Literary Byways Part 3

Large sums of money were made by George Eliot, but we must not forget that she had some weary years to wait for the days of prosperity, and that the story of her life contains many records of disappointment after brave struggles. We read of her living in humble apartments in London; to earn a little money, which she much needed when she went to Switzerland in 1849, she tried to sell her books and globes. It was not until she was forty years of age that she established a reputation by the publication of "Adam Bede." She received in cash down, for the first sale of her book, some 40,000, or about 2,000 a year. George Eliot had a great objection to her novels appearing in serial form, and she sacrificed much money by not first publishing them in the magazines. Ouida had for a long time the same objection to her stories being published piecemeal in newspapers and periodicals. She now appears to have got over her prejudice in this matter, and consents to write for newspaper readers. It is generally believed amongst literary and journalistic men, that she is not a brilliant success as a newspaper novelist, yet Ouida's income as an author must be very great. The reader of the weekly paper in which fiction forms a feature is not educated up to her standard; authors like those engaged on the _Family Herald_ and similar journals are much more popular.

It is pleasing to state that Mr. John Ruskin has made large sums with his books, but not so much, we think, as his merits ent.i.tle him to receive.

We have seen it stated that by "Oceana," by no means a large volume, Mr.

Froude cleared 10,000.

In the "Life of Longfellow," written by his brother, are a few particulars of his earnings. During 1825--the last year of his college course--he contributed poems to the United States _Literary Gazette_, and was paid one or two dollars a poem, the price depending on the length of the piece.

He wrote, in 1840-1, "The Village Blacksmith," "Endymion," and "G.o.d's Acre," and was paid fifteen dollars each. When his fame was fully established, Mr. Bonner the publisher of the _New York Ledger_, paid him, for the right of publishing in that paper, 3,000 dollars for "The Hanging of the Crane."

Lord Tennyson received considerable sums for his poetry. He was paid 100 for the right of printing a short original poem in a monthly magazine. For his ballad, "The Revenge," in the _Nineteenth Century_, he received 300 guineas. It became known some time ago that his lordship did not deem 5,000 a year a sufficient sum for the exclusive right of publishing his works. He changed his publishers several times. He was regarded as a keen man of business, and it is said that he generally got the best of the bargain.

Money never tempted Robert Browning to contribute to the magazines. His poems always saw the light in book form.

Mr. J. Cuthbert Hadden, who has made a study of this subject, says the supply of verse to-day is greatly in excess of the demand, and so it happens that in many quarters poetry is not paid for at all. Most of the minor poets whose volumes come before the public have to bear the whole expense of production themselves, and only a very small number escape without considerable loss. In this connection an amusing story regarding James Russell Lowell--not quite a minor poet--may be quoted. The cost of publishing his first book was borne entirely by Mr. Lowell himself, the edition being a plain but substantial one of 500 copies. The author felt the usual pride in his achievement, and hoped for almost immediate fame.

Unhappily, only a few copies of the work were sold. Soon after, a fire occurred in the publishing house where the volumes were stored, and they were destroyed. As the publisher carried a full insurance on the stock, Mr. Lowell was able to realise the full cash value on his venture, and he had the satisfaction of saying that the entire edition was exhausted.

The leading American novelists usually get 1,000 for a serial story in a magazine, and a similar sum when it is produced in book form. Bret Harte can command a thousand dollars for a single magazine article. Mrs. Grant received a cheque for 40,000 for her share of the first volume of General Grant's "Memoirs," and the whole of her share of the proceeds is put down at 100,000.

In closing, we must remind our readers that there are two sides to every picture, and that countless instances of bitter disappointment and death are recorded in the annals of literature. Only a few in the mighty army of writers come to the front and win fame and fortune.

"Declined with Thanks."

"Declined with thanks," is a phrase which often disappoints the aspirant in the wide field of literature. Works of the highest merit are frequently rejected by publishers; indeed, some of the most popular books in our language have gone the rounds of the trade without their merits being recognised. Frequently the authors, after repeated failures, have brought their works out at their own risk, and have thereby won fame and fortune.

