BYRON AS CRICKETER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 226, 24 September 1927, Page 22

BYRON AS CRICKETER.

A recent sale at Sotheby's included some interesting literary manuscripts, for which high prices were paid. The autograph manuscript of R. L. Stevenson's "Records of a Family of Engineers," with three unpublished chapters, sold for £1600; a series of 177 letters from Darwin to Sir Charles Lyell, £1180; and a letter from Byron to Charles Gordon describing the Eton v. Harrow match of 1805 was bought for £350 on behalf of a few Old Harrovians who are presenting it to the school. Byron says, among other things: "We have played the Eton (sic) and were most confoundedly beat, however, it was some comfort to me that I got 11 notches the first innings and 7 the second, which was more than any of our side, except Brockman and Ipswich, could contrive to hit. Later. . . To be sure we were most of us rather drunk, and went together to the Haymarket Theatre, where we kicked up a row, as you may suppose when so many Harrovians and Etonians met at one place. I was one of seven in a single Hackney Coach, four Eton and three Harrow fellows, we all got into the same box, the consequence was that such a devil of a noise arose that none of our neighbours could hear a word of the drama, at which not being highly delighted, they began to quarrel with us, and we nearly came to a battle royal."

ANTHOLOGY OF NOVELS.

Mr. Mackenzie Bell's prose anthology, "Half Hours With Representative Novelists," in three volumes (Routledge, through Chainptalonp and Edniiston) is more than a mere compilation or collection of extracts. Some of the authors named, and specimens of whose work is given, were known to the compiler personally and many interesting notes result from this. The "introductions" are potted biographies, and are useful for reference purposes. Not only celebrated English and American novelists are included, but many of the lesser literary lights, whose books are all but unknown to the present generation, and much dust may be sent flying from neglected volumes by those who peruse the selections given by Mr. Mackenzie Bell. Those who are middle-aged may here renew their youth. "Ouida" is represented here; does anybody read her now? And here, too, is Clark Russell—is he dead in the double sense? There is a passage from "Rudder Grange," a humorous classic which is probably not nearly so well known as it deserves to be, and one from the once popular "Frank Fairlegh." Did you know that Newman wrote a novel? He did, and there is a piece of it here. Whyte Melville is represented by a passage from "Market Harborough," and Herman Melville, recognition of whose genius is steadily growing, by one from "Omoo." These selected examples are so chosen that most of them can be read with interest, detached from their original setting. Literary aspirants can, in the three volumes of this anthology, Study the subjects, methods, styles and plots of the great and lesser ones of fiction and those readers who seek entertainment only will find l it here in plenty. There is a critical essay of nearly one hundred pages (by the author of the book) in the first volume, which serves as a guide to the whole, and at the end of the third volume is a long list of unquoted British novelists of that period, which gives one some idea of the immense output of forgotten fiction. This is a valuable reference book. In the list at the end is a section called "New Zealand Novelists." The names are Alexander Bathgate, James Bonwick, Louisa Meredith, William Lee Rees, Charlotte H. Spence, Garnet Walch, George Arthur Walstab, and William Bramwell Withers—none of whom was born later than 1843. Do any of our "•ders know the works of any of these • writers t

Messrs. Chatto and Windus' fiction for the autumn will include a novel of an imaginary war, by C. E. Montague, entitled "Right off the Map." Mr. Montague retired from the "Manchester Guardian" to devote himself to writing books.

Authors of all kinds will be alarmed by the latest intelligence from across the Atlantic (says the "Manchester Guardian"). The Internal Revenue Bureau of the United States has decided that an author's royalties on books sold are "unearned income," and as such are taxable at a rate higher by a quarter than salaries and professional fees. This is probably the first legislative expression of the prejudice, curiously widespread, that authors do not work. There is, of course, the classic story of the little girl, daughter of a painter and decorator, who said to the man busy with a landscape, "My father works when he paints." And the principle seems to have been generally adopted by those amateur dramatic societies who, having decided to devote to charity the proceeds of their pastime, call upon harassed playwrights to remit their fees for so worthy an object.

Mrs. E. Barrington, Louie Moresby, Adam Beck, is the composite name of the authoress of several popular books, and her latest, "Rubies" (Harrap), is further evidence !of her versatility. "Rubies" is a mystery romance of Cornish smuggling, Burmese gods, and Burma half-castes. "Louis Moresby" builds her fiction by a deft juggling with facts, distorting the latter to entwine them in a fictional network. Her method is unusual, and the result amusing for all willing to accept their fiction for amusement only, and not wishing to obtain instruction of a reliable quality. There is more of the boys' "adventure book" about this volume than is usual in Mrs. Beck's work.