BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 116, 8 February 1908, Page 13

BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

1 V VERSES NEW AND OLD. / ON A RAILWAY PLATFORM., Leap, heart, for tho pulse and the roar, ■> the lights, ot, tho streaming train 1 That leaps with the heart of thy love-once moje . ;Out,of. the .mist; and. the rain. •> For ,the thousand panes of light, . And . the faces veiled' with mist, , Streaming out'of the desolate night v In ruby, and amethyst. . ,■, - ■ v Oat _ of'the desolate "years . ' . ' . '-The'.thundering, pageant-flows;/:; • But I see no more than n window of tears, Which her face has turned to a r050... •; !•;.) —Alfred Noyes, in 1 tho "Nation." ; , THE DREAM At noon, in tho valley of far Daghestan, - With -a -ball in my breast I lay -silent and .;V : "T.'. stark,;: •;; v '.v' ' -' '.. -v •- :■ - Whila drop, by drop, slowly, the red h;c T bluod ran i Prom-the still, smoking' wound that showed ' hollow and dark. Alonol.,lay,there .on the bare- sandy ground. Tho fierce sun. of noontide was scorching the v ■ • .steep . .. ■■■ - ...■ ■••-" •. I • Brown crests of the mountains 'that hemmed , around, , I ; And it-fell'on mej too—but'l-slept the death* sleep/--.vri;; f. :;v /i v ? V' r /':-. j ~ And'l dreamt' ;of'(my - country; : of-: revels by. Hvnight; .\;'i;''j.V. '/ '-iT ■/. f -HOf-'halls.ithat wora brillinnt ; with,, cressets i • •'. • . 'aflame; . . . 1: j*" Of jmhidonsVwhose 'chaplets'"of. i roses' gleamed i bright, " •, And-- amid- their • gay. gossip I heard- my -own i' name. : : v'' i- i-'- 1 .J----c ~. ■ But. one of the maidens sits ponaive apart, ! :■ Nor, joins mi the:laughter; and God alonoknows What sinister, fancies engulf her young heart, . ■ So' silent-sho sits-whilo. tho rovelry -grows- 1 - Does she see m her vision the corpse of a man - With a.ball in -his'breast," lying' silent and -'/.::>n, .". At-noon, in;the valley of far Daghestan, >. • ■ While the still smoking wound with his.hfeblood is dark? • —Michacl,Tonnevich Lermontov, translated (I ' . Eosa Ncivinr.rcli, mytho "Argonaut/' ■ DIANA'S FOOTPRINTS. Thoughthe-leaves ' are', still and.the ambient: air >15 hushed, ■ I know, sho'has.passed but-an hour a'go> this :'!■ HiFor the young green leaves of' the. bay aro but 1 ~ newly ciushod, :And noiscent is surer to know than tho scont i " r of the bay, M' - ' 'And the dnst of tho pollen is still afloat in 1 " tho air > , 'That burst like steam' from the pines 'as she 'vYf V; Y. .'.^V;' •■'■'-"f.'r: v';- • ' -/■ :Tho' way ;sh«! went; that < way-will her feet re:r For hero is a>sandal dropped m the-heat o' i > the chase ' . The .bucklo is set. with rubies like eyes that burn ' :In-the heart;of the.jungle at dusk, from a " tiger's face. i ' i Antf ithe.i golden i glance..of i daisy l Ms > blurred with blood ■ From tho bounded deer as ho paused in his ,;V v ; deathly'Jraco;-' . - Ah, here Bhe;conjes! f The sound .'of her brazen M -horn * ; Thrills all' the .pendulous' leaves 'with its' , i thfeat of blood. | • , , And:the-blossoms: flutter down'at the l blast of i > scorn, • - Or,seal their beauty anew in tho:oval bud.' And.the sweat of her steeda .drips down- as ~ ' v they neigh for home,-'. j.v .'■'(■"i-'-v-'.::' And o\er the sti angled flowers their wild , hooves thud. 1 ;. :-.'.' J -'':''-y.> \ • C. Thorleyr- : LIGHT AND SHADE t [ know a 1 street in Seville t town : ri Bl ! lIt , I wl , th •/.such .height;' of, storied' walls . 1 - That al day, though the sun! i-Sv^rcely^one^Bti-eaKibf;sumffihPYall^^ ; ': ' - \Tet -strangely" even; the, shadow seems •' , 'falad with light-penetrated air, ( , Asleep,.>buti lit ;with shining dreams,— ' .• ■ ■ ■ • Darkj but-yet sure the suir is-'there.- ' • ; i ' 1 . * Gazing I stoodthe passers-by ".'~ '. " ■ Glanced, wondering what I-mused apartii ; ' T !l°y,.B , [cssed, niAj-be, the painter's , oye, -out ah/ guessed not 1 , the lover's heart! '' Far on that opening. all might bend - gazoi but only J could tell ; • b - ?l clr , at J ll ! 6 lm K btreet's end - ' ■ of., heaven,the .sunlight ■ fell. ; ■ 1 ; —Walter Headlam.

