The herald., 1897-11-07

was paid for at the rate of G los a COL
umn. In one year Stevenson cleared
$1,000 from syndicates alone. The weir
of Hermiston," unfinished at his death,
was purchased for $4,000.
Zolas first fourteen books brought him
G44,000. In twenty years he has re-
ceived at least E75,000. Doctor Paschar'
was sold to a French newspaper for
f14O0. or is Sd per line of seven words.
But hymn writing would seem to be
the most profitable sort of rhyming.
Since Mr. Moody published his book Of
hymns twenty years ago, over 2O,OOO,OO)
volumes have been sold. The price of
these books has ranged from pence to
5 shillings; but on all Mr.. Moody has re-
ceived the uniform royalty of 20 per cent.
In all, over $3.50, 900 has been paid in roy
atty to him.
IN KEDAR'S TENTS, novel. By
Henry Seton Merriman, author OF
1.-THE Sewers" and 1.-THE Grey Lady"
Dodd, Mead & Co.
The device claimed by the hunter of
aiming at the animal so as to hit it If
it were a deer and miss if it turned out
to be calf, seems to have been adopted
in substance by many wary new authors.
1t turns out now. after his phenomenal
success that the author of "The Sewers"
is not Mr.. Henry Seton Merriman at all,
but plain Mr.. Scott, who was never sus-
pected of being an author or Of even hav-
ing an ambition to be one. But to the
public it makes small odds now, for Mr..
Scott may call himself anything he
pleases since he has written three great
stories, the very first one having sent
him into the front of present-day writers
of fiction.
"In Kedar's Tents" is a story of Spain
of half a century ago, and abounds in
graphic descriptions of the country and
OF the lives of that proud but always
picturesque people. A fair hint of the
time and the scenes of the novel is
given in this extract from the opening
chapter of the story:
1T is in the staging of her comedies
that Fate shows herself superior to
mere human invention. While we with
careful regard to scenery place our
conventional puppets on the stage, and
bid them play their old, old parts in a
manner as ancient, she rings up the
curtain and starts tragedy on scene
that has obviously been set by the car
penters for a farce. She deals out the
parts with fine inconsistency, and the
jolly-faced little man is cast to play
Romeo, while the poetic youth with
lantern jaw and an impaired digestion
finds no Juliet to match his love.
Fate, with that playfulness which
some take seriously or amiss, set her
queer stage so long ago as 1888 for the
comedy Of certain lives, and rang up
the curtain one dark evening on no filter
scene than the high road from Gates
head to Durham. It was raining hard
and fresh breeze from the southeast
swept a salt rime from the North sea
across tract of land as bare and bleak
as the waters of that grim ocean. A
hard, cold land this, where the iron
that has filled mems purses has also en-
tered their souls.
There had been a great meeting at
Chester-le-street of those who were at
this time beginning to be known as
Chartists. and. the law having been
lately passed that torch light meetings
were illegal, this assembly had gathered
by the light of waning moon long
since hidden by the clouds Amid the
storm of wind and rain, orators had ex-
pounded views as wild as the night
itself, to which the hard -visaged sons of
Northumbria had listened with grunts
Of approval or muttered words of dis
content. A dangerous game to play.