book, 1906. Srr,—To review a reviewer is seldom desirable and sometimes disagreeable, especially if, as in the present instance, a grateful acknowledgment of criticism in the past is resented as “very pretty blandishments.” Accordingly, whatever gratitude I may feel for your notice (in eight columns) of the current issue of my “ Year Book,” I shall, as before, endeavour to express it by improvements in the next edition. At the same time, I should like to point out that your deprecation of “ pre- judice” and “uncharitable” feeling in the final paragraph of your long review is, perhaps, a little belated. You state there, very kindly, that you “have no desire to detract from the unquestioned value of the major part of the material,” and that it is not your “intention to overlook the usefulness of much solid stuff by unduly magnifying the flaws we have come across.” Now, in regard to the ethics of reviewing, I think this principle is accepted as according with the common laws of fairness, that praise and blame should be proportionate to the good and bad elements in the book. If “ the major part of the material’ is of “ unquestioned value,’ the major part of the reviewer's task should be to point out its merits. If the good and the bad are related as “inuch solid stuff” to “ flaws,’’ the preponderance of criticism should be in the scale of praise. If, as you further state, “there is much advantage to be derived ” from the book by precisely that class for whom it is intended (‘those who live dependent on the pen”), they may reasonably expect not to find its merits tucked away at the foot of the eighth column. ‘his is merely a THE AUTHOR. 159 question of proportion, and I venture to think that your really helpful review is, in effect, not fair to the book, inasmuch as the general impression which you create does not accord with your favourable opinion of its “ major part,” and is not removed by the gui s’excuse s’accuse phrases at the close of the review. With regard to one or two details, 7e Rhymer’s Lexicon was not selected for review because it is published by the same firm which publishes “The Literary Year Book,” and a notice might have looked like an advertisement. In your section headed “ Publishers,’”’ you write, “The list of pub- lishers, we are informed, has been thoroughly revised at first hand. . . . But it comes as a shock to find that the section devoted to ‘ Foreign Pub- lishers’ has not been altered in any way.” The words “in any way” are incorrect, but I am more concerned to note that your reviewer overlooks the statement prefatory to the list of “ Colonial, American, and Foreign Publishers” (p. 403), which runs: “ Every effort has been made to bring these lists up to date, but, owing to the delays of correspondence and to the difficulty of eliciting information at first-hand, it has not been possible toattain to completeness.” Short of making a per- sonal tour through the Colonies, the United States, and the Continent, I fear that these lists will always fall short of absolute accuracy ; but your reviewer's indifference to the genuine hard work devoted to the British section (32 pp.), in order to haye a fling at the Foreign section (12 pp.), without regard to the editorial note, does seem to me a little—it is your own word—* uncharitable.” { do not quite follow the fine words employed at the beginning of your review about “a ‘ Literary Year Book’ worthy of the land of Shakespeare,” and about the “saying of Sir Joshua Reynolds that ‘excellence is never granted to a man but as a reward of labour.’” ‘This sounds a trifle senten- tious in reference to a literary annual, but I remem- ber that Shakespeare also says, “I have had my labour for my travail,” and that Reynolds writes in another place, ‘“ Among men united in the same body and engaged in the same pursuit, occasional differences will arise.” I am cheerfully anxious to bridge those “differences” with fresh “ labour” on my part ; is there nothing wanting on yours ? I am, very truly yours, Tue Eniror, ‘THE LITERARY YeEaR Book.” Broadway House, E.C. 16th January. A REPLY TO THE ABOVE. A propos of the ethics of reviewing, two interesting points are advanced by the Editor of the “ Literary Year Book.” 160 (1) Praise, he maintains, should be proportionate to the good and bad elements in a book. ‘Thus, if the major part is of value, the major part of the reviewer's task should be to praise. May we be permitted to reply by parable? In any review of disciplined troops, the inspecting officer, at the conclusion of a parade when making his report, emphasises, as is his duty, the shortcomings he may have observed, in order that they may be corrected on a future occasion. If his criticisms, conscientiously given, are then cavilled at,a double exhibition of weakness is displayed. (2) As regards the objection to favourable comments coming at the end instead of at the beginning, the question raised is one of peculiar concern. When a reviewer, after examining a book, draws attention to a number of dis- crepancies, but is anxious to show the great service which the volume might render another year after revision, it may be wiser to bestow praise at the end rather than the beginning. In days when congregations enjoyed the “Fourteenthly ” in a sermon, magazine readers thought it a duty to peruse a long article from beginning to end. But now, when everyone thinks he is in a hurry, it is the fashion to turn rather to the last paragraph, and take the cue from it, before beginning to read the whole. The fear that mention of the “Rhymer’s Lexicon” on p. 857 “might have looked like an advertisement” is naive, considering that the publisher’s own firm is fittingly advertised in the body of the book on p. 397. As the Editor considers that we have been indifferent to the “genuine hard work devoted to the British section” of publishers, we take this opportunity of noting that the register in question has been padded out in the present issue by the inclusion of several publishers of music. The first insertion of a music house appeared in the 1901 edition of the “ Literary Year Book,’’ and that entry has since been reprinted annually. We now find, in the 1906 edition, that representatives of the music trade— extraneous to that of bona fide book selling—have been considerably augmented. These “British” music pub- lishers include a German firm under the letter A, and a well-known Italian house under R. Nevertheless, the old- established British houses of Novello & Co (genuine book publishers as well as music sellers), Curwen (publishers of many books on tonic sol-fa as well as sheet music), Ash- down, Metzler, Williams, Weekes, and so on, are not mentioned. Surely, if music publishers are inserted, musical instrument makers should also be added, because a few of these have published books, e.g., Hill & Sons, Hart, and Chanot (on the violin), Rudall Carte (on the flute, besides the ‘ Musical Directory ”), and Brinsmead (on the piano). By the way, the firm that brings out more books on music than any other in London to-day, is William Reeves, Charing Cross Road, whose name is omitted. Music pub- lishers, however, are primarily concerned with the business of music selling. It is a trade distinct from that of book printing or book publishing. To get into touch with recognised sellers of literature, Messrs. Simpkin Marshall, or other distributors, are usually employed by the music firms. There is no need unduly to increase the bulk of the “Literary Year Book.” Such entries are no more valued by the music trade than they are by purchasers of the book itself. Asa proof of this, we refer to the memo- randum at the beginning of the section. It says that those publishers “whose names are marked with an asterisk have not corrected their entries for the present issue.” Only two music publishers appear without an asterisk. Auk. THE AUTHOR. Torems ror AUTHORS. Dear Str,—May I beg for a trifle of space in which to amplify slighily my little paper on totems, which appeared in last month’s Author. It is to the necessity of simplicity in design that I wish to draw attention. The totem, to fulfil perfectly its work of identification, must have two qualities—simplicity and recognisability. Now, though, correctly speaking, a totem is a “natural object . . . one of a class,” it would be absurd for authors to be totemically pedantic when their end would be served equally well by designs representing any well-known manufactured article; therefore by the term “totem” it is understood that I mean any object, natural or manufactured, used as a means to assist identification of an author with his work. Referring back now to my opening remark on the need for simplicity, it seems to me that the ignoring of this by the inexperienced totemist will lead him into one of two difficulties. Supposing him to make use of a natural object for his totem, he will possibly allow his artist to design him quite a pretty little picture—which as a picture may be very admirable ; but as an aid to identification of his name with his work just useless. I can imagine some member of the public asking a friend if he has read Brown’s new book. And the friend asking which Brown. And after that the ineffectual struggles of the first man to describe the pretty little picture which Brown has printed always alongside his name ! Again, in the case of an author making use of a manufactured article for his totem, his artist may feel it in his bones that a teapot or a pair of tongs look “‘ mighty mean”’ without a little softening of the lines, and something of a background. Result —the man in the street is never quite satisfied whether the teapot is a coffee pot, watering can, oil can, antique vase or a shaving pot. While as for the tongs, probably he goes all his days thinking they’re a pair of nutcrackers. No! if you're going to call in the assistance of the totem, let your motto be, “Simplicity and Recognisability.” Clumsy but useful. Something anyone can name at aglance. ‘Tongs ” Smith—‘ Kettle” Hyne— *Camuel” Kipling—“ Whale” Bullen! Who would forget °em? ‘They’re too readily recog- nised and too easily described to be confused or forgotten. Now, in the words of the immoral Drinquobier : “ Who is going to begin an’ make a start?” Yours faithfully, Wiut1am Hore Hopaeson. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 16 Issue 05 (February 1906) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 05 (February 1906) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1906-02-01-The-Author-16-5 Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/514/1906-03-01-The-Author-16-6.pdf 8908f18cab0735f745700a60d3028a2f PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1906-03-01 Volume 16 Issue 6 Pages Page range in volume 161–188 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19060301 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin FOUNDED BY SIR Che HMutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) WALTER BESANT. Vou. XVI.—No. 6. [PRIcE SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ———————————— NOTICES. + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the epinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tur Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7he Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. oo List of Members. Tur List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. — The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. ‘They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. Vou. XVI. Marc# Ist, 1906. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Console 24 % ee. £1000 0 0 Diocal loans «242.202... es 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 Il War lo06n 2. 201. 9 8 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture SLOCK =... 250 0 0 Egyptian Government Irrigation Tirnst 4 % Certificates ............--- 200 0 0 Tid £2,448 9 2 ee Subscriptions, 1905. £ 8. a. July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon. the Lord : : : : 0 5 0 Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. 0 5 0 Oct. 12, Thorburn, W. M. 010 0 Nov. 9, “ Francis Daveen’’. 0 5 0 Noy. 9, Adair, Joseph Lt 8 Nov. 21, Thurston, Mrs. lo Dec. 18, Browne, F. M. 0 5 0 Donations, 1905. Noy. 6, Reynolds, Mrs. Fred. Nov. 9, Wingfield, H. Nov. 17, Nash, T. A. . Dec. 1, Gibbs, F. L. A. Dec. 6, Finch, Madame Dec. 15, Egbert, Henry Dee. 15, Muir, Ward ; Dec. 15, Sherwood, Mrs. A. . Dec. 18, Sheppard, A. T. Dec. 18, 8. F. G. : 1906. Jan. 2, Jacobs, W. W. ‘ : : Jan. 6, Wilkins, W. H. (Legacy) .5 Jan. 10, Middlemas, Commander A. C. Feb. 5, Roe, Mrs. Harcourt Feb. 5, Yeats, Jack B. : Feb. 12, White, Mrs. Caroline Feb. 13, Bolton, Miss Anna cococrorocorFCOrF on — o eocoooccooeo SCMWOCOTRMRWMOMWS cooooeon on THE AUTHOR. COMMITTEE NOTES. — 1 — HE February meeting of the managing com- mittee of the society was held on Monday, the 5th, at 4 p.m., at the offices of the society. After the minutes had been read and signed, the committee proceeded to elect those who had submitted their names for membership and associateship. Eighteen were elected, making the total for the current year forty-two. So far the number of elections is well maintained. Sir Henry Bergne and Mr. A. W. a Beckett, who respectively resigned from the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship, were re-elected to fill these positions, and accepted their re-election. The secretary reported that there was a sum of over £270 in the Life Membership Account to be invested as capital of the society. After some deliberation the committee decided to purchase West Australian 33 per cent. Inscribed Stock. The committee must congratulate the members on the increase of the invested capital of the society, which now amounts to over £1,000. The approxi- mate date of the general meeting was fixed for the end of March and of the annual dinner for the beginning of May, and the secretary was instructed to make the usual arrangements. When the actual dates have been fixed, the usual notices will be sent round giving information to all the members. ‘Three or four important cases were carefully investigated by the committee. Owing to their confidential nature, it is impossible to place the details before the members, but the com- mittee decided on one question to obtain a legal opinion from their American lawyer. Another case dealing with infringement in the Colonies was adjourned pending further information. The committee regret to say that the case which they carried through the Courts at Munich has terminated unsatisfactorily, owing to the fact that the most important witness disappeared, and the defendants have been unable to pay their creditors, and cannot be found. Acting, therefore, on the advice of the lawyers in Munich, who consider that it would be impossible for the society, even if successful, to recover either the amount they claim or the costs, the committee have decided to withdraw the action. —t—<—+ Cases. Srnce the last issue of Zhe Author ten cases have passed through the secretary’s hands. It is unsatisfactory to report that of these fewer have been settled than in former months. Six were for the return of MSS., and in one of these the MS. has been returned and forwarded to the author. It should be repeated that the question of the deten- tion of MSS. is a very difficult one ; but it is hoped that the other MSS. may be returned in the course of the next month, when the results will be reported. There were two cases for accounts. In one of these the accounts have been settled, and in the other the accounts have been promised shortly. In one case for money a date has been fixed by which the magazine will forward the amount due to the author. One case referred to a dispute on an agreement. It is hoped that the society may be able to negotiate a settlement, as the question is one for amicable arrangement rather than for legal action. There were three cases remaining open from last month, two of them dealing with difficulties arising between publisher and author in America, and the third dealing with a publisher in England who, on former occasions, has ignored the requests of the society until process has been issued against him. No doubt, in this case also, when the matter is placed in the hands of the society’s solicitors a satisfactory arrangement will be made. ———~< + February Elections. Arthur, Julian : . Besant, Miss Celia 18, Clovelly Mansions, Gray’s Inn Road, W.C. 19, Castellain Road, Maida Vale, W. 4, Radnor Road, North Kensington, W. 78, Marine Parade, Brighton. 4, Warwick Mansions, Gray’s Inn, W.C. National Club, 1, Whitehall Gardens, S.W. 1, Alipore Lane, Cal- cutta, India. Stanton, Broadway, Worcestershire. Winforton _—_‘ Rectory, Hereford. Cottingham Rectory, East Yorks. Culham, New Eltham, Kent. 14, Calverley Park, Tunbridge Wells. Pilkington, Col. Henry, Tore, Tyrrells Pass, C.B. Treland. Blanckensee, Mrs. Irma . Caleb, Arthur E. Crichton, Mrs. Delannoy, Burford . Durand, Ralph A. . Eggar, Arthur Harris-Burland, John B. Marshall, Mrs. Frances (Alan St. Aubyn) Minton, Francis. Mitford, Miss Eveline B. Omond, T. 8. ‘ : TAE Hanover ‘Terrace, Regent’s Park, N.W. Cashlauna Shelmiddy, Strete, Dartmouth, Devon. Raphael, Mrs. oes /Yeats, Jack B. Two of those elected in February do not desire either their names or addresses to be printed. —____—__—_e—_______ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. + (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and_purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply particulars. ) AGRICULTURE, By H. Riper HAGGARD. New Longmans. 3s. 6d. A FarMER’sS YEAR. Impression. 7} x 5}. 489 pp. ART, EARLY ENGRAVINGS AND ENGRAVERS IN ENGLAND (1545—1695). By StpNEY CoLVIN. 203 x 153. 170 pp. British Museum, £5 5s. BIOGRAPHY. PoRFIRIO DIAZ: SEVEN TIMES PRESIDENT OF MEXICO. By Mrs. ALEC TWEEDIE. 9} x 63. 