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NEW BOOKS.
Aiiyone wl-6- feels; an ' interest' in literary
I-ondon of thirtyvof forty. years ago, when
H. .G? Weils, ' Bernard ; Shaw, Sir James-
Bai'rie, Sir Coriah-' Doyle, -Eden, Phillpotty
aii'd /other authefs / who ' have achieved
fame ' and ' fortune were - beginning ' their-
-.careers, and-. were -Iiard put - to it to earn
sufficient ;mondy to. keep, tliii wolf from the,
door, /viU lfilid Jeroiiie- k. Jerome's auto
biography,! "My Life and Tiiiies" (Hodder,
and. Sloughton,' .London)., a' delightful
hook.' Mr. Joromcj who .is now in his
:68tli year,; was one - of ti . hand of young
authors - of ' those., days.: who' subsequently
achieved " success/ C>and - with - charming
frankness-. and/modesty, -lie tells, the story
ef„l>is trials niid the trials of; others vvitlV
whom he' -was- associated in the literary
Bolieniia of Ldndon. / -His' hook is full: of
.good; stories Vnhput fomo.Us 'literary figures'
' nnd/onv .that account makes, oxcdplionally
gbod'-'readiug./ , , He tolls, of, the difficul;
.tips'; lie. expcHeuced , in getting "his first
book;' ''On. the Stage— aiid Off," into print.-
It .was offered for ecrial publication to a
number' of- magazines and weeklies before
b'eing accepted, by an/unimportant little
paper - called the, "i'lay," the . editor of
Wliich, to , the. ' aiitlior's./grcat. delighty
'actually paid £5; fop the serial rights. "It
.wen't.:: tlie' roptid' of lna.ny., magazines."
yyrites.: Mr. ,'Jerome.: "I think 1 sent gt
first .to . the! /Argosy/ edited by Mrs.
!Hoiiry- Wood. / But '-the' real editor was a
-little fat .-gentleman named Peters. 'He
ran also' the' /.Girl's .Own Paper, ' for
'-which ' he wrote a". weekly ? letter signed
-'Aunt .l/anriy,' giving quite, good advice
-.upon - love, rinarringe,: the' -complexion, imd.
how ho preserye'it, how tp dress as a 1,'d.v
on-£lfl a yeaiv-all -such-like things useful
.for girls to knoW/ A kiiully. old .bachelor,''
The effort to get a publisher to issue; "Oil
the Stiige?/aiid Off" in book/form was un-
;sii'ccessful for a long time, hilt eventually
ah enterprising .member of the 'publishing
'trade took- it, on "condition -that the author
giive him the copyright, for,, nothing. Mv,
Jerome in his early , days was abused as
the founder of a new school of humor that
offended tlic sensibilities of the critics.' "1
think. I: may .claim to have been,, for tliii-
first twenty yeai'S of my career, -the' best
abused author ill Englund," he . ' writes.
!" 'Punch'- invariably referred to me as
' ! Arty K'Ai ry .! and . would then proceed
to- solemnly - lecture me 011 the sin of' inis-
taking vulgarity.' for .humor, arid " inipcrti-
rience for wit. As for the 'National Olji-
scrycr;' 'tlic Jackdaw of Klieiriis hiriiself
"-was not, more, cursed' than I Was, -week in,
week : out, ,liy' W. S. Henley . 'and his
superior young: men. I, ought, of course, to
have felt eoniplime.nted; but.at the time I
took it all - quite seriously, and it hurt.
'Max.'Beerbohiri, was always very angry
with me." The 'Standard; spoke of -me
'as a meuttce.to linglisli letters, and the
.'Morning Post' ..as an example of the .w»d
results to bo -bxpected frOin Ihe' over-bdu-
cation of the lower orders." The author's
ihost successful book. "Three -Men in a
Boat," brought fame,- hut it -was . also
roundly abused, by the superior critics;
Mr. Jerome's story of his career as a dra
matist is almost as, interesting as Ins
literary reminiBeone.es. He gives tire
render maiiy, glimpses, of what, takes place
behind the scenes between tlie author
and the theatrical manager before a piny
is produced. Ho yvn'tes in a 'delightfully
humorous vein -about himself and others.
,i here is 110 bitterness in' . his menioriee
,of- the past, and no- unkindness cxprc.rsed
towards those with whom lie came into
conflict. . So many famous people appear
111 his pages nt a , time when tlicy were
not :-iamntis that it is : to he lcgrelted
that; he has not siipii.h'cd his book With
an index for. purposes of reference.