FOREIGNERS.

,-■lt, Isa.fortunato thing, that we c.annot-ar-rango our poets and prose writers in order of •j • n}e» fc v ns w0..d0, candidates .at. an examinal ' ,V 10Ugl1 we feel it 'would bo : ~.a . h ' gnb:,cpnyeniont, way of arriving at a een--I™' .estimate, of the powers, of. a new wnler.' ■■■• ' s 9rX»n° u ? is .tho, excellenceof tho'artiH that it does not permit of any but the ' tV; 0 , fc r ( ' ass| ficition, you may dub a poet Cc,v tnird-rate.i find his tedious ..heroics a molan- ■ ; f'oly waste of words, yet discover aimd the ■■■•. , a pleasant oasis'of verso; whoso I sweetness no lapse of years can lessen ■ v Among the many, however, against whom'alv, most every chargo savetthat of dulness may b° brought,- those.who, whether children of renaissance or decadence, wear tho laurel . . ■■ ■ Uiiqii£'sti o iietl, thero. aro a cliosen fow to whom ■ j - . i'awi was at once Kind.and unkind. They aro ' tliol'orerunucrs, the heralds who, in Lowell's ' phraso,, "dropped dead.jn announcing the . • . ■ ' v .'°! ; . or .yj 1! ' - w "Osq , fruits J they ' -wero not to ~ ,B !l a re. . : It is too mice a question-to deter-' mmo whether such men simply camo bofore '/ ■~ 0 ' l u '. nes 1 s of time, or .whether some defect of : blood or brain caused them to fall short of . . the highest. - The problem/however;is <full- ■ !•' . ? f "o™ critical 'and human interest, for it •: ■ invokes a study of tho natures of writers i widely : removed in time,-yet ; subject to a .si- r milar destiny, and almost invariably'winninw ■ j Jn .ono igo or anothor the passionate ilovo ol « men Even here, lf-to bring the question within definite limits-wo name such names as'.those of Langland, Marlowo," Forgusson,- ' ■..-■■■."■■ .- 1 ? 1 ? I J' a . t h cr 'to draw -attention'to a strain of Bimilanty in poets rccognised ■as minor, than :to v assort, that ~ thoy and .others liavo fallen ' short or the highest-for identical reasons: for ~; at-, times- a -Keats orv a- .Shelley: •as - well <as losser,singer, living and-dead, shows ..himself akm to these by, his power, to touch j . tho samo,chord in the human -heart, bv the ■ charm of -a; personality which leaves his lovers ' in • doubt whother their lovei'-is 'altogether i . ftco from-an admixture of pity: ' '' ■ an Marlowe, -Fergusson, : Blako; : , . Chaiuiier,i Shakespeare, Burns,' apart-from tho moro-dower of (genius ftestowed • 'upon ; Hhein,what qistinguishes , the first four of these fronr the sccond, what liavo , the.poats of each, company-in common which . wins.men's,lotfe-iivthe:;ori(?. r case and mon's .■ homage in'-the-other?The answer>is probably to-be found'in the essential difference . " in temperament between tho minor.- poet -and -• tbo supremo'singer, and in the attitude of 1 ... civilised man to-failure., Leaving out of; account.'the vast'numbors who are at'-best-.but incompetent or clever workmen at verse, and ; confining our attention to thosO;to whom has roally been : sent somo , vision- of the-Holy Grail of poetry, we find that the first years of . the. blossoming-of' a poet's genius aro. wonderfully.alilco in all.;. Browning.lias told;tl\ I story with, equal .insight' and-beauty in Sordnllo. Every sense vibrates then to t'ho colour ... and .music.,..of. the earth,' the . poet 'seems ; . . . clothed 111 a. ■ 1 ■ I'inci drcsv of flt.sh that .amply lets in 10veh- ...... ".'. ".-oitKiS; ;y;. i - At eye and. ear. .... . . .... l-'rcsh ,bntlis of beautv wake J'resli honiago,,ovory grade of lovo is past, ' , ; mode of;rovelineks—then castV, Thferior idols , off ■ their l»on'owed' crown • ' • a;.connrig glory; Up and down'- ' ; ■ - "uns arrow j. fiio,.. ivlulo earthly . forms- combine v i-: i T" throb,the .secret forth; a touch divine- •-. Anrt'.thpv»Alc(l .eyeball 'oWns the mystie.rddj ' visibly, tlirouKh..;his garden walketh God. 3he ,vision maj .be. of a regenerated earth or f or, absolute, boauty, sought at first with ecstasy, and resigned only , with - the passing breath. . -' i.- vL ■ V"" : 'f ' s ' , ' lO .tesenco minor poet thai ■j. ne ho tno passionate centre of his. own-world,; i and that ; his judgment bo :o'erswayed ; by> omotion.. AIl poetry is born of tho marriago : , of thcaeitwo, and it will generally be found *hat n perfoctilyrio is tho expression of the