421 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 21s. n. Here AND THERE: MEMoRIES, INDIAN AND OTHER. By H. G. KeEene,C.1.E. 9 x 53. 215 pp. Brown Langham. 10s. 6d. n. DRAMA. Tur Dynasts. A Drama of the Napoleonic Wars, in three parts, nineteen acts, and 130 scenes. Part II. By THomas Harpy. 7} Xx 5}. 302 pp. Macmillan. 4s. 6d. n. EDUCATIONAL. UNDER READER ror BEGINNERS. By Masor F. R. H. CHAPMAN. 10 x 6}. Ill pp. Thacker. 7s. 6d. n. FICTION. Tue ForBIDDEN May. By Coralie STANTON and Hearn Hosken. 7% x5. 310 pp. White. 6s. THe PoRTREEVE. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. 73 x 5. 364 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE CHAIN OF SEVEN Lives. By HAMILTON DRUM- MOND. 72x 5. 308 pp. White. 6s. Terence O’RouRKE, GuNTLEMAN ADVENTURER. By L. J. VANCE. 7% x 5}. 393 pp. Grant Richards. 6s. TuE BENDING oF A Twic. By Desmonp F, T. CoKn. _ 43x 5. 310 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. Mrs. Erricker’s Reputation. By THOMAS COBB. 74x 5. 308 pp. Rivers. 6s. Nature's VAGABOND AND OTHER STORIES. By Cosmo HAMILTON. 74 <5. 384 pp. Chatto and Windus, 6s, AUTHOR. 163 WHITE CARL 327 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s. FATE’s INTRUDER. By FRANK SAVILE and Watson. 74x 5. 295 pp. Heinemann. 6s. THE BLUE PETER. By MORLEY ROBERTS. 7? x 5. 348 pp. Nash. 6s. : THE GAMBLER. By KATERINE CECIL THURSTON. 7? x 5. 389 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE SCHOLAR’S DAUGHTER. By BEATRICE HARRADEN. 7% x 5. 284 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE GREAT REFUSAL. By MAXWELL GRAY. 381 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE HEALERS. By MAARTEN MAARTENS. 7} x 5. 379 pp. Constable. 6s. THE BisHop’s APRON. By W. SomersET MAUGHAM, 7x x 5. 311 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. THE LAPSE OF VIVIEN EApDy. By CHARLES MARRIOTT. 72x 5. 311 pp. Nash. 6s. , THE House oF SHapows. By R. J. FARRER. 335 pp. Arnold. 6s. IN SILENCE. By Mrs. FRED REYNOLDS. 7} x 5}. 336 Hurst and Blackett. 6s. THE HATANEE: A Tale of Burman Superstition. A. Eagar. 7} x 54. 244 pp. Murray. 6s. For LIFE AND AFTER. By Geo. R. SIMs. 344 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. THE BuURGLAR'S CLUB: A Romance in Twelve Chronicles. By Henry A. Hertne. 8 x 54. 280 pp. Cassell. 3s. 6d. THe Hanp. By JOUBERT. 72 x 5. A. ET 72 x 5, 7% x 5. 72 x 5. HISTORY. THe History oF ENGLAND FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE NORMAN Conqugst. By T. HopGKIn, D.C.L., Litt.D. 9x6. 528 pp. Longmans. 7s. 6d. n. LAW. TeN YEARS’ EXPERIENCE OF SALFORD CouNTY COURTS. PARRY. 9% x 7. THE MANCHESTER AND 3y His Honour JUDGE Sherratt and Hughes. 1s. n. LITERARY. How To READ ENGLISH Mitton. By LAURIE MAGNUS. Routledge. 2s. 6d. ESSAYS IN THE MAKING. By EusTACE MILES. 161 pp. Rivingtons. 3s. 6d. CHAUCER TO 62 x 44. 207 pp. LITERATURE : 7326 51 (=X OG MEDICAL. A HANDBOOK OF CLIMATIC TREATMENT, INCLUDING BALNEOLOGY. By W. R. Hueearp, M.A,, M.D., F.B.C.P. 83x 53. 536 pp. Macmillan. 12s. 6d. n. MISCELLANEOUS. THREEPENCE A DAY FoR Foop. By Eustace MILEs. 64x 4. 94pp. Constable. 1s. n. MUSIC. ORIGINAL RECITATIONS, By MARY SENIOR 11 x 8}. TWENTY-FOUR CHARMING SONGS AND GAMES FOR CHILDREN. CLARK. Set to Music by GAYNOR SIMPSON. Oo. Newmann. THEOLOGY. JOHANNINE GRAMMAR. By E. A. ABBOTT. 9 x 6. 687 pp. SMALL LESSONS OF GREAT TRUTHS. A Book for Children. By A. KATHERINE Parkes. 63 x 44. 92 pp. Methuen. 1s, 6d. ANIMISM : ‘THE SEED OF CLopp. 7 x 4%. 100 pp. RELIGION. By EDWARD Constable & Co, 1s. n.  164 LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. ROFESSOR FLINDERS PETRIE’S new work, “ Researches in Sinai,” published by Mr. Murray, gives an account of the recent expedition with a large working party, which lived in the desert excavating for some months. The oldest Egyptian sculptures known are reproduced, the geology and ancient ruins are described, the conditions of the Exodus are discussed with a new view of the Israelite census, and the life of the Bedouin of Sinai and the Egyptian desert is noticed. “The Gambler,’ Mrs. Thurston’s novel recently published by Messrs. Hutchinson & Co., has for its heroine an impulsive Irish girl who inherits a gambling propensity. ‘The scenes of the story are laid in Ireland, the Continent, and London. Miss Beatrice Harraden’s story, ‘‘ The Scholar’s Daughter,” published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. in the early part of last month, is the tale of an old country house in England, the home of the heroine’s father, who is engaged on the great work of his life, the compiling of a colossal dictionary on new lines. Like most of her former works, the present one is mainly a study of character. In his recently published work on “ Easy Mathematics, chiefly Arithmetic,” Sir Oliver Lodge’s aim has been to interest children and adults in fundamental facts of nature, to exhibit their easy reasonableness, and to remove the stigma of dulness from arithmetical teaching. Although the work is especially adapted to the use of parents and teachers and students who work by themselves, it is hoped that it can be used as a class book also. Mr. John Murray is the publisher. Mrs. Campbell Praed’s new novel, “ The Lost Earl of Ellan,” is running as a serial through the pages of the Canadian Magazine. “The Great Refusal” is the title of a new novel by Maxwell Gray, which Mr. John Long has recently published. The story depicts the conflict of character between two men of diverse tempera- ments: the father, a man of money, and his only son, a man of mind. “For Life—and After,” by Geo. R. Sims, pub- lished by Messrs. Chatto & Windus, is the romance of a woman who suffers penal servitude for life. It strongly illustrates the peril of a conviction founded entirely on circumstantial evidence. The same publishers have also issued a volume of short stories by Mr. Cosmo Hamilton, entitled, “ Nature’s Vagabond.” The first story, from which the book takes its title, deals with the gradual THE AUTHOR. decline into vagabondage of a distinguished Oxford man, and his subsequent return to respectability after experiencing a severe buffeting in the rough- and-tumble of life. “Stories from the Operas” is the title of a volume by Miss Gladys Davidson, which Mr. Werner Laurie is publishing at the price of 3s. 6d. nett. It contains twenty of the more popular tales written simply and in accordance with the operas. Dolf Wyllarde’s novel, ‘The Pathway of the Pioneer,” published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. in the middle of last month, depicts the life of a woman, gently born and educated, who has, through force of circumstances, to earn her own living. Messrs. Chapman & Hall have recently published a work by Mr. G. Ainsley Hight, entitled, “The Unity of Will,” in which the author propounds a new theory of volition and freedom of the human intellect. The published price of the work is 10s. 6d. nett. Mr. Eden Phillpotts’ story, “ The Portreeve,” is one in the chain of narratives he is weaving about Dartmoor, and depicts various aspects of the life and ambitions of its folk. Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published the book, which contains a frontis- piece by Mr. A. B. Collier. The same author is also publishing in Messrs. Newnes’ Sixpenny Series a new story, entitled “The Unlucky Number.” Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. will publish in the spring a new story by the Rev. J. A. Hamilton, author of “The MS. in a Red Box,” entitled “Captain John Lister.” It is a tale of Ax- holme, and the time is the outbreak of the Civil War. Among the earliest publications of Messrs. Brown, Langham & Oo.’s Spring List is a book of reminiscences by Mr. H. G. Keene, C.1.E. Mr. Keene is one of the survivors of the old régime in India, and in this book of memories called ‘* Here and There,” there are many amusing stories of old Haileybury, and of Indian life in days before the Mutiny. The second part of the volume deals with later life spent in London and elsewhere, with gossip about some distinguished persons whom the writer had the fortune to meet on his return from exile. Mr. Keene is the author of “A Servant of John Company,” and ‘Sketches in Indian Ink,” and his reminiscences, which are published at 10s. 6d. nett, with a frontispiece of the author, should appeal with special force to all who have — had experience of Indian life. The same publishers produced early last month — a new and cheaper edition of Mr. Lacon Watson’s “Christopher Deane.” In view of the interest — that has been shown lately in stories of school and college life, ‘ Christopher Deane,” which treats —  of Winchester and Cambridge, should have con- siderable success in its present form. “Mr. Tumpsy,” written by Charles Croft, and published by Mr. Henry J. Drane, is a fairy tale, which, though appealing to children, will not, the author hopes, be found uninteresting to adults. The pieces of music which are scattered throughout the book have been specially arranged to suit the powers of those who play the piano with only one finger. The illustrations to the work are from the pen of Mr. G. E. Kriiger. The scene of Mrs. Philip Champion de Cres- igny’s new novel, which Mr. Eveleigh Nash will publish shortly, is laid in France during the 16th century. The title of the book is “The Grey Domino.” “Pictures from the Balkans,’ which Messrs. Cassell & Co. will publish shortly, is the fruit of an extensive tour of the Near East, which Mr. John Foster Fraser made last autumn. The book will be illustrated from photographs taken by the author. Miss Oliver Katherine Parr (who has, for some time, been a member of the honorary literary staff of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) contributes a special illustrated article on the famous Mount St. Bernard Hospice to the current issue of the Animal World. Under the editorship of Mr. Edward Fairholme, this journal has inaugurated some new features. Con- tributcrs who wish for it are now paid a small remuneration, 10s. per thousand words, and monthly photographic competitions have been opened. The journal is published by Messrs. Partridge & Co. «A Huguenot Heroine,” is the title of a serial by Miss Edith C. Kenyon, which is running through the pages of Our Own Gazette. Messrs. S. W. Partridge & Co., who published Miss Kenyon’s last book, “ Love’s Golden Thread,” have commissioned her to write them a work for this year’s autumn season. «By Law Eternal,” a novel by Geraldine Kemp, has been published by Messrs. Jarrold & Sons at the price of 3s. 6d. The keynotes of the story are heredity and work, and the author deals with one of the gravest ills of life. Pauline, the principal character, inherits from her mother insanity ; from her father strength of character, nobility and intellect, combined with a sound physique. The author’s aim has been to show how, through the influence of power, will, and feeling, properly directed and rationally developed, her sorrowful heritage could be mastered. Messrs. Hurst & Blackett published, in the middle of last month, Mrs. Alec T'weedie’s Life of General Porfirio Diaz, for thirty years President of Mexico. Mrs. Tweedie has compiled this life with TAR AUTHOR. 165 the President’s sanction from authentic diaries and documents placed in her hands for the purpose. It is the life-history of a man who, born in obscurity, has lived a wildly exciting life as a soldier, has played an important part in the history of Maximilian and Carlota, and has now assumed the position of Perpetual President and brought his country from chaos and revolution to peace and prosperity. The volume is published at the price of 21s. nett. Mr. R. H. Sherard’s volume of reminiscences, “Twenty Years in Paris,” which Messrs. Hutchin- son & Co. published recently, has gone into a second edition. Arrangements are in progress for a French and a German translation. “A Veneered Scamp” is the title of a new novel by Miss Jean Middlemass. The story, which is of a sensational nature, is published by Mr. Jobn Long. Dr. Paget’ Toynbee’s book, “ Dante in English Literature,” will be published in the spring by Messrs. Methuen & Co. The work covers a period of 464 years, from the date of Chaucer’s second visit to Italy in 1380 to the death of Cary in 1844. Nearly 300 English writers, who make mention of Dante or quote his works during this period, are traced by Dr. Toynbee. Rather more than forty of these belong to the sixteenth century, about thirty to the seventeenth, and nearly one hundred to the eighteenth, the greater number of the remainder falling within the first forty years of the nineteenth century. The work contains a brief biography of each of the writers mentioned. Mr. Somerset Maugham’s new novel, “The Bishop’s Apron,’ published by Messrs. Chapman & Hall, presents him as a satirist and humourist. The schemes of the ambitious clerical party and the intrigues of the new nobility form the material for the work. Messrs. A. & C. Black have just published Mr. E. A. Reynolds-Ball’s handbook “ Rome, a Practical Guide to Rome and its Environs,” with illustrations in colour by Albert Pisa. Although the work is mainly intended to meet the require- ments of tourists only able to spend a few weeks in the city, it does not neglect the interests of more leisured visitors. It contains, in addition, full details on matters affecting the comfort of the tourist, such as hotel accommodation. Mr. Robert Machray has completed a new serial story dealing with a remarkable and successful case of personation, the truth regarding which is only brought to light by the merest accident. Messrs. Chatto & Windus will publish the story in book form in early autumn. Mr. Fisher Unwin will publish this month a novel by Mrs. Archibald Little, the title of which is “A Millionaire’s Courtship.” A millionaire’s 166 yachting tour forms the groundwork of the story. The book contains many descriptive passages which, however, are subordinated to the interest of the characters. Sir Edward Durand has written, and Mr. Sidney Appleton will publish, a work entitled “ Cyrus the Great King.” It is in the form of a poem depicting the life of the great Persian who figured in the period of war and conquest that only came to a pause with the siege and fall of Babylon. The second volume of the new edition of the Dictionary of Music contains a sympathetic article on Sir George Grove by Mr. C. L. Graves, while Mr. J. A. Fuller Maitland, who is editing it, writes on Grieg, J.iszt, and other composers. The social committee of the Pioneer Club, assisted by Rowland Grey, has arranged what should prove an interesting commemoration of Mrs. Browning’s centenary upon March 6th. Mrs. Meynell has promised to read a paper upon the poems, her relationship with Mrs. Browning making any word from the author of such sonnets as “Renouncement” of fresh interest. Miss Wynne-Matthison will recite two of the sonnets from the Portuguese, and the songs set to ‘‘ Leaving yet Loving,” ‘‘ How do I Love Thee,” “A Sabbath Evening at Sea,” will also be given in the presence of a portrait of Mrs. Browning, wreathed with the true poet’s laurel. The wreath is to be sent afterwards to Florence and laid upon her grave. The two series of “Chronicles of the Burglar’s Club,” by Henry A. Hering, which have recently appeared in Cassell’s Magazine, have just been published in volume form by Messrs. Cassell & Co., with illustrations by F. H. Townsend. Mr. Hering’s burglars differ from other light-fingered gentry, inasmuch as they are men of position, who, having exhausted all legitimate excitemenis of civilisation, burgle for the sport of the thing, and promptly return the articles purloined. Mr. Pinero’s new play, “ His House in Order,” produced at the St. James’ Theatre on February 1st, deals with the marriage of a widower with a kind-hearted irresponsible girl who, lacking the domestic abilities of her predecessor, loses the regard of her husband, and is snubbed and scolded by most of his relations. ‘The good qualities of the lady whom she has replaced are constantly brought to her notice, in order to indicate her own shortcomings. The discovery of incriminating facts relating to the past life of this “ model of propriety ” forms the pivot of the play. The caste includes Miss Irene Vanbrugh, Mr. Herbert Waring, Miss Beryl Faber and Mr. George Alexander. Miss Netta Syrett’s one act play, “The Younger Generation,’ was produced in front of “The Heroic Stubbs” at Terry’s Theatre on the third of Jast month. It deals with the disappointment of THE AUTHOR. a widow who, expecting a proposal of marriage from one of her former admirers, finds that his affections are centred on her daughter. The piece ends by the widow sacrificing her desire in favour of “The Younger Generation.” The three char- acters in the play were interpreted by Miss Irene Rooke, Miss Estelle Winwood, and Mr. G. F, Tully. Capt. Robert Marshall’s comedy, ‘‘ The Alabaster Staircase,” was produced at the Comedy Theatre on the 21st of last month. The main characters in the piece are a Tory Prime Minister, his daughter, and her lover—a wealthy “Socialist” Member of Parliament. The play indicates the change of political faith of the Premier, caused by a fall down an alabaster staircase. In consequence of this change he takes leave of his cabinet, and expresses admiration for the views of the “Socialist,” which were previously abhorrent to him. The caste includes Mr. John Hare, Mr. Leslie Faber, and Miss Lottie Venne. PARIS NOTES. > IOGRAPHIES, memoirs and letters are all more in favour than ever in France, and some of the recent books of this kind are certainly quite as interesting as fiction. Among such volumes is “ Madame de Prie ” (1698—1727), by H. Thirion. The author has taken the trouble to give us in detail the whole story of the life of this extraordinary woman, who at the age of fifteen was married to the Marquis