THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE,

MAY 10, 1893.

A QUESTION OF PRIORITY.

To the EDITOR of THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE.

SIR,—In Mr. Archer's letter to you *apropos* of a play called "Alan's Wife," he states that the story on which that play is founded, and which describes a baptism scene as in "Tess of the D'Urbevilles," was published in a Swedish magazine before the English novel.

I learn from Mr. Archer that the actual date of the Swedish magazine was January, 1891. This bears out his printed assertion, my baptism scene having appeared in the *Fortnightly Review* about May or June of the same year.

The coincidence being somewhat an odd one, will you allow me to say that the chapters of "Tess" containing this incident were in the hands of Messrs. Tillotson and Sons, the syndicate publishers of Bolton, so early as September, 1889, and were partly put into type by their printers at that date, though (for reasons that had nothing to do with the subject of the story) I asked the firm to allow me to withdraw the MS., which they consented to do. Later on in the same year it was read by some London editors.

Messrs. Tillotson would, I have no doubt, testify to these facts if required, as would also the London editors; thus carrying us back to a date a year and a quarter before the publication of the Swedish tale—whatever that priority may be worth in a resemblance presumably accidental.—Yours faithfully,

May 9.

THOMAS HARDY.