Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-12
Special Correspondence.

n ONDON. Sept. 2.--W. w. Jacobs.
like many Of the other fun
| makers" in the literary world,
is now engaged in serious oc-
| cupation; he is looking for types. To-
| gethar with his artist collaborator Will
Owen. Jacobs has been tramping and
touring through the south coast district
| of England, going into all the odd lit
! tie places they could find, The Jacobs
type of inn. as readers of his short
stories will recall, are little resorts
where seafaring men gather to narrate
their experiences; or else to make up
experiences which, If not exactly ac-
curate. conform to Edgar Allan Poe's
definition of what a tale should be--tif
not true. it should bear no internal evil
dence of being otherwise"
In this connection, a very amusing eX
perlence is related CT Jacobs in this
search for his own. He and the artist
had done the town of Deal thoroughly.
and finally ''elnigrated" to Sandwich.
not far away. Here they CHANGED on
what Owen described as the very
place" It was a tiny old inn, Its porch
covered with honeysuckle, and the typ
zeal wv. W. Jacobs" swinging sign
stood over the entrance. The author
and artist entered. and ordered a drink,
withdrawing themselves into a dark
corner so that one could study the
"types" while the other sk,atched them.
One of the old sea dogs" began telling
a yarn" to his companion. Suddenly
Jacobs jumped up and left Owen alone.
The latter rushed out after the author.
only to find him walking as fast as
he could away from the inn. He anx-
iously enquired il the author had been
taken Ill.
mo; no." replied Jacobs. petulantly.
that old chap in the inn was telling
one Of my own stories from Many
Cargoes,, and pretending it all hap
away
DENIES RESPONSIBILITY.
Strange to say. the sea-going men
of Deal and thereabouts do not look on
Jacobs and owen with much favor.
One man particularly has 1t In" for
them. This is the original of the might
Waterman" in one of Jacobs most fam
Gus books. Owen drew him to the life
not long ago, and the picture was
bought by Punch" in which it was
published to illustrate joke. The
sailor resented the publicity, and de-
MED responsibility for the joke. More
over he says IL he can ever get either
Jacobs or owen into his boat. he in.
tends to teach en-" He has Invited
them once or twice. but they have 50
far proved callous to his Establishments.
Perhaps they don't want to ba
taught" 1t is hard lines indeed for
authors in these days when their char
acters" go round cunning for them.
1t has been suggested that inter.
esting types should get together and
have themselves copyrighted so that no
one could put them In a book without
their consent Perhaps. however, the
copyrighted laws need amendment in
so many other directions that 1t will be
a long time before reform along the
lines suggested will be introduced.
Jacobs, when not prowling for types,
lives on a delightful home made farm
which he runs. 1t Is near Epping for
est. in Essex. He and Arthur Morri-
son--author of Tales OF Mean Streets
and other famous books dwell quite
close together, each having more or
less extensive plantations Morri-
sons hobby Is beautiful Japanese
screens and paintings on which he Is
an authority. For many months he
issued a publication entirely devoted
to painters of Japan. Jacobs and