de Prie, a man twenty- six years older than she was. Later on comes her liaison with the Duc de Bourbon, and then we have all the hardships which follow this. According to M. Thirion’s documents Mme. de Prie has been basely slandered, for the account he gives of her differs widely from the idea of her usually given in histories. “Le Voyage de Sparte,” by M. Maurice Barres, is now published in volume. “Le Journal inédit du duc de Croij” is the title of the book of memoirs published by MM. the Vicomte de Grouchy and Paul Cottin. The Due de Croij (1718—1784) left manuscript memoirs enough to have completed something like forty ordinary-sized volumes, but the authors of the present publication have wisely given in two large volumes details concerned with life at Versailles and in Paris. The book is particularly interesting as a picture of the times. “Le Roman de Sainte-Beuve,” by M. Gustave  Sopher NS we THE AUTHOR. Simon, is another volume on the much-discussed question of Sainte-Beuve’s affection for Mme. Victor Hugo. ‘Les Impressions d’une Francaise en Amérique,” by Mme. Vianzone ; “ A l’autre bout du monde,” by M. Paul Varrego, treats of adventures and habits and customs in Australia. “De Sebastopol 4 Solférino,” by M. de Cham- brier ; ‘“‘Le Coup de Grice,” by the Général de Piépape ; “Les Campagnes de 1799,” by M. Edouard Gachot—three volumes of history which are each well worth reading. A volume, published by M. Louis Loviot, containing the “Lettres de Gabrielle Delzant,” with a preface by Mme. Blanc-Bentzon, gives us two types of the modern woman in the best and highest acceptance of thisterm. The letters them- selves are charming, and M. Brunetiére says of the writer of the admirable preface to the volume :— “Depuis trente ans je doute si quelque femme a fait plus ou autant pour la revendication des droits de son sexe que Mme. Th. Bentzon. On! elle n’a jamais élevé la voix! Ce n’est pas sa ‘maniére’ ni celle des femmes de son monde. . . . Elle a vécu de la vie des unes et, 4 force de sympathie, elle a reconstitué ‘l'état d’ame’ des autres... . Elle a passé des mois en Russie pour y observer la femme russe. lle a fait deux ou trois fois le voyage en Amérique pour étudier la femme américaine. Je ne dis rien de |’Angleterre qu’elle connait aussi bien que la France. .. .” “Science et Libre Pensée” is the title of a volume by M. Berthelot, of the French Academy. This is the fourth volume of articles, essays and speeches published by the eminent scientist, at whose jubilee commemoration in Paris, some four years ago, savants from all parts of the world met. Among the articles contained in the present collec- tion are the following :—‘ Les Causes finales,” “Les relations entre la France et l’Angleterre,” “La Paix par la Justice,” “ Le réle des races scandinaves dans le développement de la civilisa- tion moderne,” “ La méthode scientifiques en politique,’ “ L’evolution des sciences au XIX* siécle.” “La Marine qu’il nous faut,” by M. Charles ' Bos, with a preface by M. Edouard Lockroy, is a book that is now being discussed. A sketch of “Le Président Falliéres,” illustrated by photo- graphs and drawing, has been published by the author, M. Jean de la Hire, at the right moment. “ La Comédie protectioniste,” by M. Yves Guyot. The author goes back to the time of Colbert to show the economic evolution in France, and shows later on the work of Cobden and Napoleon III. destroyed by the establishment of custom duties still in vigour. “Le Mécanisme de la vie moderne,” by the 167 _ Vicomte d’Avenel, a volume in which the author treats of the subject of the Stock Exchange. He shows how from 1815 to 1850 the bank became an Important spring in national life, directed chiefly by men of Swiss Protestant birth. From 1850 to 1870 Pereire and Rothschild came to the front, and under the cover of Turkish affairs the first syndi- cates between French and German financiers were established. “Hssai d’une psychologie de l’Angleterre con- temporaine, les crises belliqueuses,” by Jacques Bardoux. Among recent volumes of fiction are the follow- ing :— Le Coeur disséqué,” by M. Ferri-Pisani, a nephew of George Sand ; “ La Bonne Etoile,” by M. Jean Rameau ; “L’Age de Raison,” by Mme. Claire Albane; “Janua Cceli,” by Mme. Jean d’Ivray ; “ L’Inoubliable Passé,” by Mme. Ré- musat; “Ceux qu’on méprise,” by M. Georges Verdéne, with a preface by M. Anatole France. “Tia Cité des Idoles,” by M. Henri Chateau, is a curious novel based on the problem of an ideal society. The author endeavours to show how this can be evolved from contemporary society, but at the same time he shows the instability of it, when built up on the old errors and oppressions. In the Revue des Deux Mondes M. A. Bellessort writes an interesting article, “ La vie japonaise.” In the Revue de Paris M. Anatole France continues “La Bataille de Patay.” In the two last numbers of Za Revue are articles by Edmond Scherer on “ L’Invasion de Versailles’ (1870); Emile Faguet, “Un Ménage d’Ecrivains” ; Dr. Lowenthal, “Pourquoi la France se dépeuple ” ; Charles Wagner, “ A propos de la Morale sans Dieu”; G. Savitch, “ Les types littéraires de la Crise russe.” At the Frangais “ Les Cceurs timides,” by Paul Adam, is announced, and “Deux Hommes,” by Alfred Capus. Other forthcoming pieces are ‘‘ Le Ruisseau,” by Pierre Wolf, for the Gymnase ; “La Dette,” by Bernstein; “Le Bourgeon,” by Feydeau; and “Paris-New York,” by Francis de Croisset. “La Piste,” by M. Sardou, is running at the Variétés, and “Les Hannetons,” by M. Brieux, and “ Au Petit Bonheur,” by M. Anatole France, at the Renaissance. At the Théaitre Antoine a French version of “Old Heidelberg” is being played, and the Thédtre des Arts has produced a five-act piece by M. Saint Georges de Bouhélier, entitled “ Le Roi sans couronne.” ALYS HALLARD. o—~<>—-e-  SPANISH NOTES. ee HE advance made by women in Spain in 7 literature is seen in Dona Emelia Pardo Bazan appearing as a dramatist. Her four- act drama, “Verdad” (Truth), was given for the first time on 9th January, and the enthusiastic applause with which the performance was received, showed the welcome accorded by Spaniards to the work of a woman. Thestory of the play is based on the hero’s love of truth— Truth, truth at any price!” is his watchword, and in this spirit he confesses the murder of his first wife to her sister whom he has married. The murder had been committed in the rage induced by the confession extorted from the victim. The play shows that Truth cannot be welcome, when it reveals shameful deeds of treachery and cruelty, and the drama is another laurel to the fame of the writer, whose novels and philosophical works have long made her name celebrated. The Spanish stage has just suffered a great loss in the death of the popular actor Riquelme. Thanks to the united generous efforts of the above cited artistes, and Borras, Lucrecia Arana, Consuelo Majendia, Josefina Roca, Ruiz Tatay, Ramirez, Gonzalez, etc., the grand performance at the Apolo Theatre produced a large sum for the widow and orphans of the artist. The political world has also sustained a loss in the death of Sefor Esteve, the well-known liberal leader of Murcia, and the large conclave of 10,000 people at his funeral proved his popularity. The Imparcial is publishing interesting articles on some of the leading emissaries for the conference, and it is interesting to see the appreciative tone of the remarks relating to Sir Arthur Nicolson, whose departure from the British Embassy at Madrid is so much regretted. ‘‘ Whatever disagreements or conflicts may ensue at Algeciras,” says Luis Bello, “We can count upon the beneficial effect of Sir Arthur Nicolson’s wide and generous mind, which exceeds the force of mere words and forms, and which is characteristic of his race.” An interesting meeting was held on January 7th, at the Academy of Moral and Political Science, under the presidency of H.M. King Alfonzo XIIL., who made a short speech congratulating the society on the encouragement it affords the country in the study of the sciences. Presentation of the medal was made to Sefior Guisasola, the new member, who delivered his maiden speech on “The Prin- ciple of Authority, its Origin, Character, and Relations.” After drawing masterly distinctions between undue extensions, and undue limitations of authority, the speaker said, “ The base of authority ig a force which is in fact divine, and it is communicated in various forms to the person or THER AUTHOR. institution that exercises it. The force to com- mand is from God, but the form of exercising this force is determined by man.” The speech by the Marquis del Vadillo on the connection between natural and moral forces was also full of metaphysical truths. The Academy of Political and Moral Science has recently elected as a member the ex-minister Don Pio Gullen, whom Sefior Azcarate welcomed as ‘¢a well-informed and discreet politician, an honest and intelligent functionary, a clever writer, and a fluent and accurate parliamentary speaker.” This distinction has been afforded to Pio Gullen in consideration of his studies of the bases and the systems of the parliamentary methods prevailing in Europe and America. “Bl Idolo” (The Idol) by the well-known dramatist, Don Manuel Linares, is a striking picture of the corruption of the Spanish parlia- mentary system, to which the hero, Don Cesar Pedroso, succumbs. For his original ideal is not proof against feminine persuasion to use his influence to her profit. As the Spanish critics of the play remark : ‘‘ The stage reflects our customs.” And it is these customs which Spanish patriots trust will be gradually reformed. The Atheneum of Madrid has just been opened to women as members, and the first to enrol them- selves are la Marquesa de Mont-Roig, la Marquesa de Ayerbe, Sefiora Carmen Figuerola de Ferretti, Sefiora Pardo Bazan, and Sefiora Blanca de los Rios. The Woman's Agricultural Times offers to publish articles from notable Spanish ladies in their own language if Colonel Figuerola Ferretti edits the contributions. This first Anglo-Spanish magazine will promote the en/ente cordiale between the women of the two countries and voice the cordial welcome awaiting Princess Ena of Battenberg as the future Queen of Spain. The Spanish agricultural magazine ( Ganaderva y industriales rurales) has moreover invited contri- butions from English women encouraging Princess Ena, when Queen, to patronize efforts to forward the lighter branches of agriculture as occupations for women. The distinguished Spanish journalist Sefior Ramiro de Maeztu has won the gratitude of his countrymen by the able way he has reported from London the methods he has marked in the recent English elections ; and he has also surprised his countrywomen by the accounts he has given of the able way many wives aided their husbands in the contest. A Spanish magazine suggests publishing Mrs. Alec Tweedie’s Life of Porfirio Diaz, the Spanish minister of Mexico, as a serial, if it be translated. by Don Manuel de Figuerola in the Foreign Office  THK AUTHOR. at Madrid, whose success in a diplomatic mission in Paris was rewarded with the Légion d’Honneur. The great banquet recently given to the political reformer Soriano, in Madrid, was an occasion for the orator to give noble tributes to the authors Galdos and Rusifiol, who were present. He declared that he himself only aimed at being “the ambas- sador of the national conscience,’ and in this he was aided by Galdos, “ the splendid pioneer of cul- ture and morality,” and by Rusifiol, the Catalonian, “who,” to quote the speaker, “represents the intelligence which is the bond of union between all parts of the country.” The Spanish press publishes two charming poems in honour of the Infanta Dofia Paz on her departure from Madrid after the marriage of the Infanta Maria Teresa with her son Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria. The Doita Infanta de la Paz, sister of the late King Alfonzo XII, is well- known for the works of her pen. Her article comparing Cervantes to Schiller was circulated in the Royal Academy at the Don Quixote fétes. The King and Queen patronised this literary function, when the article was read which was written for the occasion by the veteran blind author, Juan Valera, who died a short time before the day of his triumph. A fine edition of the works of this great writer is now in preparation, and the first volume now out contains the ‘“ Eulogy of Saint Teresa,” “Liberty in Art,” and “The Study of Don Quixote and the Various Forms of Judging it.” The Geographical Society of Spain held an interesting meeting the other evening, under the presidency of the minister of the navy to hear the account of Colonel Delmé Radcliffe’s travels in Uganda and many parts of the Victoria Nyanza Lake district in Central Africa. The traveller gave his experiences in good Spanish, and his reports on the progress of the railway scheme of the country, the manners and customs of the natives, and the fauna and flora of the land, were listened to with great interest. RACHEL CHALLIOE. a PUBLICATION AND COPYRIGHT. ——_+—<—+—__ Part I. O discuss in detail the various aspects of “‘ publication” considered with reference to the law of copyright, would be to supply The Author with a great deal of matter conveying very little definite information to its readers. The text books of Mr. Copinger, Mr. MacGillivray, and of Mr. Scrutton contain many scores of pages devoted to the subject, and if the judgments upon which they found their summaries of the law, and to which they refer in footnotes, were set out at length, considerably more space would be occupied, 169 only to show more clearly, what alone appears to be plain, that various points which may arise at any time are undecided, and that the statutes which should provide the definitions dealing with rights that arise out of statute alone, leave a great deal to be settled by the courts at the expense of suitors. As Mr. Scrutton, K.C., observes, in an early page of his work, ‘‘ These Statutes are, with- out exception, of most involved and _ inartistic draftsmanship, and present to the Legislature a suitable, even an urgent, case for codification.” Is it too much to hope that a new government, having among its members an unusual number of well-known authors, may be able to find time to introduce and to pass a new Copyright Act, dealing exhaustively with books, and with literary and journalistic matter generally, and also with plays, lectures, engravings (a very wide-spreading branch of the subject under modern conditions), sculp- ture, paintings, drawings, photographs and music. To leave the law relating to all these to be dug out from many Acts of Parliament and the deci- sions relating to them, and to be amended by privately introduced measures drafted by bodies interested in, and acquainted with, only what concerns themselves, is to suffer the continuance of an “ungodly jumble” to the loss and incon- venience of a deserving and law-abiding section of the public, who are neglected only because they give little trouble to anybody. When we consider the important part which “publication” plays in the law of copyright, it would not be too much to suggest that it is a word that should oceupy the attention of the codifying draftsman almost as scon as he has finished his “preamble.” At present it is the dividing line which marks the passage in most cases from the common law right in the originator (to prevent others from appropriating the product of his brain), to the statutory right (copyright, strictly so called), which takes the place of the common law right directly ‘ publication” has occurred. It is also for this reason the starting point from which, in many instances, the time “begins to run,” during which copyright is to be enjoyed. Publication may therefore be said to demand a statutory definition which has never hitherto been accorded to it, or such varying definitions as will suit the various subjects of copyright. Mr. Scrutton quotes a suggested definition of publication from a case argued in the Chancery Division (Blank v. Footman, 39 Ch. D. 678), whereby it is described as “ making a thing pablic in any manner in which it is capable of being communicated to the public,” and he adds that, though not necessarily so, the subject of publica- tion is generally for sale, or, at any rate, so as to ~ 170 be accessible to all who desire to obtain it, son conditions imposed not by the author, but by the law. Publication for private circulation only, and under conditions imposed by the author, does not divest the common law right. This, it will be seen, is a very general definition, and one of which, as of some others, it may be observed that the bearings of it lie in its application. It is not difficult to deduce from it that “ the publication of a work for private purposes and private circula- tion is not a publication sufficient to defeat the common law right of the author,” but more is needed when some of the subjects of copyright are considered. Anyone would be ready to say offhand that a book or an etching of which copies printed at the author’s expense have been given or even sold to a few (or to a large number) of his ersonal friends has not been “ published.” It would be less easy for the same person not acquainted with the various judgments, to con- jecture or to reason, whether a picture which has been exhibited at the Royal Academy, or at a print-seller’s for the purpose of securing sub- scribers to an engraving, or of which process reproductions have been circulated in Academy guides, and in illustrated newspapers, has been “published ” or not. If he were to go into the matter he would find that these points and many others concerning literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic publication have been decided, as has been said, not by the Legislature