In works of fiction, perhaps the most notable example of a story which was offered to publisher after publisher only to be returned to its author, is that of "Robinson Crusoe." It was at last "Printed for W. Taylor, at the Ship in Paternoster Row, MDCCXIX." It proved a good speculation for the lucky publisher. He made a profit of one hundred thousand pounds out of the venture. Jane Austen's name stands high in the annals of English literature; yet she had a struggle to get her books published. She sold her "Northanger Abbey" to a Bath bookseller for the insignificant sum of ten pounds. The ma.n.u.script remained for some time in his possession without being printed, he fearing that if published it would prove a failure. He was, however, at length induced to issue it, and its merits caused it to be extensively read. Samuel Warren could not prevail upon a publisher to bring out his well-known book, "The Diary of a late Physician," and, much against his inclination, it was first given to the reading public as a serial in "Blackwood's Magazine." Thackeray wrote his great novel, "Vanity Fair," for "Colburn's Magazine"; it was refused by the publishers, who deemed it a work without interest. He tried to place it with several of the leading London firms who all declined it. He finally issued it in monthly parts, and by it his fame as a novelist was established.

It will surprise many to learn that the first volume of Hans Christian Andersen's "Fairy Tales" was declined by every publisher in Copenhagen.

The book was brought out at the author's own cost, and the charming collection of stories gained for him world-wide renown. The Rev. James Beresford could not induce any publisher to pay twenty pounds for his amusing volume, ent.i.tled "The Miseries of Human Life." It was after some delay issued, and in twelve months pa.s.sed through nine editions. A humorous notice by Sir Walter Scott in the "Edinburgh Review" doubtless did much to increase the circulation of the book. The handsome sum of five thousand pounds profit was cleared out of this happy venture. In an able work by a leading American critic, ent.i.tled "American Publishers and English Authors," it is stated that "'Jane Eyre' went the round of the publishing houses of London, but could not find a market until the daughter of a publisher accidentally discovered the ma.n.u.script in an iron safe, where it had been lying until it was mouldy. She saw the extraordinary merit of the novel, and induced her father to publish it."

The foregoing statement is incorrect. As a matter of fact, the ma.n.u.script was sent by rail to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co., on the 24th August, 1847, and by the 16th of October in the same year the firm issued the novel.

According to Mrs. Gaskell's "Life of Charlotte Bronte," the future publishers of "Jane Eyre" were at once most favourably impressed with the book, and this is fully confirmed by the prompt publication of it.

Respecting its reception by the firm, says Mrs. Gaskell, "the first reader of the ma.n.u.script was so powerfully struck by the character of the tale, that he reported his impression in very strong terms to Mr. Smith, who appears to have been much amused by the admiration excited. 'You seem to have been so much enchanted, that I do not know how to believe you,' he laughingly said. But when a second reader, in the person of a clear-headed Scotchman, not given to enthusiasm, had taken the ma.n.u.script home in the evening, and become so deeply interested in it as to sit up half the night to finish it, Mr. Smith's curiosity was sufficiently excited to prompt him to read it for himself; and great as were the praises which had been bestowed upon it, he found that they did not exceed the truth." The first novel Miss Bronte wrote was ent.i.tled "The Professor," which was submitted to numerous publishers without finding one to accept it. It was not issued until after the death of the gifted author, and is much inferior to her other books. Says Mrs. Gaskell, "Mr. Smith has told me a little circ.u.mstance connected with the reception of this ma.n.u.script, which seems indicative of no ordinary character. It came in a brown paper parcel to 65, Cornhill. Besides the address to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co., there were on it those of other publishers to whom the tale had been sent, not obliterated, but simply scored through, so that Mr. Smith at once perceived the names of some of the houses in the trade to which the unlucky parcel had gone, without success."

