LITERARY GOSSIP

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14406, 13 July 1912, Page 9

LITERARY GOSSIP

Those who have wished to buy Walter Pater's books and have been prevented by tho price, will be interested in the following from a Glasgow paper: — "Walter Pater's 'Studies in the History of the Renaissance,' first published in 1873. tho work which revealed him as a penetrating critic with a splendid stylo, and established him as tho legitimate successor to Ruskin in tho realm of aesthetic thought, is now announced at a shilling. To descend from half-a-guinea to a shilling without any.intermediate steps is a precipitation that does not say much for the business acumen of the persons responsible. It was folly to maintain Pater's books so long at prices which confined their acquisition to the class which has least interest in.books of tho land. As a. rule the men who could afford to spend fifteen shillings on 'Marius the Epicurean' prefer to buy golf-balls with the money." There arc other books about-which similar remarks might justifiably be made—Swinburne's poems for instance*. Why we have to wait so long for a cheap edition of- Sv/inburne is a mystery. There must bo thousands of lovers of poetry who would dearly liko to possess him, but the- price is prohibitive to the slender puree. It is nearly iifty years since "Atalanta in Calydon" burst upon a delighted world, but the price, to-day is some seven shdl--1 lings, and that for a book which althcugh golden in its contents, is thin in bulk. The "Poems and Ballads" published not long afterwards, are even moro expensive. There is a selection of Swinburne's poems published by his publishers, but the selection is poor, and the book is not really cheap. One of the most interesting manuscripts which was to bo offered for sale at Sotheby's recently was a letter from tho Rev. C. L. Dodgson ("Lewis Carroll"), addressed to Tom Taylor, dated December 20th, 1863, in which tho writer asks for an introduction to John Tenniel, whom lie wants to draw a dozen wood-cuts to illustrate a child's book, which he lias himself illustrated in pen and iijk. "I want some- figurepictures done in pure outline," he writes, "or nearly so, and of all artists on wood, i should prefer Mr Tenniel. . . . I would send him the book to look over, not that lie should at all follow my pictures, but si-mply to give him an idea of tho sort of - thing I •want." Tenniel, as r.-c all know, fcL in with the suggestion, and the result of the collaboration was one of the most popular children's books of the nineteenth century. ' It is fifty years since the publication of Fiaubervs "Salamnibo"; and some correspondence has been disinterred showing what were tho great novelist's emoluments for his masterpiece. He sold it for 10,000 francs; but he wrote to the correspondent to whom ho gave the information: —"Tell no one. Levy is £oing to boom 'Salammbo,' and to send paragraphs to .ill tho papers to tho effect that ho paid 80,000 francs for it." Hut 10,000 francs is only £100,- and •'Salammbo" took Flaubert five years to write. His literary income, therefore, worked out at £80 a year; so that it was very fortunate rot him that ho possessed private means. Mr Coulson Kernnhim tells, on the authority of the late Tvlr Edward Whymper in tho June "Strand," a story of Tennyson which limy or may not have already got into print. At a garden-party a rather gushing young Siirl wont up to the hostess ar.d said: — '•Oh, is thf.t- really, as I'm told, Lord Tennyson sitting there by himself smoking on that rustic seat?" "Yes. my dear, that is he," was the reply. "Ob, I should so liko to meet him. Do introduce mc/ , said the girl. '.'.My dear, Lord Tennyson hates to be bothered by strangers." answered the hostess, "'nnd one reason, jxjrhaps, why he conre'e- to Mivsne is that ho knows t never exploit him in that way."' "Oh. Imfc I should Idvp to bo able to saf , l've"ir.et him," ;:orsisted tho. other. "Well, say you have niet him and leave it at that." was the answer. Tho girl, however, would take no refusal. ''Lord Tennyson." said tho, hostess, when'the tv.o had walked together u> the sent where tho Laureate was sir.okiny, ''this i , * Miss B . daughter of an old friend of mine, who is vary, very anxious to hnrr , the honour of saying .''How 'do you do?' to yon/ "How d'yon <h>'r" respr.nderl Tennyson gruffly and scarcely looking up. .Seating ljersslf beside- him, tho ctirl attempted Awkwardly to carry on some sort of conversation, but as ail slip, got in reply was .in occasional "Humph" or else stony silence, she lost h«- nerve and began, schoolgirl-wis<\ to. wriggle and to fidget in her seat. Then tho great man srobo. "You're like the rest of them." he grunted. "'You're laced too tightly. I can hear your stays creak," Abrwhed and embarrassed, the £i?l withdrow. Later in tho afternoon Tennyson eair.e behind her, and, laving a hand on her shoulder,

said kindly, "1 was wrong just now, young lady. It wasn't your stays 1 heard creaking,■ but my braces. They're hitched up too tightly. Sorry." And ho lounged away.

