Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-08-08
From the London St. James Gazette

SMeetAnG OF Well.kmOWn WE1terS.
From the London St. James Gazette
A meeting Of novelists, publishers and other
interested persons was held In the Langham
hotel recently to consider q communication
from Mr.. Nude. The chair was taken st
O'Clock by Mr. Wilkie Collins, supported by Mr..
Walter Besant, Mr.. James Payn, Miss Braddon
Mr.. William Black, Mrs. Henry Wood, Mt. w.
ID. Howels, Miss Florence Marryat Mr.. F. w.
Robinson, Mr.. Arrowsmith, Mr.. Christie Muir
ray and Others. They were pale but collected,
and there was a large attendance.
The chairman, who was received with cheers
SAID That he saw no more satisfactory way OF
Nudes representatiSe ' To read the Ma
ton that had called them together He under
s that copies of this had been forwarded to
nave gone astray. He would, therefore, with
out further expenditure of words call upon Mr.
APPsIse r..a
circuiarletter from Mr. Nude of which the
Following Is copy:
"Mudie's Select Library,
New Oxford street. June "a 1855
TO the Novelists of Great Britain and Ireland
in e m nSs S%n mss
addrsss to you friendly word of warming and expos
customers have been strained and believe an open
that this yon are reS 40 nea eesa'e 70
every posi- letters reach from subscribers complain
Only TINS forenoon works Of ction fresh rom
the press were refused al the counter by lady who
tanned She had had them ali areaiy This onr
ed Win Extreme ., nsppeRs eSery day adopt
dipping into your novels myself The result OF nv in
case. Except in the instances In which they tsSe
the precanton Of noting the Of the novels they
ah ones the Old 'hsg earn far o aasin r
eo sSq6 a9a s S any having
say no more at present about the chamber the
that the chief acny &s he Is ana Is the es ya
MANY years, am convinced that novel-resiers viii
death once; when they nd him perisSSns up ,s
toss IN railway wa, accident as be has done
anSshe' Ladies and the cordial rela
soribers are to be regained YOU must And som %sr
methods OF dsposing of your villain Recommending
apologies for troubling you. remain, ETC."
This letter having been read, the chairman ex-
pressed belief that 1t was unnecessary for him
ing their best. attention to any communication
from Mr.. Nude. Their interests and his were
Identical Not being sensational writer HIM
SELF he felt that he could take the chair on this
occasion with an unprejudiced mind. What
they must first consider was, What were the
they had come to An understanding on that
point, they could not expect to grapple success
FULLY with the difficulty to which Mr.. Nude
were sensational novelists present who had
come there prepared to make some remarks ON
subject and they would
cries Of aBraddon." "RobinsonI it was init
mated to the chairman that unfortunately there
was no sensational novelist present.
Mr.. James Payn expressed a hope that in the
absence of a sensational novelist, Miss Braddon
would give the meeting the benefit Of her great
Miss Braddon, who was warmly received, had
no objection to stating her views. She had lit
tie time, however, for reading other people q
books and the only really sensational novel she
knew was called "Lost Sir Massingberd." The
horribly in the trunk of a rotten tree Perhaps
Mr.. Payn, who had the reputation of being an
omnivorous reader, could acQuaint the meet
ing with the authors name
Mr.. Payn having explained that he did not
know the work,
Miss Braddon resumed. She was strongly OF
opinion that collision at sea, with loss Of all
hands, might be worked to advantage. Zap
plause.] Another method, with much to re-
ing. "The flooring suddenly gave way, and
Rupert Dubois felt himself sinking. 1t was an
awful moment. He chung to the ledge of the
house until his numbed hands lost their hold,
and then, with a wild cry that rings In my ears
STILL fell down, down, down, to a fearful death"
Great S cheeringI She e did not herself believe
off to Australia, allowing him to land safely,
though thai was way OF getting rid OF him Tor
well in the garden or underneath a secret stair.
case might lack novelty somewhat NOWADAYS
| but there was still something to be made out OF
them with q little ingenuity. A deep pond in
| an adjacent field had the advantage of recall
/, ing to the readers mind an actual murder of
would also observe that it was not q bad senti-
mental touch to make the villain, "turn the
corner and be seen no more" Or he might
| grind his teeth for the last time, "and SO pass
out of our heroine's life." 1t had not been
| done SO very often, she believed. On the whole.
| desperate struggle and the dispatch of the viii
lain on one Of his numerous scenes Of crime.
Ouida was ofopinion that out and out the bet
ter way Of dispoSing of the william was to allow
the grandly languid hero to LIT him up in one
moonlit waters below. Having then ' dGst ti
his fingers on his lace handkerchief, the hero
should resume his rose-scented cigar. The idea
| it would stand q good deal of repetition-of
course with judicous variation.
Mr.. G. X. Sims, who said he was a novelist as
well as a playwright, begged to say q few
words. How would 1t do for the policeman (he
presumed they were to be allowed to retain the
policeman, when the villain orders him to ar
rest the percecuted hero, to advance suddenly
and put the handouts on the villain himself
He felt confident that the originality of this
suggestion would commend itself to Mr.. Nude
Mr.. +. w. Robinson was glad that no one had
risen to second this suggestion. He was pre-
seen the villain dismissed in this very way on
the stage upwards of fifty times. But II Mr.
Nude wanted q real novelty, he had one in his
mind. What did that gentleman say to max
ing the villain drink by mistake the poison he
had prepared for another?
A hundred and nineteen novelists present
jumped to their feet to insist and prove that
they had worked out this idea befofe it seemed
to have struck Mr.. Robinson.
The author of Atdck-d-ddy and So Runs the
World AsOdy, maintained, in opposition to the
author of Lady Audtey's Secret, that there was
something barbaric in hurting q villain to his
doom while his hands were still red with blood
Would 1t not be better and more original to en-
tice him near q church and set the organist
playing? He could then burst into tears and at
once become an altered man. Cheers.
Mr.. Farjeon considered the last speakers no.
is to dispose of the villain at Christmas Time
There is snow on the ground. The village chill
dren sing their simple carol beneath his WIN
dow. All at once it strikes him that he himself
was once a child, and his hard heart is touched
[Applausel This suggestion might seem, from
its novelty, a little daring at first but he was
confident they would like it when they thought
it over.
Mr.. Howells argued, amidst good-natured
laughter, that there was no need of villains in
fiction at all There were certainly none i'm real
life that he was aware; and even II there WERE
and they must be put into novels-which how.
ever, he could not for O moment allow-why
should they come to any sort Of ending at ali?
remarks when
The young man from Mr. Nudes said he
could not remain any longer. His employer
had drawn up a list of ways of disposing Of
the villain which must in future be avoided
and he would, with the permission of the CHAIR.
man. read these out The list was as follows
81 Drinking poison he had intended for another.
(2) Falling into
lbj Pond.
go Shipwreck