Sterne could not find a bookseller who would pay fifty pounds for "Tristram Shandy," he therefore issued it on his own account, and it proved a saleable work, gaining for its author a front place amongst English humorists. Mrs. Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was written as a serial for the "National Era," an anti-slavery journal published at Washington. It was next offered to Messrs. Jewett & Co., but their reader and critic p.r.o.nounced it not a story of sufficient interest to be worth reproducing in book form. The wife of the latter strenuously insisted that it would meet with a favourable reception, and advised its publication. In a notice of Mrs. Stowe, it is stated that in four years 313,000 copies had been printed in the United States alone, probably as many more in Great Britain. Miss Warner's popular novel, "The Wide, Wide World," was declined by a leading New York publisher. It is said that several well-known houses refused to have anything to do with one of the most popular books of recent times, "Vice Versa"; even when in type, two American firms did not discover its worth, and rejected it.

Some notable books in history, travels, poetry, and science have been "Declined with thanks." Both Murray and Longman were afraid to risk the publication of Prescott's "Ferdinand and Isabella," but Bentley brought out the book, and according to his statement it is the most successful work that he has published. A score of houses refused to publish "Eothen."

The author in despair handed his ma.n.u.script to one of the lesser known booksellers, and printed it at his own cost; it was extremely successful.

After twenty-five editions of Buchan's "Domestic Medicine" had been sold, one thousand six hundred pounds was paid for the copyright, yet, strange to state, before it was published not a single firm in Edinburgh would pay a hundred pounds for it. Strahan, the King's printer, had offered to him the first volume of Blair's "Sermons," and, after a careful perusal, concluded that the work would not be one to find a ready sale. Dr.

Johnson, however, came to the rescue, and with his eloquence induced Mr.

Strahan to pay a hundred pounds for the copyright. It had a large circulation; for a second volume, three hundred pounds was the amount gladly paid, and for subsequent volumes six hundred pounds each.

Sir Richard Phillips rejected several famous books. It was to this bookseller and publisher that Robert Bloomfield offered the copyright of his "Farmer's Boy" in return for a dozen copies of the work when printed.

He feared it would be a failure, and declined it. The poet issued it by subscription, and within three years 25,000 copies were sold. This publisher is said to have had offered to him Byron's early poems. He might have purchased the copyright of "Waverley" for thirty pounds, but declined it! He rejected other works which won favourable reception from the press and the public. It is only right to state that he gave to the world many valuable volumes, and that he was a man of decided literary ability. A paragraph went the rounds of the literary press after the death of Mr. J.

H. Parker, the well-known Oxford publisher, stating that the copyright of Keble's "Christian Year" was offered to Joseph Parker for the sum of twenty pounds and refused. It was further stated that "during the forty years which followed the publication of this work nearly 400,000 copies were sold, and Mr. Keble's share of the profits amounted to fourteen thousand pounds, being one-fourth the retail price." The brothers Smith desired to sell for twenty pounds to Mr. Murray their celebrated "Rejected Addresses," but the great publisher declined the proposal with thanks.

They resolved to bring out the book at their own risk. It hit the popular taste, and after sixteen editions had been sold, Mr. Murray paid for the copyright one hundred and thirty-one pounds. The poems yielded the authors over a thousand pounds.

Editors of newspapers and magazines have often made ludicrous blunders in rejecting poems of sterling merit. It is generally known that the editor of the _Greenock Advertiser_ expressed his regret that he could not insert in his newspaper one of Thomas Campbell's best poems on account of it not being quite up to his standard.

The Rev. Charles Wolfe submitted to the editor of a leading magazine his famous ode on "The Burial of Sir John Moore," but it was rejected in such a scornful manner as to cause the writer to hand it to the editor of _The Newry Telegraph_, an Ulster newspaper of no standing as a literary journal. It was published in 1817, in that obscure paper, with the initials of "C. W." It was reproduced in various publications, and attracted great attention. It is one of the best in our limited number of pieces of martial poetry.

Epigrams on Authors.