. Fifteen years or so ago (says the American "Bookman") there were scattered about tho country several thousand young men and women, in this case mostly men, who were busily engaged in writing ingenuous imitations of the then recently arrived -Man from Nowhere. Pens were gaily spattering ! white paper and brown paper and yellow paper with joyous Kiplihgese. The comiua and the semicolon wero temporarily forgotten. Every manuscript was sure to contain its "But that is another story." and somewhat palie imitations of "Mrs Hauksbee sprang up in every community in our land. Nor was thfs playing of the "sedulous apo' , confined to the hopelessly impossible. Men of very genuine- literary talent wero under the spell. Of. conrso they wero very young. The other day one of the most, delightful and accomplished writers of the younger school-was turning over tho pages of his first published book, a volume* of. college stories. There was one tale that told of tho attempted hazing of a freshman and its consequences. The writer pointed to it with a pathetic grin. "I couldn't see it then, but 1 can .see it so plainly now. Isn't story just Kipling's 'His Wedded Wife' in anotlier setting?" Since those days of the early Kipling thero have been many imitators, bul; no ono writer who could bo hold responsible for v school of imitators until tho arrival of ()• Honry (continues tho "Bookman"). Immediately after tho appearance of "Cabbages and Kings" there were a few who attempted to reproduce tho flavour, and with the publication of "The Voice of the City," '•The Four Million," and other books of stories .of Now York City tho few became legion. It was not in tho least surprising. Porter's malapropisrns wero in themselves a suggestion, and lie taught his followers a thousand obvious but unexpected places to which to turn lor romance. Every othor new story seemed to bo an answer to a challenge. Frank Xorris had said that tht> only three cities in tho United ■Mates that offered a real background: for fiction wwe New York, Chicago ami S:in* Francisco. Porter took a v USt " railro!ul description of -Vislnnlle, 1 ennessce—or was it Memphis ?—and produced the grim and powerful "A Municipal Report." Some one fleered at Fourth Avenue, New York, as a .street without possibilities. Porter s nnsrrcp wafe "A Bird of dad. But tjjo very assiduity «**<,. winch his imitators followed in his footsteps has made their efforts seem mere pathetic by comparison. . On !? «/, tlio Titanic survivors, Colonel Archibald Grade, an American, lost in tiie wreck the manuscript of a diplomatic history of the Anglo-American nl IS I - , /which ho had just completed. He has no duplicate ,, . According to an old Cockernioiith antiquary who knew Wordsworth, that poofc was one of the vainest and most eeir-conceited of men." This verdict is related by Mr J. S. Fletcher in his ■Memories of a Spectator," but the author himself would have awarded that palm to Proverbial Philosophy Tupper. In conversation with him fupper invariably referred to "Tennyson, Browning, and myself as the tlireo great poets of the day," though at that time ho had como down to writing articles for "The Koek" and for the educational magazine which Mr Fletcher was sub-editing. If anyone looks round for a monument to George Smith, long head of the firm of Smith, Elder, arid Company, he will find it in the "Dictionary of National Biography," perhaps the mo3t splendid publishing, enterprise of "thecentury (writes Sir Honry Lucy in the Sydney Morning Herald"). It .wa.-i one of those costiy enterprises upon which, only a man of princely nature would embark, unmindful of*the prospect of immediate return on his capital Ho lived to see the completion of tho work as originally planned. His successors in the firm have worthily 'continued his labours. A little more than ten years ago they ■ issued a supplement, being-tho record up to the death of Qiieen Victoria. A second supplon«ont in three . volumes is now ready, and will forthwith bo published at "a price that brings it within the reach of all who possess and love a library. Not less than 500 names appear in the first volume, including that of Kin" Edward VII., his biography. being written by Sir Sidney Lee, editor responsible for a considerable. portion of the. original volumes. Not less than ICG men of letters, all renowned, nre contributors to the volume.

Some of the demands made upon Melbourne booksellers are extra ordinary (says the "Australasian"), and one can only explain jt on the theory of* "ordering by ear''-r-or pound versus sense. One youth recently asked for Phil's works—ho particularly -wanted C.amille, by Dumas Fils. which he had seen at a picture show. Amongst demands by letter were:—"ln- Tune as for the Night." What lit* wanted was "In Tune with the Infinite." "The Kernel End of His Life" proved to be "Col. Endcrby's Wife," by Lucas Malet. A third demand was for ''Moses, by an Old Man," and tin; bookseller nmde a correct guess in sending: Hawthorne's "Messes from an Old Manse." "From tho Capo to Corio" was rather an easy Rtiesß, though a rather difficult railway route. "Send mc 'Pickwick Papers, , " wrote a country customer, "and if you haven't (jot the papers, send thr> book. ' It is sometimes the bookfxlbr who furnishes the entertainment instead of tho took. "Have you the Hammurabi Coder'- 1 ankorf a student nf Assyriolosjy in a Melbourne book-shop. "No," said the boy behind the counter confi-dcn-tially. "we 'Jon'fc kopp it, but we can give yon tho A.B.C-— fifth .edition."