Maghap you remember the story: A seedylooking fellow, with shiny Prince Albert coat, #spicions linen, and bag kneed trousers, enters the office of the managing editor of a great New York daily,

"I want a pac,"

"What have you been doing?"

"I was a minister, and I fell from grace; I was in business, and I failed; I was married, and my wife left me; I want to go to work on your newspaper,"

The managing editor taps his table with his pencil a moment, then he says, as he looks his visitor over:

"You are at outs with the world?" "Yes,"

"You feel bitter toward everybody?" "Yes."

"You'd like to get even with the world?" "Yes."

"All right; we want a book reviewer. Report for duty to morrow."

To the conscientious and capable reviewer and critic critic, whether of books, or plays, or music - the story has no application, and in the head of the man whose pen is feathered with malice, tipped with ignorance, and dipped in gall it may have no lodgment, but it serves to introduce a few words on the critic, and it is worth remembering.

he should be hailed as a saving friend. If he be unjust, he is no more to be noticed than the indolent donkey, whose worst feature is his braying.

And above all, a young writer, whose work may come sometime within the range of the critic's arrows, should remember that each critic is but one man with only one set of mental apparatus, not infrequently sadly out of repair at that. The critic is the critic, and the mighty world is the critic's critic. The man who thinks he can kill a book, or a play, or a symphony with his pen is the gambolling jester, in cap and bells and grotesquerie of garb, who pleases some, imitates others, and disgusts the many. The only thing in this world that can kill a book is the book itself.

Do you, in your writing, as you come more and more into public notice, shrink from criticisms? Do you cherish, if you will allow the word so to be used, a sharp pain in your heart, reminder of some wanton wound? Do you, if you have not yet crossed the line, and are still among the unobserved, dread the time which you long for the time when your name shall be both arrow and target?

Then take it to heart you are more or less a coward. The brave man or the brave woman welcomes the honorable critic as one who comes with surgeon's case in hand, ready for any emergency. The brave man or the brave woman looks upon the pretentious quack with due scorn.

Let me make two brief quotations, not for the

sake of passing judgment upon the authors of them, or of attempting to influence any one else. I make them to enforce the point, the central point, that the critic is the critic, and the critic alone. The first quotation is from THE WRITER, from the book reviews of the December number, excerpts from the review of "The Art of Playwriting," by Alfred Hennequin :

"The book is an excellent one; it is a 'practical treatise on the elements of dramatic construction, intended for the playwright, the student, and the dramatic critic.' . . . In succinct, clear, exhaustive English, he [ the author ] has summed up in his twenty-five chapters a great deal of information. ... The author shows, what so few young writers understand, why a play must be wholly different from what might make a good novel, and how the exigencies of the stage itself hem in and restrain the dramatist. The book is eminently practical; though it may not make a Shakespeare out of a Harvard student, still it will teach the latter what not to do. The young novelist, too, can find many good hints for plot-construction and dramatic action. . . . The Art of Playwriting' is practically a new book, filling a niche hitherto unoccupied."

Well and good: a kindly, and to all appearances a most judicious, critique.

But now read this from the Critic of current date-a criticism of the same book:

"As a matter of fact, the information contained

in it [the book under consideration] will be of very little service to anybody except the veriest novice, although most of it is accurate so far as it goes.... His [ the author's] definitions of theatrical phraseology, although correct in the main, add very little to the knowledge to be derived from any ordinary dictionary, and must be accounted rather a waste of energy; while in the attempt to provide a sort of formula for the construction of tragedy or comedy that might be of practical benefit to the budding dramatist, he set himself an almost hopeless task, of which he cannot be said to have acquitted himself very satisfactorily. . . . It is scarcely worth while to enter upon a discussion of the somewhat vague definitions of tragedy and comedy, and their subdivisions, which Mr. Hennequin has adopted, and it is not likely that they will meet with universal acceptance... In any event, he only touches the outside of his subject. The rules which he prescribes are elemental, and deal chiefly with things that for obvious mechanical and other reasons ought to be avoided. This is all well enough, but there is very little inspiration or assistance in it. The only way to learn how to write good plays is to study the best of those already in existence, in the library, and, when possible, on the stage."

No; the critic is not to be feared. He may be a splendid friend, or he may be a fat adder, robbed of his poison sac, but still seriously striving to be venomous, succeeding only in wriggling out his life a little sooner than nature intended. W. S. Harwood.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.

I note that on Page 277 of the December WRITER Some one asks whether there is such a phrase as "Death is preferable to a miserable existence," to which it is replied that it is not to be found in Bartlett's "Dictionary of Quotations." Of course, this does not imply that it is not quoted in some of the other dictionaries.

