The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-27
PENCER SILL LIKED.
Big Sale In America of the English
Philosophers Works.
AUTHORS GREAT COURAGE
BROKEN HEALTH AND AGE
COULD NOT DAUNT HIM.
One of the Most Marvellous Achieve
ments In Literary History-Rich
ard Henry Stoddard and William
Winter-Two Novelists Named
Gissing.

DR.. Youmans, the editor of the Popular
Science Monthly, regarding the present
sale of Herbert Spencer's works. He
speaks on this subject from full knoWl-
edge, for his brother, the late E. L.
Youmans, was largely instrumental in
bringing Mr.. Spencer's writings to the
attention of the American public, and
the Appletons, with whom DR.. YOU
mans is associated, have been from the
first Mr.. Spencer's publishers in this
country.
Systems of philosophy, like other hui
man products, are in a measure only OF
their day, and certainly Herbert Spen-
Ger and his system are now much less
conspicuous in everyday talk and dis
cussion than they were, say, ten years
ago. Therefore one might naturally
suspect that system that had occu-
pied thirty-SiX years in the writing and
publication had found the world grown
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 undimin-
ished. 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 continue, but
the system itself maintains its emin
| 0IlCt. ASU may -OloSGAl lIOIll lIldIly VI
it's conclusions-new Investigations
may disprove it in various parts-but
even by the new authorities in phil
osophy and science it is regarded. DR..
Youmans says, as a most valuable and
splendid achievement.
From the literary standpoint-as a
piece of authorship--Mr. Spencers work
must always stand as something phe
nomenal. Literary history furnishes
no other example of a work of such
profundity and magnitude carried on
through so long a term of years, to sue
cessful completion. in the face of such
difficulties. When Spencer began the
Synthetic Philosophy in 1860, he was
40 years old His Small resources as
he himself tells us, fhad been nearly all
frittered away in writing and publish
ing books which did not repay their
expenses" and he was suffering from
a chronic disorder that often incapaci-
> tated him entirely f5r weeks, and even
months at time, and at best permitted
him not above three hours of work a
day. But regardless of these obstacles,
he announced his project-ten large
volumes of abstrusest philosophy-to
the public, and began it's execution.
Through thirty-siX years he hung to
it, and two years ago, at the age of rs,
issued the concluding volume. As the
work progressed the authors material
circumstances gradually. improved; his
books ceased to be of the sort that
did net pay their expenses" So long
as ten years ago there had been 1872, 900
copies of them sold in the United
States alone. But Mr.. Spencef's 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 n
| had 10 WIT
so much as debating a. letter, he man
ages to do some work. He has just
finished the revision of the first VOL
ume of his Biology bringing it down
to date, and is working, as he can, on
a like revision of the second volume.
His special trouble is with his heart.
He had some time ago, to give up life
, in London, and now lives at Bath,
where he has quiet, a good air, and a
pleasant outlook on the sea. He dis
closes little of his frailty in his face.
DR.. YoumanS showed me a portrait
that he had lately received from Eng
land taken within a few months; it
presents quite all the vigor you would
expect to see in the face of man
: of rs.
Mr.. James Barnes is engaged on the
last proofs of his life of Perry, the hero
t of Lake Erie. I have already indicated
{ in this correspondence the hereditary
relation of Mr.. Barnes to naval sub
: jects. Come of a family of naval com
manders if he must write-and clearly
) The must-it would naturally be on naval
subjects. He is not allowing his bio
graphical and historical la.bors to inter
/ fere entirely with his imaginative work.
: am glad to say. / read the other day
a new sea ballad he had just complet-
ed, and it showed that he gets surer
and surer touch. in this kind of COM
} position as he goes on. There is moth
ing like having the things you write
about in your very blood.
Richard Henry Stoddard, at the age
of Is, is still furnishing something like
? 5000 words of excellent literary criti-
cisrn every week to the Mail and Elk
press. 1t is understood that he derives,
l as he should, very good salary from
this faithful work. He lives in house
Z in East Fifteenth street, which he has
5 inhabited so long that the sum of the
: rent he has paid for it amounts now
to several times the value of the prop
erty. 1t is a literary center, and men
like Stedman and HoWells are often to
l be met with there, exchanging literary
"reminiscences and opinions There has
long been special intimacy between
: Mr.. Stedman and Mr. Stoddard. as
w
Mr.. Stoddard and Bayard Taylor Be
fore the Stoddards removed to the
house in which they have lived so long,
Bayard Taylor lived with them for a
5 time in a house in East Thirteenth
street, and this was even more of a
literary resort than their present home.
: Mr.. Stoddard began life far enough
from literature-as a workman in an
: iron foundry, and even after he became
declared writer, it was many years
before he depended solely on his pen
for a livelihood. For nearly twenty
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 twenty years
he has been in charge of the literary
!, department of the Mail and Express.
and his employments have been almost
wholly literary. IA
Richard Henry Stoddard's long connec-
: ton with the Mail and Express as literary
critic suggests William Winters LONG
connection with the Tribune as dramatic
critic. This is further, and quite as aptly
suggested, however, by the recent ex-
change of fire between Mr.. Winter and
: Mr.. Hall Cafne over the merits of Mr.
Game play, The Christian for inciden-
tally, in this encounter, Mr.. Winters age
became quite an issue. With an eye fixed
Enthusiastically on Mr.. Winter, Mr. Caine