highest wisdom.v; Buf while the great singer has likewise been swept by , tho tempests of tho heart, his blood and judgment aro so well commingled that tho latter finally, sways the former, and.'thb'master seems capable of looking down upon himself-as from another, star, ■and boholdmg the strifo of his passions as in momory. Tho sanity and wholeness of his outlook prevail, where passion would be vain; meanwhile, as stormers . rago impotently around a barricaded door, the :minor poet storms the gates of worldly favour.-; At times a transient success falls to his.share—a singlo ;lyric .soars into the sky of fame;, aud holds, ;eternal - .station thereVbut his:)eager - heart seeks m'oro than this. ,So ; ho sinks baffledi -'Or,:;changing- the metaphor; we .may. see awistfulness in his regard, as of a laino boy ,looking on at a boisterous.game; all his'faoul-fties-.are alert. ,for. the onioyment of life;.': but some defect of body, or m his case; of .will, keeps him m tho background. At times ho •almost seems, to'regard a certain measure of failure as. inevitable, ■ since no reality -''could ovor. match, tho splomlour . of : .his. visions.? Words are too weak" to tell their glory. •If <}" the pens - -that- ever poets held . Had fed the feeling of theirmasters' thoughts, And^every.sweetness .that inspired their hearts, t.- w " nm | s ' and. muses on admired themes; fit. all ,tho;heavenly, auiiitessonce 'they still. vFroni'' their, immortal .flowers of. poesy, 'Wherein; ao in a ( mirr'6r, we perceivo 'The highest rcnches °f a luima'n wit; " .' ;lf.these had made-ono poem's- period, '■ ' Ana nil-combined iii beauty's worthiness, " in ' iL 01 i'J re hbver, in • their restless heads'e ]eas? • - one , g ,a ® 0 ' . °ne wonder, : at' thoWhich, into . words no , virtue can digest. . ; ■ .j And who can,doubt that as Marlowe' penned theso. wonderful lines tho uncaptiirable graco ,was really his for the brief momont, and that' the greatest; gift the gods could give was to'' sot. it tree,, and to become again a hire to bis insurgent spirit ? "TamburJaino" could firid rest to- his. ambitious climbing in "the sweet' truition of .an earthly 'crownbut his creatui roi.' i none, and tlio dagger that stabbed ; Shakpspearo's forerunner cut him off whilo as .vet all tho , "bravo translunary things _of the first poets liiade song a rap,turo to him. The glory-remained u'nwon, but i'ato spared him tho knowledge .of. defeat, and so, with desires .which would know no fulfilment,; and thoughts that trembled for uttorance, .Marlowo remains tho archetype of ,tho forerunners. The crown'ho sought Ml, ,to - Shakespeare; so' tho kiss of glory: 'for- . winch .'Cyrano -,de Borgerac would have, given' his soul fell on. tlio hps of Moliero, and'a "Gil.lian w-ill dreani of fino aecds : ' and'' real kisses,' whilo a' bolder performs tho onovahd takes tho other. • .' ■ ' , '• \ A .;