in the various copy- right Acts, but by the courts of law after expensive litigation at the expense of suitors anxious to defend their rights imperilled by no fault of theirs. There has usually been someone, that is to say, anxious to make a profit out of the rights in a book, a play, a musical composition, or a work of art, and someone else endeavouring in his own interest to prevent him, and these, instead of finding the law ready made for them, have had to pay for obtaining an interpretation from a judge, which has had to be discussed on appeal. The decision thus obtained may be useful to others by laying down general principles which will govern their cases on some future occasion, but it neces- sarily will leave many points in doubt. To take at random one of the instances referred to above, the seeker after the law might satisfy himself that according to an old decision of the Irish Chancery Court, the exhibition of a picture, say at the Royal Academy, does not constitute such a publication of it as to divest the painter of his common law right. He might also be gratified to find that a recent decision in the United States had endorsed this view in a case in which it was essential to show that the picture had not been already “published ” before steps were taken to protect ib in America. He might, however, be tempted to apply the THE AUTHOR. knowledge thus acquired to the case of a piece of sculpture, and find that in the Irish case already referred to (Turner v. Robinson, 1860, 10 Tr. Ch, 516), Lord Chancellor Brady said: “In the Statutes bestowing protection upon works of sculp- ture the terminus @ guo from which the protection commences is the publication of the work, that is, from the moment the eye of the public is allowed to rest upon it. Many large works in this branch of art, which decorate public squares and other places, are of course so published, but there are others not designed for such purposes which could never be published in any other way than in exhibitions ; therefore I apprehend that these works of sculpture must be considered as published by exhibition at such places as the Royal Academy and Manchester, so as to entitle them to the pro- tection of the Statutes from the date of publica- tion.” Leaving out of the question the advantages which a work of sculpture may be entitled to through “publication” of such a nature, it is evident that these rights rest at present upon the obiter dictum of a Chancellor who founded them upon somewhat insufficient grounds. The publi- cation of a statue, great or small, may date from its exhibition at the Royal Academy, but it is absurd to say that this is because it “could never be published in any other way.” A piece of sculpture can be reproduced and multiplied by castings or otherwise, just as a painting can be multiplied by engraving, or an engraving, by the taking of more impressions from the same plate; and it can be, and often is, pub- lished by sale in a limited or unlimited edition, just as easily as a mezzotint; or, if there is any inherent difference between the two classes of artistic work, it requires considerable mental subtlety to discern it. Books are published as a rule in amanner which leaves little or no doubt as to the fact of publica- tion, and as to the date on which it takes place. Under the Copyright Act, 1842, a book includes “every volume, part, or division of a volume, pamphlet, sheet of letter-press, sheet of music, map, chart, or plan separately published.” Publi- cation means distribution to the general public either gratuitously or by sale, and the doubt whether a book has been published or not at a certain time generally arises when some kind of circulation has taken place, and it is a question whether this was “ private” or not. Notes issued — to students at classes, and republished by one of them, and manuscripts circulated by a clergyman — among his parishioners, have been the subject of — legal decisions in this class of case, and have been held not to have been published.” The distri- bution of lithographed copies of music for private  use has, on the other hand, been held to be publi- cation. Naturally, when in the ordinary way a “publisher ” announces a forthcoming book, and on a pre-arranged day sends out the copies ordered to the trade, in order that booksellers may retail them, there can be no doubt as to publication taking place. It has to take place on British soil in all cases, but this does not affect the question what is, or is not, publication. This, in the case of books, is sometimes quite clear ; sometimes not easy to decide, and the decision is not made clear by any effort of the legislature. A dramatic piece includes every “ tragedy, comedy, play, opera, farce, or other scenic, musical, or dramatic entertainment.” Formerly, acting a play, as distinct from publishing it like a book, was not a publication of it, so that, as one result of this, a man might produce another’s play without infringing his statutory copyright. Since the Act of 1842 (sect. 20), the first public representation or performance of any dramatic piece or musical performance is “deemed equivalent” to the first publication of a book. The representation or per- formance has to be public, but how far many dramatic performances held with the intention of thereby securing copyright are “public” within the meaning of the Act need not be discussed here. In the United States the law seems to be in the same condition that it was in England before 1842. Ina case decided in the Superior Court of New York in 1870, the plaintiff had bought from the author, Mr. Tom Robertson, the right to produce in the United States a certain play which had been acted in London. The defendant had taken the play down in writing when it was acted at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, or bought the text of it from ingenious, if dishonest, persons who had done so. If the play had been published in England it would have been free for all Americans to annex, or whatever may be the appropriate term. It was argued, however, successfully that the acting in England was not a publication in the eyes of American law, so that the author had not lost his common law right, and could protect himself under it. The result, at all events, was consistent with justice. Apparently, however, if the play had been published and sold as a literary work, as well as produced on the stage, the decision would have been the other way. In England a dramatic composition is looked on from two points of view, that of a book to be read, and that of a performance to be held publicly. The copyright, strictly so called (i.e., the right to multiply copies) dates from publication as a book, and the performing right from the first public representation, so that dispute as to what is or is not “ public”’ may arise in either case. It has been suggested above that definitions of THE AUTHOR. 171 publication are desirable ; it would perhaps be better if its importance were diminished by making the conditions of protection cease to be dependent upon it, and by making publication, where it has to be considered, a matter of compliance with specified formalities, which could easily be done in more if not all of the matters subject to copyright. ESSA ea Iara A HINT TO WRITERS UPON TECHNICAL SUBJECTS. —+—~<—+- —__ T has been stated at times, by not well-informed persons, that the Society of Authors exists only to assist writers of fiction. Though, no doubt, a large number of the members of the Society are writers of fiction, there are many hundreds, dramatists, writers on technical subjects, history, theology, and so on, composers of music and illustrators of books, whose property the Society undertakes to protect. There are two chief reasons why it is advanced against the Society that its main business lies with writers of fiction. One is the fact that many of the articles in The Author refer to writers of fiction— —especially those articles which deal with the work of the agent ; and the other the fact that in examples of the cost of production, the 6s. book is generally taken as a fitting standard. This is not because the 6s. book is necessarily the work of a writer of fiction, but because, taking the market as a whole, the majority of books are published at this price, and it is, therefore, a con- venient price from which to start any calculation. Because of the prevalent impression it may, there- fore, be as well to explain how technical writers can be benefited by the work and funds of the Society. In the past year one or two examples have occurred which demonstrate clearly that writers other than writers of fiction need advice from the Society, and to quote them will be the simplest way of showing the larger scope of our work. Many years ago a member of the Society, a medical man now famous in his special branch, wrote a work dealing with his particular subject. Being then comparatively unknown to the public, he found some difficulty in placing his book, and finally published it by selling his copyright to one of the medical publishers. Hight or nine years afterwards he had advanced not only in reputa- tion before the public, but also in the skill and knowledge of his subject. He therefore came to the conclusion that his book ought to be reissued and brought up to date with the examples gathered 172 from his own experience and added knowledge. But on his approaching the publisher he was unable to obtain anything like satisfactory terms, and the publisher was unwilling to make the alterations required. He found himself in the following difficult position : Hither he must abandon his publication and see an imperfect work of his own placed before the public, or he must repurchase the copyright from the publisher at the publisher’s price before he could bring out the new book, as it was absolutely essential for him to use the old as the basis of the new. At this point he came to the Society of Authors, when, the position being explained to him, he decided to buy back his work and republish it himself. He was, of course, at the mercy of the publisher, who could ask practically any figure he liked for the copyright. This position is not unique ; it has occurred-on two or three other occasions. On one of these the author was not in a position to pur- chase the copyright of his original work from the publisher, and was bound, therefore, to transfer the copyright of the new edition to the same pub- lisher or not to publish at all. Whether we take the first example or the second, in either case the author is at the mercy of the publisher. To all readers of The Author it must be quite clear that this position could have been avoided if the authors had taken the advice which is put forward from time to time in these columns when criticising the agreements drafted on behalf of technical writers. As it was, the authors could only obtain the assistance of the Society to draft their new agreements and to make the best bargain on their behalf in order to get their works out of the hands of their old publishers. It has been pointed out in many places and on many occasions that publishers are essentially men of business, and if they find they can obtain a large price for any property they will naturally make the best bargain for themselves. It is usual for publishers to try to enforce more stringent terms upon authors who write on technical subjects than upon authors who write on more general sub- jects. There are two reasons for this. (1) Authors writing on technical subjects, as a general rule, have not the best knowledge of the business value of their works ; and (2) in some technical works a good part of the cost of production has sometimes to be undertaken by the author, even though his treatise may be by the greatest authority on the Sie as the subject may only appeal to the very ew. In both these cases the Society can be of assist- ance. In the first case, by showing the technical writer what is the real market value of his work under certain conditions ; and in the second, by testing for him the cost of production, and any THE AUTHOR. other details that may come into the agreement, if it has been made essential for him, by the pub- lisher, to pay asum towards the cost of production. Finally, it should be added that some technical works, if adopted by any of the educational centres, become very valuable property, and an author should always remember that such a chance may occur in the case of his own work. G. HE (8 MUSICAL COPYRIGHT. E have watched with considerable interest the energetic measures that the music publishers have been taking against the pirates. It is their natural desire to protect the property which they have, in nearly all cases, pur- chased outright from the musical composers. Their last success was to obtain a conviction in a criminal prosecution for conspiracy. The trial lasted for eight days, but the time was certainly not wasted, as it brought again to the notice of the public the urgent need to remedy the difficulties under which the musical composers labour. Refer- ence has been made from time to time in The Author to the steps the music publishers have taken in order to protect their property and to bring in a Bill which would deal with the question in an adequate way. Their efforts have, to a limited extent, been successful ; but the first Bill which was passed was in many particulars insufficient ; and the second Bill, which they attempted to push through the House last summer to fill up the deficiencies, met with strong opposition from a few who appear to be entirely ignorant either of the ethics of the rights of property, or of the history and evolution of copyright property in particular. While, however, we are exceedingly glad of the result of the prosecution, we should like to add a few remarks regarding musical composers. The publishers who have during the past years taken these active steps in order to protect musical property, put themselves before the public as acting for the composer of music, and for the musical composer only. They pose as the generous guardians of the author of music, just as, in the old days, the publisher of literary wares did on behalf of the author of books. The public, how- ever, must not be deceived by this attitude, for the fact is, that although the musical composer is the author of the work, and is the man in whom the copyright rested originally, yet owing either to his ignorance of the value of his property or, as is more probable, to his lack of gregarious instinct, he continues to sell that most valuable asset—his  ‘4 copyright and performing right—to the publisher, sometimes for a sum down and sometimes on a royalty basis. So the publishers are fighting rather for their own acquired rights than for the musical composers, and should openly state that this is their point of view, instead of coming forward under false colours. The efforts of the society to show to musical composers the value of their property, that is, the value of sound agreements, and to stir up some kind of opposition to the wholly illiberal and unfair contracts which are offered to them, have so far been unsuccessful. It is true that the society has a certain number of composers on its books, but a small body can bring but little pressure to bear upon the powerful publishing houses who have so long usurped the rights to which they are not entitled. Once again, it should be impressed upon the composers’ minds that not only are they getting inadequate returns for the works of their brains, but they are transferring their property without any guid pro quo. —______—~<—_e—_<_ COPYRIGHT LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. —+-—— + — Tur Statutory NOTICE. HE importance of the decision in the recent case of the G. & C. Meriam Company v. United Dictionary, which was fully set out in the last number of 7he Author, can hardly be exaggerated. The effect of it is staggering to publishers and authors, and particularly to the latter in cases where by an assignment or agree- ment they have no control over the form of printing or publishing in this country. The American Courts have laid it down in effect that if a single copy of a book, duly copy- righted in the United States, is published with the consent of the proprietor of the copyright in any part of the world, without the American copyright notice inserted in it, the proprietor cannot sue for infringement in the American Courts, and the copyright in the United States is practically lost. An important feature of the case is the way in which the defendant avoided committing a breach of the law against importation. The book was originally printed in America from plates manu- factured from type set in the United States, and the plates were sent over to England for the purpose of printing an English edition, and as the prohibi- tion against the importation into the United States of American copyright books does not apply to books printed from plates manufactured in that THE AUTHOR. 