Literary Notes.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 50, 29 February 1896, Page 2 (Supplement)

Literary Notes.

(*BOM ©O"B OWN COREESPONDKHT.)

London, January 10. The surprising snecaes as a storytelle. achieved quite unexpectedly in middle life by the Rev. John Watson (lan Mac* laren ') has nob unnaturally led other Nonconformist parsons to test their capacities for producing fiction. One of the fortunate experimenters proved to have been thab renowned * tub-thumper,' Dr. Joseph Parker, a robust old gentleman, who has most) of the late Mr Spurgeon's eccentricities without any (or at least many) of his electric sympathies. Dr. Parker's contribution to contemporary fiction is a slim volume of Pseudonym Library size called * Wilmot'* Child' by • Atey Nine.' It came oab about three months ago, aod met wich a decidedly mixed reception. One journal remarked thab Us 'silliness' wai'only rivalled by the idiotic manner in which it was cold1 Another recommended it to their readers, ' with the clearest of consciences, 1 as ' bright), witty and interesting.' Personally, I don'b think I'd any very strong opinion one way or the other. The effort was too trivial for italics. I should indeed have guessed the author to be very juvenile and very sentimental, probably a young father in the condition of fatuous imbecility resultant on a firsb baby, Lab which promptly disappears with the advent of Number Two.

J. M. Barrie'a ' Sentimental Tommy,' which commences id the January • Scribner,' promises exceedingly well, and Professor Colvin and others who hare read * Stevens?on's ' Weir of Hermieton,' now beginning in ' Cosmopoiis,' pronounce it the deceased novelist's undoubted masterpiece. Mr H. S. Msrriman also opens another tale culled 1 Flotsam,' in ' Longman's' for January.

Apropos of tho nature of the collabora« tion between the late Mr Stevenson and his step-son, those best acquainted with the household at Samoa tell us it was so trifling as to be really hardly worth mentioning. The only genuine work Lloyd Osbourne ever published was 'In the Wrong Box,' a book which poor Stevenson semi-fathered, buii which he never ceased to shudder at. Oabourne, asked by Miss Marie Fraser whafl part of ' The Wrecker' was his, replied, 'I gave Lewis a few ■ -suggestions and supplied the heads of the chapters.' Visitors to Valima seldom saw Lloyd Osbourne engaged in literary pursuits. He sometimes pretended he was going to set to work, but when interrupted usually lay on his back seeking inspiration from tobacco. Steveneon, on the contrary, wrote regularly for several hours each day.

Mr Herbert Vivian, who will bo remembered as part author of two semi-successful novels and part editor of that detectable publication, the ' Whirlwind t ' is efaortly to bring oab a paper called 'Give and Take.' Several young Oxford riiea are to assist iti polishing up this journalistic gem. Mr (Gladstone's seriea of articles on * Biehop Butler' will commence in the February ' Good Words.' This magazine, which is , famous for discovering rising writers, has this year serials by two of the younger school, Mias Alontreeor and Walter Raymond. 'False Coin or TruV ii the title of the former's story, arid ' Charity Chance' that of the latter. Mr Raymond's monb notable effort up to now has been ' Tryphena in Love' in the Iris Series, and Mias Montresor'a •Into the Highways and Hedges.' Mrs Oliphant's story of' The Seen and the Unseen,' in the January number of 'Blafikwood,' is Said to be founded on a well-known legend attaching the blockadup library window Of an old Abbey in Hereford. An unfortunate lovd affair years ago led to the suicide of the young librarian who flung himself oat of this window, first) cutting his throat. The Catastrophe created such an impression in the town thai the window (nob being specially required) was bricked up on the infiide, its outward semblance remaining. Female rela* tives of ' the lady in the caie ' are Bald, whilst Unmarried, to be able at cprtaih times to see the deceased at work through the mock window, ;and some Of them have even witnessed a repetition of the Buicida scene. Mrs Oliphahfs story does «ot| strictly follow bhsse lines, indeed her fiction improves ofi the original facto. This wottderful old lady has also an article on tho pox-novel (mentioned last week) in ' Maga.' New novels by Blackmore add Beatrice' Harraden are to appear in • Black Woo d' during 1896.

In the late fifties add early sixties ' Pete? Parley's Annual' was eovetdd by all pfoporly constituted boys and girls. Bnb Potor failed t6 move with the" times, and Routledge's ' Every Boys' Annual' (itself snuffed oufe later by the 'Boy's Own Paper'J took Mr Parley's place. The real name <nl Peter Parley was William Tegg, and he has just died in his eightieth year. The hopes of the enterprising newspaper syndicates who have been offering huge puma for prize ttories with the idea of discovering and exploiting (to their o#n ad* vantage) eonao unknown genius, have fallen to zero. Sir George Newnes' experiences ia this direction were decidedly amusing, tie firmly believed there were dozens of good novelists unable to get a hearing for this, that and the other reason. So he volunteered £1,000 prize for the best one volume novel, of course to become his absolute pro- , perty. All the competing manuscripts had to be type-written and accompanied by a pseudonym. Tho author's real name was delivered sealed np in an envelope with the pseudonym on the outside. These envelopes Sir George himself examined mosb carefully (to be sure none had bean tampered with), and then locked them into hia private safe. The manuscripts (numbering some thousands) he handed ■ over to a committee of experts, who read and sifted, and sifted and read for some weeks. At last two stories were selected as first and second best and handed back to him. Trembling with excitement the founder o! •Tit Bits' rushed to the safe and discovered the firsb prize-winner's envelop*. Who was the coming celebrity his enterprise had discovered. He tore ib open and read—Grant Allen. The cream ot the joke lay in the fact) that Sir George paid £1000 for a novel which Mr Allen would gladly have written to order for him for £500. The American syndicate who offered £400 for the best short detective story fared, as you known, similarly. After examining the 14,000 typed-ecripts competing with the greatest care, ib happened thab all four prizes went to wellknowu writers; Miss Mary Wilkins and Brander Matthtwii being first and Becond on the list. An if to prove conclusively that the results of these two prize competitions were Correct, a third of equal pretensions has just been adjudged inAmerica. And who do you think the winner turned out to be? Why, Mr Julian Hawthorne, one of. tha best known writers in the country. That these affairs are perfectly fairly carried out), I don't think one can po*sibly doubt. You see, for one thing, it is aeainsb the prize-giver's interests thab the winner should turn out a well known literary man. TThat he hopes to find is the good man as yeb unknown. Mr E. L. Godkin, the Henley of America, has published through Constable's a collection of hia essays from the New York ' Nation.' Appropriately enough, the nrso is on • Panics.' Mr W.-E. Norris and Mr Marion Crawford fairly rival one another in fertility of imagination and general excellence of wot k' manship. Barely three months ago the labter's ' Casa Braccio' excited the unanimous approval of the critics, and now the inner circle of literary experts are saying equally kind things of an English story of his due in January. Mr Norris also published two successful novels la«b year, and in January • Cornhill' commences another one entitled • Claris?* Fnrioaa.'