•; Ono_ oftwothingsis necessary to success in any sphere,'great genius'or' mrinumfentfil stupi- ?}<*>-. world;bow ; s; reverently to each', being" unable to distinguish'the /<rae from'the other. : uenius, witji its wisdom rooted in passioh, mankind : and works' it' as the .^^.v w ?W:^'''^®yV-^ost,dolnto,;whi6h''iß : often associated with dogged host and. - up-' rigntness, impresses men even;as they would' bo moved by'the'eoriviilsions of' a blind whale, p Uio; frogs woro'b'y the fall .of;, tho. log; /This ; 13; tho true explanation' of many > a 'literary success which sets tho-after,genpratioris wondering. Men ia the mass feel the inipressivenflssYor things ;massive,;:'and ; share ;sonio 'ot their:inertness,-their'jjonderous impa'ssiveness .which crushes' opposition; It is ' against this stupidity;■ or; rather; st.olidness, that''tho gods ! powerless:r j'At the closo' of tho 1 soldier-poet'' in;his delirium ■ thrusts at! and; overcoifies tlio porsoiii fio'cl evils that throng- around : )iim, 'till Stupidity -fronts himy,,when i heilowers' his/sword with a smile of humorou3'yet ; 'tragic,' despair. Ho : - is beaten ; against '.that'/iinvulnerablG. Proserico the vmost' jibiiited: wit strikes-to' no' purpose'.: But the minor poet is, ,as a: rulo,' slow to recognise thisy/and. ourses the- very Philistines' jwhom'he/burns^td; thr;H : to 'the mainwi' be- : : conies or eccentric - in; some jdisrof : spectabb'fashion and spends' himself at best; in futile; foam of song. 'As a forerunner lie comes with a message moi'e or less riftw. Ho is and'tremblihg'with l .'tho joy/ of his jsvangel,-' but"without' tho' wpridly. 'wisdom tomako it accoptuble to nien not: naturally/qiick of hearing|br-understanding.-None knows will come ■to^their'--nta^>itvh^ri-'.'thsV>^ah\/eovwitli ;i his" eyes, > a! WrrW p fs' r tllß'C' lie' c"an-: not';make them- seo. -; Another' may and will; ■' and ■ye ;--aiid;;liere. is ■ 0116 'of tlic; "wonders of in'tho: story ;of . tho/soul—the' fruits - of: Success wil /''lievor * tasto quito so sweet to him who' will phiok them as to him , who saw them but as Tantalus ''did'.'Only ; the .vanquished' really'.know tho' intoxication of victorythey behold the. unending raptures of imagination long after the victors! have'forgotten even their triumph. , So, too; they win a double measure of felicity '-'in/'drawing j to' themselves the world's lovo and-'dyinghefore jho commonplaoo cam touch/ them. *'' Who s'o intimate as to'love Shakespearo/or 'Wordsworth? 'What else' but; a love' : that often mbrges .into a' half pity g6cs" out to Langland, wandering, aloof and sadly visionary/in' the;niorry' England of. ChaucerV'pilgririis, 'and seeing beforo him'all'tho evils .thnt have /abided 1 to this :• day?;'(What 'but,.low;to/Mar-i 'lowe,\ to Blake, an earlier. Shelley in all; but splendour of verse, alone' in tho very heart ,'of London', 1 : building up a'] new incomprehensible Jerusalem ;6f" his' own/ living a lifo of 'unswerving loyalty to. an art which barely kept •him-living■?,- TovKeats; : ,ihe re-creator, of;tho Elizabethan 'linej withdrawing from a pairi:hauftted/world into a realm of fancy ,tcf.;hearkeh to .the/song of' li ; deathless night- • ingaleto Fergusson s - held in so little regard that lie almost owes his fame 1 as well as,'his monument.to-'the-'greater one who followed, so/ closely: in' his'footsteps? For, except iji. tho'caso of such men' as "Bums' or:' Heine/ ; where/; the''-long/triumphs' of !, timo ' are shallowed by the clouds!of failure or pain.which 'passed across .their lives,: and'thus m'ako love jppssiblo and;iue'vitabloi; men's' hearts do:not go forth to' the' victors. : Enough for' these tho olamour 'in/thd/markeUplaee; they :havo. tlio /laurel, -and! need /neither pity nor, love/ and stupidly 'slow-to recognise the forerunner, while. living/ ia '• j>repai ; ca to make full /amends, to; arid 'sheij'a: tear, 1 -of>;seritimont or* sentimentality matters not/over hiin who lias' fallen'dead:on;thpvery''thr'eshold;bf ,'victory. r B.est 'of all,/ho 'moots' tho doom - glorified by :Steyenso'n/ at/; the'/oloso/of /Acs'/Triplex—; suffered .to; tako so ! much as /an/.illusion from': his heart." . Ho perishes,; : parti'allyVdisillusioned,'it /may :,boj but with infinito vistas of hope, widening out*" ward to. his gaze. ( ', 0 for ton yearn, that I may overwhelm . ) ' Myself }n .poesy j'. so'l may do the deed . That.my own sqvl! has to-itself, : decreed,- . cries Keats. : Then the curtain falls on the proud,•• confident spirit/ and the;dream—fortunato . poet—remainsaV dream' for ever. Piers - PloughnianV may] come* and reform / the world, i.the/wopderof perfection may: come Ho a Marlowe's, hand, may yet' be built .:/'■;. ' . •' ; i. : . In England's grcon and pleasant land • by a Blake, • for life .will not bo allowed to rob,them of that faitli., .Shelley, who knew; it all/in his own heart, knew,their happiness and ,sang.it in'.,words which no man can ,bet- : ter; :~'Tliero need ho no tears' of sorrow for such as.Koats;'. 'Prom-the conttfßion. of tho-.world's slow/stain ;Ite is secure; and,,now can never mourn ; A heart .grown"cold, ,a. head grown grey, in ■. vain—- .. '• Nor when, .tho spirit's self, has ceased to burn, With/ sparkless' ashes load an unlamented . '• ':urn. ■. "/ .No. wandless .Prospero ) ..no "lost is numbered arnong them.—Professor Baiu, in the "Glasgow Herald."

TJJE LANGUAGE OF FINE CPOTHES,

, Ono has 1 often thought it'a pity Trench did not; give up, a chapter in his book "Tho Study o .Words", to that bastard English that calls a liouso. "a./esidcnco," and deals in swelling and pretentious phrases. Ho had much tOjSay about tho."immorality" of various Enghsfc words, But' ; is:, thero.not. _ in'a . way of specch. or, ivritiiig winch dresses up naked 'commonplace, things ; obvious ..and. ordinary, in )vhat the speaker, or writer intends to parado as the purplo of language t . Hero is an oxamplo of tho kind of thing wo .mean. Whon.the treaty was mado batwoen England arid Ilussia, tho, Spectator" began its notes with: "Wo .tender, to Sir Edward Grey- our hearty congratulations on," , etc. ' Stript. of verbiago' this- merely meant ; that tho writer, did what thousands of us no doubt were doing without pomposity. It ; amounted to !!Wo congratulate,. Sir fEdward Orey"—or "Wo heartily,.congratulate ' Sir Edward Groy"— 'on tho treaty, ibetween and Russia." A plain 'thinp quite, which ouffht

