New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-06-16

What has become of the Harper Mcclure En-
cyclopedia? When the Harpers and the Double
day and Mcclure Company separated, after their
brief consolidation, 1t reported that the
Doubleday and Mcclure Company would bring
out the work. Now that the company has be-
come two companies, Mcclure Phillips & Co.
and Doubleday, Page & Co. the encyclopedia
| has gone astray For several months no men
| ton has been made of it in the publishers an
| nOunCements.
Now that Stephen Crane is dead good deal
is being said about his character man. His
best attribute seems to have been physical couT-
age, which conspcuously displayed in Cuba
| during the Spanish American War. 1t is said
to have been accompanied by qualities not alto
| gether admirable In spite of his and
| in spite of the five years Of hard work follow
ing it, Mr.. Crane died poor. None of his books
! had apparently of those sales that nova
! days bring fortunes to their authors Such sue
! cess as was obtained by THE Red Badge of
! Courage" important to Mr.. Crane giving
value to his future work. yet the novel that he
next published, Georges Mother" proved to be
a great failure. in this country at any rate.
He had some college training, but it left little
impression him. At the time when he wrote
The Red Badge of Courage" he was curiousy
uniformed and ignorant boy. He had not only
read little, but he deliberately avoided reading
for fear of being influenced by other writer's
His friends in New York consisted chiefly of
young artists. who class, are not noted for
their literary attachments. That they probably
influenced him, however, shown by his eX-
IRENE fondness for impressionsm and for the
fantastic in art, then eXemplifed by Aubrey
Beardsley.
The first friend he made among writer's
Mr.. Hamlin Garland. He had sent to Mr.. Car
land a copy Of Maggie" cheapy printed be
tween paper covers by a publisher of religious
books who at the last moment afraid to
put the firms imprint the volume Mr. Gar
land wrote an enthusiastic review of the story
in The Arena" and introduced Mr.. Crane TO
Mr.. w. D. Howells. On one occasion Mr.. How
ellis read aloud to young Crane some of Emily
Dckinson's poems. He was greatly stirred by
them. Three days later he had completed about
thirty of the poems. Lines" as he called
them, which were later to form the volume
known The Black Riders" 1t was through
those verses that he secured his first publisher.
friend called the attention to them Of Mr..
Fred Holland Day, Of the Boston firm Of Cope
land & Day. dissolved and shortly after
ward they were accepted. 1t is odd that the
source OF their inspiration should have escaped
the notice Of the critics The lines were In no
sense initiative; but the fact remains that
Emily Dickinson's queer temperament express
ing itself in the symbolism that Mr. Crane loved
had caused them to be written
1t is thought that the first Of the three novels
dealing with Wheat which Mr.. Frank Norris
has planned to write viii be ready FOR publlca-
ton IN the autumn. It will come from Double
day, Page & Co., who will in future publish all
OF the authors work. Mr.. Norris IS now assoc-
ated with the firms editorial staff.
Since changing it's form "Harper's Bazaar" Is
reported to have doubled it's circulation.
The late Lord de Tabley. besides being poet.
enthusiastic book plate collector About
fifteen years ago, when he was Mr.. leicester
Warren. he brought out little historical work
called Guide to English Book Plates" The
volume which made practically the first pub
lshed record Of book plates, widely read in
England and may be said TO have started there
the craze for book plate collecting. It has long
been out Of print, and in London copies have
lately been sold for as high a price as 80 So
at the request Of collectors the authors family
have been persuaded TO publish a small second
edition. through Mr.. John Lane. It will appear
within few days The edition in this country
will be limited to $50 copies.
The literary agent is becoming an important
factor in the world Of letters In this country
A few years ago he practically unknown;
now many authors find him useful that they
have turned over all their business to him
He is a great boon TO those authors who dislike
to take time from their writing to attend TO
business affairs and to those who have no talent
for making good contracts with publishers one
popular author says that since he turned over
his work to an agent he has received a much
larger return from It than he ever able to
receive through his own efforts alone. in spite
Of the fact, too, that before making payments
the agent deducts pretty generous commission
Another author, the contrary, after employ
into his own hands. for the reason that he pre-
ferred coming into personal relations with his
publishers to allowing his manuscripts to be
hawked about If they mere merchan-
disc This authors attitude expresses what is
perhaps the most unfortunate result of the sue
cess Of the literary agent. 1t tends to destroy
the kindly feeling that used to exist between
authors and publishers. On the other hand 1t
also tends TO raise the price of literary wares
to the authors advantage In England the 1T
erary agent has been established much longer
than in this country, and is a greater power
But there signs that in New-Y York his infu-
ence IS steadily increasing. Some OF our pub
shers by the way. now turning themselves
into literary agents by offering to undertake to
place serially the books offered by their most
popular writer's
At Columbia University q change has lately
been made in the literary departments In place
OF the three departments of literature the Eng
llsh language and literature, and rhetoric and
English composition two departments have been
established English and comparative literature
The work of the department Of English will be