At what, fit-age of life should 11 man'1 sit
.'down to write liis memoirs ? Mr Leslie
Uerison, .who. is', one,. of lhe,,stjii;s -of tin.-
London stage," apparently- tlfiiiks- iliit/it is
advisable to uiak.an c'arly.:stivi. i die is
only J5, liut he ;lias come to tlic couclu-
sioii. that he. lias led, a sufficiciitly- variod
and infercsting life to justify himiiu/vrc-
cordiris liis. experiences for the cntcrtuiu-.
merit of the. public. , His autohiogruphy
"My Laugh Story" (Hodder, ami StougfiZ
ton, ' London) is pleasantly written",
but its appeal is very' limited, being
confined inairily - to . 'those associated
with -the, theatrical- work ' Of Loridon, or,
more correctly; .those; associated with;, tlie
lighter side , of. -theatrical cntertainriicnt
in the great metropolis. Mr. Henson, who
has played leading, purts in- such -easily-
forgotten plays as Kissing Time, A
Kigbt Out, and To-night's _the Niglit. is
a much brighter personality on tlie stage
lliun as an -author. Perusal of his hook
strengthens the convicj.1011 that an actor
who is a flappers idol, and can keep a
thentrical. audience in a state of liiinritv.
is not necessarily possessed of a great deal
of original. wit, or a high degree of intel
ligence. Most of Mr. -Hcnson's thcatri
cnl career in London has been spent- at
the AVintsr Garden Theatre, which was
formerly a musie hall. When the theatre
was being transformed in J010 fronff an'
old fashioned music .. hall to- .1 lnodeiTi-
play-house, for the production of Kissing
Time, there were, many . postponement-:' of
tlie .play because the. alterations were not
complete. . Owing' to those dcleys the 're
hearsals lasted for twenty weeks. "On the
last day of rehearsals I. went into- the
new theatre accompanied- bv Uric Bore "
wntes. Mr. Henson.- Wo behold -a ' posi
tive forest of KcuHold jiolcs extending to
tiic- loot, hits -ot -wood- everywhere, -car
penters hard; at -work. -Eric Bore gave a
1 lipid I00L . 1 ouud. 'J hen with- his usual
quick wit/' said, solemnly, "Ah, the
Splinter Garden-!"- On the stugc-'evcn
aiiclT n> feeble witticism " as calling tlic
. Winter Garden -Theatres a Splinter Garden,
because ot,the-bits;of wood ubout. would
:he. good. enough, to -rniso a tolerant laiigli:
hut. in a book a slightly higher- standard
of - wit or humor, is demanded- by critical
readers. ; Hut. a search for -such 'a standard
in. Mr. Hensou's bookiwill-bo 111 vain.
,,Mr.-. B.j Bnmley Johnson, who -has
edited 1 lialL.a - dozen : volumes , of - selections
f rom . the ; letters, of famous ; Englishwomen,
lias pow added George- Eliot to his lost-
' The Letters of -Gcprge Eliot" (The Both:
.ley Head, .,-Lqndon) . al-o a selection from
: the ' larger works, published forty years
ago.- which -.were, edited . bv- George Eliot's
second liusbund, John 'Walter 'Cross, 'who'
died. 111 London -.two-, years ago at the age
of .-84. . These-,- selected-.- letters not only
give a vivid i-imprefflion- or-.the outlook
ami 1 personality of. a - great : writer. but
also contain , ninny striking pictures ot a
ncriod when : the grandmothers of . tne
present generation were ; girls.'
"'/For Christ and. Crown" ( Witness Oflicc,
Belfast) ,. by B.'M. Sihhett. is an, account
of - tlie - hundred years' - history' of ''Bclfakt
City- Misaioq. ;It is a record -of self-sac
rificing nvorb carnod on for 'the salvage
;of Belfast's human wastpge: . The |nar-
rativc . is : interesting 4 from - other stand-
; points. >It; is . redolent-'- of - early, "Victdnan
days.---. Even the - diction belongs to- that
period, . and already - it / lias acquired - n
;quaintness which' reveals -hiw rapidly vcr-'
hal? fopu vimperceptibly. changes. Inci
dentally there. arc inset! numerous vignettes
of .social -conditions in Belfast at - the tunc-
of vthe potato; -blight ' .and .-.-the cholera
plague. ,. -The 1 volume' bears effeetive wit
ness to tlie- unwearied well-doing of. many
men and, women during the past century-
.It ; is , likely to make appeal to men ; and
women similarly, engaged in .this coutury.
Bre=ziness'<i8 - what readers , of Denis
Mat-kail's books except, and in ' The For
tunes .of, Hugo ' \(Heineinunn Ltd-., - Lon
don) the . cXficctatiQir will.be fully 'realised-
Hugo -ip a -relative -of- Lord -Biggleswade,
the proprietor of- several -jiopular news-'
papers in London; who- is lirdisirased to
welcome Hugo in -the still closer relation
ship, of- a son-in-law: . :He: insists : that
Hugo, wfio. is; moderately wealthy, shall
settle down to- work before thinking -of
marriage; and , Hugo,, in order, to " prove
Jus mettle,- -decides to- adorn that sphere'
of , life, with which. Lord Biggleswade
is associated.,- , Ho -joins v. the: staff
.of- -one of Lord 'Biggleswade's news
paper, but -.lie makes; such a hash "of, bis
-first; job thatAho gcts tlie saek. ' Hcnoe-
foith he 'la a freelance ('journalist, hut
owing to a succession- of misadventures lIic
never, succeeds "iir getting ? his - copy, pub
lished.' . The storj- of.' these- misadventures
is .brightly "told with o.-grcat' deal of
boisterous h-jmor. - - -
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