The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-20
THE LITERARY OUTLOOK.
HERBERT SPENCER AND THE DE-
MAND FOR HIS BOOKS.

and the New Nature BOOks-Ricb-
ard Henry stOddard and william
Winter and Their Long Connection
With Their Respective Newspn-
Pers-TwO NOveIfsts of the Name of
GissIns-Mar< Twain's Failure 10
Lecture in England.
New York, Nov. ID had a very inter
esting talk the other day with Dr. You
mans, the editor of the Popular Science
Monthly, regarding the present sale of
Herbert Spencers works. He speaks on
this subject from fun knowledge, for his
brother, the late L. l. Youmans, was
largely instrumental in bringing Mr..
Speneer's writings to the attention of the
American pubic, and the Appletons. with
whom DR.. Youmans is associated, have
been from the first Mr.. Spencer's publish
ers in this country.
Systems of philosophy, like other human
products, are in a measure only of their
day, and certainly Herbert Spencer and
his system are now much less conspicuous
in every day talk and discussion than
they were, say, ten years ago. Therefore,
one might naturally suspect that a sys-
tenn that had occupied thirty-six years in
the writing and publication had found the
world crowd away from it before the last
of it was brought out DR.. Youmans told
me, however, that this was not the case,
and that the sale of Mr.. Spencer's books
went on practically undiminished. The
authors royalties from America, indeed,
were larger last year than they had been
in any year before And not only do the
sales of the volumes containing it con-
tinue, but the system itself maintains its
eminence. Men may dissent from many of
it's conclusions-neW Investigations may
disprove IL in various parts-but even by
the new authorities in philosophy and
science it is regarded, DR.. Youmans says,
as most valuable and splendid achieve
ment
From the literary standpoint-as a piece
of authorship-Mr. Spencer's work must
always stand as something phenomenal.
Literary history furnishes no other exam
pie of a work of such profundity and
magnitude carried on through so long a
term of years, to successful completion,
in The face of such difficulties. When
Spencer began the Synthetic Philoso-
ply" in 1860, he was 20 years Old. HIS
small resources" as he himself tells us,
had been nearly all FILTERED away in
writing and publishing books which do
not repay their expenses" and he was
suffering from a chronic disorder that Oft
en- incapacitated him entirely for weeks,
and even months at time, and at best
permitted him not above three hours of
work day. But regardless of these OBJ
stacles he announced his proiect-ten large
volumes of abstrusest phiiosophy-to the
public, and began its execution. Through
SO years he hung to 1t, and two years ago,
at the age of rs, issued the concluding
volume. As the work progressed, the au-
thor's material circumstances gradually
improved; his books ceased to be Of the
sore that ''dd hot pay their expenses"
SO long as ten years ago there had been
1900 copies of them sold in the United
States alore. But MIR Spencers health
became more and more Of a difficulty; and
but for his extraordinary care of it, he
must have died in the midst of his great
task Even now, at rs, though he has TO
spend most of his time IN bed. and has TO
go weeks without even so much as dictat-
ing letter, he manages to do some work.
F3e has just finished the revision of the
first volume of his Biology" bringing It
down to date, and is working, as he can,
on like revision of the second volume.
! His special trouble is with his heart He
had, some time ago, to give up life in Lon
! don and now lives at Bath, where he has
quiet, good air and pleasant outlook on
the sea. He discloses little of his frailty
In his face. DIR. Youmans showed me> a
portrait that he had lately received from
England, taken within a few months; It
| presents quite all the vlgor you would ex-
pect to see IN the face of a man of 49,
| Mr.. James Barnes is engaged on the last
proofs of his life of Perry, the hero of
Lake Erie. l have already indicated in
this correspondence the hereditary relation
of Mr.. Barnes to naval subjects. Come Of
a family of naval commanders, If he must
| write-and clearly he must--it would natu
! ally be on naval subjects. He is NOT allow
! ing his biographical and historical labors
i TO interfere entirely with his imaginative
work, l am glad to say. I read the other
| day a new sea ballad he had just completed
and ii showed that he gets a surer ami
surer touch in this kind of composition as
he goes on. There is nothing like having the
things you write about in your very blood.
Richard Henry Stoddard, al the age of
70, is sim furnishing something like 6,0c9
words OF excellent literary criticism every
week to the Mail and Express. 1t Is under
stood that he derives, as he should, q very
! good salary from this faithful work. He
lives in q house in East Fifteenth street,
which he has Inhabited so long thar the
1
! now to several times the value of the prop
erty. 1t is a literary center, and men like
Stedman and Howells are often to be met
| with there, exchanging literary reminis-
| cences and opinions. There has long been
a special intimacy between Mr. Stadman
| and Mr.. Stoddard as there was at an ear
lier day between Mr.. Stoddard and Bayard
! Taylor. Before the Stoddards removed 10
the house in which they have lived so long,
! Bayard Taylor lived with them for a time
| in a house in East Thirteenth street, and
| this was even more of a literary resort
than their present home Mr.. Stoddard be-
| gan life far enough from literature-as a
workman in an iron foundry; and even af-
| ter he became a declared writer, it was
many years before he depended solely on
his pen for a livelihood. For nearly %
| years he held a position in the New York
| custom house, and for three or four years
he held some other public office. But now
for nearly 20 years he has been in charge