The epigram is of considerable antiquity. The Greeks placed on their monuments, statues, and tombs, short poetical inscriptions, written in a simple style, and it was from this practice that we derive the epigram. In the earlier examples we fail to find any traces of satire which is now its chief characteristic. The Romans were the first to give a satirical turn to this cla.s.s of literature. Amongst the writers of Latin epigrams, Catullus and Martial occupy leading places. The French are, perhaps, the most gifted writers of epigrams. German epigrammatists have put into verse moral proverbs. Schiller and Goethe did not, however, follow the usual practice of their countrymen, but wrote many satirical epigrams, having great force. Many of our English poets have displayed a fine faculty of writing epigrams.

The birthplace of Homer is a disputed point, and has given rise to not a few essays and epigrams. Thomas Heywood, in one of his poetical publications, published in 1640, wrote:--

"Seven cities warr'd for Homer, being dead, Who, living, had no roof to shroud his head."

Much in the same strain wrote Thomas Seward, a century and a half later:--

"Seven wealthy towns contend for Homer dead, Through which the living Homer begg'd his bread."

The two writers have not stated fully the number of cities which claim to have given birth to Homer. The number is nearer twenty than seven. Pope, in his translation of Homer, was a.s.sisted by a poet named William Broome, a circ.u.mstance which prompted John Henley to pen the following:--

"Pope came off clean with Homer; but, they say, Broome went before, and kindly swept the way."

Butler, the author of "Hudibras," was much neglected during his life. It is true that Charles II. and his courtiers read and were delighted with his poem, but they did not extend to him any patronage. The greater part of his days were pa.s.sed in obscurity and poverty. He had been buried about forty years when a monument was placed in Westminster Abbey to his memory, by John Barber, a printer, and afterwards an Alderman and Lord Mayor of London. Samuel Wesley wrote on the memorial the following lines:--

"Whilst Butler, needy wretch! was yet alive, No gen'rous patron would a dinner give; See him, when starved to death, and turn'd to dust, Presented with a monumental bust!

The poet's fate is here in emblem shown,-- He asked for bread, and he receiv'd a stone."

An epitaph similar in sentiment to the foregoing was placed by Horace Walpole over the remains of Theodore, King of Corsica, who, after many trials and disappointments, ended his life as a prisoner for debt in King's Bench, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Anne's, Westminster:--

"The grave, great teacher, to a level brings Heroes and beggars, galley slaves and kings.

But Theodore this moral learn'd ere dead; Fate pour'd its lesson on his living head; Bestow'd a kingdom, and denied him bread."

The fourth Earl of Chesterfield, on seeing a whole-length portrait of Nash between the busts of Sir Isaac Newton and Pope in the rooms at Bath, wrote as follows:--

"Immortal Newton never spoke More truth than here you'll find; Nor Pope himself e'er penn'd a joke More cruel on mankind.

The picture, plac'd the busts between, Gives satire all its strength: Wisdom and Wit are little seen, But Folly at full length."

Stephen Duck's poetry and progress in life gave rise to some lively lines by the lampooners of the eighteenth century. He was an agricultural labourer, having a thirst for knowledge and some skill as a writer of verse. This humble and self-taught student was brought under the notice of Queen Caroline, who was much interested in his welfare, and pleased with his poetry; she granted him a pension of 30 a year. He was next made a yeoman of the guard, an appointment he did not long retain, for he was advanced to the position of a clergyman in the Church of England, and presented to the living of Byfleet, Surrey. It is to be feared that his education was not sufficiently liberal for a clerk in holy orders. Dean Swift a.s.sailed the poor poet as follows:--

"The thresher Duck could o'er the Queen prevail; The proverb says 'No fence against a flail.'

From threshing corn he turns to thresh his brains, For which Her Majesty allows him grains.

Though 'tis confess'd that those who ever saw His poems, think them all not worth a straw.

Thrice happy Duck, employed in threshing stubble!

Thy toil is lessen'd and thy profits doubled."

The want of dignity displayed in the foregoing is unworthy of Swift, and the reply as follows made by Duck is certainly much to his credit:--

"You think it, censor, mighty strange That, born a country clown, I should my first profession change And wear a chaplain's gown!