173 country,* the defendant did not offend against the law in that respect ; moreover, this prohibition is excepted,t where not more than two copies are purchased and imported “ for use and not for sale,” and this was another plea put forward by the defendant. It is the latter exception which makes the decision so fatal to the English publisher. No doubt many American copyright books are printed in England from plates manufactured in the United States, but this is not always the case. On the other hand there is nothing to prevent any person from buying two copies from an English publisher, which may perhaps contain no American copyright notice, and importing them “ for use and not for sale,” and so the prohibition against unlawful importation may be evaded. The harshness of the law was realised by the learned judge who tried the case, because the American copyright notice, as he pointed out, is of no importance in England and might conceiv- ably be detrimental to the sale of the book. Asa matter of common practice it is frequently dispensed with in books and periodicals which are published for sale in England. The merits of the case, the judge admitted, were entirely in the plaintiff's favour, and he regretted being driven to a legal conclusion which ignored them. ‘ The remedy,” he added, “rests with Congress and not with the courts.” The requirement of the copyright notice by the law of the United States is more than a century old, and it may be worth considering whether it is adapted to the reciprocal conditions of the present day. It first appears in the American Act of 1802, which, amending the original Copyright Act of 1790, provided that no author or proprietor of copyright should be entitled to the benefit of that Act unless he inserted the copyright notice. This was slightly altered in the Act of 1831, and revised to its present form in 1870, except that the alterna- tive form of the notice was added by the Act of 1874. The copyright law in the United States is at the present time undergoing revision, and it is to be hoped that Mr. Thorvald Solberg may devise a scheme which will lighten the burden of those who are at pains to secure copyright protection in the United States. The principal countries in the copyright world give protection to the American author with com- paratively little trouble. A book published in the United States can, by simultaneous publication of some copies in England—which may be printed in the United States—and registration at Stationers’ * Revised Statutes, sect, 4956. + Lbid. 174 Hall, acquire copyright protection without further formality, throughout the British Dominions and +n the other fourteen countries within the Copyright Union.* On the other hand, the difficulty of a foreign author in obtaining copyright protection in the United States is even greater, and the formalities more onerous, than in the Netherlands or Siam. In the first place, the author must belong to a proclaimed or treaty country before he is competent to acquire any copyright at all.t Secondly, the book must be printed from type set up in the United States and two cupies delivered to the Librarian of Congress, in addition to a printed copy of the title of the book, on or before the day of publication.{ And, further, the statutory copy- right notice must be inserted in the several copies of every edition, whether published in the United States or, according to this recent decision, in any other part of the universe.§ The wording, even, of the notice must be precise, as is shown by the cases in the American courts. Tt has been held, for instance, that where the notice was « Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by H. A. Jackson e an action could not be maintained by the proprietor of the copyright because the notice was insufficient. || And in another case, “Copyright, 1891. All rights reserved,” was held to be a bad notice, because the proprietors were not specified, although the name of the publishers appeared upon the title page and they were the proprietors of the copyright.4] It may be pointed out that the Canadian Act of 1875 and the Newfoundland Act of 1890, which are based upon the law of the United States, contain similar requirements as to the statutory copyright notice. ‘There is an important distine- tion, however, because the Canadian and New- foundland Acts are local, and do not operate outside the limits of the respective colonies. (See International Copyright Act 1886, sec. 8, (1-) and (4.) ). A country, it is suggested, should only impose obligations within its jurisdiction, and there seems to be something anomalous in the United States legislation which compels an English publisher to observe a formality in England which is not required according to English law. Haroitp Harpy. * Berne Convention, art. 3, as amended by the Additional Act of Paris. + Chace Act, 1891, s. 13. + Revised Statutes, sect. 4956. § Ibid., sect. 4962. | | Jackson v. Walkie, 29 Fed. Rep. 15. { Osgood y. Aloe Co., 83 Fed. Rep. 470. THB AUTHOR. MAGAZINE CONTENTS. —— 1+ BLACKWOOD’S. By the Warden of Wadham. BOOKMAN. By Elizabeth Lee. Book MONTHLY. Welsh Wales: A Literary Republic unknown to Eng- land. By 8. R. John. Our Sea Poetry. By J. E. Patterson. Scott in Ireland. An Oxford Trimmer. Heinrich Heine. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. An Agnostic’s Progress.—II. By William Scott Palmer, Scotch Education : How Ought it to be Organised. By James Donaldson. The Celtic Spirit in Literature. By Havelock Ellis. CoRNHILL. Society in the Time of Voltaire. George Eliot’s Coventry Friends. Draper. Grandeur et Décadence De Bernard Shaw. By A Young Playgoer. Freeman versus Froude. By 8. G. Tallentyre. By Warwick H. By Andrew Lang. FoRTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Critical Notes on “ As You Like it.” By H. M. Paull. Ebenezer Elliott: The Poet of Free Trade. By H. G. Shelley. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Quo Vadis. By G. Lowes Dickinson. Sir Thomas Browne. By G. L. Strachey. Macterlinck as Moralist. By Algar Thorold. Flowers and The Greek Gods. By Alice Lindsell. Leonidas Andreieff. By Simon Linden. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, The Stuarts in Rome. By Herbert M. Vaughan. Lay Canons in France. By Egerton Beck. MONTH. Religion versus Religions. By C. C. Martindale. Edmund Campion’s History of Ireland. MontTHLy REVIEW. Lord Byron and Lord Lovelace. By John Murray. ‘Ancient and Modern Classics as Instruments of Educa- tion. By J. Herbert Warren. Froude and Freeman. By Ronald McNeill. A Forgotten Princess. By Reginald Lucas. NATIONAL REVIEW. Shaw and Super-Shaw. By Edith Balfour. ; The Northern University Movement. By Talbot Baines. NINETEENTH CENTURY. - An Official Registration of Private Art Collections. By Eugénie Strong. The Reading of the Modern Girl. By Florence B. Low. The Reviewing of Fiction. By Richard Bagot. TEMPLE BaR. Richard Jefferies. By Edward Thomas. (There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, or Musical subjects in Chambers's Journal or Pail Mail Magazine.)  WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —— + — ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :-— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book, General. Allother forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :-— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong tothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld, (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —___—_—_+—_+—____———__ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. ——— + EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. {t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. THE AUTHOR. 175 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system, Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). ‘This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform, The legal distinction is of great importance, 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9, Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10, An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. e«—~<>° WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_ ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright, He 176 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —_—_——_e—<>—_-—__ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —-—>+ VERY member has a right toask for and to receive 4 advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. The must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society ; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 41s. per annum, or £10 10s. for life membership. THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. +4 HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. NE THE READING BRANCH. ee EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. —_—_—__—_+—— —___ NOTICES. — HE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of I the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind; whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. lHvery effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —— + The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ee LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —-~—+—_ ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C.  AUTHORITIES. — In last month’s issue we gave a short statement that the decision in Werckmeister v. Amerwan Litho- graphic Company had been upheld by Judge Holt of the United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. In his judgment he made some very trenchant remarks on the question whether or not the Act demands a copyright notice on the original painting. The words of the section making it necessary that the notice of the copy- right shall be inscribed run as follows :—‘‘ Upon some visible portion thereof, or of the substance on which the same shall be mounted.” Judge Holt points out that the word “ thereof,” and the words “the same,” do not refer to maps, charts, &c., but refer back to “the several copies.” He continues to show that the copyright notice is not written on the original MS., or on the original map, but on the copies that are made public, and though he draws the distinction that the original painting is more often made public than the map and the MS., yet he thinks the reason for the construction which makes the Copyright Act provide that the notice demanded by it shall be put on the copies of the copyrighted thing instead of upon the thing itself, is so weighty that such a construction should be given to the statute. He ends his judgment by saying :-—“It would seem almost a deliberate vulgarization of art if the finest specimens of painting and sculpture exhibited in the Paris Salon, the London Royal Academy, or the leading art societies in this or other countries were all ticketed with copyright notices. I cannot see why the law should require it, or that it does require 1G. This judgment and this decision are very satis- factory and seem to give a sound common sense interpretation to the United States Act on this point. In addition to the Werckmeister case, another case was printed in The Author from the Pub- lishers’ Weekly of New York. We must thank Mr. A. P. Watt for calling our attention to this important decision. It deals with some legal aspects which touch nearly all authors who publish in the United States of America and Great Britain, and an article from the pen of Mr. Harold Hardy, printed this month, will, we hope, explain the position more clearly to our members. We have received from the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress the statement of its work during 1905. THE AUTHOR. gg A comparison of the figures for that year with the figures of 1904 indicates sufficiently clearly the increasing work of this office. Whereas, in 1904, the sum received from every branch of the copyright business amounted to 75,520 dollars, in 1905 it totalled 78,518 dollars, or an increase of 2,998 dollars. Moreover this increase has not been obtained by an excess in one particular branch of its work, but has been manifested in all depart- ments. The number of titles registered, the certificates granted, the copies of records supplied, the assignments and the searches made, each shows an increase on the preceding year. The entries have risen from 106,577 in 1904 to 116,789 in 1905. The largest number of entries refers to musical compositions, 25,567 coming under this category. Periodicals, with 21,925 entries, come second ; while photographs, with 16,061, come third on the list. The entries referring to books (which include pamphlets) number 15,393. In addition, there are 3,872 entries referring to booklets, leaflets, circulars, and cards, and 10,204 entries of news- papers and magazine articles. The fact that on January 4th, 1906, all appli- cations, with the exception of 273 non-certificated entries, had been acted upon, indexed, and cata- logued, is sufficient testimony to the prompt and businesslike methods of the Copyright Office, and reflects the greatest credit on Mr. Thorvald Solberg, the Registrar of Copyrights. Sm Francis Burnanp who has been for over forty years connected with Punch has now resigned the editorship. There is no need, after the many tributes from other sources, to reiterate the fact that Sir Francis Burnand has always maintained the high principles of the paper, both in his selection of artists and in his selection of authors. We must congratulate the retiring editor on his long and successful connection with the paper. We are especially pleased to do so, as he has been a prominent member of the society for some years. His successor, Mr. Owen Seaman, whose work in Punch and in other papers is so well known, will, we are sure, fill the chair worthily. The society has also been honoured by Mr. Seaman’s membership, and he is, in addition, a member of the managing committee. He has always shown great interest in the arduous duties which he and the other members so generously undertake on behalf of those who belong to the society. ——_—_—_+——-_ THE AUTHOR. OBITUARY. —-— + — E have, with regret, to chronicle the death of Mr. C. J. Cornish, which occurred at the end of January. The late Mr. Cornish, who was in his forty-sixth year at the date of his death, had been a member of the Society for some fifteen years, and showed during that period his practical appreciation of the Society’s work by frequently consulting it for advice relative to the marketing of his property. Most of his books dealt with natural history, sport, and outdoor life, and although his life was but a short one, he found time to write about a dozen of these works, in addition to contributing to numerous magazines articles dealing with those subjects on which he was an authority. «Life at the Zoo,” “ Wild England of To-day,” “Nights with an Old Gunner,” are a few of the works which came from his pen. —_—_—_——__+—_—_+-___—_- THE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT. 1 HE work on this subject, by William Briggs, which has just been published by Stevens and Haynes, is divided into five parts: (1) The Evolution of International Copyright ; (2) The Theory of International Copyright ; (3) The Berne Convention, with a chapter on the Montevideo Convention ; (4) International Copy- right in the British Dominions and Colonial Copyright ; (5) Protection of Authors in the United States. Mr. Briggs starts from the very commencement. He shows how, gradually, property rose from something physical to something metaphysical, and that property, strictly speaking, is a right not a thing; how it became subject to certain laws in each state ; and how, with the evolution of society, different kinds of property were recognised, each in its turn coming under the legislature. He draws attention to manual labour as a title to property, then to intellectual labour as a title, and, finally, to copyright based on labour. Judge Thomson, an eminent American judge, stated: “The great principle on which the author’s right rests is that it is the fruit or production of his labour, and that labour by the faculties of the mind may establish aright of property as well as by the faculties of the body. Every principle of justice, equity, morality, fitness, and sound policy concurs in pro- tecting the literary labours of men to the same extent as the property acquired by manual labour is protected.” This is the view of the great French writers om the subject, but France has always been more liberal, and has always taken a broader view than any other nation in the evolution of this kind of property. Quoting another authority, he says: “‘ Distinct properties were not settled at the same time nor by one single Act, but by successive degrees,” and he goes on to show that although copyright property only became valuable at a late date, with the introduction of printing, it is not, therefore, a whit the less a real property on this account. It has been argued that copyright pro- perty is merely the granting of a monopoly. Mr. Briggs shows the fallacy of the argument. It is argued that although for many years it was not the subject of legislative enactments, it is not the less the property of the author. It is, in truth, as he points out, “‘an antecedent right of property deriving only its legal protection from the State.” England has the distinction of passing the first copyright law in which the author’s interests were considered. This is the Act of Anne, 1709, but though England may boast of this, it is France which can boast of treating most liberally the real ideal of copyright—that is, the right of foreign authors to protection. Her example has in recent years been followed by Belgium and Luxembourg. The writer having shown conclusively that copy- right is the property of the author, then discusses the ethical side. His remarks on this point are of great interest. His chapter on this question begins as follows :—%“Though piracy at sea was at one time considered an honourable profession, general morality has so far advanced that at the present day it is a barbaric practice, is regarded as criminal, but intellectual property has not yet been acknowledged as worthy to rank with material goods in respect of international protection,” but he points out, in a subsequent chapter—the history of international copyright—how, by slow degrees, the immorality of this piracy grew on the international conscience, and sometimes for ethical reasons, and sometimes for practical reasons, nations began to enter into treaties for the pro- tection of foreigners. It is curious to note how the ethical reasons have sometimes preceded the practical development. The nation that has given the