第23部分(第1/7 頁)

o　those　who　read　it　more　intelligently。　A　man　with　a　watch　before　his　eyes；　penning　exactly　so　many　words　every　quarter　of　an　hour……one　imagines　that　this　picture　might　haunt　disagreeably　the　thoughts　even　of　Mudie's　steadiest　subscriber；　that　it　might　e　between　him　or　her　and　any　Trollopean　work　that　lay　upon　the　counter。

The　surprise　was　so　cynically　sprung　upon　a　yet　innocent　public。　At　that　happy　time　（already　it　seems　so　long　ago）　the　literary　news　set　before　ordinary　readers　mostly　had　reference　to　literary　work；　in　a　reputable　sense　of　the　term；　and　not；　as　now；　to　the　processes　of　〃literary〃　manufacture　and　the　ups　and　downs　of　the　〃literary〃　market。　Trollope　himself　tells　how　he　surprised　the　editor　of　a　periodical；　who　wanted　a　serial　from　him；　by　asking　how　many　thousand　words　it　should　run　to；　an　anecdote　savouring　indeed　of　good　old　days。　Since　then；　readers　have　grown　accustomed　to　revelations　of　〃literary〃　method；　and　nothing　in　that　kind　can　shock　them。　There　has　e　into　existence　a　school　of　journalism　which　would　seem　to　have　deliberately　set　itself　the　task　of　degrading　authorship　and　everything　connected　with　it；　and　these　pernicious　scribblers　（or　typists；　to　be　more　accurate）　have　found　the　authors　of　a　fretful　age　only　too　receptive　of　their　mercantile　suggestions。　Yes；　yes；　I　know　as　well　as　any　man　that　reforms　were　needed　in　the　relations　between　author　and　publisher。　Who　knows　better　than　I　that　your　representative　author　face　to　face　with　your　representative　publisher　was；　is；　and　ever　will　be；　at　a　ludicrous　disadvantage？　And　there　is　no　reason　in　the　nature　and　the　decency　of　things　why　this　wrong　should　not　by　some　contrivance　be　remedied。　A　big；　blusterous；　genial　brute　of　a　Trollope　could　very　fairly　hold　his　own；　and　exact　at