THE CRITICS OF 193 



matters appertaining to authorship was notorious, and 

 he disHked to be congratulated upon his Hterary success. 

 " My publisher dates the commencement of his ruin 

 from our first interview," he said to Miss Strickland, 

 the historian, when, with more zeal than discretion, 

 she asked him about his financial success of his novels. 

 The truth is, that, though Whyte-Melville was a poor 

 man, he cared little for the financial success of his 

 authorship, and for many years gave away the proceeds 

 of his works in unostentatious charity. On one occasion 

 he received a cheque for ;^i5oo from his publishers, 

 which he immediately posted to an old friend, whom 

 he knew to be in want. In an age prone to pessimism, 

 it is a happy thought that the good actions of such 

 men as Whyte-Melville survive their lives. 



