CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL
OF
POPULAR
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.
CONTENTS
ANOTHER WORD TO LITERARY BEGINNERS.
BY MEAD AND STREAM.
THE FIRE OF FRENDRAUGHT.
TWO DAYS IN A LIFETIME.
LONDON BONDED WAREHOUSES.
THE MONTH: SCIENCE AND ARTS.
BOOK GOSSIP.
OCCASIONAL NOTES.
NIGHT.
No. 4.—Vol. I.
Price 1½d.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1884.
ANOTHER WORD TO LITERARYBEGINNERS.
Within these few years past we have from timeto time given a word of warning and of encouragementto Literary Aspirants. We do not use thelatter word in any disparaging sense; but simplyas the only one which fully embraces the greatand constantly increasing class of persons, who,as writers of matter good, bad, and indifferent,are now weekly and daily knocking for admissionat the doors of Literature. We have always beenfavourable to giving encouragement to youngwriters of ability, and never a year passes but weare able to introduce a few fresh contributors tothe world of periodical literature. But this encouragementmust necessarily be within certain lines,otherwise evil and not good would accrue to many.We are from time to time reminded by correspondentsof what a popular novelist, possiblyin a half-jocular mood, advised in this matter.His advice to parents amounted to this, thatif they had an educated son or daughter withno particular calling in life, but in need ofone, they had only to supply him or her withpens, ink, and paper, and a literary calling mightat once be entered upon. We fear too many havelaid, and daily lay, this flattering unction to theirsouls. In the majority of cases, disappointmentand heart-sickness can alone be derived from theexperiment.
In order to give those outside the circle ofeditorial cognisance some idea of the amount ofliterary matter sent in by outsiders, and whichfalls to be adjudicated upon on its merits, wesubjoin an abstract of the number of manuscriptsreceived by us during the twelve months fromAugust 1882 to August 1883. During that periodwe have had offered to us in all 3225 manuscripts,of which 2065 were contributions in prose, and 1160in verse. These offerings varied from each otherto the utmost extent both as to size and subject,from a few stanzas of verse to the bulk of a three-volumenovel, and came to us from all quartersof the English-speaking world, England, Scotland,Ireland, the Continent, Ameri