NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1247, 2 October 1911, Page 3

NOTES.

Elbert Hubbard, head of the East Aurora Eovcroftcrs, and advocate of tho higher thought, is being sued by his first wife, Mrs. Bertha C. Hubbard, for broach of contract since 1002, when she started the divorce proceedings that _ ultimately were successful. '1 he litigation" is now over tho alleged failure of Hubbard to mako good on the contract whereby ho agreed to give Mrs. Hubbard annually dividends of 12 per cent, on -100 shares of Roycroft stock, having a face value of 10,000 dollars. 'Mrs. Hubbard alleges that she lias never received any money under that agreement.

One of the telling passages in the "History of Kngland," produced jointly by Mr. Kipling and Mr. C. R. Fletcher, is a poem by the former, in which the great Norman lord advises his son how to deal with the Saxons. Here, as in 'Puck of ■l'ook's Hill" (observes tho "Spectator ), Mr. Kipling shows us that he, perhaps better than any historian before him, has realised the method by which the Normans held England, how absurd was the old-fashioned view of the savage conqueror and the enslaved people groaning beneath his yoke. Says the Norman to his heir:— "The Saxon is not liko us _ Normans. His manners are not so polite, But ho never means anything serious till ho talks about justice and right; When ho stands like an ox ill the furrow, with, his sullen set cyos on your own, And grumbles, This isn't fair dealing, my son, leave the Saxon alone."

Charles Kingsley was at a dinner once with the aeronaut C'oxwell. It was shortly after Coxwell and a companion ljaa made a flight in which they had risen so liigh that Coxwell's hands were frozen and ho had time only to tear open the air valve with his teeth. A. C. Benson tola the story in the latest instalment of the Leaves of liho Tree", in the "North American Review." After dinner.Kinssley suddenly said: "I. hive often thought that tho first man.:tha.t;cvei;:.;wcnt ; iip balloon must- f hsw<J ; >«b»n Somtiono laughed and said, "What an extraordinarv idea!" "I don't know, said Kingsloy! '"a man who is always looking down peonle's ,throats, and nulling their teeth about,\ and breathing their breath must bo inspired with a tremendous desire to get away and abovo it all." Coxwell leaned forw;l rd and said very gocdUumonxllv, "Well, Mr. Kingsley, it is true .that I am a dentist, but it was not that tho t made me Income an aeronaut." "Mv d-dca,r Mr. Coxwell," said Kingsley, blushing red, "I am sure I beg JN ur pardon. I had no idea it was so. 1 oil must have thought me singularly ill-mannered to make a.joko of it." Kingsley could not recover his spirits for the rest of the evening. He hated giving pain to any human being more perhaps than anything in the world.

Announcement was made by Mr. Stanley Weyman soma time bnck that he had given up story-writing, _ and a complete collection of liis tales, in 20 volumes, is now to be issued by Smith and Elder, in tho same style as their thin-paper novels of Henry Seton Merriman. Tho edition will be termed "The Author's Complete Edition," and Mr. Weyman will write a preface to it. Tho volumes will be issued 111 the chronological order of t their first publication,' seven appearing in October, soren in November, and the final six before Christmas. 1

Following m> the crusade against the "English Review," initiate! by Mr. St. Loo Strachcy, 011 tho ground that a certain article by Mr. Frank ilarris w?s c monaco to morals, Messrs. \\. H. Smith and Son have announced that the review is no longer for sale 011 any of their stalls. This distributing linn .wins nowadays in the position to cxcrcisc an allpowerful censorship when it sops lit. - A year or two ugo banished from the bookstalls "Tho Academy," which, then under the editorship of Lord Alfred Douglas, was vehemently attacking the Hannsirorfchs. The stop map have been right or wrong; at any rate, it was effective. Ihe paper very shortly changed owners and editors.

A representative of Messrs. Chatto and Windib has been telling an interviower that Stevenson's essays ore selling better than- his romances. He probahly knows (comments an English altnough, while his firm publish most of Stevenson s work, yet "Kidnapped" is with the Messrs. Cassell, "St, Ives" with Mr. tfeinemann, and "Dr. Jeykell wjvji Messrs. Longmans. The statement,'therefore, is wclcomo as showing that popular taste is in line with critical It is ■ worth noting, however, tjiat at the present moment we are' in a loss invouiablc position for judging the value of the romances than those were who read (hem first or thosa will bo who mid them two lit v years hence. Steveison's success called" into existence a great body oj romantic fiction, some of it of suihcieni excellence to disguiso tho uniqueness 01 Stevenson's achievement. Thus ono inay take up "Kidnapped" and find it tolerably thin reading. It was not so at first, but in tho meantime wo have read so many works mado in its image, tflth (lights in. ships, wanderings ever moors, and studios ot Highland character, that the original work fails of its duo effect. Time will set this right, and when with iiis scytho ho cuts down tho vigorous unI dergrowth which has sprung up tho tree which lie will not cut down will stand out in its full height and symmetry.