Speaking of that excellent work, my attention was some time ago called to the fact that, monumental as it is as a mine of research into the literature of many languages, it failed to note

the existence of sundry quotations that were familiar even to so limited a reader as myself.

Having occasion to correspond with Mr. Bartlett on another subject, I suggested this shortcoming, and he kindly replied that if I would make a list of the omitted phrases, he would discuss the matter with me.

A press of other engagements has prevented my taking advantage of his offer, but I will mention two that now occur to me.

Turning to the following page of THE WRITER, I find that "J. L. V." has made a

It is interesting to know in these days of wellpaid authorship that one of the most successful books in the English language, Richard Henry Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast," earned its author only $250 and a bonus of a dozen printed copies.

The Analostan Magazine is a new literary monthly, the first number of which has just been issued at Washington. Willis B. Hawkins is the editor.

A beautiful etching, "Waiting," from the painting by Sir J. D. Linton, is the frontispiece of the Magazine of Art (New York) for January. Among other excellent articles is one on "Embroidered Book Covers," with rare illustrations.

Colonel T. W. Higginson has been engaged by the city of Cambridge to prepare a memorial volume honoring F. H. Rindge, the city's generous benefactor.

F. T. Palgrave has just been reëlected to the chair of poetry at Oxford for a second term of five years.

The American Economic Association has offered prizes of $300 and $200 for the two best essays on Housing of the Poor in American Cities."

The New York Commercial Advertiser offers a prize of $75 for the best short story or sketch, limited to 2,500 words; a prize of $50 for the best full-page illustration, suitable for publication in the Christmas number, 1891; and a prize of $50 for the best Christmas carol or ode, suitable for publication in the Christmas number, 1891. The competition will be open until September 15, 1891.

Miss S. F. Price, who has collected, under the title "Songs of the Southland," some of the choicest poems of representative Southern writers, is a resident of Bowling Green, Ky.

Miss Tucker, otherwise "A. L. O. E." ( A Lady of England), and one of the most popular of the English religious writers, is now actively engaged in mission work in a city in Northern India. She is described as a charming old lady, living in a pretty little cottage, and spending the larger part of her days in visiting, praying, and singing with the women of the Zenanas.

W. H. Ballou's latest novel came very near striking a snag in the post-office, because it contains a chapter descriptive of the operations of the Louisiana lottery, with a quasi indorsement of the fairness of its drawings.

Miss Nordhoff, a daughter of Charles Nordhoff, of Washington, has finally, in spite of many obstacles, succeeded in mastering the bookbinder's trade. Her first efforts were made in England, but she found she could not be admitted to the craft, because she did not belong to a trades-union. She found the same trouble in America upon her return, and only her continued perseverance won her success.

A volume of "Studies in Literature," by John Morley, will be published by Macmillan & Co. within the next few weeks. It will be uniform with the collected edition of his writings, and will contain, among other papers, the address on the study of literature delivered at the Mansion House, and the address on aphorisms delivered at Edinburg.

The following letter from James Russell Lowell indicates that he will in the spring deliver a course of lectures under the auspices of the Lecture Association of the University of Pennsylvania, by a change of dates arranged with Professor Boyesen: –

ELMWOOD, CAMBRIDGE, Mass. DEAR SIR: Sickness is no doubt as unreasonable as it is inconvenient, and I was much more seriously ill last spring than you seem to think. At seventy-two one easily runs down in a month to a depth from which one is n't sure that he has climbed back again in six.

My complaint was one for my recovery from which absolute rest was prescribed, and, though I followed the irksome prescription faithfully for three months after leaving my bed, I had a relapse at the end of them. I am assured that if I can avoid another for a certain length of time, I may count with some confidence on an entire cure, and surely, from my point of view, this is worth trying for. I regretted, I may say bitterly, to put you again to any inconvenience, but I felt that I could not help it.

I see no reason now, if all go well with me, why I should not come in March. I should indeed feel it my duty. If I can go on gaining as I seem to be gaining now for a few months longer, I should feel safe. Or if I should have some relapses between now and then, and should find that they did not disable me, I should make up my mind to them as something to be reckoned with for the rest of my life, and put up with them accordingly. Therefore I am willing to say that I will come in March (much less risky season for me), "the act of God only excepted," as the bills of lading used to say. I will come if it be physically possible. Faithfully yours, GEORGE HENDERSON, Esq.

J. R. Lowell,

VOL. V.

