"Trilby's" American publishers have sent out the following note:--"A letter from Mr. du Maurier to the late James R. Osgood is given herewith. Possibly the hint it contains as to the secret of an exquisite literary style will interest the greater number of readers; or perhaps his saying (in 1890) that he has 'several good ideas,' which would seem to be an answer to those who have maintained that 'Trilby' was written many years ago. * * * 'MY DEAR OSGOOD:--Of course I remembered my promise, and as soon as my book--"Peter Ibbetson"--was finished and typewritten, I wrote to you--last week, as it happens--at 50 Fleet Street, but behold! you were in America; so I sent them the copy, and I believe it starts by to-day's mail for Harper in New York. I don't know how it got into the papers that I was coming out in this new line, but I have already offers to come to an arrangement. I have no notion whether it is suited to a periodical or not--you will see; probably _not_,--but if it is I want to be well paid for it; first [illegible], as far as my _first_ book is concerned, whatever its merits; secondly, because the only people to whom I have told the story (H. James, Canon Ainger, poor Allingham and a few others) thought so well of it--or said so--as an _idea_; and I have taken great pains in the carrying out thereof. If Harper's doesn't see its way to it, I shall offer it elsewhere; and after that, I shall put it in the hands of an agent. And if I don't get what I think I ought to, I shall keep it and write another, as I have several good ideas, and writing this has taught me a lot. All of which sounds very cheeky and grand; but I am in no hurry to come before the public as a novelist before I'm ripe, and to ripen myself duly I am actually rewriting it in French, and you've no idea what a lesson _that_ is! * * * 'Yours ever, G. DU MAURIER. '15 BAYSWATER TERRACE, LONDON, April 18, 1890.'" It is said that when the Messrs. Harper were negotiating with Mr. du Maurier for "Trilby," he declined their offer of a royalty on the sales of the book and decided in favor of a "lump sum." We do not know how large this sum was, but we are pretty sure that it was not so much as he would have made by the royalty plan. That would have earned at least $30,000 for him on a sale of about 100,000 copies to 31 Dec., 1894. The Messrs. Harper have, however, done a more than generous thing by him: they have informed him that they will pay him a royalty, and a good big one, too, on all sales after 1 Jan., 1895, on both "Trilby" and "Peter Ibbetson." The 600 copies of the _édition de luxe_ of "Trilby," at $10 a copy, were sold outright to the Syndicate Trading Co.