Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-06-19
LITERARY SECRETS.

Literary secrets have usually been better
kept than any others. In every library
there are works of great excellence whose
authors are still unknow. Anonymity has
been the delight of writers of every grade,
but usually it has been put on only as a
temporary mask. If the book succeeds its
author is glad enough to have his name
known. From behind his screen he has
peered at the world, and has watched the
reception Of his production. The chorus Of
the critics. friendly or unfriendly, he has
heard, and he has, perhaps, laughed at the
cuessas which have been shot at the name
of the author Then, when his name is
known, he emerges from his ohscurity into
the warm, genial sunshine Of popularity and
fame
But some men have not been coaxed out
Of their hiding-place after the world has
showered its praises upon them, and would
gladly do them personal honor. There are
still some works whose authors are un-
known. There are the "Letters Of Junius,.
for example, which caused the deepest stir
in England when they appeared. AL
though the Ministers of the Crown were
themselves most interested and eager to
discover the keen satrist, whose thrusts
y,
yond their reach, and to-day, after q small
library of controversial works has been
written, no positive decision has been ar
rived ~. "Juniuso remains forever a mys-
terry, or at least q conjecture. AT the be-
ginning of this century there arose i'll Scot
land a great genius. For time he delight
ed the public with descriptive poems in a
new vein; then he suddenly changed and
produced novels, altogether the best of
their kind that English literature possesses.
"Who is the great unknown ?" asked thou
sands of readers. At length the fact was
established that the poet and the novelist
were one-that the author Of "Marmion"
and "Waverlyn was Walter Scott. The next
literary conundrum was, who is Boz, the
author of the 'Pickwick Papers" but the
success of that work was so immediate and
complete that Dickens was soon known by
name. The writer who about the same
time signed himself michael Angelo Tit
marsh'' was probably we'll enough known
as William NJ Thackeray to the limited
literary circle which he then drew to him.
| Carlyle's authorship of "Sartor Resartus'
| was no secret to those who cared TO inquire
but the number was small, counted by hun
dreds then and by tens of thousands now
| In the following decade, "Jane Eyre" won
a speedy triumph, but not even its pub
fishers could tell anything about "Cur
rer Bell" When one day frail, pale
faced little woman, dressed in black, en-
tered the publishing house, with a second
manuscript for inspection, and introduced
herself as Miss Charlotte Bronte, the author
of "Jane Eyre the story goes that for a
moment the publisher was incredull lous. A
| little later another woman held the readers
of two continents under her spell. "Who
4l,o.f
ton Some maintained that he was man !;
Others insisted that she was woman. The
secret would probably have been kept longer
had not a shallow-patcd person By the name
of Liggins claimed that he was George
Eliot" and as he was poor, u subscription
was started for him. The real author, still
desiring to wear her mask, wrote to the
papers suggesting that LiggiDs should write
sketch and that it should be left TO the
public to Judge whether he could possibly
have created Mr.. Cliffs Love-Story" and
"Adam Bedc,' but before long Marian
Evans Lewes decided TO throw of her dis
ruise, and when she did so "atl the world
wondered" Bulwer took pleasure i'll pub
fishing SOME OF his works either anony-
mously or under a fictitious name, in or
der to display his versatility, and Troll
lope, in his Autobiography tells how
he tried to succeed in anew style of fiction in
some stories he contributed to BlacLacood's.
More recently "John Ingesant' came out
anonymously, but second edition of it was
signed by J. Henry Shorthouse. Who wrote
''The Breadwinners'' and Democracy" is
still mystery. "Guerndale," one of the
best of later American novels, is now known
to be the work of Frederick J. Stimson, a
Harvard graduate thirty years ofage.
Within few weeks one of the most IA
nous literary secrets Of the century has
been solved In 1S44 appeared book called
'Vestiges of the Creation" which aroused
storm of religious and scientific discussion.
In a measure it was forerunner of Darwin's
"Origin of the Species" Hugh Miller aud
other Mosaic geologists AID theologians at
tackled it. But although. its effect must
have been gratifying to its author he stirred
not from his obscurity, and only on the
death of William Chambers short time ago
has the authorship been acknowledged. The
work was written by Robert Chambers. His
wife-who copied the manuscript; his
brother William; Mr.. Robert Cox, of Edin-
burgh; and Mr.. Ircland-the friend of Emer-
son and Carlyle, alone knew the secret. All
of the FIVE except Mr.. Ireland are now dead,
and he, after exactly forty years, has put at
rest conjecture. PHILADELPHIA Bulletin.