ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue XXII, 30 May 1896, Page 625

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Notice to contributors.—Any letter* or MSS. reeieved by the Editor of the Nbw Zbaland Graphic will be immediately acknowledged in this column.

‘Miss Williams.’--Thanks; will do admirably. Kindly write for the future on one side of the paper only. Were your article not so good, I should have declined it because of its not complying with a usually well-under-stood press rule. I will do as you request, and publish it under your nom de plume, which, however, I have had some difficulty in deciphering.

‘ Pinto.’ —Your heroine is not one who can command anyone’ssy mpathy. She is a sickly, sentimental idiot without one redeeming quality. The hero is almost a poorer character. Indeed, by reason of his being a man he is far worse. Not one of your dramatis personnw is an agreeable, or pleasant companion. Their actions are contemptible, and if they are in the habit of conversing in the long and involved sentences in which you describe their most commonplace observations, I do not wonder that there are ' continual misunderstandings.’ Could you not cultivate for your future pen-and-ink characters a plainer manner of speech ? I do not mean that you should let them always say bluntly just what they think. That is amusing for perhaps one individual in a book ; but when they all express themselves with what they call outspoken frankness, which in reality is simply ill-bred ignorance, it becomes monotonous, and jars on the reader’s appreciation of what is comme il Jaut in polite society. If you can get hold of a volume of the sermons of the late Rev. James Vaughan, of Brighton, England, and study his very terse, pithy sentences, itwould tend to correct your tergiversation and long-windedness. I will quote two of your sentences : —‘ Crossing that ill-ploughed piece of agricultural domain which you,’ remarked Mr Bartley, turning with a sharp and somewhat accidulated glance to his unimpressionable wife, who was scolding Dolly for bestowing crumbs of bread on the domestic feline animal in the room usually employed by the family in which to partake of necessary refreshments, ‘ insisted with your ordinary stubbornness on being planted with spring wheat this season, which, of course, has been devoured by the omniverous hare, I observed that some portions of the soil had been conveyed by the heavy winter deluges from the heavens towards the creek, which you,’ turning a portion of his irate visage on his scowling eldest offspring, ‘ would interfere with in pursuit of your summer piscatorial pleasures.’ Here is the second, and I could quote many more, but fear to weary other correspondents : ‘ Yes, Plantagenet Richard, I have a remote feeling in the depths of my inner consciousness that may or may not be the dawning of an ardent or impulsive affection for the man whom I may one day choose from the large number of suppliants who daily kneel at my feet entreating for the honour of one word of encouragement or consolation from my hand, but who yet have, I sincerely and innocently believe,made no impression upon that part of my anatomy —wherever situated, usually called my heart, and who, therefore, though they may call themselves my lovers, can hardly expect that I should acknowledge such a title, even in the privacy of my inmost sanctuary to myself, and least of all, therefore, allowing for due maidenly modesty, can I explain to you whether or not I shall be able to consider your offer in a sympathetic and therefore hopeful spirit.’

• Feme Glenne.’—l like your fairy story, and have handed it to ‘ Cousin Kate ’ for her Children s Page. She desires me to express her thanks for it, and says it will speedily appear. With regard to the criticising thereof, I must compliment you on your clear, neat writing (no small boon to a weary editor), also on the welcome margin and size of paper, There is little to find fault with in the story itself. I should be inclined to change your sentence, ‘ His house was a gorgeous palace of silver and glass, that stood on a hill from whence you could see,’ etc., into * His house was a gorgeous palace of silver and glass, which stood on a hill whence you could see,’ etc. As for the plot of the story, of course it is just a fairy tale, and there is an orthodox sameness in that sort of literature, though I have not come across the idea of rats’ tails anywhere else.

The author of ‘Polly, the Red-haired;’ I do not know if you wish your real name used, but I am sure you will recognise the title of your story. In reference to your letter, let me call your attention, and also that of all contributors to the New Zealand Graphic, to this important request: When writing to the editor to draw attention to your MSS., kindly mention the title or name of the article forwarded. For instance, here is your letter :—‘ I am forwarding to you one of my short stories.’ You do not give its title, nor do you give on the MSS. itself your own name or your nom de plume. The letter

arrived by one post and the MSS. by another. Both, with sundry fresh tales, were placed each on its own file. When I came to examine them there was no clue in the letter as to which of the several new MSS. you referred, and there was no guide on the first page, nor indeed, on any part of the M.SS. as to its author and sender. This happens over and over again, and causes endless trouble in replying to letters and criticising manuscripts. Will all contributors kindly read, mark and learn these few words ? The story itself I regret to have to decline. It is very wishy-washy, and very decidedly uninteresting. Your women may be as beautiful as you say, but they have no minds ; and your men may be handsome but they have no brains.