New-York tribune., 1902-10-18
MR.. HOWELLS.
NEW sHEAF OF MISCELLANEOUS PA
PERS FROM HIS PEN


he Hight essay We have essays enough ana
n snare" he SAYS. 'of certain soberer and Sc
,,erer sorts. such as grsppe with problems and
seal with conditions but the kind that j mean
The slightly humorous, gentle, rthned anu hu-
name kind, seems no longer TO abound as IL once
sid." We agree with him, but We shall be me
iess inclined 10 sorrow so long as Mr.. HoWehs
continues 10 give us books like the one from
which we have quoted his plant The essays
mere are of the slightly humorous, gentle re-
fined and humane kind, with other merits such
as variety, critical weight and individuality
They fully Justify the title given 10 the volume
which they mn. They deal quite as much Win
life as with literature. Mr.. Howells is equally
interested IN both. He has never been able
10 see much difference between them, he tells
rs adding: If / did not md life in what pro-
fessed 10 be literature, 1 disabled its proies-
sion. and possibly from this habit, no" lhNel-
crate with me. I am never quite sure OF me
unless find literature in it." The spirit mani
tested in these words communicates TO the en-
tire book a refreshing vitality. II assures US
too, of q certain hracing air Of common seh9e
In the authors treatment Of his themes. ne
is never without convictions, but these papers
disclose a healthy aversion TO laying down the
law II We feel that we have come upon i
pretty clearly stated like or dislike in one pas
sage or another. it is only TO discover niue
further on, some qualifying sentence, playful OF
shrewd which reminds that the gues1oh
has not after all, been closed.
The first essay in the book. for example one
on THE Man of Letters as Man Of Business
opens with an expression of the authors belief
that every man ought TO work for his living
without exception; but, continues, Mr. ho"e"s'
L do not think any man ought 20 live 10y an
art" This promises fine matter for discussion
end raises the hope that We may receive he"
light on the question as TO just what IS TO be
done with our artists, or, rather, IN this case
with our authors. At the end Of the discussion
the problem is stin unsclved, but in the mean
time Nj Howels has been talking around the
subject in very entertaining fashion. lie Is not
hopeful about the outlook for the man OF let-
ters in practical world. The author 10y TIE
very conditions of aut horship cannot make mere
Industry pay. If he Were sure that by doing a
certain amount Of work every day, whether ne
were in the mood for il or not he would receive
a definite financial reward, he might hope 10
consort on equal terms with men OF business.
But ''he may please himself so i'll with the re
suit OF his labors that he can do nothing less
IN artistic conscience than destroy days work
a weeks work. a months work Mr.. HoWeLs
refers 10 an author of his acquaintance who
wrote to-day and tore up tomorrow for nearly
a whole summer" We gather that he does not
ooutenplate with satisfaction the financial diff
culties flowing from such a course, yet ne
realizes that the situation has always been the
same. and that it must remain point OF honor
with the author to go working, unaftecteo
hv the indifference of the practical world
aforementioned. We observe, by the way, that
in describing the opportunities of the author
he has good word TO say for the magazines
He is impatient OF the prejudice which classes
rn1 PM he
theless that 'two-thirds OF the magazines are
made up of material which, however excellent,
is without literary quality" a remark which
might We'll be circulated by itself under the
head Of "A Warning to Editors" For il is GER
tain that the public is not going TO submit in
definitely the policy at present so popular,
one which assumes literary quality TO be negl-
eible quantity Mr.. Howos surmises that the
editors are mistaken in making their pe.iodiCa s
rwo-thirds popular science, politics, economics,
and the timely topics which l call contem-
poranics." He might have ventured something
more emphatic than surnise, and he might
have added a protest against the fashion OF
appealing 10 that appetite for personalities
which for some time past has been doing more
than anything else TO eat out the character Of
the American people The contributor who can
serve up a piquaAt dish of titte-tattle about a
living or dead celebrity is made too welcome
in too many magazines, and too many editors
have got into the habit of printing timely
journalese (Which would disgrace mere self-re-
specting journalisml which they successfully
exploit by batting 1t with a name we'll known
in the world OF affairs. when "a man Of action
or OF business has something TO say that is OF
value, by all means let him say FL I'm "A maya
zine But TO play upon public curiosity by in
voking the aid of conspicuous personality is
vulgar and dishonest.
Mr. Howells does not share Iu the dubious
conception OF publishers entertained 10y some
authors. He has had experiences not very
pleasant 10 remember among them an episode
with a London publisher. who brought out one
Of his early books on the half Irofts system
He gained just II shillings and pence by the
transaction. But there is no bitterness in his
remembrance Of the affair and he offers when
all is said this tribute 10 the publisher
OF course, there are rogues in every walk Of
life. ] viii not say that L ever personally met
them in the nowery paths OF literature. hut I
have heard OF other people meeting them there
1ust as j have heard or people seeing ghosts,
and have 10 believe in both the rosues and the
ghosts, without the witness Of my own senses.
1 suppose upon such grounds mainly that there
are wicked publishers; hut, in the case OF our
books that do not sell. / afraid that II is
the graceless and inappreciative public which
is far more 10 blame than the Wickedest Of the
publishers. IL is true that publishers VIII drive
. hard bargain when they can, or when they
must: but there is nothing TO hinder author
from driving hard bargain, too, when he can
or when he must; and il is TO be said OF the
publisher that he Is always more willing TO
abide by the bargain when il is made than the
author is; perhaps because he has the best OF II
But he has not always the best of it, ] have
known publishers too generous 10 take advan-
tage OF the innocence Of authors, and / fancy
that IL publishers had 10 do with any race less
dimdent than authors they would have won a
repute for unselhshness that they do not now
enjoy.
Passages like this, in which the book abounds
are obviously intended much for the in