The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-26

nance, detective story, a mystery story.
not a story OF far-off high-wrought ad-
venture. Il is romantic rather than real
istic as, probably, any novel by DR.
Doyle, form the very nature of The man.
must necessarily be. But il is also a story
Of contemporary English life and Or.
Doyle has written it with the distinct mr.
pose of portrayiug what the works OF
most of the recent French novelists. and
those of number of the recent English
noVelists, seem to assume does not exist
pure and happy married life. Its hero
is a poor and struggling young man: its
heroine his WIFE has means with which
she is able to help him; they have their
difficulties and their misadventures with
out these there could, of course, be no
story. but their relations to each other
are marked throughout by faIthfulness
and trust, and the final effect of the
story is to confuse the decadents.
The second point of special interest is
that DIR. Doyle did not want the novel to
be, as he esteemed it, "cheapened' by
making its first appearance serially, and
he was so devoted to this idea that he ac-
tuaily refused an offer of 1900. or $1,000,
for the serial rights. The title of the
novel is "A Duet, With an Occasional
Chorus"
There is a rather curious fact regarding
the authorship of a first-rate novel "A
Modern Mercennry." annuonced for early
publication in a number of the leading
newspapers of the country. II is a novel
of the Anthony Hope order-heroic and
romantic in character and incident and
yet story of the present sday-and in its
authorship IL is English. According 10 the
title page II is by "E. and II. Heron"
l.,.t to IL 81
cisely what II stands for l am not now
al liberty to disclose. 1t stands for two
names. however, just as ii purports to;
and the persons who bear them have to
each other the relation of mother and son.
| know Of no other instance in all litera-
ture of mother and son collaborating. In
England Il. aud II Heron have. | believe,
published a few short stories; but "A
Modern Mercenary' win be their first
important work there, and their first of
any sort in the United States.
Young authors in the disbursement OF
their tough struggle are always wishing
they could set at some of the older and
more prosperous ones and secure some en-
enlargement and advice. On occasions,
they grow so hungry for this that they re-
sort to rather questionable devices for
coming az the man who, they believe, has
always sure of getting nothing more con-
solatory than was given in an instance I
heard of the other day, they would PROB
ably not trouble themselves particularly
to make acquaintance with the older
men In this instance what the older man
said, when finally the younger one reached
him, was this: do like the organ grind
er-grind away grind away, steadily pa
tientIy; and maybe some one will step on
a kxr trfH
keep on, then to stop"
The courts seem likely TO render soon
another decision in the suit begun some
time ago to recover for an alleged breach
of the copyright on The AutOcrat OF the
Breakfast Table" The suit is brought by
the executors Of the estate Of the author
Oliver Wendell Holmes. and in the lower
court It was decided against them. il is
now in the supreme Court of the United
States, and che decision there is likely o
be final If this decision should confirm
the earlier one, there viii be thrown open
20 general publication one of the most
popular American classics, and as I
guess, much of the most popular work of
all that DR.. Holmes wrote. But however
the suit goes Il viii not be long before the
"Autocrat" becomes free property. any
how. BY their own contention, as | I'M
derstand the controversy DR. Holmes
representatives have no copyright of later
date than 1858; and under this the lawful
copyright term of forty-two years would
expire in 1900. In the pending suit the
form of the first publication Of the work
is the deciding point; and the case. there
fore. gives interest ana aptness TO the
story-aheady published but stil. per-
haps, not generally famiiiar-of how
Holmes came 20 write the book. Il opens
with the sentence: Il was just going 10
say, when l was Interrupted" Most read
ers, no doubt, interpret this as an or
hand. colloquial. half-jocular way of start
ing in, and seek no special appositieness
in IT, But il is. IN fact a reference back
to two "Autocrat papers published by
Dr. Holmes in the old New England Mag
azine twenty-five years before the papers
that makes up the book were begun There
was to be ON Atlantic Monthly. a firm OF
publishers and the leading literary lights
Of Boston Emerson, Lowell. Holmes and
others had decided on it. and Lowell was
to be the editor. But Lowell had consent
ed TO undertake the editorship Only on
the condition Holmes wonld be one Of his
regular contributors, ana Holmes coniri-