greatest freedom to foreigners does not find it more difficult to enter into treaties, but finds it less difficult to do so, and we are glad to think that the English Copyright Commission gave as its opinion that reprisals in the matter of literary — plunder were illegitimate. Piracy, in many cases, does not lead to the production of the best books of other countries in the country that upholds the piracy, and is ever disastrous to its own literature. — The whole question of international copyright, — and the arguments brought forward in its favour, —  prove a strong indictment against the present position of the United States in the civilised world. Darras, the great- French authority, speak- ing of Russian law, says: “It seems to protect foreigners to a certain extent, but if the reality of the facts alone is taken into consideration, its place is marked side by side with the United States and Turkey.” We are pleased to think, however, as from time to time we have pointed out, and Mr. Briggs confirms this fact, that the cultured and intellectual minority in America have always been in favour of the higher evolution of international copyright and repudiated trade restriction. Having dealt exhaustively with the evolution of property generally, and copyright property in particular, Mr. Briggs then proceeds to consider the theory of International Copyright. He shows by careful argument the result of piracy on the ’ literature of nations, and on this question he is in entire agreement with the views that have been expressed from time to time in 7he Author. He next treats, in some detail, the evolution of Inter- national Copyright. He shows how the movement was inaugurated by treaties between the countries. He examines the advantages and disadvantages of treaties as a means of international agreement. Treaties between individual states are, no doubt, advantageous for the protection of their writers, but when there are many countries, and the treaties dealing with the same subject are multiplied in- definitely, then confusion is likely to reign, unless some international system such as is provided by the Berne Convention is adopted. Mr. Briggs points out very strongly that the question of copy- right should not be dealt with in commercial treaties between different countries, as copyright property, owing to its peculiar nature, cannot be dealt with on the same basis as bales of cotton and other similar commodities. He goes further and deals with the question of treaties made by countries that are members of the Berne Conven- tion with countries outside the Convention, or with countries within the Convention, and discusses the advantages to be derived from these separate treaties. He is inclined to think that treaties with countries outside the Convention will tend finally to bring those countries into the Convention, and that treaties between countries in the Conven- tion will broaden and will not narrow the advan- tages which those countries derive from the Con- vention, and therefore would assist the widening of the Convention should such widening at a later date be feasible. Finally, he arrives at the Berne Convention and takes it clause by clause, and views it from the point of view of its general application. Under this chapter he also deals with the Convention of Montevideo. THE AUTHOR. 179 The next division of the work, Part 4, refers to the particular application of International Copy- right to Great Britain under the Imperial Laws, and alternately, with the rights of Englishmen in foreign countries. Part 5, the last, deals with the United States and their relations with foreign countries. Thus he covers the whole range of International Copyright from end to end, showing the gradual advance of civilisation ; the gradual development of the rights of property, and, finally, of copy- right property ; how nations dealt with the newly developed property, and how the more civilised they became the more liberal became the protection which they afforded it. From beginning to end, his arguments lead to the conclusion that the United States have not yet risen to the level of the great nations of Hurope. It is hoped, however, that the consolidation of the United States Law may produce a satisfactory result. To deal with such a wide subject and in so detailed a manner necessitated the production of a large book and an enormous amount of labour. Mr. Briggs’ book covers more than 800 pages. It could not, in order to be of value to the student : — as the specialist, be very greatly reduced in ulk. The author cannot be too highly commended for his careful and laborious work, dealing as it does with the laws and technicalities in all the countries of the world, from many of which it is not always easy to obtain satisfactory and reliable informa- tion. With the exception of one or two minor slips, we have been unable to find any mistake in the facts quoted. In conclusion, we must express our gratitude to Mr. Briggs, not merely for producing a book of over 800 pages with great labour and care, but because by this production he has filled a gap which has existed in treatises on copyright property. a ———$ SOME FRENCH-CANADIAN WRITERS. ee HE “Voyages” of Champlain, the “ Relations” of the Jesuit missionaries, and the epistles of Marie de l’Incarnation, will always be interesting to those who endeavour to trace back to its source the stream of French-Canadian litera- ture. In these early writings we discover the influence of those conditions under which French- Canadian litlérateurs have usually worked. With few exceptions they have been chiefly controlled by religion and patriotism. Living in a stimulating atmosphere of sunlit purity, in the midst of the most picturesque scenic surroundings, they have- 180 always possessed the consciousness of a not less picturesque past. In addition to this, a large pro- portion of them have enjoyed the advantage of well-bred ancestors. ‘There was something of the spirit of the Crusaders in those who went out two or three centuries ago—some of the best blood of France—to found a New France in the western hemisphere. It is true that they had the Indian fur trade in mind, together with schemes of colonization of a more or less business-like descrip- tion; but many of them had also romantic dreams of glory, while every expedition was bathed in the spirit of faith and of religious proselytism. The Church has continued to hold the position it took at the outset in the Province of Quebec, when, indeed, it was not the Province of Quebec, but New France. It had seventy thousand inhabitants at the cession to the British in 1760; these have increased to one million six hundred and fifty thousand now. But they are all Roman Catholic, and in the main their customs and their civil law have been preserved as they were under French domination. Itis one of the triumphs of the British genius for managing colonies that the French- Canadians are loyal to the Crown, contented, happy and well-to-do, and that they have not the slightest wish to change their allegiance. Less than might have been supposed have they been influenced by France. They present a unique example of a branch severed from a parent stem and starting an independent existence. Their literary separation from France has been almost as complete as their political separation. The Church has attended to their education—they have not sent their sons and daughters “ home” for their teaching. They have not felt the impact of literary transformations any more than the rebound of political revolutions. Hon. Hector Fabre has well said : “ Our society is neither French nor English, nor Ameri- can, it is Canadian. One finds in its manners, its ideas, its customs, its tendencies something of each of the peoples in the neighbourhood of which it has lived; French petulance corrected by English common-sense, British stolidity brightened by French sprightliness. The con- tinuous practice of constitutional liberty, an incessant con- tact with institutions and forms foreign to our old mother country, the almost total cessation of intimate communica- tion with her... while they permit the ineffaceable mark of origin, they have destroyed any striking re- semblance. The Canadian feels himself as much a stranger in Paris as in London, for if our language is French, our customs and tastes are so no longer. ... Itis this society, miraculously preserved in certain respects, singularly dis- figured in others, that we must paint if we seriously wish to have a Canadian literature.” It is impossible.within the compass of a short article to mention in detail every author hailing from the Province of Quebec who has produced an historical monograph, blossomed into a fewtlleton, or penned a chanson. Suffice it to say that there TAR AUTHOR. have been many amateurs of a high type of excel- lence, and that out of a total list of a hundred and seventy or a hundred and eighty respectable writers, no fewer than seventy have indulged in verse as well as prose. The poetic form in which the literary genius of a people first breaks out has not been wanting, and if it has been born to blush unseen, it has at any rate served to keep alive a certain interest in things literary, for it is cer- tainly one use of the minor poet that he helps to clear a space in which the undoubted song-birds of the first order may sing. Between the production of the early works of which mention was made at the outset, and the date which marks the beginning of the French- Canadian literature of our modern day, there lies a somewhat arid period. If the stream of literature was in existence, it was surely flowing through subterranean passages ; buried beneath the laborious details of the lives of the pioneers. Such names as Joseph Quesnel, Michel Bibaud, Réal Angers, Bartle, Turcotte, Derome and others, though they were early in the French-Canadian field, were a long way behind their somewhat archaic fore- runners. But in them, as in those forerunners, we discover that naiveté and freshness of senti- ment which is one of the marks of French- Canadian writing. It is at the very antipodes of anything like Voltairean cynicism, Gallic frivolity, or Zolaesque realism. Among the early writers in whom these charac- teristics are strongly marked, a definite place is taken by Octave Crémazie, whose “Le Vieux Soldat Canadian” has been deservedly admired, and who has by some been considered, in his poem “Les Morts,”’ the superior of Lamartine. Among other poems of his are “Castelfidardo,” and ‘ Le Drapeau de Carillon.’ Crémazie was inspired by a keen pride of race, and he was a man of more than common reading. The attractions of com- merce seem, however, to have been stronger in his case than those of poetry. Though one or two of his poems have lived, he produced but little. The name of Léon Pamphile Lemay is familiar as the translator into French, for the benefit of his compatriots in Quebec, of Longfellow’s ‘ Evan- geline,” a work which was performed by him with an ease and sympathetic insight which are worthy of remark. M. Lemay also published a volume entitled ‘‘ Essais Poétiques.” His verse is of a tender, melancholy and dreamy cast ; a dim veil of sadness and pain seems to enshroud its beauty ; yet there is in it a simplicity, a pathos, and a transfiguring of familiar objects which commend it to the appreciative reader. But these names of literary pioneers are taken somewhat at random, and it may be that to some extent accident gave them a prominence over their THE AUTHOR. compeers that was not borne out by their essential attributes. That they were admired and appreciated shows, however, that a literary taste was being developed. This was further assisted from time to time by the establishment of literary magazines. The first of these was “La Bibliotheque Cana- dienne,” which was published in Montreal, in 1825, by the poet Bibaud, already named, and edited by him. It is interesting to turn to this carefully edited periodical, the contents of which were ambitious enough to comprise not only literary, but scientific and historical, matters. It appeared up to 1830. In 1830-81 the same editor brought out a magazine called “ L’Observateur,” and in 1832, he produced two volumes entitled “ Magasin du Bas Canada.” ‘Le Repertoire National,” in four volumes, published in 1848, was compiled by J. Huston. It contains a somewhat miscellaneous collection of all the writings of the French Canadians in prose and verse from 1777 to 1850. A fine edition of this work was produced in Mon- treal in 1895. ‘La Ruche Littéraire” (1853-59) was read with great interest by French Canadians of taste and culture. For by that time literature in French Canada had set for itself more definite aims, and there had arisen a little galaxy of stars upon the Quebec firmament. Among these the most distinguished are Pierre J. O. Chauveau, a novelist of ability; Etienne Parent, journalist, philosopher, and thinker—disposed, sometimes, to kick over the traces of the Church; Abbé J. B. A. Ferland, a careful and interesting historian ; J. C. Tache, a journalist of great force of character ; Hector Fabre, from whom a quotation has already been made—a man of fine taste, a great faculty of expression, and a considerable gift in delicate satire ; Benjamin Sulte, now the President of the Canadian Royal Society, and a very capable historian ; Abbé Provencher, a master of natural history, with especial accomplishments in ornitho- logy—-a man who found plenty to occupy his clever and industrious pen in the Canadian fields, forests, and waters ; James M. Lemoine, the historian of the old families of Quebec; Professor Paul Stevens, a writer of exquisite parables and gems of polished prose that were reproduced again and again by the newspapers ; Hector Langevin, an able lawyer who, at the age of twenty-one, became the editor of an ecclesiastical journal, and never afterwards lost his taste for literature. Here were ten men who may be said to have formed a sort of epoch, and to have brought together into a focus the wandering rays of French-Canadian literary ability. ‘They repre- sented the love of literature for its own sake, and with that disregard of pecuniary reward which has always been characteristic of the French- Canadian author, they helped to create a unique atmosphere of culture. It is impossible to read 181 their productions without being conscious that they contain a sincere and genuine enthusiasm that is as far removed as possible from the dollar hunting proclivities of many of the authors of their continent. To these names may be added those of Abbé Faillon, a preserver of the early folk-lore of the colony, and Emile Chevallier, a writer of charming romances. No name is more deservedly celebrated in Cana- dian letters than that of Francis Xavier Garneau, author of the great work “ Histoire du Canada,” which was published in three volumes in 1848. Like many of his compatriots, Garneau had in his youth written graceful and elegant verse. He takes a front rank, not only in the hearts of his country- men, but in their critical and literary estimate of him. He was a man of initiative courage, heroic perseverance, indomitable will, disinterestedness, and self-sacrifice. His ‘ Histoire” at once took a dignified place among the distinguished chronicles of other nations, and it remains, up to the present, the chief historical work among a people who have shown that they are by no means destitute of historic genius. Garneau has not been surpassed for his discern- meni of the causes that were at the back of the facts revealed in the papers referring to the early history of the colony. He is less passionate and partial than the writers who had dealt with the subject before him; for instance, he never hides the good deeds of the British. Taking his views from an elevated standpoint, he did much to raise the tone of French-Canadian history to a high, philosophical, and fruitful level. Antoine Gerin-Lajoie had the singular good fortune to acquire a wide local fame in the pro- vince before leaving college. A tragedy and a sone—especially the song—made him famous in 1842. The tragedy was based on the adventures of La Tour and his son in Nova Scotia, during the early part of the seventeenth century. The song was merely the expression of home-sickness, placed in the mouth of a Canadian exiled to a foreign land. So popular did the words of this song become among the French-speaking population, that they are now heard wherever French-Canadians have wandered on the continent of North America. The historical novel has an excellent model in “ Les Anciens Canadiens,” by M. de Gaspé, which was published at Montreal about forty years ago. It is a book that has a good place allotted to it in French-Canadian libraries. Its pages are animated by the flame of the past and the spirit of other days, for their author, who produced this work at seventy years of age, had with his own eyes seen much of what he narrates. Besides “ Les Anciens Canadiens,” two romances have had a considerable vogue. Of “ Jean Rivard’’—the work of Gerin- 182 Lajoie—we have already spoken as having brought an immediate fame to its clever young author. The other—* Charles Guérin ”—is the work of Pierre G. O. Chauveau. If the two heroes of these writers had met in the world they would have been friends. Both stories are true to life, inter- esting and well-planned. The people are natural and the local colour is good. “Jean Rivard” is, perhaps, the better of the two as an exact study of French-Canadian manners. Louis Honore Frechette, C.M.G., D.C.L., is greeted throughout Canada and the United States as the poet laureate of Canada. His poetry is of a high order ; it shows variety of conception and great delicacy of touch. His lines to various persons, whether distinguished in public life, or endeared to the author by private ties, are par- ticularly happy. He is a truly national poet, and his inspiration is found, not only in the past, but in the present. The grand dim old Canada, region of the savage huntsman and the pioneer, the voyageur, the trapper, and the missionary, with their all but fabulous doings, of these Frechette sometimes sings. But he sings also of a Quebec as it now stands ; of Montreal, as it now is ; the glories of Niagara ; the Sagueuay, the Thousand Isles, Cape Eternity, Beloeil Lake, Lake Beauport, Cape Tour- mente, and so on—the beautiful natural scenery which retains still its picturesque wildness. It is to people of to-day, or of yesterday, that his strophes are addressed. He sings rather of what French- Canada still has, as well as of what has passed away from her forever. He is the poet of the present, as Crémazie of the past ; the poet of joy and joyous nature, as Lemay is the poet of sadness and the autumn tints of earth. There is a whole- some warmth and freshness, a human life and joy about his poems which are truly refreshing. Among his more serious works are his drama of “ Papineau,” based on Canadian historical incidents ; his “ Dis- covery of the Mississipi,” his “ Canadian Year,” and his “ Légende d’un Peuple.” His poems fall natur- ally into two classes ; one treating of national, #.