Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Women and Men

[15] willing to see any amount of literary or artistic genius developed in women-when these ladies have consented to attribute their work to a husband or brother, and say nothing about it. This is the self-effacement, the bene latuit, at its most delightful point, when the woman does the work and the man gets the fame. The Mendelssohn family had not the slightest objection to their gifted Fanny's composing as much music as she pleased, provided it appeared under the name of her brother Felix. Nobody knows, the recent biographers tell us, how many of his “songs without words” the sister contributed; but the moment she proposed to publish anything under her own name the whole household was aroused, and the shadow of the harem was invoked; it was improper, unwomanly, indelicate, for her to publish music-except to swell her brother's fame. Mademoiselle De Scudery, whose interminable novels delighted all good society in France and England two centuries and a half ago, printed most of her fifty volumes under the name of her brother. Charles De Scudery undoubtedly wrote part of the books, and he certainly may be said to have encouraged his sister in writing them, inasmuch as he used to lock her up in her room to keep her at it. But he never seems to have doubted as to his fraternal right to claim them all; and he once drew his sword on a personal friend for doubting his authorship