New-York tribune., 1900-01-07


when they heard that the Under Secretary for
War had approved the scheme and that a great
firm of shipowners had agreed to convey the
papers free of charge to the country in which
the battles were raging? They might possibly
use some Sulphurous expressions of astonish-
ment and disgust, imagine. But when they
saw Tommy Atkins refreshing himself during
pause in an action with paper describing his
previous exploits, when they watched the army
returning to camp and clamOring for EXTRAS
il seems not unlikely that they would gather
their Shrouds about them and return to the
ElySan Fields. War. they would say, had
changed much since their times.
Mr. Max BperbOhm once declared that he in
tended to defer reading the works of Walter
Pater until they had been translated into
living language Or was it George Meredith
who was TO be put into English for him? Or
Robert Browning? But the truth is that the list
Of authors in need of interpreters and tranSla-
tors is long one. ItincludeS all the 'Kailyard"
nOveliStS. as a matter of course, and even Rob
crt Louis Stevenson, ordinarily among the most
lucid of English writers, needs, upon OCCASION
the mnistrations of an Illuminating go-between
Such is certainly the opinion of an anonymous
contributor to THE San Francisco ArgOnaut."
This modest benefactOr of the human race has
sorely troubled about passages like these: "She
didnae speak plain. We maun understand: but
yam-yammered, like pOwny wi the bit in its
moo" Mr. SOULS lOwped through the garden
hedge. and ran. wi skell0ch upon Skelloch, for
the clachan' This sort of thing will never
do our translator says to himself. And so we
get the sentences Strengthened out as follows:
'She did not speak plain, you must understand,
but champed like Il pony with the bit in its
mouth" Mr. SOULS leaped through the garden
hedge and ran. with leap upon leap, for the
village" All of ''Thrawn Janet save two in
troductory pages it will be remembered, is
cOuched in the dialect of which we have quoted
specimens. But The ArgOnauts" philanthrO-
pist does not spare himself. He puts the whole
thing into language of his own, and even gives
a new title to the tale. Janet and the Devil
he calls it, throwing "Thrawn Janet" over
board as inadequate and obscure. While he is
about it he throws over Stevenson, suppressing
with great care anything that might suggest
that that author had ever had anything to do
with the work. He is remarkably successful in
this respect. No one unacquaintcd with
''Thrawn Janet would dream of aSsuciating
Stevenson's name with Janet and the Devil"
England has gone mad over Red PCttagc"
and are asked to take. evidence OF this.
twenty thousand copies, more or less, of the
novel. This reminds of the curious miScon-
ceptOns which exist on the subject of literary
popularity. When Il novel has reached its forty
thousandth copy the paragraphers grow jubi-
liant. Sixty thousand copies sold lift them to
the point of delrium. When one hundred thou
sand copies have been issued words fail the
celcbrant of this stupendOus (D success. He
notes the figures. And puts exclamation points
after them. Well. it is certainly Il very good
sale, book sales go when one hundred thou
sand copies of a novel have been disposed of.
But the willingness of the author and of many
other persons, TO accept the figures proof
positive that the book in question is enjoying
phenomenal fame is. Il matter of fact. some
what drOn. There are more than Seventy-eight
million English speaking persons in the United
States. More than thirty-Seven million exist in
the British islands. Where do these figures. to
mention others, leave the author with his
hundred thousand copies? Not in position
think, to prate very loudly about his tremendous
significance TO the race. ModeSty, told.
is an excellent thing i'll an author. 1t might be
developed in him if he would read statistics
now and then. Especially if he is a popular
novelist"