¢., French-Canadian subjects ; the other consisting of verses which might have been written in any country, with due regard to local colours. The former perpetuate the nobler days of French-Canada, when patriotism had not degenerated into mere provincial sentiment and race-hatred ; when the antagonism between English and French was as legitimate a feeling in Canada as on the battle- fields of Blenheim and Ramilies. But they do more than this. Beginning with the solitudes of the primeval forest, broken only by the red man in pursuit of his game, they retrace, in a long series of pictures the history of a colony, brilliant even under a cloud of obscurity. As it comes down through the excessive ages, this epic in short. poems shows, THE AUTHOR. in three epochal divisions, the development of the country from wilderness into settlement ; from settlement to the strife of the occupants ; and from the victory of the English race to events still pain- fully fresh in the memory of Canadians. “O notre histoire, écrin de perles ignorées,” says the poet ; and with the most finished art he arranges the jewels of his casket, disposing each so as to bring out its best and purest glitter. Cartier, La Salle, Jolliet, Daulac, the missionary martyrs, and others, usually left ‘unnamed among the chronicles of Kings,” stand first with him; and though generals and statesmen get a share of praise, it is with humbler men that this chiefest of French-Canadian poets loves chiefly to linger. ope THE POET v. THE STONEMASON;; or, WHY NOT A NEW MARKET FOR POETRY ? + 4 RADE again!” I fancy I can hear you mutter as you read my title... . Wait! You are not altogether wrong ; but I will try to show that there is much to be said in favour of a “market” even for such goods of the gods as poems, and this from a higher standpoint than merely the mercenary. To-day, poetry is, to use a term applied to grosser things, a “drug” on the literary market. No writer will doubt this; for his or her own experience will have taught them that this is an indubitable and dreary fact ; but supposing any- one to think the statement inaccurate, let them remember a remark made by one of the most prolific publishers we have of belles lettres, that he has been forced to refuse poems which half a century earlier would have brought their authors into prominence, and they will realise how appro- priate is the word “drug” when applied to the demand for poetry. Now, but a very cursory glance into the result of this lack of demand will show how the want of a “market” is proving actually destructive to our highest form of literature. Men—men with the real thing in them—dare not give to the use of their talent the time and application that is necessary to bring out all of that which is in them; for if they did so they would of a certainty go hungry. ‘This, if single, they might endure until finally the old story would have to be again re-told :— ® A sepulchre was built—a dead man’s throne ; A dozen thousand pounds were spent on stone And those who in his need denied him bread Now poured their riches o’er the hapless dead  But, if married, their hearts would speedily cry “Nay!” when the bairns began to voice their urgent needs. Or if not, then would the voice of the wife and mother prove just as effectual ; for she would grow mightily “dispatient” to see the man and father writing poems, however beautiful, whilst the ‘‘leetle ones ” clamoured. And go, because of a lack of market for their wares, poets dare not or must nol waste (forgive the word) time upon the exercising of that which is their right and proper function. And because of this I have little doubt but that the world is losing much fine work, and losing it in a peculiar manner. For it must not be supposed that you can silence a poet, worthy of the name, even by starving his bairns. No! instead of silencing him, in too many cases the combined terror of dumbness and the sheer need of food, force him into a compromise . . . . in fact, turn the rivers of his mind into another channel—too often to him an unnatural channel. For the poet, finding that his natural form of expression—the greatest ever gifted to man—is monetarily valueless, ai least until after he is dead, turns to upon the produc- tion of that more saleable article—the novel. Now, a man may be a great poet and but a poor novelist, so that, as a result, the world gets often badly-constructed novels in place of fine poems. Have I said enough to justify from the highest standpoint my plea for the need of a market—a mart pure and simple where poems may be sold, and the poets with the proceeds of their sales enabled to buy bread whereby they may live to work undisturbed at their art, and so give to the world other, and, perhaps better poems ? Now to my idea. I have entitled this small article “The Poet y. The Stonemason.” I find now that I had done better to have put Sculptor in place of Stone- mason; for it is chiefly with the wealthy people of the world that I look to find my market—with those who can afford the artist in place of the tradesman,” and who could afford the produce of the poet instead of the graven commonplace in- scriptions which are hideous in their frozen inability to express anything of the heart sorrow that prompts the nearest and dearest to show some mark of their love by means of a fit resting place. In short, I propose that the poet should have equal chance with the sculptor in making beautiful the Last Abode. I will go even further, and sug- gest that in many cases the poet might well take the place of the sculptor, especially where the relatives of the dead are not of the wealthiest. This, then, is the market that I propose should be opened to the poet. Let the artist take the place of the inscription-monger. Only a poet can hope to express even a tithe of the things that THE AUTHOR. 183 suffocate man in sorrow. Then, obviously, the poet is the one to whom the work should be entrusted. Wherefore a fine monument and a wretched, inadequate inscription? Better a poor monument and a great inscription. Think you, if ‘“Gray’s Elegy ” had been in truth written upon a tombstone, that anything less than a pyramid could have equalled it as a /asting memorial ? And the pyramids are dumb, save to the imaginative ; but the Elegy speaks even to those who lack the seventh sense. One more plea in the poet’s favour. Even people of but medium worldly means could fee the poet ; for the requiem in shape will be ever costlier than the requiem in words. In closing my little paper, I would suggest, with some humbleness of spirit, that poets need not write personal eulogies of the dead, but express rather the universal emotions of grief and despair and hope . . . and give voice to the human sense of lonesomeness and loss. For, it seems to me, that monuments and inscriptions are to comfort the living ; and nothing gives such ease as expres- sion. Such poems could be universal ; for such feelings and emotions as they would express are shared by all. In such wise might be written poems to the little child or the grown man which would prove universal treasures, appealing to the whole world with that true touch which makes us all akin. Sorrowful man bids the sculptor shape his sorrow in stone; let him call in also the poet who alone may speak heartfully of one who has passed Beyond the bellowing of Time’s aeon-surge. I feel a certain grave yet whimsical laughter as I ask my final question : Will any one open the market ? Wiiu1am Horr Hopeson. ———— ESSAYS ON MEDIZVAL LITERATURE.* — + LL lovers of literature, and still more all serious literary students, will be grateful to Professor Ker for having collected into a single volume his “ Essays on Mediaeval Litera- ture.” The fact that all have previously appeared, either as parts of other works, or in reviews of high standing, in no way diminishes their value as a whole. Though the publications which contain them are easy of access, it is by no means always the case that the reader interested in matters of this kind finds it convenient to be culling information 7 ea * W. P. Ker: “Essays on Medieval Literature.” London: Macmillan & Co. 1905. 184 from a number of different volumes; whilst— and this is of superlative importance—the various essays gain much in interest and significance by the light which they throw upon one another. The range is somewhat wide, from a brief treatise on Early English prose, to a notice of the late M. Gaston Paris. But the author is always keeping close to his subject, and invariably handling the topic immediately under his con- sideration with the suggestive facility of a man whose lucid and penetrating knowledge enables him to give freely out of the abundance of his information. There is nothing that Prof. Ker cannot make interesting. That means simply that he knows thoroughly what he is writing about. In a general way Harly English prose is for every reader, whose interests are not exclusively philological, a very dreary waste in which to be doomed to wander. Prof. Ker nowhere veils the peculiar kind of aridity that is a painfully leading feature in mediaeval litera- ture. On more than one occasion he makes pointed mention of this vice of most writers of the middle ages, and has interesting things to say about it. But even in the normal dulness of Early English prose his acumen discovers important merits. Where the interest of the subject is all to seek, and the art of treating it conspicuously absent, he shows the evidences of well-directed striving to reach methods of expression, that in time bore fruit of style and lucid exposition. Opinions will probably differ respecting the comparative interest of the several treatises. For our own part we must confess to a strong pre- ference for the three essays entitled “ Historical Notes on the Similes of Dante,” “ Boccaccio,” and * Chaucer.” In the first of these the author works out admirably his theme that “Dante is the first modern poet to make a consistent use, in narrative poetry, of the epic simile as derived from Homer through Virgil and the Latin poets.” The in- fluence of Dante is traced through Boccaccio to Chaucer (Prof. Ker is ever coming back to Chaucer)—and again from Chaucer onwards. One result is a revelation of how all modern poetry has its source in Dante, just as all occidental poetry has its source in Homer. Another result is the proof of ‘the vitality of classical poetry in its influence upon the moderns.” ‘Ihe essence of the Homeric simile is happily elucidated as the illus- tration that is not merely mentioned as containing a resemblance, but is further elaborated, beyond its mere parallelism, in such a manner that the picture evoked has a substantiality and value of its own. Of the immortal Boccaccio, Mr. Ker has, of course, things to say that never present themselves THE AUTHOR. to the imagination of the ordinary scribbler who blunders into writing about “John of the Tran- quillities,” under the delusion that he knows all that is to be said concerning him. The great man of letters, the great student, the great stylist, the great novelist, the great poet, the inventor of the otlava rima, the great literary discoverer, stands out in these pages in all his magnificent eminence, Most interesting is the insistence upon Boccaccio’s infallible instinct. ‘ The talents of Boccaccio for finding new kinds of literature, and making the most of them, is like the instinct of a man of business for profitable operations,” writes Prof. Ker, Nor less engaging is the elucidation of the contrast between Boccaccio and his master Petrarcha; the latter always melancholy, and the former always facing life in good spirits; Petrarcha always master, and Boccaccio always a deferential pupil ; but a pupil who saw some things with clearer, and all things with happier eyes than had been vouch- safed to his master. What Boccaccio was to Chaucer we have never seen elsewhere so clearly and fully put into words. There are always new things to be said about Chaucer—notwithstanding all that has been said about him; and some of these new things are admirably expressed in Prof. Ker’s essay. “‘ Chaucer is always at his best when he is put on his mettle by Boccaccio. . . . He learns from the Italian the lesson of sure and definite exposition.” Not that Chaucer copies or imitates Boccaccio. Prof. Ker shows that he does neither. But he learns from Boccaccio what Boccaccio had discovered for himself (for the Greek novelists where he might have found the same methods were unknown to him), the laws of construction and the art of con- ducting a story. ‘There were occasions when Chaucer took his own way, disregarded everything that he had learned from his master, and “let himself go” in the manner of the other medisevalists of his day: and then he did all the things that his master had shown him that he ought not to do, conformed with his age and its manners, and could relate in the dreariest and stalest of medizeval fashions. He gives himself a positive debauch of this kind in “The House of Fame,” and is tedious and monotonous with the dreariest. Very possibly he enjoyed it, and here and there his natural wit comes to light, and lifts him for the moment above the medizeval conventions. We have left ourselves but little space for allusion to a careful study of Gower, and an essay on Froissart (the longest in the book) in which both the course and the character of the original and of the English translation of Lord Berners are fully analysed. But we must not omit to mention the short notice of M. Gaston Paris with which the volume concludes ; an appreciation so warm and so THE sympathetic that we should commiserate the reader who could lay it down without feeling tempted to plunge into that literature of Old France to which M. Gaston Paris devoted his life. —_—___—_——_+—__+—______ AN AUTHOR’S LETTER BOX. —+-—~+— (Reprinted from New York Bookman, by kind permission of the Editor). YOUNG married American woman living in London was presented to Queen Victoria, who paid her a pretty personal compliment. A couple of hours later, at a tea at the American Embassy, a daughter of the Queen conveyed an intimation to the same American lady that she would soon be invited to Windsor Castle. This unusual incident was, naturally, much the talk of society in Tondon, and I heard every particular, for I was at the time visiting the home of the young American woman and her husband. Some years later I worked the incident into a story, and it was pretty generally sneered at by reviewers as a silly example of a writer venturing into social places about which, of course, he could know nothing. I’m case-hardened against that sort of criticism, but I took notice of a polite personal letter from a college lecturer on literature, who wrote to me condemning the use of such a highly improbable invention. To him I explained. He was all right ; he wrote and delivered a lecture on the inexpediency of the use of fact in fiction! T’ve had lots of fun out of an assumption in certain places that I am Bowery-derived—an assumption which has aided some of my critics in knowing that I know nothing about polite people. I once made use, ina short story, of some adyen- tures I shared with a couple of Harvard men while travelling in the Hawaiian Islands. This made one Harvard undergraduate so angry that he could not resist the call to rebuke me. That I should presume to speak of men and measures not of the Bowery made him sad, he said ; but that I should attempt to tell what a Harvard man would do under any circumstance was a piece of imperti- nence he could not encounter without protest. His further remarks and advice conveyed the impression that Harvard, as a social institution, depended much upon his sprightly resentment of such offending as mine. Not long after that I was a guest of Harvard Union, and inquired as to my correspondent, but no one could inform me. One took the trouble, however, to pursue his search as far as the records, and reported that there was, indeed, such a person there, but that he “was a mucker no one knew.” In my youth I reported for a newspaper a trial AUTHOR. 