ica" "pornographic," which is most distinctly libellous. But
possibly the correspondent and the newspaper felt themselves secure in Mr.
Wells's disdain. "Ann Veronica" is not pornographic. It is not even
indecent. It is utterly decent from end to end. It is also utterly honest.
It is not one of Mr. Wells's major productions. But if a work of an
honourable and honoured artist is to be damned because it happens to be
inferior to other works of the same artist, Hull ought to consider the
awful case of "Measure for Measure." By the way, would Canon Lambert as
soon send a Miss Lambert to a house infected with mumps as put "Measure
for Measure" into her hands? The _Hull Daily Mail_, taken to task,
sheltered itself behind Mr. Clement Shorter and the _Sphere_. I will not
discuss Mr. Shorter's singular pronouncement upon "Ann Veronica," because
I am in a very good humour with him just now for his excellently acid
remarks upon the "success" literature of Mr. Peter Keary. But I may remark
that Mr. Shorter did not advocate the censoring of the book, nor did he
come within seven Irish miles of describing it as pornographic.

Canonical people have tried to make capital out of the fact that "Ann
Veronica" is not to be found in the public libraries of sundry large
towns. But the reason may not be connected with the iconoclasm of "Ann
Veronica." In an interview, Mr. T.W. Hand, the librarian at Leeds, said:
"I haven't read the book through (Why not?), though I have seen it, and we
haven't got it in any of our libraries in Leeds. The reason for this is
not the character of the book, but the fact that we never purchase our
novels until they have become cheaper." Charming confession! A
subscription ought to be opened for poverty-stricken Leeds, which must
wait to buy an English book that is or will be translated into every
European language, until it has become cheaper! A few weeks ago the
country was laughing at little Beverley because its Fathers publicly
decided to purchase no fiction less than a year old. But are the great
towns any better off?

* * * * *

[_3 Mar. '10_]

Literary censorship in the intellectual centre of the world: I need hardly
say that I mean Boston, Mass. Boston is the city of Harvard University.
It is also the city of the _Atlantic Monthly_. It is also the city of
Emerson, Lowell, Longfellow, and Holmes. Boston has a Public Library. It
is supposed to be one of the finest public libr