surely to bo put in. tbo' plainest,, shortest Jinglish. M liy then introduco tlio imago conveyed in a solemn periphrasis about tendering" ? What will Smith think of Jones if, when tlioy moot in the street toniorrow morning, Jones, instead of saying • fj? , BWHing, Mr. Smith," strikes an attitudo and, with his hand on his heart, ex.olaims, ' Suffer mo, Air. Sniith,' at this juncturo to say to you—Good inorning"? Or supposo Jones had just got into tho Govcrnmont; what would lie think if Smith, instead or saying, "I congratulato you heartily, Mr.' Jones, . wero solemnly to inilato himself and slowly out with—|'l bog to. tender to you, Mr. Jones, my hearty congratulations on tho announcement that you havo 'obtained' a seat in his Majesty's Government" ? Jones would think, "What a solemn ass tlio man is! "Ho. is trying to inako something excep,tional oilt of "tho most ordinary. congratulations." : But, happily, a spado is simply a spado, in ordinary talk: , Jiiiglish people -do liot-T-ou't of print—try t-o invest with solemn rites thoir most ordinary acts and" thoughts.. Wo remomber hearing a political leader—now in. tho Government—speak with c.old contempt of this bad habit of trying oro -rotuhdo .and..by, regal-seqining language, to inako your ordinary seem extraordinary. Ho took for his text the laying—sometimes seen in print—that somo 'man' or other appeared "in, faijltless.; evening : attiro,'" instead of. "c'amo iii ovoning dress;" , '. . Ono agreed with him;,of course, that tbo phraso: was,ludicrous. . Hardly tlio imgairiatioii of'a maidservant will conjure up visions of' black-coat and white-shirt faultlessness. But .."faultless, ovenijig attiro" . is iiot oiio of ,tho worst, ■ plfen'ders; : it is hedded thingj'chatter of 'the novelette, nothing more. Thero is no solemn assumption of extra; responsibility about' it, : ..as'there is about so of these' swelled-, head' phrasßS.' ' \lt ' hardly'; i gulls ' tho. most , gullible.' •: ; 'The • sanio : might.'.lie. said of the expression '■'■'succulent bivalve," 1 about which so much fun •' has '■.'Abec'ir l '-madfe'.. 1 ' .We ■ havo taken it as'•a familiar 'specimen/ 'but would not make ' tao muck of it.': '' Probably tho man who 1 in ventedit had jno idea "beyond that 5 of 1 avoiding tho repetition of tho word "oyster" several .times,. in" tTiO'Same sen-' tence. , A far grosser " sinner''is a pliraso like "select seminary for young ladies"- of, "high-class establishment,";.which.is-r:or.was I —used by masters -andi mistresses to convey, tho idea.that .theirs is not ~an ordinary, "girls' school." • THero is no insincerity' ini "succulent .bivalve". for "oyster"; ..but . the insincerity, about "select sorniiiary for young., .ladies" is .rank, smelling, to': Heaven. '"A. nobloman's seaf'-r-that^.. is , a displeasing phrase, found' in Va," certain' typo of directory or : "rosidenco" "house,"; ; "resides"at" fori "lives! at,", "obsequies" ..for' ''burial"—ii' vulgarity, of mind Jurlss iii these., Tho' odd thing is that people who: aro in the habit. of' using;this kind of. languago .be-; ';l|orp that by its usq tlioyj aro"avoiding"vul•garity;. | a-,tutor's, wife' onio "say-: ;mg to ono of tho.pupilg, ."01i,''Mr: — —;,. please don't talk' Qf" 'a; .lotiking-gla'ss' I' It is so inelegant. I have always understood it ■is to be'correctly described as 'a'mirfor:'" " 'To ; all this i some peoplo -'may reply,''"What (loes it niatter ?'' .' 'Why riiot'let tho 'Spcctator'say: .'select./seminary* "instead '' .of''''school' 'mirror''.; instead '.!of ''looking-glass!—if it'■ chooses? ~;.. Why.; not r- lot' it i-'tender its - congratulations ' instead of' ' simply 'con- , gratnlating'? -Why not ...lot. . people doing! that- to Hiving',at.'a .housop.lf. is a mero ' question.: as to . stylo, aud . you aro, fastidious in objecting: to these words and expressions.":; J:But ithat .is ;not;so.''.. ' It. is no question!of'; /fastidiousness. . As ■ for -stylo,',>vhyj ;.it. is a-million- miles;away: .It. does notj como into <; the discussion at-; all.'--Nor. do \VO' plead for v bald English ;at all times.On tlio contrary,distinction) of phrase, and, a; ! nice—and' sometimes. even,i. av curious—choice ..of . iwords '-and metaphor aro L most. welcpniG i ::_:,AVithout them; tliero must.be-' literary stagnationy Metaphor, simile, synonym let -there bp/.by.'all.-; means., y'.'•Writing is an' ni'i,. and; these . aro'.,- tlio - means by• .which..'it is _cultiyated.,. . ; ' But . this , is., a" very.,' d.ifferont_thing.from uttering your common--places with such' pomp and-ritual: lis per-: suado gulls that you aro making a "pro-' npuucempnt'.' of great woiglit. . .Porteiitous-, ness, 'i)'hpre , there; is no <portont,. .disgusts.Bombast, whoro «thero is no bomb, ..disgusts'.'; Swelling.-words','.ivhero there ~ is noj need to,: swoll,- disgust.:. ,Tho man who .'."tpstifies to fiis approbation", of., Us instead of approving. ,us;' or :>yhoi.;i "tenders ; his. congratulations".; ;is .tpo iiiuch-.for .flesh'and iblopd:'-. .'

