LONDON TABLE TALK.

Evening Star, Issue 8771, 11 March 1892, Page 4

LONDON TABLE TALK.

|From Our Special Correspondent.] London, January 23. LITERARY NOTES. Whether novel-writing pays or not may be judged from the fact that though Mrs Riddell has brought out twenty-eight stories, the majority of which have run into a second and some into third and fourth editions, her income from authorship has never exceeded L 270 a year. Amongst her moat successful works may be mentioned ' George Goith, of Fenn Court' (an excellent pioturo of City life twenty years ago), ' A Life's Assize,' »Austin Friars,' • The Senior Partner,' and * A Struggle for Fame' (in which some of the hard-worked lady's own experiences are embodied). Tillotsons have paid Hall Caine a large sum for a short story entitled ' The Last Confession,' which they are now retailing to a syndicate of London and provincial papers. Amongst American successes reprinted over here during the last few months, I find I overlooked ' My Official Wife,' by Colonel Richard Savage, a briskly-written story of some highly embarrassing and dangerous adventures in Russia. Tempted in a weak moment by a pair of beautiful eyes, Colonel Lenox allows a fascinating stranger to pass iato Rutsia as hid wife, who is really in Parif. The pseudo Mra Lenox turns out to be a desperate Nihilist, and before he comprehends what has happened the colonel finds himself enmeshed in a network of dangerous intrigue. As the beautiful American wife of Lenox the daring conspirator goes to a State ball at St. Petersburg, and is just about to shoot the Czar when some opium the colonel has judiciously administered overcomes her. 'My Official Wife' ooats 2s. The most important of the numerous monographs on ' Cardinal Manning ' sure to follow hia death will ba the one by A. W. Hutton that Methvena are publishing, For this His Eminence himself supplied most of the matter.

Mr 3 Richmond Ritchie haß at length been persuaded to undertake a comprehensive life of her father on tho lines of Forster's ' Dickens.'

A new serio-comic weekly, called the ' Free Lance,' is promised for Sunday, the 7th prox. The editor will be " the party by the name of Johnson," wrv) wrote stories called ' Jack of Hearts' and ' Honors Divided,' which had some small vogue a few years ago. H. J. Johnson (that is the full name) also compiled the farce ' Back in F.ve Minutes,' recently running at the Strand. E, J. Goodman's prize novel, 'The Only Witness,' has been reissued, with the final chapter added, Did I ever tell you that Lady Ponsonby (the wife of the Queen's secretary) guessed the correct denouement and pocketed the L3O prize. Mr Goodman (this between ourcelves) isn't very angry if you poke him in the ribs and say you know for a fact tho real gucsser was not Lady Ponsonby, but another and a much more exalted lady. He smilingly admits the poaidbiiity, and tii-s to look mysterious. Tlie really remarkable featuro about all these competitions is that tho winner invariably proves to be a porson of prominence in the world, and not a mere common middle - clasa Brown or Jones or Smith ! This was very oddly illustrated in the strange case of the ' Tit Bits' Ll.ooo priza novel. One fully expected a bran-new-genius to stand revealed when the winner came to be announcsd. Not a bit of it. Grant Allen, you may remember, was the lucky man. Well, well; what a world of coincidences this is. Grant Allen's getting the 1,1,000 proved a capital advertisement for ' Tit lilts,' wheread had some unknown obtained it thcro would have been none at r-.11.

Few persons know more about tho stormy south-west coaau of Ireland than Mr Graves, the writer of political t quib:-, etc. He fells rue a one volume story o? County Cork, called ' Naboth'H Vineyard' (published by Giiiiith nud Farran at 3j CJ), contains a remarkable, because absolutely faithful, picture of life in un Irish Ashing village. Tti9 writers are E, Somer villa an J Murtin Ross, probably young folks who will do more important work presently. Mpnnwhile give them encouragement by reading'Nr.ooth'a Vineyard,' and learning how eld Donovan, the Gombeen man of R,oasbrin, coveted the Widow Leonard's farm of Drimnah',on, and ia order to compass pos3-.-33ion deluded the villagers into boycotting the stout-hearted dame and her pretty daughter. You will grow furious as you read of tho poor women'.) cattle being killed and their haystacks burnt, and rejoice when young Rick O'Grady comes to the rescue. O'Gsady discovers the Laud League have given no orders for the. boycotting of the tenants of Drimnahoon, and he arranges to laud the Gombeen man in gaol. Fortunately Donovan saves Rick the trouble by breaking his neck. The young man thereupon marries Eily Leonard, and they live happily ever after, etc. Tho new half a crown (net) edition of Lang's critical tour de. force, ' Letters to Old Friend a,' is, iu my humblo opinion, preferable to the original six shilliug one, tho type of which ia clumsily large, If you don't already know this book, by all means borrow it. Some people enjoy reading the letters immensely, and consider tb-a work the author's best. I shouldn'c care to go quite as far as that, though I admit that both as studies of style and careful criticisms many of tho epistles are admirable. But a little of them at a time goes a long way with me.

Rider Haggard, who haa been extensively interviewed for the 'Straod Magazine,' considers ' Eric Biightoyes ' his vhe.f d'c&uvrt so far, though he implies that the Mexican romanoa he haa in hand will be more popular with the public. Mr HiggirJ, who is & country gentleman, residing on his estate (DitchiDgham Manor) in Norfolk, writes about 4,000 words a day, sitting at his desk from four to seven in the afternoon, and again for an hour or so after dinuer. The novelist hid intended to settle in the Transvaal, and purchased propsrty there, but the disgrace of cur surrender to the Boers drove him out of South Africa. His centinicnts on this subject are apparent in several of the Haggardiao novelp, notably 'Jess.' When the ex-settler returned to England lie waa called to the Bar, and had begun to practise in the Court of Probate when ' King Solomon's Mines' made him suddenly famous. Before that time I had read and warmly commended to you ' The Witch's Head,' bo that I was curious concerning the happily-christened ' King Solomon's Miues,' and got an early copy. In my next letter tho story was stamped aa the gift book of the season. Since then, Mr Haggard's reputation has both waxed and waned. It in all probability reached its apogee with the completion of ' She,' and fell to ita lowest point at the publication of 'Colonel Quaritcb, V.C Latterly the tide haa been rising again. ' Erioßrighteyes' almost everyone approved, and ' Nada, the Lily,' now running in tho ' Illustrated,' promises well.

Robert Louis Stevenson has been writing Home very fierce letters about the overoandid friends who, in the newspapers and elsewhere, hinted that the climate of Samoa didn't appear to be brightening his intellect. There is nothing, Stevenson declares, in Samoa which predisposes towards indolence or lethargy. He is not tired of his island homo, and feels no disposition whatever to return to civilisation. London would be abhorrent to him, and not even the society of " dear Andrew with the brindled hair " could make the Savile Club tolerable.