- tion of his work has still had the vitriolic condemnation
of the jealous critic to contend with.
There have been occasional straightforward articles in the literary journals on the ethics of criticism, and now and then a writer of note and influence has come forward with a word in behalf of the literary pilgrim, who, however, still goes on his way having no real weapon of defense save his native ability—and in Marie Corelli's case this has proved to be a very sharp weapon indeed!
How Mr. Bentley first became acquainted with Miss Corelli has already been described in the chapter on "A Romance of Two Worlds." When Mr. Bentley paid his first call on her, he found her, to his astonishment, a mere schoolgirl. It was altogether a novel experience to him to have dealings with a writer who was at once so youthful and so gifted, and the attitude he adopted towards her from that time onwards was benignly paternal.
Marie Corelli has never employed a literary agent, and fails to see why a writer should not manage his or her own business affairs without any such extraneous assistance. In some respects we ourselves are of the opinion that the agent is an undesirable "middleman," he being far too apt to hold out glittering awards which lure authors on to work above their normal pace; but it must be borne in mind
