The sun., 1900-10-30
OLD PUBLIsHERS REcOLLECTIoNs.
william nusisy write. Interestingly OF Lon
don's bohemia.

I ey suillCcS as guarantee that the book Is illel
! with good things about nearly all the men who
| have been eminent In literature, tie drama OF
! Bohemia In the London Of the past forty years
| Mr. 1in-lcy a. he takes -ou" pains To show,
! was Of a juya disposition and loved 10 frequent
= N" hauut1 In the uciyhhOThood ui th" strand
| whore authors and actors gathered to taik'
! drink and b" merry. lie i occasionally IN
| clincd 10 paint himself as a lad dos. who ha,
| spent too many idle hours In their cntcing COM
! pany, yet never 70 the dctrlmcnt Of his business
faculties for late as may have been his carousas .
, they in no way interfcrod with his appearing
| next morning at his Office AZ the usual hour,
Z ready for hard days work uf the most varied
| kind. IN the way Of set-dopreciation MIR
| 'riuslcy does not stick NJ trincs When Nlr.
| Tom NculS Of the British Museum asked him
! If he would accept for publication hi1 work.
| called a History of the Seven Capital Sins.
| the genial publisher loves to relate that his reply
! took tho form of declaring the publication Of
! them was not in his line. but the commission
! of the whole seven or more, il there were more,
| was quite another matter The wholesale cNag-
| goration OF this self-Calumnv Is good index
| % the writer's character; he IL evidently man
who seldom weighed hs words. thought no evil
but lct his tongue say or hi, pen write whatever
came uppernost in his mind II seems also
'lfiT N'ltl IllN lNllEN' lllllNl b' ll'l' lN'N 'l
his pen. for he wa, the close friend and constant
companion Of such men as Sir Henry Irving,
Mr. Toolc, Mr. Ial BrouEh Frank Buckand,
Edmund Yates. Harry :. Leigh and host moro
Of men whose name, are guarantee that they
were seldom found in dun company. Mr.
Tin>ey has done well 10 call his book Random
RecollcctiouS" for random they certainly are
He discaim4 all literary merit for his work and
Is wise in doing so. yet II remains an astonishing
fact that man who has passed his life In u
literary atmosphere publishing the works of
all the best writer's Of his time. should have
failed to absorb some slight knowledge Of the
grace and ease Of written language. But al
slough tIC book il absolutely devoid of literary
merit It il brimful Of interest, and one cannot
but regret that more was not made Of 80 glorious
an opportunity.
OF those mentioned, Wilkie Collins, j C.
Jehflre-on. Sir Richard Burton. George Aug
Sala. Cherries Dickens. Mortimer Collins. Chris
topher Pond. Bulwcr Lytton. + I Barnum.
II : Leigh. j Il Planch6. II j Byron. Charles
Ross. G j Mathews, Shirley Brooks. William
Black. Bltcuau. Jeierie- ard many more have
gone. George Meredith. Joseph llltton +
Buruand. Irving, Tuolr, Odcn. TeEotmeicr re-
main The genial and evergreen Odell has
escaped Mr Tu,ley's reCullcctlons, for hs
name docs not occur once throughout the book
--thi, i worse than Hamlet" without the Prince
OF Denmark. for il Is Bohemia without its King
Another name that occurs but once is that Of
Edward Draper. who died hut three years ago.
yet in his youth had cnatted with Lady Bles-
sington II Is hard to believe Mr. Tin,ey
never came across these two truest Of Bohem-
ian,. and therefore hi, total omission Of the
one and casual mention only OF the other APP
pear very strange.
Mr. Tlnsley's most valuable recolectlons are
not however, those connected with tho mid
night merrimcnt Of authors and actors but
rather his business relations with them He does
not hesitate to speak with the utmost frank
ness Of his dealings with each one. and ia often
equally unsparing either in praise or blame
At times he throws "a tel-tale side light on the
relations OF persons To one another that have
long excited the curiosity Of the reading public
His interesting account OF Sir Richard and
Lady Burton will be read with surprise by
many who remember that somewhat arbitrary
lady in her declining years 1t Is evident she
was not in earlier life a fayorite with Mr. Tinsey
but II does not appear that he has allowed preju-
dice 70 color uniustly his description Bur-
ton. according to Mr. Tnsley. was a very dif-
ferent man from the almost maudlin sent-
mental hero Lady Burton made him appear
during the last years Of his life In his younger
DAYS, IN latJ OF many years, tACe'ulllky CIeNeT
devil-may care Dick Burton had not an atom
Of religious sentiment In his mind and he was
az free in thought as Darwin on the origin Of
man. - When read Lady Burtons account
Of the later years Of his life almost wondered
whether had ever known the man the doubtless
wel-meanins wife pictured Mr. T.usey s
Of opinion Lady Burton knew very little about
her husband aud certainly In early years had no
control over him "When Mrs. Burton came
10 my Office with her husband. and we were
talking business, she seldom ventured suc-
gestion of any kind and as a matter OF fact
he would not allow her TO do go, for, II she only
half uttered a word those wonderful eyes Of
his were upon her and she was silent In a mo-
ment Burton had not at that time any be-
lief In her business or literary qualities and he
would not let her interfere in his business even
in small matters
In his account of the literary partnership
between Edmund Yates and Mrs. Cashel
Hoey. Mr.. Tinsley is almost too candid. The
pages in which he relates the story are among
the most interesting in his book, and are not
likely 10 pass unohserved when given 10 the
world. Here IL will be enough merely 20 re-
cord a fact which demonstrates the worthless
ness of Judging n work by the number Of cop
les sold the reading public being foolish enough
20 admire only work that Is fathcred by an al
ready well-kuown name Mir Tinsley declares
that Mr-. Cashcl lioey was sole writer Of the
well-known novel A Righted Wrong which
bears the name Of Mr. Edmund Yates as
It's author. MIR Tinsley published the work
almost simultaneously with a book by Mrs.
Cashc Hoey In her own name.
Nearly double the number OF copies was
sold Of the book which had Nafes's name 10
IL As n matter OF fact, for some Yeas ] was
paving atc~ $500 each for the novels with Ills
name 10 them, ard Mrs. Hoey'- novels with her
own name 20 them were not worth lNli that
sum. this X a fact, curious as II may seem"
The only real lit'efness Mr. linsley exhibits
In hS book il directed against the late Mr..
Yates. though even here his genial nature
T. struggling 10 Topr"Ss il-Vil ~ matters not
now what / say or think aOout the matter.
The chief of1er der is dead and sincerely hoTc
AZ sweet rest, and II IL seems tad grace on my
! art 20 rake ~ such memory | am afraid |
cannot help ~
Mr Tiusley would be well advised TO follow
hi- interesting Random ReCollCctious" by a
fuller and more carefully written history Of
lOudon'S Bohemia
The white Death"
To THE EDITOR oF TIE SUN Sir. In your
Sunday issue Of tho 7th inst I read an art-
c'e from itusieC's NoGdFino about n remarkable
mist collal tho Whit daoth - This briura Ia