A recent article in tho "PennsylvaniaGerman" expresses a popular conception in these words:—"Some conception of the gigantic force exerted by the invention of movable type in the distribution of knowledge may bo had in the well-known fact that thousands of priests of the church never raw a copy of tho Scriptures, much loss enjoyed the possession of one. Tho accidental discovery of a complete copy of one by Luther in the monastery at Erfurt, fragments of which ho had only seen, previously, notwithstanding diligent search, marked tho beginning of Luther's revolt against the tyranny and teaching of tho Church of Rome. If the liiblo were so rarely found in monastic libraries, universities, and churches, how much worso off must have been the laity and humble worshippers." In reply a correspondent cites Br. M'Giffert'a statement that if Luther was ignorant of the Bible, it was his own fault, and this passage from Dr. Smith's recently published "Li 10 and Letters of Martin Luther": "Tho young monk was chiefly .illumined by the perusal of the Bible.

The' book was a very'common one, there having been no less than 0110 hundred editions of tho Latin Vulgate published before 1.100, as well as a number of German translations.' Tho rulo of the Augustiniaiis prescribed diligent reading of tho Scripture, anil. Luther obeyed this regulation with joyous zeal."

A nolo from Hip Westminster "Gnaclto"i—The latest of Iho volumes of llio in Hio every way admirablo Centenary Biographical edition of llio works of Thackeray contain "The Adventures of Philip"--:! work, it is very interesting to note, which Lady, llichmund ltitchie considers contains "some of the wisest and most beautiful things tier father ever wrote." The first chapters appeared in llio "Cor 11 hill" for January, 18(11, and the book afterwards come out as a whole in 181)2 in the orthodox three volumes— "now, nlas!" Lady, Kilobit? exclaims, "no longer fo lie counted on in the realms ot fiction." Lady Ritchie's introductions to t'ho various volumes are full of charm, and add very much to, the value and attractiveness of this edition. In that U) "Philip" she tells agai.ii the always interacting storv of the' founding of Cornhill and the part Tlinckcray played in connection therewith, .llie present, 'is supposed to be the nge of big circulations; it is sometimes forgotten, surely, that of the first, part of the Cornhill 'no fewer than 120,000 copies were sold; The illustrations in "Philip" are by the author, Frederick Walker, and R. B. Wallace, and tho frontispiece portrait is a "back view" of tho author from a drawing by Charles Kpcne in tho possession of Lady Ritchie.

A whimsicality credited to Oscar Wilde, and not hitherto published, is given in the current issus of a literary paper called "Tho Mask":—'"Wildo once said in that gnavo'way of his to a friend: 'Thero aro three maxims which are sufficient (o guide any man through Jifo successfully.' 'Ami what is the first of these?' asked Ills friend. 'Well. Iho first is, never go to see a play by Henry Arthur Jones.' 'And tho other two?' queried his friend. 'Oh,' replied Wilde, 'if foil remember tho first maxim the other two do not matter.'"

Italy, says the "Athenaeum." hononijs her poets. The Committee of the Agricultural Exhibition in Catania, finding itsjlf in possession of considerable profife, decided to purchase for 10,000 lire the library, pictures, and works of ar.i _ Ijelonging to the poet Mario Rapisardi, a native of Catania, who is incapacitated by age and illness, and to leave liiin.in possession of tho property till his dsath.

Among forthcoming biographies a very important one is "Tho Life of Spcr.cor Compton, Eighth Duke of Devonshire,' which Messrs. Longmtns will publish. Tho author is Mr. Bernard Holland, C.8., who was at one time upon the secretarial staff of the late Duke, and he prepared (.his book at the request of the present Duke. The "Life" will contain extracts from correspondence with Mr. Gladstone, j.ord Spencer, Lord Granville, Mr. Cham-' ber'ain, and numerous ot.hor statesmen, relating to Ireland, English internal'politics, the "Eastern Question." the sccond Afghan War. the affairs of Egypt and the Sitfian, the Iluno Rule and Fiscal rrsitroversics, and is of the more -special interest since the I)uko of Devonshire sncnt part of his. political career in as-qocia-iion with Liberal, and part in assoeiation with Conrervativ.? statesman. Some letters Queen- A ictona will bo included by permission of the king.