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It had always been one of Smith's rules not to have the smallest property in any publication. He held it important to be free to deal impartially with every publishing house, just as in the early days of bookstalls he had avoided bringing himself into competition with local tradesmen, but preferred to act in concurrence with them,-often, as has been shown, being in a position to relieve them of a business which they were carrying on at a loss. This was the origin of the establishment of the branches in Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester. But a time came when the supply of bookstall literature ran low; Murray's "Traveller's Library" was proving rather heavy for the tastes of those it was chiefly designed to attract; there was a dearth of harmless, yet lively publications; the quality of cheapness in novels had hitherto been inseparable from that of nastiness, or, at least, of worthlessness: the receipts from the bookstalls, so brilliant at first, began to show a decline; something had to be done to restore their popularity. A decided step was taken, which, for the first time, enabled people to buy the best romances at a trifling cost. The copyright of Lever's novels was acquired by Smith & Son; Mr Sandifer, the manager of the bookstall department, was commissioned to buy paper, contract for printing, receive designs for covers, and, in short, undertake all the necessary steps in setting out on a heavy publishing venture. But, inasmuch as the firm were only concerned to supply a want felt by a peculiar class of customers-the travelling public -and as they did not wish to engage in competition with established firms, these books were issued by arrangement with Messrs Chapman & Hall, whose name, and not that of Smith & Son, appeared on the titles.

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The success of the venture was immediate and unmistakable. A new vein had been struck; the copyrights of other authors were acquired, and Sandifer's enthusiasm

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knew no bounds as the steam-presses flew and the wellknown "yellow-backed novels" multiplied in the land. The profits were immense: the books sold off as fast as they could be printed at 2s. a-piece, and the cost of production was only 9d.

But Smith did not feel happy about all the consequences of this splendidly successful enterprise. The cheap novels had taken better than he had either expected or intended; they were driving other works off the stalls. It was the object, of course, of every clerk, seeing that he received commissions on sales, to give the most saleable books the preference, and one morning Smith stood on the platform at Rugby in mournful contemplation of the effects of a revolution which he himself had created. The bookstall at that station was a coruscation of yellow novels and white newspapers; volumes of essays, secular and religious, travels, science, poetry--all were thrust into odd corners or out of sight, for the public would have nothing but fiction. Smith sadly shook his head, but, true to his principles, would not discourage the clerk in charge by expressing any distrust of his discretion: the management of the stall had been committed to him, and he must not be interfered with.

Messrs Ward & Lock were the next firm to come upon this field of enterprise, and as soon as they and others proved able to conduct the business successfully, Smith felt that his mission in that respect had been accomplished -namely, the stimulation of a supply of cheap and sound literature-and the issue of these works was stopped. The copyrights acquired by the firm were sold in 1883 for £10,000.

The scale to which the business of Messrs W. H. Smith & Son has grown at the present time has made it necessary to acquire much of the adjoining ground. The frontage

is still in the Strand, but the counting-house and offices are at the back in a splendid new range of buildings, having their entrance in Arundel Street. Although Mr W. H. Smith retired from active partnership in 1877, he continued to take a warm interest in the proceedings of the firm and the welfare of their employés down to the close of his life, but he was not permitted to see the completion of the new buildings. The book department keeps up the supply for the railway bookstalls, and may be seen at its busiest at the close of each month, when the magazines come out. The lending department contains, as has been said, upwards of 300,000 volumes in circulation. The workshops for making bookstalls and frames for railwaystation advertisements are in Water Street. It is part of the system that all damaged or dilapidated bookstalls, even in remote parts of the country, are packed up and sent here for repair.

In Water Street also are the extensive stables, kept with the regularity and little short of the discipline of a cavalry barracks. Here stand between fifty and sixty horses for the service of the red newspaper carts, and the bloom on their coats speaks plainly to good condition and careful grooming. At the entrance to the yard hangs the drivers' roster, showing the date and hour when each man comes on duty. The printing-house, where the railway advertisements are prepared, is at some distance off, in Fetter Lane.

Of all the busy scenes in busy London, there is none more brisk and orderly than that which may be witnessed any morning, Sundays excepted, throughout the year in the packing department of 186 Strand. On the first four working days in the week, when there is not much except the dailies to deal with, work begins shortly after 3 A.M.; but on Fridays and Saturdays the pressure is increased by the weeklies, and then the start is made an hour earlier.

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MESSRS W. H. SMITH AND SON'S STRAND PREMISES (INTERIOR),

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