' "Who would, not laugh if such a"man"there , ' ho? V-' •: ■"! ■' v-.-i-'.Who'wpuld-.jnot'ywcep.'if Atticus were he?" ' Wo should show to the door a man, who:'ofteni,did this sort of:thing';;or at least say* "Not at ; homo" to liirii. . 'Why :then shoiil'd' wo not show to th'o • wasfco-papor ' basket or,' Jiack. of. thoiflro- a book"' or /; a- paper 'that' sinned-;; ra'.rtKis : 'way?'-- Tho humbugging 'exordium is 'gradually;- 'disappeariiig ;from public speeohi . .In tho House of Commons', ;a ; man : is dono for"wlio rises solemnly■ places hishand; on -his 'breast, and; v be^ihs- "Mr.Speaker, 'Sir.i-I:riso. on, tliis'-occasiori.un' order :to ' etc., ."and .I'think, :sliall only bo expressing, tho .very general- feeling of this; House.when L'remark that tho speech.just dolivercsl.by the right honourable-gentle-,man etc.;,,; Only BmiMro'rs:' and Dictators. do . this sort • of thing without -arousing.ndjoule; and as a fact.they flon'.t do-iti-Tho-spect-acio of ;an\ - ordinary., persoh';"express;in'g,'; in.print or by-word of nVouth, "a sense of his approbation,"- or f 'hegc:iiig> to. tender us ■ heartiest congratulations," ought to ,b'e ludicrous enpiigh even : to a 1 man who never saw .a; joke, in his ■ life.. But -.the absurdity ;of it is: not tho' wqrsti-'part. Tho point is that these, phrases •- sacrifice;'' truth. Thoy ..claim- for the thing uttered a significance. 1 a weight, _ which, it does not . possess. .. Tlie words, in their look of bursting import, are out, of -- all - , proportion to tho -'. worth -of -tho thing said, or,;-, written.This -is what ,wo niMn- .'The seiiso; in uiiterent from, Trench's,, butith'e' grievanc'o is as real and .-serious..' as againstword sinning.— 1 'Saturday Review.", sv .

THE JOURNALIST.

Those who aro interested in the interior of the journalistic - workshop;: will find .somefjanfe to,their,-faucy .in; ,-an.., articlo entitled' , iho Oonfossions.' of '.a'Library Journalist"' : in tho Christmas'number - American In v thi3,caso tho u journalist" ,15, ft reportor, arid: his ; ';,bejng : a ' "literary" journalist, moans that, his forte is not ferreting out, uows ,but. making ;- a .'good' story-of what has befcn ferreted out..' .. He is a "star" in :his, kind. - and says ;th'at lio is; ; trying, to cross pver ' from. ,newspaper,-...writing•' to writing 'for magazines.' • : i --.-■ .In tolling his story, ho 'hits.upon two points .worth noting. Olio of; them is tho loyalty of a reportor. to; his .papor. It is like tlmt of- a soldier to his superior-, officer, r Pie is.-callecls upon to do things against which his natural sensitiveness aiid even his sense, of,.decency, revolt.- He .has to invade the privacy of women mourning th'oir deakl ;• ho'iias to fol-. , low tho criminal .to tho gallows or. sgo liim strapped'to the'chair and but ho not demur.Ho. niay ; pauso ito realise tho difficulties, but not to consider whether ho shall obey or not. Moreover,that considerations of , personal safety aro tho., last', to suggost themselves ho illustrates from his own experieiicb. Ho was assigned' to visit a wrcck which was'; battering itself .to pieces on. a renioto i-e'ef;' and, as' it'-'was' mid-winter',and tho-ico-pack closing in, no'sailor would _vejituro to tako him. ; AVhen at last a skipper was found willing,, the sum ho mentioned was Iso lajgo as' to send tho reportor to the telephono for^-'instructions from headquarters. It was only when the camo fnot ; to risk, his 'lifo in tho venturo that it occurred to him that" his life also was one of the things to be taken into account. In illustration of tho samo principle ho quotes the saying of a reportor who,' discussing tlie caso of a brothor of the. craft who had imperilled himself- in a mining striko in Pennsylvania, said,-'.'lt ain't horsesense; a man should romcmber that ho cannot deliver tho story if ho is dead or crippled:" ,

