“Out in the West they have a disease called milk-sickness, an awful malady34, of which everybody stands in deadly terror, but which nobody has ever seen. If you set out to find a case of milk-sickness it is like following a will-o’-the-wisp, it is always just a little way farther on, over in the next settlement; you never find it. The really successful author in America is, like the milk-sickness, never visible, except on the remote horizon. You hear much of him, but you never have the pleasure of shaking his cunning right hand. The fact is, he is a myth. On the other hand, however, the American cities are full of successful publishers who have become millionaires upon the profits of books which have starved their authors. Of course this appears to be a paradox35, but I suppose that[93] it can be explained by the rule of profit and loss. The author’s loss is the publisher’s profit.”
The foregoing is, in substance, the opening part of an address delivered by Ferris before the assembled guests of Hotel Helicon.
Mrs. Nancy Jones Black presided at the meeting; indeed she always presided at meetings. On this occasion, which was informal and impromptu36, Ferris was in excellent mood for speaking, as he just had been notified by a letter from Dunkirk & Co. that he was expected to pay in advance for the plates of his new romance, A Mysterious Missive, and that a personal check would not be accepted—a draft on New York must be sent forthwith. Although Ferris was a thoroughly37 good fellow, who cared nothing for money as money, this demand for a sum the half of which he could not command if his life were at stake, hit him like a bullet-stroke. A chance to talk off the soreness of the wound was accepted with avidity. He felt guilty of a meanness, it is true, in thus stirring up old troubles and opening afresh ancient hurts in the breasts of his listening friends; but the relief to him was so great that he could not forego it. “The American publisher,” he went on, “proclaims himself a fraud by demanding of the author a contract which places the author’s business wholly in the control of the publisher. I take it that publishers are just as honest and just as dishonest, as any other class of respectable men. You know and I know, that, as a rule, the man who trusts his business entirely38 to others will,[94] in the long run, be robbed. Administrators39 of estates rob the heirs, in two-thirds of the instances, as every probate lawyer well knows. Every merchant has to treat his clerks and salesmen as if they were thieves, or if he do not they will become thieves. The government has to appoint bank examiners to watch the bankers, and yet they steal. The Indian agents steal from the government. Senators steal, aldermen steal, Wall street men steal from one another and from everybody else. Canada is overflowing40 with men who have betrayed and robbed those who trusted their business with them. Even clergymen (that poorly paid and much abused class) now and again fall before the temptation offered by the demon41 of manipulated returns of trust funds. The fact is, one may feel perfectly42 safe in saying that in regard to all the professions, trades, and occupations, there is absolutely no safety in trusting one’s affairs wholly in the hands of another. (Great applause). Even your milkman waters the milk and the dairyman sells you butter that never was in a churn. If you neglect to keep a pass-book your grocer runs up the bill to—(a great rustle43, and some excited whispering) up to something enormous. Of course it is not everybody that is dishonest, but experience shows that if a man has the temptation to defraud44 his customers constantly before him, with absolutely no need to fear detection, he will soon reason himself into believing it his[95] right to have the lion’s share of all that goes into his hands.
“Now isn’t it strange, in view of the premises45, that nobody ever heard of such a thing as a publisher being convicted of making false returns? Is it possible that the business of book-publishing is so pure and good of itself that it attracts to it none but perfect men? (Great applause). Publishers do fail financially once in a while, but their books of accounts invariably show that just eleven hundred and forty copies of each copyrighted book on their lists have been sold to date, no more, no less. (Suppressed applause). Nobody ever saw cleaner or better balanced books of accounts than those kept by the publishers. They foot up correctly to a cent. Indeed it would be a very strange thing if a man couldn’t make books balance under such circumstances! (Prolonged hand-clapping). I am rather poor at double entry, but I fancy I could make a credit of eleven hundred and forty copies sold, so as to have it show up all right. (Cheers). I must not lose my head in speaking on this subject, for I cannot permit you to misunderstand my motive46. So long as authors submit to the per centum method of publication, so long they will be the prey47 of the publishers. The only method by which justice can be assured to both author and publisher is the cash-sale method. If every author in America would refuse to let his manuscript go out of hand before he had received the cash value for it, the trade would[96] soon adjust itself properly. In that case the author’s reputation would be his own property. So soon as he had made an audience his manuscripts would command a certain price. If one publisher would not pay enough for it another would. As the method now is, it makes little difference whether the author have a reputation or not. Indeed most publishers prefer to publish the novels, for example, of clever tyros48, because these fledglings are so proud of seeing themselves in print that they never think of questioning copyright statements. Eleven hundred and forty copies usually will delight them almost beyond endurance. (Laughter and applause). Go look at the book lists of the publishers and you will feel the truth of what I have said.
