OBITUARY.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13719, 28 April 1910, Page 7

OBITUARY.

BJORNSTJERNE BJORNSON.

United Press Aeeooiation—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received April 27th, 11.15 p.m.) LONDON, April 27. The death is announced of Bjornstjerne Bjornson, th© famous Norwegian poet, dramatist and novelist.

Tho death of Bjornson removes a great figure from th© literary world, and from the politics of Norwajr. . His literary" reputation was world-wide; as a Radical of fierce earnestness he had probably more to-do with the separation of Norway from Sweden than any other man. The extent of his influence may be ganged from a cartoon published just after King Haakon accepted the throne of Norway—Bjornson was depicted patting the new King on the head and telling him that if he behaved himself tjiey would get on well together. Bjornson. and Ibsen were th© two'greatest intellectual forces in Scandinavia during the last half of the nineteenth century.

Bjornson was born in 1832, in a re- [ mote district of Norway, where his father was a pastor. He began to writ© verses in his eleventh year. At 17 he went to the University at Christiania, where he took his degree. He went in for journalism, especially dramatic criticism. In 1856 he began to develop his real talent with "Thrond," the earliest of his short stories.., * For two years he was director of the theatre at Bergen. Then ho" travelled in Europe, and returned in 1864 to Norway, to -take charge of the Christiania Theatre, where two of his playis were produced. For the next ten years most of his energy was spent in politics and business. In another period of voluntary exile he recovered hi» imaginative powers, and settled down to a long period of production, during which he wrote plays and novels. Some of these dealt in a very powerful fashion with burning questions of the day, and caused a great amount of discussion.

A critic says of his peasant tales that they created a profound impresion m his own country, and mad© him popular throughout th© world. They are full of freshness and beauty, combined with remarkable realism. Two of these tales, 'Am©' and 'Synnove Sol•bakken, are nearly perfect, and offer perhaps finer examples of the pure peasant story, than ar© to be found elsewhere in literature." His literary refutation m his own country was very high. H© was fond of telling a story to illustrate this. On on© occasion his pchtical views wer© received with so much disfavour by a section of the community, that a demonstration wis organised to march to his house ard make its presenco unpleasantly felt. The ob.ectore came, and made what they'thought was an impressive demonstration, but to the grim delight of Bjornson, they marched away singing with great gusto one of his own patriotic songs!

Th© death is announced of Mr G«o. Wilmct. of Christchurch, at the age of /l years. Starting lif© as a school teacher at Claremont, Ireland, at th© ago of 17, he afterwards went to Australia, where he held th© position of headmaster of the Majorca State school for seventeen years. From the timo of his landing in New Zealand, in 1881, to his retirement from the Education Department in 1907, ho successfully filled the position of headmaster of th© Sw_ an 4 Koromiko (Marlborough) _-hoo«». The late Mr Wilmot leaves a widow, two daughters, and foursons, to mourn his loss. '

(PRESS ASSOCIATION TTL»_-U__,) BLENHEIM J April 27 William Tmdall, an old and htehiv- .____} •*&** ■*_*■_£& yeans. •*

CABLE NEWS.