The second point is moro ! striking. In passing over into a moro difficult typo of literary work ho naturally asks-himself how far his newspaper cxperienco ' has been a preparation for it. Tho answer is tho interesting thing. It has partly fitted and partly unfitted him.:. For. ono thing, it has given him' a knowledgo of tho loro of many callings and inado him a "Dccameron of tlios'o stories ..which: never ..get into print and aro far moro useful, to, tho novelist and essayist than thoso which do." But, on tho other hand, it lias, trained him to look upon .tboso thincs "objectively." . That is, it has

habituated him to relato them to ono another, and not to viow each action as a manifestation of tho stato of mind of liiin who did it. "Not very wido experience," ho concludes, "but very much meditation and fulness of tho lifo within, gives tlmt'subjectivo imagination which makes a writer understand not how tho murderer acts when ho pulls tho trigger, but how ho feels; hot what tho lover says when lovo is fulfilled, but what ho thinks. That wealth of detail, then,Js a constructive force; that habit of objectivo observation a destructive ono."— "Manchester Guardian:" !

LITERARY NOTES,

Tho "ltevuo do Paris" publishes a translation of ono of Mrs. Edith Wharton's novels under tbo title, "Chez les ilcurcux du Monde," which, an inspired reader might guess is French for "Tho Hoiiso of Mirth." translations from the/English aro enjoying increasing popularity in Continental periodicals, and especially as-, "feuilletons" in tho daily I'ress. In tho ,caso of -such serious journals as tho Paris, "Temps" or tlio "Giornalo d'ltalia" of It-omo, the suggestiou 's uncscapablo that tho "puritan" literature of Great Britain, and, to a less extent, America,.is naturally adaptablo. That tlio I aris "l''igaro" should aniiounco.a translation of one of Robert Hichens's stories (suggests tho New York "Post"), may be explained by the element of tho exotic which characterises tho Englishman's tales of North Africa—a field, Ky tho way, in which French romancers have themselves dono excellent rotable that" tho favourites tor feuillcton" consumption aro not tho Hardys and tho Merediths, but Kipling and Couan Doyle. . ,Slow-trotting novelists tho l'rench havo onough of their own. What r o^'- 13 vim- and' go suitable for daily" fiction.:

FAVOURITE BOOKS.

I havo never known, oi;.hardly ever known,, a..really.,admirable woman; who did not- conless; to . having r,ead. Louisa. Alcott's .books, xiaughty ladies,of the Fabian .Society con'®?.®e.d. (under torture). that: . they liked: them, still. Stately. SulTragettes . rose rustling trom tho sofa' arid dropped' "Little Women 3 on tho : floor, covering ..theni with public .'shanio. :At lea.rn6tl■.la'diesj colleges, it is: 1 firmly beheve,, . lianded about' secretly, like.;a'dangerous drug.-R.; K. Chesterton in tho "Nation.''. . '

T \j-.' , auuual . i: report ; , of . the. - Imperial ■ Japan, contains : some • statistics which, cannot ,b.ut: bp of. interest in connection ?f-i i 'and., developmont,. of tlio ililfado s lirnnire," ,says A tlio Loudon correspondent ,of, tho ."Birmingham Daily -Post." l P?:'instance;,, siguiiicant that books on mathoina,tics, science, jind • medicino wero 'Pi or ?v.^„, 'demand ; . during ~tho year ended March ,31 last, 'than any,,, other.- ; class" of ■'books,; works .on' , literatur.o .'and .JanguaTe forming a.good second, and those on military third on tho list. J.nerQ : seem_.to bo also a good demand tor books pn history, travels,, and - geography, whilo , thero ,is oviclencp ! that, works ,on theology, and. religion aro in very, small - re- ', quest, not.'mord than. 1.7 per cent, of the books asked for .being on'-thosb two 1 subjects., ■lho total plumber, of books, in. tlio Imperial .'Library when tho. eount was last made, on March, 01. ot this, .veiir, ..'was'- 244 483 of which >194,590' w.ero Japaneso and Chinese' books. —

