The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-26
2
IAlEWS AND VIEWS |
EHI OF THE
lVBOOk WORLD
BY HERBERT BREwsTER.

BY HERBERT BREWSTER
T seems to be quite conclusiveIy es-
tablished that the author of Con
LESSONS of Wife" is Mrs. Elizabeth
Stuart Phelps Ward not because Mrs.
Ward has confessed to the authorship or
the publishers have made public the Sc
cret, but because by careful comparison
with some of Mrs. Wards acknowledged
writings the Confessions at times ap-
proach the degree OF similarity known
as plagiarism. Not so long ago Mrs
Ward had a serial in one of the magazines
and this story had about the same quail
ity of hysteria that marks the Con
fessions. Furthermore, the beginning,
course and conclusion of the former
work bears striking reSemblance 10 the
latter. Most critics have agreed that no
one but Elizabeth Stuart Phelps could
have written the Mary Adams book
Meantime, the publishers admit that
while the secret of authorship has made
the book much talked about, the same
fact has encouraged SO much newspaper
printing OF extracts that many chances
for big sale have been lost.
After all. it is difficult to conceal
through nom de plume, an author who
IS fairly well known. for the stamp OF
individuality exists in ones manner of
writing almost as much as in the hand
writing itself Even among authors not
so well known. the secret of anonymity
is not safe among the writer's friends
For long time no one suspected that
George H Lorimer was the author of
until one day Mr.. Lorfmer happened to
write TO a friend:
II don't want to edit your stuff with
meat-aN, but had to cut it down,
About the same time the friend
Glanced to read almost the same ex-
preston in the Letters" then appear
ing serially- Whereupon he appraised Mr..
Lorimer OF his discovery and was asked
by return mail to keep the secret until
time for book publication.
In !, ~
the secret of authorship is an attempt
to boom book sales, and fortunately so
many attempts are made that the public
pays little heed nowadays. If the pub
fishers continually cry wolf, wolf" they
cannot expect a hearing, though a good
book does much 10 attract attention to
itself and save it from the general fate.
No one who reads RED Saunders and
learns that the author, Henry Wallace
Phillips, spent ten years in the west as
other things, would suspect that he cared
for anything else but spinning his tales
of western humor. Very few know him
as a scientist, but scientist he is in the
spare time from such writing as he feels
obliged to do for a living is put I'm by
him in various experiments in electricity
and chemistry.
When only a small boy he nearly
wrecked his home by an explosion. and
| he was constantly trying to find out
other day Mr.. Phillips was experiment.
/ ing on a battery, when he inhaled a
quantity of chlorine gas. He became sick
| at once.
Let me see," thought Phillips. 'I'n
/ just take something to unite with that
chlorine and make a salt"
His mind worked rapidly-interested
/ apparently more in the chemistry of the
matter than in his recovery. With the
\ next step in the experiment he felt better
! but he was still sick.
Too much salt" he groaned. water
will fix that"
4 did not know how thirsty I was I'M
1 til l took one swallow" he explained
/ afterwards. Then I think I drank two
/ quarts, but it cured me-
/ Mr.. Rollin Lynde HART has written ar
/ article on the making of contributors
/ for the current number of the Reader
which should encourage all of the army
| of newspaper writers who may read 1t
| Mr.. HART believes that the writer's fol
I the best magazines. the writer's of the
most successful books, are recruited from
| the ranks of the contributors to news
papers, more especially from those who
! write for the magazine supplements o.