185 at law, famous throughout the mining States and Territories, which revealed that a mine swindle had been perpetrated through the “salting” of a bag of ore samples by an injection of a solution of gold. The cautious expert, who had personally broken down the samples of ore, had placed the bag containing them under his pillow at night, but the needle of the syringe had got there ¢owt de méme. Well, I used that incident in a magazine story not long ago, and promptly received a letter from a man whose letter-head acclaimed him to be a metallurgist and assayer, firmly informing me that such a trick was a chemical impossibility, and adding that I should shun such technicalities in fiction. One more story of this kind and then I'll tell what I’m driving at. In Lees and Leaven there is a deed to be recorded under circumstances related to the plot, and I told how it was done. From out of the West, where that part of the story lay, I received a number of letters protesting against my highly illegal procedure. T don’t know about that, either, for I had asked a lawyer who attends to such matters for a number of important industrial corporations, and I had recorded the deed strictly in accordance with his advice. Here, then, is the point: am I alone among writers in this matter of receiving letters con- demning me for errors I have not committed ? I set down these few cases, but [ recall scores. I think that many such fault-finding letters have been rejected by some newspaper, and the writers send them to authors after failing to get them into print. They sound like “letters to the editor.’ The man who approves is usually in a state of mind milder than that which moves him who disapproves, and the latter is the one who more often feels that the world will be better if he weeps forth his feelings from a fountain pen. Harper’s Weekly once turned over to me a letter from a Cincinnati lawyer scolding that excellent repository of Mr. Harvey’s thoughts for printing a “Chimmie Fadden” sketch wherein, asserted the indignant letter writer, I had been guilty of absolute indecency in “Chimmie’s” account of a night at the opera. In dismay I turned to the rinted page and found that “ Chimmie” had related, with some such reservations as one would make in telling the story to a child, the plot of Faust! hat letter I answered, pointing out that the Faust story in some form had been able to maintain a respectable place in literature so long that my Bowdlerised edition did not deserve the scorn of even the righteous. But the letter writer was not satisfied ; he saw a low purpose on my part in thrusting such a story before the pure eyes of Harper’s readers, who, he told me, were a different sort, morally, from the godless patrons of the opera. : 186 I have had many, perhaps more than a just share, of letters of commendation ; but, I repeat, those who dispraise have been very busy with my hide. The answer is obvious, of course, if one were asked to give a reason—lI’ve got only what I deserve—yet I wonder if I am alone among authors in this respect. A correspondence which came from every part of the country arose from ‘my use, in the person of “Major Max,” of the lines : Is it true, O Christ in heaven! that the wisest suffer most, That the strongest wander farthest and most hopelessly are ] x That ihe mark of rank in nature is capacity for pain, That the anguish of the singer lends its sweetness to the strain ? I would not dare to give an estimate of the number of letters I received asking the name of the author, what more verses, if any, there were, in what book the whole poem could be had, and similar questions. The Sun, in which that ‘‘ Max” story first appeared, found it expedient more than once, so many similar letters it received asking such information, to print replies in its answers to correspondents department. What seems to me to be the most whimsical letter I ever received was from a New York mer- chant, asking if the copyright in my books pre- vented the use of a menu one of them contained. Being assured that my menus were free to all, he explained that he wanted to give a certain chef an order to duplicate a dinner I described in Days Like These, but that a painful experience he had had with the law prompted him to ask my consent before proceeding with his dinner @ Ja Garnett. Epwarp W. TOowNSsEND. a THE TRANSFORMATION OF A GREAT NOVELIST. ere (Republished by kind permission of the Editor from the Westminster Gazette, December 30th, 1905.) 7 ¥ often speak of Laurence Wilders at the Scribblers’, and always with bated breath ; for, famous as the great novelist was to the public, he seemed still greater to us fellow literary men, who could gauge his work more truly and regard it more sympathetically than could the general reader. Even Blossop lowers his voice when he refers to the dead master. Only one man among us, and he is not usually silent, has been in the habit of listening without remark ; and yet Gorham and Wilders were intimate friends. But the other evening, after we had been speak- ing of Wilders’s last book, of the many personal qualities which had endeared him to us, of his fierce outbursts of passion, his impulsive generosity, THE AUTHOR. his almost womanly tenderness of heart, Gorham, gazing at as much of the fire as Blossop permitted to be seen, said slowly and gravely, rather as if he were communing with himself than addressing us : “Poor Wilders has been dead nearly twelve months ; I wonder whether the time has come for ts me to unseal my lips ? ” | We said with ill-concealed emphasis and eager- ness that it certainly had; and Gorham went on, still more gravely: “As you all know, I was Wilders’s most intimate friend. You were speaking just now, Millan, of the extraordinary change which F took place in him some years ago, of the cessation | ¥ \ of those outbursts of passion which used to trans- — = form the gentlest of men into . ‘CA frenzied lunatic,” said Millan. “ Why, yes ; ¢ don’t you remember how he used to rush in here § @> waving a magazine containing one of his stories, es and, striking the thing furiously with his clenched cals? fist, inveigh against the artist ? I recollect on one ha occasion he actually tore the illustrations from a peu! | book of his, and, flinging them on the floor, me danced upon them, yelling, ‘ Look at this! I have (gy described this man as a gentleman ; observe the at bounder this “artist ’ has made of him! my heroine — heroine ! beautiful.” I have taken pages to describe the girl. Look at: this—this hideous housemaid with her nose out of drawing, and her figure like a sack tied round the middle! ‘This, if you please, is the illustration of a scene at a lunch-party ; of course, the “artist” has put the men in evening dress ! And this is a boat. A boat! The wretch has made the man rowing it stern first. The animal kw in this picture is intended for a horse. I know it ~ is, because the line underneath says ‘ He bent Pd from his horse.” ’”’ bad Gorham nodded. ‘‘ Yes, poor Wilders suffered tal a great deal from the artist in his early and strug- oe gling days. Ofcourse they did not give him the best men. But when the drawing was good, how delighted, how grateful he was! And now we bot come to speak of the change in him. Later on, at or a certain period of his life, you will remember that, Flag however bad the block may have been, he never raged, never uttered even a word of complaint. fF... The change was an enigma to all of us. Itshall — be an enigma no ionger; I can explain it. The night before he died I was sitting beside his bed. He knew that death was near, but he was quite placid, and even cheerful, and his face wore a look of absolute content. It was a moonlight night ; he lay on his side looking through the window—he had asked me to pull up the blind—on the pretty FF — little garden at the back of that quaint, old- fF ! fashioned house of his at Leatherhead. 5 “Vou are all right—there is nothing I can do for you, old man ?’ I asked. This is Hl “Tall, slim, graceful, itn  THE AUTHOR. “éNo’ he said, ‘nothing. I am going out quietly and comfortably with, thank Heaven, a mind and a heart at rest. For some time past I have known that my innings were drawing to a close.’ “© Yes,’ I said; we have all noticed at the Seribblers’ how—how much calmer and more peaceful you have been of late.’ « ¢ He turned his eyes to me and smiled. ‘ Ah, yes,’ he said, in that soft pleasant voice of his. ‘I imow what you mean. But the knowledge of my coming death was not the reason of the change. I have often thought I would tell you. I will tell you now. You are referring to the fuss I used to make over the illustrations? Yes, yes ; of course.’ “* You grew resigned?’ I suggested. « «No it was not resignation ; it was action. It began this way: One night after I had been storming at the Club at one of the blocks to a story of mine in the Park Lane Magazine, | came home here, still fuming, and found the artist waiting for me. He had come to ask me some- thing about the illustration for the next number, of which he had brought a sketch. It was a horrible thing, worse even than the one which had driven me almost mad ; but the wretched man was quite complacent ; and I suppose his complacency upset me, for as he gazed at the sketch admiringly, with his head on one side and a conceited smile across his stupid face, I caught up the poker and struck him on the back of the head. He fell without a word or a groan, and, after tearing up the sketch and carefully burning it, I knelt down and examined him. He was quite dead ; oh quite. It was a great nuisance, of course, and I was very much annoyed, for I assure you, my dear fellow, that I did not intend to kill him. But the thing was done ; and as I hate any thing like a fuss—I fear that some men you and I know would have used this affair as an advertisement !—I said nothing about it; but later on, when my house- keeper and the servants had gone to bed, I dug a grave in the garden and buried him.’ ” “ Wilders was silent for amoment or two, and then he continued reflectively, with that pensive smile which made his face almost womanly in its ‘softness : “<T am quite convinced, my dear boy, that we literary men don’t take enough exercise. Jor instance, up to that time I used to be a bad sleeper ; it was not exactly insomnia, you know, but I was just a bad sleeper. That night after digging the grave I slept like a top. Of course it was the healthy exercise, the good smell of the newly turned earth, the work in the fresh air, the pleasant excitement accompanying the wholesome physical exercise. Oh, of course J am not forget- ting the soothing influence of an approving con- science. We are all so selfish ; we so loathe to do 187 good if the doing of it should entail a little trouble. But this affair was a lesson to me, a kind of inspiration. I think scarcely a week passed without my disposing of an artist. No; I did not again use the poker. You know how I detest physical violence. A blow is crude, brutal ; and, my dear Gorham, we must consider the feelings of even the lowest types of humanity. Think of the shock of a sudden blow! No; I used to invite them up to chat over their drawings and give them a glass of wine. There is very little taste in cyanide, you know, and it works with charming celerity. I am glad to think that they never, or scarcely ever, endured a pang. And I always buried them myself. You have no idea how soon I learned to dig even a full-sized grave quickly and neatly. I have often thought that if literature failed me I shoald apply for a sexton’s place. It is a peaceful, wholesome occupation. It is the contemplative man’s vocation.’ “ He was silent for a minute or two, then he said : “Do you think you could drag the bed a little nearer the window ? Thanks, thanks! Yes, lam sorry to leave my garden. It hasn’t many flowers— for obvious reasons ; but I have grown toloveit. I have “ got ” most of my books there, strolling round or sitting in that rustic seat under the plane-tree in the corner. I worked out “ Anabel-Snow ” there.’ «<< The sweetest, the most pathetic, and the most tender of idylls,’ I said. «You are good to say so, dear fellow,’ he mur- mured shyly, his eyes growing moist: you know how he used to melt at a word of praise from one one of us. ‘I don’t think it could have been written anywhere. : . . [am glad [have mentioned that little matter. I—ah, well! I don’t want to talk of example and the rest of it; but, my dear lad, if at any time you should be tempted to turn aside from the performance of an obvious duty just remember the comfort and consolation, the deep and lasting peace, which the discharge of this duty of mine has brought to me.... How exquisitely the moonlight falls on the grass-plot ! Tt is a little uneven; I never could succeed in relaying the sods quite level, quite as they were before. But the next man should grow some good flowers there—the soil must be rich. Will you give me a drink? Thanks, dear Gorham ! T think I can go to sleep now; our talk has soothed me.’ « Tt was his last sleep, as you know,” concluded Gorham, almost inaudibly. Blossop turned his face to the fire and blew his nose loudly. “He was a good man,” he said in a smothered voice ; and we nodded assent. None of us could speak, and there were tears in all our eyes. CHARLES GARVICE. THE AUTHOR. CORRESPONDENCE. —+—<—+ —_ Tue UNIT or An EDITION. Srr,—Much has been gained by the distinction between an edition and an impression. The question of the unit of either is not so easily settled. Much may be said for the unit of 1,000 and the designation of “half edition” or “ quarter edition” where 500 or 250 copies are printed. But there can be no difficulty in stating the actual number of the copies printed, and such a statement would, I submit, be more satisfactory to all persons interested. Perhaps the best solution is to leave the matter to be settled by the discretion of individual producers, and not to overdo the number of general rules which cannot bind anybody. A more important point, and a point so important that compulsory legislation might be brought to bear upon it, is the statement of the date of publication upon the title page. Yours obediently, J. M. Luty. 1+ Sir,—In The Author for January Mr. Lewis Melville writes of Trollope that he “is not dis- appearing, he has disappeared,” and that it is impossible to obtain a set of his best works, If the first of these assertions has ever been true, which I am rather inclined to doubt, it has certainly not been applicable to the United States during the past year or two. There has, indeed, been a regular “boom” in Trollope. I have found it difficult to get his best novels from the public libraries of New York and Cambridge, and the librarians informed me that they were in great demand. Paragraphs or articles about Trollope are constantly appearing in daily, weekly, or monthly periodicals, and his name turns up at social gatherings with almost as much frequency as those of present-day favourites like Mrs. Whar- ton or Miss May Sinclair. Messrs. Dodd, Mead & Co. are publishing an excellent edition of his novels. I imagine if Baron Tauchnitz were asked, he would be able to tell of a pretty steady sale of Trollope’s works. At any rate, during my present visit to the United States I have seen more Tauchnitz copies of Trollope than of any other single author ; and Tauchnitz reprints are pretty common over here. I would therefore humbly submit that Mr. Melviile’s attitude towards Trollope is rather belated, or, at any rate, insular. Yours very truly, James F, MuIRHEAD. 6, Riedesel Avenue, Cambridge, Mass. A Missine Vouume. Srr,—Since my communications to The Author of November and December last, certain develop- ments, which may prove of interest to members, have occurred in connection with the old novel “ Rebecca, or the Victim of Duplicity,” whose third volume is still eagerly sought. In the first place we succeeded in tracing, through the kind offices of a gentleman in Paris, a catalogue for 1815 of the publishers of the book, Messrs, Lackington, Allen & Co., London, with a brief extract from a notice thereon, culled from The European Magazine, but without any date. This, however, was soon supplied, and the loan obtained from another friend of the volume of the magazine, January to June, 1808, in the March number of which appears an exhaustive review of “ Rebecca,” signed J. M., the initials, it is assumed, of Joseph Moser, a well-known contributor to The European und like periodicals of his time. Happily, the doubt which prevails in some minds as to any existence after all of a third volume is now quite set at rest, although we have not been so fortunate in establishing the identity of the writer. The fact, however, that ‘* Rebecca” was printed at Uttoxeter, whence was also issued, in the year 1821, a work entitled ‘“* Tales Serious and Instruc- tive,” by Ann Catherine Holbrook, distinctly lends colour to the inference that this lady was the authoress. J. M. was apparently ignorant of the name of the writer, as, although he attributes the authorship to a male—we find the words “he,” “him,” “his” often employed—no other indica- tion is ever given, so he was probably unable to pierce the mask of anonymity. ; The motive of the book was to lash unmercifully the evils of some “new philosophy ” which obtained at that period, and a discourse anent which occupies much space at the commencement of a very able criticism highly appreciative of the novelist’s efforts and the power of his, or her, denunciations. The book must have created some stir in its day, and have contained scenes of a most pathetic, harrowing description, calculated forcibly to im- press upon its readers the lessons of tolerance and Christianity it was the object of the author, or authoress, to convey. It has been suggested how it would be appro- priate to reprint the novel at Uttoxeter on the occasion of its centenary. But we must first trace that missing third volume. CEcIL CLARKE. Authors’ Club, 8.W. to Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 16 Issue 06 (March 1906) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 06 (March 1906) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1906-03-01-The-Author-16-6 publications The Author