New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-09

been obtained respecting the sale Of Jasliss'
the latest work in the series and added,
In this calculation no account Is taken Of tas
smaller books which. being mostly issued az Esra
low prices have been relatively less s soefoloe
than the magma opera. The study o. $1,000, stssaf
lone OF the finest volumes OF the lnter ~ I ~
ucation'' 1000 copies have been sold az Jos. ana
$500 at 2s Sd The Man an9 me S.ssS -
IS only In its second thousand The sale Or re
works. which have taken more than forty yess
mum
Mr.. Spencer in a letter to the editor OF the
newspaper objected 70 the words announce
statement had been made by his publishers on
hts authority. but not critlcising the figures pre-
sented- A letter from the publishers contained
some interesting information Taey wrote
We publish for Mr.. Spencer on commission. ana
cut OF the SUNS he receives from US he has 70 de-
WORK paneT and bingi1S - cons he net re-
turns greatly diminished when the cost Of
further erroneous impression is produced BY siv-
Ing the average Of ne annual results Turns sss
very small returns and only during the last twenty
years have they been remunerative-
Thus. though the figures may not be what ons
could wish IN behalf OF an extraordinary literary
work, there Is a clear indication OF the growth
OF popular interest In Mr. Spencer's writings
The cause IS not far to seek. Aside from itha
intrinsic merit Of the themes which he treated
he was a master OF strong lucid and familiar
language His grasp OF details and his capacity
for carrying a generalization through mass or
illustrative examples gathered from every corner
OF the world and from every nook OF ancient
and modern learning have been among the mar
vels OF this generation Considering the fact
that he was an invalid nearly all his hfe-
his power OF sustained effort was also Won
derfuL His only visit 70 the United States was
undertaken in 1882, because his health had
orohen DOWN DeLcate from ms cILiunDOu. -
labor upon the Principles OF Psychology
which he completed in eleven months. as one OF
his American friends declared. ruined him
physically, sub1ecttng him 70 s!eeplessness ana
nervous irritation. OF his practice in compost
ton it has been said:
When writing his books he dictates every word
day For wears he has not worked longer than that
Then. when the allotted three hours are spent.
the concert. or billiards. and above all, when he l.
quite used up. the country lie Is extremely IONA
tress viii ny thither and stay until he picks him
self up a little
HIS LATER YEARS.
Another failure Of health between 1856 and
1889 threatened TO prevent the completion OF
the synthetic Philosophy However. he not
only enjoyed the satisfaction Of filing out his
original prograrnme but also OF supplernenting
of Ethics in 1892. and Parts and VI a
year later. An interruption was then caused
by a discussion with WeismanD regarding an
important biological principle. Weismann's
book. denying the possibility OF the transmission
or acquired traits 10 offspring. ndQ JUST db-
peared- In several vigorous essays Mr. Spencer
antagonized this view In his anxiety that
every biologist should be aware OF his position
and arguments he caused copies TO be widely
distributed in both Europe and America.
Work on the chapters devoted TO Professional
Institutions forming part of his Principles
OF Sociology begun in 1SsA and these
came out in November, 1896 Even then. in
spite Of his feeble condition he undertook a re-
vision Of his Principles OF Biology" and the
preparation of edition of essays. Fact and
Comment which appeared in 1902.
Mr.. SpenCer's works have been extensively
translated All Of them can be found in French
and most Of them in German. Russian. Italian
and Spanish His First Principles" has even
been made available to japanese readers.
Being unmarried. Mr. Spencer had q wide
failed in 1886. he tried the experiment OF
bachelors apartments near Regents PARK
Later he went to Brighton for year or two
continuously During large part OF his life
Mr. Spencer spent about nine months in London
and three months in the country. The cOnfine-
length cut him of from the enjoyment Of social
privileges that he greatly enjOyed-amOng them
those OF the AthenBum Club-and made
town residence less attractive than before In
1895 he once more went to Brighton which
manned his home thereafter. He selected house
with an outlook upon the sea. in which hs
found mental delight if not physical benefit
During the closing period OF his life he was
accustomed 10 listen regularly 10 the reading
Of a morning paper. Then he devoted himself
TO correspondence and the proofs OF any matter
that might be going through the press. In the
afternoon he glanced at the illustrated weeklies
and the ma gaines heard a little classical
music or took drive Even at this advapced
age. he rarely retired before IL o'clock