“Now let me ask you if you can give, or if any publisher can give one solitary49 honest reason why the publishing business should not be put upon a cash basis—a manuscript for so much money? The publisher controls his own business, he knows every nook and corner, every leaf and every line of it, and he should be able to say, just as the corn-merchant does, I will give you so much, to which the author would say: I will take it, or I will not take it. But what is the good of standing50 here and arguing? You believe every word I speak, but you don’t expect to profit by it. You will go on gambling at the publisher’s faro table just as long as he will smile and deal the cards. Some of these[97] days you will win, you think. Poor deluded wretches51, go on and die in the faith!”
No sooner had Ferris ended than Lucas the historian arose and expressed grave doubts as to the propriety52 of the address. He was decidedly of the opinion that authors could not afford to express themselves so freely and, if he must say it, recklessly. How could Mr. Ferris substantiate53 by proof any of the damaging allegations he had made against publishers of high standing? What Mr. Ferris had said might be strictly54 true, but the facts were certainly, very hard to come at, he thought. He hoped that Mr. Ferris’s address would not be reported to the press (here he glanced appealingly at Miss Crabb), at least not as the sense of the meeting. Such a thing would, in his opinion, be liable to work a great harm to all present. He felt sure that the publishers would resent the whole thing as malicious55 and libellous.
Throughout the audience there was a nervous stirring, a looking at one another askance. It was as if a cold wave had flowed over them. Nobody had anything further to say, and it was a great relief when Dufour moved an adjournment56 sine die, which was carried by a vote that suggested a reserve of power. Every face in the audience, with the exception of Dufour’s, wore a half-guilty look, and everybody crept silently out of the room.
点击收听单词发音
1 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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2 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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3 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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4 expectancy | |
n.期望,预期,(根据概率统计求得)预期数额 | |
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5 awfully | |
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地 | |
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6 gambling | |
n.赌博;投机 | |
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7 irresistibly | |
adv.无法抵抗地,不能自持地;极为诱惑人地 | |
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8 deluded | |
v.欺骗,哄骗( delude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9 plies | |
v.使用(工具)( ply的第三人称单数 );经常供应(食物、饮料);固定往来;经营生意 | |
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10 besieges | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11 fumes | |
n.(强烈而刺激的)气味,气体 | |
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12 execrates | |
v.憎恶( execrate的第三人称单数 );厌恶;诅咒;咒骂 | |
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13 coaxes | |
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的第三人称单数 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱 | |
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14 bullies | |
n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负 | |
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15 raves | |
n.狂欢晚会( rave的名词复数 )v.胡言乱语( rave的第三人称单数 );愤怒地说;咆哮;痴心地说 | |
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16 plume | |
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰 | |
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17 rumor | |
n.谣言,谣传,传说 | |
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18 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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19 authentic | |
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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20 entice | |
v.诱骗,引诱,怂恿 | |
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21 gilded | |
a.镀金的,富有的 | |
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22 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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23 inveigles | |
v.诱骗,引诱( inveigle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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24 den | |
n.兽穴;秘密地方;安静的小房间,私室 | |
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25 squeal | |
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音 | |
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26 remonstrance | |
n抗议,抱怨 | |
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27 feverish | |
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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28 serene | |
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的 | |
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29 brutal | |
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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30 devout | |
adj.虔诚的,虔敬的,衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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31 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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32 demise | |
n.死亡;v.让渡,遗赠,转让 | |
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33 rosy | |
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的 | |
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34 malady | |
n.病,疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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35 paradox | |
n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法;自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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36 impromptu | |
adj.即席的,即兴的;adv.即兴的(地),无准备的(地) | |
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37 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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38 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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39 administrators | |
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 );有管理(或行政)才能的人;(由遗嘱检验法庭指定的)遗产管理人;奉派暂管主教教区的牧师 | |
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40 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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41 demon | |
n.魔鬼,恶魔 | |
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42 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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43 rustle | |
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
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44 defraud | |
vt.欺骗,欺诈 | |
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45 premises | |
n.建筑物,房屋 | |
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46 motive | |
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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47 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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48 tyros | |
n.初学者,新手,生手( tyro的名词复数 ) | |
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49 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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50 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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51 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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52 propriety | |
n.正当行为;正当;适当 | |
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53 substantiate | |
v.证实;证明...有根据 | |
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54 strictly | |
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
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55 malicious | |
adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的 | |
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56 adjournment | |
休会; 延期; 休会期; 休庭期 | |
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