at Mr. Vizetelly, who though a
gentleman of the highest character, was no doubt anxious to make the
most possible out of his venture, did not duly appreciate that the
word "Realistic," which was blazoned on the covers of the various books
issued by him, was in the early eighties invariably interpreted
as meaning pornographic. Presumably nothing was further from Mr.
Vizetelly's wish--his defence at the trial was that the books were
literature of the highest kind--but it is unquestionable that the format
was such as to give the impression indicated, an impression deepened by
the extremely Gallic freedom of the illustrations. There can be little
doubt that had the works been issued in an unobtrusive form, without
illustrations, they would have attracted less attention of the
undesirable kind which they afterwards received. The use of the term
"Realistic" was the more remarkable as Zola had previously invented the
word _Naturalisme_ to distinguish his work from that of the Realistic
school. But if Zola's reputation in England suffered in this way, it
is right to refer here to the debt of gratitude to Mr. E. A. Vizetelly
under which the English public now lies. Some time after the prosecution
of his father, Mr. Vizetelly began to publish, through Messrs. Chatto
& Windus, a series of versions of Zola's works. The translations
were admirably done, and while it was found necessary to make certain
omissions, the task was so skilfully accomplished that in many cases
actual improvement has resulted. These versions are at present the chief
translations of Zola's works in circulation in this country; but while
their number has been added to from time to time, it has not been found
possible to include the whole of the Rougon-Macquart series. In 1894-5,
however, the Lutetian Society issued to its members a literal and
unabridged translation of six of the novels, made by writers of such
eminence as Havelock Ellis, Arthur Symons, and Ernest Dowson. These
are the only translations of these works which are of any value to the
student, but they are unfortunately almost unobtainable, as the entire
edition was restricted to three hundred copies on hand-made paper and
ten on Japanese vellum.

A charge not unfrequently brought against Zola is that he was a somewhat
ignorant person, who required to get up from textbooks every subject
upon which he wrote. Now there seems to be little doubt that it was in
the first instance due to the indiscretio