The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1895-08-22
AUTHORS AND WRITER'S.

Rider Haggard in Reminiscent MOO"
Tells Of Some Condolences
Rider Haggard was feted recently at
the Authors Club, London. In the
course of a response to a toast to MS
health, proposed by Sir Walter Besant'
he said several things as to the probes
sion of authorship that are worth re-
production.
Il have been subjected to consider
able attacks in my time, | may say
very hitter attacks. For example,
gentlemen. [ remember literary man
writing to me, not merely accusing me
IF being the instigator of the crimes
committed by another gentleman-
Jack the Ripper-but Of actually per-
petrating them. Criticism we expect
but. why, if man writes novel more
or less successful, should he be accused
Of the crimes attributed, perhaps false
w. to the Ripper? Another gentleman,
who did not go quite 50 lar as tnat,
stopped at plagiarism; everything
have written he has found somewhere
else. | have no doubt that at this
stage of the world it is very easy to
find an original for everything. L
Thought that in She | had given the
world something fairly newt old
but not bit Do you remember
writer called Homer? He had lady
living in cave that was the proto-
type OF She
IF | had time | could say something
interesting, not about plagiarism; you,
as experts, know that this is all bosh;
but about literary condolences. Ihere
is some faculty Of the brain that eXer-
cises a mysterious foresight. L could
tell YOU some very odd things which
have happened to me III confidence.
Most of my humble efforts about the
dark continent | have invented at
large and freely all around. L am
astonished, almost dismayed, when L
find books of travel sustaining what
have invented. In King Solomon S
Mines and Allan Quartermaln are
things which | evolved out of my tur-
bid IMAGINATION which have been verl-
fed since, why, | know not. L never
had the slightest conception that they
would be duplicated in fact. One III
stance will suffice When | was going
to write Allan Quartermaln l took the
map and hit upon spot then I'M
known. | located a mission station
there, had it attacked and all its oc-
cupants killed. Three years later some
religious body went there and fixed a
mission, and all its occupants were
killed-a most unpleasant coincidence.
1 could give a dozen other instances OF
the kind, but | must content myself
with this one: A year or two ago L
wrote book of romance for boys.
The People of the Mist was its title.
In it / picked out a spot in Africa, and
made land company take 1t up-at
present | am the director of a COM
pany which has taken up that actual
spot. From all the reports that can
learn, brought down from natives, my
description was essentially accurate. "
Sir Walter Besant left no doubt in
the minds of his hearers as to his own
opinion Of Mr.. Haggard. Il don't say
that the masses are always right, but
in the long run they always are. |
made inquiries at representative free
Libraries to find out who were the IA
vorite authors. They seem to be Scott,
Marryat and Dickens among the dead
authors. Scott certainly first, and
Marryat, l think, before Dickens.
Among living authors our friend Rider
Haggard is unquestionably first. |
find two very remarkable qualities in
Mr. Haggard's nOvels-a power of
imagination, in which, for audacity
and strength, he is unequalled since
the Elizabethan dramatists. l have
been glancing through his books again
today, and | do not think this is too
strong a thing to say; secondly, there is
the mesmeric influence which he ex-
ercises over readers. '-Current Litera-
ture.