New-York tribune., 1910-01-30
gbe NeAaotl2Ilots 0ribmots
SUNDAY. JANUARY 80, 1910.

Some of these days Mr. Thomas Hardy VIII
ra,h hans take the world into his confidence ana
explain Just WY he ceased writing movers
Meanwhile it is to be hoped, out of respect Tor
linn as man of brains and character lhaI
there is no ground for the hypothesis Whlch
s)me of his countrymen advance. In reviewing
his new book of verses they find III the latte'
Eo warrant for his abandonment OF fiction anu
so in rejecting on the termination OF MS WORK
in prose they cast about for reasons FOE
cxample we are told that the trouble all arose
when Jude the Obscure published ana
the author was severely criticised in many
quarters for that book Upon witnessing its
reception Mr. Hardy abruptly turned his back
or, fiction and allowed the force of his genius
and temperament to flow in new channels. TO
accept this view of the matter is to credit ME-
Hardy with shallow egotism, an 1rrltaDlilty
Of temner and q weakness of will really I'M
thinkable as belonging to the man who wrote
Tess" 1t is moreover, to ignore the fact that
not even your man of genius is necessarily
qualified 20 go on making masterpieces ladef-
Iitely Surely it is more reasonable to suppose
that by the time Mr.. Hardy had finished Tess
he had in plain English, reached the end of his
tether.
OF all the human creatures who are con-
vinced that the world owes them living the
literary man is, perhaps, the type least ready to
swallow the bitter dose offered in FOltalreS
famous epigram. Authorship is such an amlable
pursuit, and it implies, nominally at least such
disnterested services to mankind that denial
of proper reward to those who follow it
seems, to some Observers positively barbarous.
But let us distinguish. Your maa of genius is
not to be gansaid, and the journeyman, too, in
many instances, is doubtless worth his salt, but
;Iat gx-it acSio ata
emotion over the plight of writer of "topo-
graphical and opea-air books who has re-
Gently made his complaint against modern read
crs in these words:
If they were told that it took twelve months
to write a book for which the sum of e so would
be paid; that at least G 20 out of the e so must
be spent in going about the country in quest of
accurate information on the subject to be dealt
with that various other expenses in connection
with the purchase of books, correspondence with
publisher illustrator and others, and postage of
proofs must be deducted from the authors
wages and that finally. he would not be PAID
for his work until six, twelve or even eighteen
months had elapsed since 1T was completed.
they would hardly credit 1T.
There is only one comment to be made on
this naive deliverance The man who has a
masterpiece of creative art in his bosom is
justified in devoting himself to the production
OF it at all costs. The man who deliberately
gives year to the composition of Topographic
cal work for $50, instead of occupying his leis-
ure with it while he earns his living in some
other way, has one to blame but himself
For him to blame the public is sheer vanity
and impertinence.
On December %, obviously an appropriate
date Mr. Edward II. Cooper emitted il the
London saturday Review" a blast against
children's books which is still reverberating
through the pages of that periodical. He quotes
from letter once written to him by twelve
year-old lady this terse criticism: Il call So
and-So sOdden rot, only mother says l mustn't
use Guys words without telling her before
hand" Every one must know just how her
ladyship felt for every one has seen the child's
book which, of course, deserves, for the giver's
sake, some casual phrase of appreciation in the