LITERARY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1971, 14 November 1889, Page 35

LITERARY NOTES.

A most patient research has revealed tho fact that our language can boast of no less than 827 different terms, all of which express the state of being in love. Charles Dickens has a long novel in manuscript which he has never had the courage to publish. He realises that his work would j be compared with his father's, and he does not dare' to brave the test. No Englishman, remembering Lord Tennyson's " Rizpah " and Mr Browning's " Pompilia," will deny that England has produced in our own day such examples of passionate and pathetic poetry as were never and will never be excelled. — Swinburne. l Prior to the year 1700 but two editions of Shakespeare's works had been- published, the first critical edition, by Rowe, appearing in 1709, followed, however, ere the middle of the century was reached, by no less than 13 others. Messrs Jay and Co., of the "mourning warehouse " in Regent street, have issued a sumptuous and costly advertisement in the ! shape of a" volume called the " House of Mourning." There is much that is not generally known in this book, which treats of "all j forms, .moods, shows of grief," from the earliest periods to the latest Marie Stuarfc ! modification of the widow's cap. It ia beautifully printed on splendid paper, and has numerous interesting illustrations. There are at least 25 daily students in the Vatican library, of whom about half are employed by the Governments of Prance, Germany, and Austria, in copying documents relating to the history of their respective countries. Britain is represented by an agent, who has sent to the Public Record Office during the past year about 2000 copies and abstracts of documents. The library is open nine months in the year, closing in June for three months. Admission is free. Miss Dimsdale, sister of Mr Dimsdale, of the bank in Cornhill, possesses one of the smallest books, in the world. It measures •75in in height by -sin in width. It was published at 3 Great Russell street, and is dated 1836. It is bound in blae silk and haa gilt edges, and contains poems by Mrs Hemans, Byron, and Schiller, and a wellengraved portrait of each of them ; also an almanac with several chronological tables. Whilst we are calming down here in London after the sharp attack of Ibsen fever which has been so prevalent in dramatic circles, Pan* ia making much of another famous Norwegian, M. Charles Bjerknes, professor of the university at Christiana. Professor Bjerknes' fame is said to be European, and indeed his works on electricity have considerable vogue both in France and Italy. He has also published a French edition of the works of Abel, the great Norwegian mathematician, and is known as a correspondent by several of our own mathematicians at Cambridge. Dining one evening with a friend, Wilkie 'Collins spoke of the difficulty of imagining a place or character which had not its original •inreallifeV .After he had described the house in " Armadalie " a gentleman called upon him "and upbraided him for putting his residence into print. The description was exact, although "Wilkie Collins had never seen the place. Again, he invented a man who was so careful about his food thai he weighed it in little scales at table. A gentleman was introduced to Mr Collins and said, "You had no right, sir, to caricature me. I weigh my food !in little scales, sir ! Here they are, sir ! I alwayp carry them about with me by advice of my physicians. -'But is that any reason w;hyjßhouTd be held up to ridicule, sir?" TOvain'Mr Collins 1 protested that he had never before heard of such a habit. 1 (Cwtuwei wpegetfi)