•Tho awarding of the literary prizes of. the .year—besides Mr. Kipling's Nobol prize, the i; rench Government has established a travelling scholarship for writers arid'a solf-a'p-;pointed committee have founded apprize for .tcrnalo authors the first recipient of which is ,iume. Coletto Yver—has - furnished M. ;J aoques Lux with tho .'text'for another dis,?P J; 11 . 6 • Towards, of the, literary life. on' .the self-ovident fact that for 0110' person that the deciding jury , pleases there ar'o a hundred 1 a i 1: -offends, "■ and" then goes about to declaro that tho'award is generally tlio^yorkMjrfoho nian.'■ ' This "graiid. elector;", ; llQ .' PJ)!f.' l» lm , ho designates'? by name in ; two.-or-?.tho- cases named, ,in ' which; in the absence of:.firsWiand information, I shall 110't. copy him. ' No .one' -fyho: is acquainted 'with ;tho doings..of .committ'e'qs and' other so-called consultative bodies, will.; bb. inoliried to ,'disbeliove. tho general, statement; arid thero riiav bo something th be said for his other "dictum tlhit;tho' , : 'crowiied'l.qii 6 is apt to suffer: from swelled head - and thus to neglect in ns or her future writings 'the arts by which' ho or sho j has garaed.'tho. ! ,prize.-,.;-'-ft l irigt ! r j : thirst, and cold—to echo the old legal quip— have ever proved -.the' most 'effective nursery, for genius; and 0110 rather .'doubts his conclusion tljat .those prizes have on tho wholo clone good-by calling attention to ihe Wbrks ofrising ; authors. - ' Certainly'. •M: Sully- . 1 rudlioramo and; Mr; Kipling-to talio the last two. Nobel- prizemen-T-niado' their reputation without- such an artificial stimulus and the- conclusion- of tho,wholo iriat'ter seems to' bo uhat ono' should not'-write unless' 0110 reels so imperious-a desire to do so as to be ablo to-aisregard tho little iiioonvojiienccs of starvation and/such--like. that are likely to i'Tnat'this is ';a icounsel 'of perfec"on. may--bo.conceded.—'"Pall;'Mall Gazette;'?.

Thero- is a- very mtorosting article in "Gassoil s : Magazino" on Dickens's Carol." Dickens wrote it'inVsix : webks,Vand : was a'; little'disappointed at'making only £726; out. of it; ('he had : oxpocted .to'makoa: clear thousand!" A'dramauc version of the story , wasproduced at.tho itoyal Surrey -Theatre in 1844, and, it has been dramatised many - limes .since then.' ,-' When' Toolri' was. .playing : Bob., Cratchit in it, at, the, Aclelphi, ho.used to sori'6' out V real,-'dinner) .'"such a: goo'sol":to Mrs.^Cratchitj.'l'iiiy Tim,.aiid all"* 'hisbrothers andsisters. ''Tiny.''.Tim' sat on a.'stool: near the stage fireplacej 'and 'it "was romarked-.thnt^the. little, chap., regularly came to.i. tlie. table, for two "or. tlii-ce holpings of gooso and''pudding." Mri, Toole was amazed at .tho child's appotite, -'and oho night he discovered-, that, the Jittle .one, instead of eating the food'himself, - had : carefully hidden ■the greater part of "it/behind the fireplace. .Then,,"syheiv tho; play'was over" it:,was his habit to slip tho victuals .into a basket and hurry home with, them to las,hungry brothers and sisters." ■ . '

At the unveiling of Rodin's bust of Honley, in Westminster .Abbey, weeks ago, a number of good stories were told about tho great .poet. H. G. ; - Wells ;praised Henley's' ■conduct of the ."New Review./'Of 'course,': this 'periodical failed, yet .it, was. undoubtedly 1 tho I, best; ~ edited 'magazine 'of tho .last century. lii it Henley .introduced to the world new writers of such distinction as Josoph Conrad;'Kcimeth Grahanie, W. B. Yeats, Mr, Wells himself, and so oii. One day,' as .Mr. Wells and Henley' stood in tlio'.office, of .the' magazine, dismissing- rather sadly its gloomy prospects, a. funeral went by with slow' pace. Henley, leaned "out'of the window, and looked at the funeral; anxiously. Then -he turned to...his companion, arid , said with-a worried' frown"Can that be-!our- subscriber?":, v. ■ This, by C. L. Graves, one .of tho most; popular of "Bunch's" humorists, is what England is reduced to laugh\at :— When Hall is 'hurrying to the train. : And tells tho porter,; "I am Gaine; Tears'from-the porter flow-like rain. When William, 'entering a pdw . Unconsciously' remarks "he Queiix," Vicars turn , pale and vorgors blue. / .'. /. 1 Wlion. Anthony salutes the Pope With, the announcement, "I am Hope," The staidest cardinals elope.:. ■ Colonol^, Mapleson, who recently commissioned Mr. George Bernard Shaw to write him an operatic libretto, for which SnintSaons was to furnish-the music, received tho following .interesting reply:— ' , ■ "December 4, 1907. "My deiir Colonel Mapleson.—Unfortunately I havo a prior engagement with Richard Strauss, which is at present rather hung up by the: fact that I want to Write the music, ami ho wants to write tho librotto, ! and wo both get along very slowly for want of practico. 1 wonder whether Elgar would turn his hand to opera? I have always played a little with tho idea of -writing''a libretto ; but, though I have had several offers, nothing has come of it. When ono is past SO, aud is several years iii iu-rear with one's own,natural work, the- chances of beginning a now job are. rather slender. - . ■ "Yours faithfully, ''G. Bernard Shaw."