Probably few persons unacquainted with the interior of a large printing-office realize how much trouble may be saved to compositors, copy-readers, proof-readers, and even to authors themselves, by attention on the part of the latter to a few minor details. Foremost among these is uniformity. The "copy" is portioned out, a few pages at a time, among several compositors, -enough to make three or four pages of printed matter being given to each. If on one page of copy it is stated that "Mount Washington is about six thousand feet high," and on another that 44 Mt. Holyoke is about 1,600 feet high," how is the compositor to whom the latter "take" falls to know whether his

No. 2.

predecessor has abbreviated "Mount" and put the number of feet in figures or not? To the proofreader it may be said, "Use some judgment; do not spell out numbers if there are a great many of them the near together"; but compositor, dealing with parts, cannot view his "take" in its proper relation to the whole. He has to spend his own time in correcting this lack of uniformity, and the proof-reader has to spend the time of the office, first in marking the alteration, and then in revising the proof when it is corrected.

A more serious perplexity to the proofreader occurs when proper names, technical terms, and the like, are variously spelled in copy. Anything with which a person of average intelligence cannot be expected to be familiar should be written with especial care, both as to correctness and legibility. If a reference to the works of the pioneer of English psalmody is written without any apostrophe, it will probably not be printed "Watts Hymns" or "Watt's Hymns"; but "Stephen's Pleading" may not fare so well. Much asking and answering of questions would be saved if titles of books were always written as they are to be printed, either uniformly in italic or uniformly in Roman and quoted, or uniformly in Roman and not quoted.

If it is borne in mind that the eye of the compositor cannot keep far in advance of the word he is setting, and that either to read and study over a passage before setting it, or to alter it after setting it, means a serious encroachment on the time of a "piece-worker," it will be easy to see the desirability of putting in at least the principal marks of punctuation. To leave the

beginning or end of a sentence shrouded in obscurity, to omit or misplace quotation marks, or to use dashes at random for commas, semicolons, and periods is inexcusable; as is also the neglect to indicate clearly where paragraphs are to be made.

Obscurity in regard to paragraphs frequently occurs when insertions are made in the manuscript, and may be remedied by making a paragraph mark ("T") where a break is desired' and drawing a curved connecting line or writing "join" or "no break at any ambiguous-looking place where a paragraph is not to be made. If these words are written in the same ink as the body of the manuscript, let them be encircled, so as to show at a glance their explanatory character. To the writer of matter containing numerous short quotations, such as the conversational parts of a story, it is all important to have some system about his paragraphing, if he wishes to save time and patience to all concerned, and to himself expense in the correcting of author's proofs. It does not so much matter what the system is, if it is only uniformly adhered to. One good rule, when economy of space is not of paramount importance, is this: Let each quotation begin a new paragraph if the paragraph introducing it contains more than three or four words; make a paragraph at the end of each quotation, unless it is followed by a short narrative sentence having for its subject the speaker of the quotation.

Directions to the printer, if written on a page of copy or an author's proof, should be as brief as is consistent with clearness, and either written in different ink from the matter to be printed or so marked off as to be readily distinguished from it. If not, the compositor will probably set at least a part of the direction before discovering his mistake. On the other hand, authors whose directions are habitually slovenly are liable to see insertions which were really intended for print omitted by mistake.

The place of every insertion, whether of one word or many, should be indicated by a caret, even if it seems to the author, who knows what he himself had in mind, as if no one could be so dull as to feel doubtful of his meaning.

Is it a truism to say that when matter is crossed out, it should be made plain just what

is crossed out? A word here and there left standing in a passage almost wholly expunged is easily overlooked, unless the parts to be omitted are crossed out very plainly. Horizontal lines for this purpose should not be drawn high enough to be mistaken for underscoring of words in the line above. So far as possible, writers should let writing follow "second thoughts" instead of preceding them, and avoid alterations and interlineations as much as possible. It is a common fault of inexperienced writers to take out either more or less than they intend, so that the words left standing do not form anything like a properly constructed sentence.

In making corrections in authors' proofs, every alteration in the matter should have a corresponding mark in the margin-not between the lines. If a word or letter is taken out and nothing substituted for it, a dele-mark (“8”) should be placed in the margin. Queries of the proof-reader can be answered affirmatively by simply drawing a line through the "?," or negatively by crossing out the whole. It is a waste of three persons' time, besides the writer's, to write such an answer as: "I think I have most frequently seen this name spelled with an 'e,' but as I have not been able to lay my hand on any authority, you may spell it with an 'i,' if you think best."

A careful examination of a page of print will reveal the fact that in some lines the spaces between the words are wider than in others; the better the workmanship, other things being equal, the less this difference. A short word may sometimes be taken out of a particularly narrow line, and the space distributed through the line, without making the spacing excessively wide; but if the same word were taken out of a very widely spaced line, it would be necessary to fill the space by taking a word, or a part of a word, from the next line. It might be possible to distribute the space thus left vacant between the words in this second line, or it might be necessary to disturb the next line; and so on, frequently to the end of a paragraph. Of course, it is sometimes easier to bring over a word from the line before the correction instead of the line after. Now, this process of "overrunning" takes time, and therefore adds to the cost of authors' corrections;