A LITERARY CORNER.

Evening Star, Issue 17763, 10 September 1921, Page 4

A LITERARY CORNER.

AUSTIN DOBSON, MINOR POET. Austin Dobson, whoso death wasi announced by-cable from Loudon on Monday, wrote very charming verses. Me lived and worked in the Victorian_ age, but he was not one of the V into nan giants. His poems, however, were widely esteemed for their delicacy of thought and expression. In the late eighties or early nineties a little book of versos entitled Sparks from a Flint’ was published under the initials “E.V.L.” Some of them were rather pessimistic in tone, and quite unlike the thought of Mr Lucas to-day. Included in the volume is tho following tribute to Austin Dobson: Sweet singer of a bygone day Of beau.\7 and belles, and gallantry 7 ! His numbers dance the Primrose way, The pleasant paths of poesy, Where all is happy, fresh, and gay. And many virtues rare has he— A polished, clear-cut, classic stylo, A pretty wit, a fancy free, xtn epicure’s philosophy, _ A " wisdom tempered with a smile. Not always lightly tuuld, his lyre; A deeper note is sometimes heard. We are by simple pathos stirred— A parted lover’s fond desire, The mournful music of a bird. Now, when the world is overdone With dull reality’s plain prose, His poems edge the cloud with sun, Beneath his touch life brighter grows. We gladly turn to such an one. The two poems that follow are goodexamples of Austin Dobson s work: “WITH PIPE AND FLUTE.” With pipe and flute the rustic Pan Of old made music sweet for man ; And wonder hushed the warbling bird, And closer drew tho calm-eyed herd— The rolling river, slowlier ran. Ah! would —ah! would, a little span, Some air of Arcady could fan This age of ours, too seldom stirred With pipe and flute 1 But now for gold wo plot and plan; And from Beersh-eba unto Dan Apollo's self might pass unheard, Or find the night-jar’s note preferred. . . . Not so it fared, when time began With pipe and flute! A RONDEAU TO ETHEL. “In teacup-times!” The style of dress Would suit your beauty, 1 confess; Belinda-like, the patch you’d wear; I picture you with powdered hair— You’d make a charming Shepherdess! And I—no doubt—could well express Sir Plume’s complete conceitedness— Could poise a clouded cane with care “In teacup-times!” The parts would fit precisely—yes : We should achieve a huge success! » You should disdain and I despair, With qbite the true Augustan air; But . . . could I love you more, or Ices—“ln teacup-times;” DANTE AFTER SIS HUNDRED YEARS. CELEBRATIONSTHIS MONTH. Dante Alighieri, the national poet of Italy, died, and was buried at Ravenna on September 14, 1321. Dante was born at Florence in May, 1265. He traced his descent from a certain Cacciguida, who had been knighted by the Emperor Conrad 111., and fell in tho second Crusade. Having served in the Florentine cavalry at the battle of Camfaldine in 1289, from 1295 onwards Dante began to take part in political life, and from June 15 to August 15, 1300, lie was a member of the Signori a, the chief magistracy of the Florentine Republic. Florence being rent with faction, Dante adhered to the constitutional party that resisted papal-intervention. In October, 1301, he went with two others on an embassy to Pope Boniface VIII. to deter him from sending Charles of Valois as

peacemaker into 'Tuscany. During his absence Charles entered Florence, and a general proscription of the party to which Dante belonged followed. On a false charge of corrupt practices Dante was sentenced to a heavy fine, with two years’ exile, and perpetual exclusion from office (January 27, 1302); a second decree (March 10) condemned him to be burnt alive if he fell into the power of the Commune, as the governing body of the Republic was called. In May, 1315, the Florentine Government, modifying its former policy, decreed a general readmission of exiles; but Dante, in a noble letter to a friend in Florence, refused to accept recall on conditions that did not recognise his innocence. Summoned to Florence, and failing to appear, he was again sentenced to death, and placed under ban of the Commune (November 5, 1315). The post'd last years were divided between Verona and Ravenna, which became his settled abode. In 1519 ho received an invitation to take the laurel crown of Bologna, which he declined in two genial and charming eclogues. A few years before his exile Dante married a Florentine lady, Gemma Donati, by whom he had four children. His two sons, Piero and Jacopo, afterwards acquired reputations as poets and as commentators in the 1 Divina Commedia.’

Dante’s place in the history of literature (says Dr E. G. Gardner, professor of literature, Manchester University) is that of the first classical poet of the modem world; tihe first poet whose creations stand on the eame artistic level as those of the greatest poets of antiquity. To Italy he gave more than a sublime poem. He gave her a national voice and a national consciousness, and conceived prophetically of her destiny, as ordained by providence to lead the people of Europe in a future unity of civilisation realised in universal peace and freedom. One hundred and sixty young American students sailed for Italy early in July to be present at the celebrations commemorating the 600th anniversary of Dante’s death. They will place a memorial wreath upon the poet’s tomb in Ravenna on behalf of institutions of learning in the United States. Dante celebrations began in Europe early in May, which was the month of his birth and also the month when he met Beatrice. England chose that month for ; his observance; Italy thinks four car five not too much to employ in honoring its great poet. .The climax of all will come this month. Speaking of the departure of the American students the Boston ‘Transcript’ said :—“ Dante’s hold on young America is a virile and a vital not a merely academic hold. In spite of his medieval cosmogony and the darkness under which he labored, the truths which he expressed were everlasting truths, and his point of view as’ catholic as it was fundamentally modem. As poet, as philosopher, and as mide and preceptor to man upon hie earthly pilgrimage, Dante belongs to all ■ the ages, and not merely to the Italy of the fourteenth century, tom asunder by the fratricidal strife of the Guelfs and Ghibellines. In America his fame has long burned with a bright and steady light. Lowell and Longfellow were among the earliest and most enthusiastic of his followers on this side of the Atlantic; and their work in interpreting the writings of Dante has been carried on by bands of devoted scholars, not alone at Harvard, but at many' other American universities. Yet Dante inspires our reverence and quickens our imagination, not only because of his achievements as scholar, as poet,, and as a philosopher, but also, and no less certainly, because he was at once the prophet antf the personification of Italian nationalism. One of . the half-dozen poets of the first rank, ho is at the same time one of the commanding figures in _ the evolution of Italian nationality. And it is, an eminently fitting thing that of Italian literature, language, and civilisation in bur universities, legion in number, should through a representative delegatiou, bow' in homage before his grave.”

A very good homily on Dante was written by Mr Clement K.- Shorter for the London ‘ Sphere,’ May 14. Because it comes from a cosmopolitan in literature and not a Dante specialist it may have a wider appeal. “ The statement that Dante was ‘the greatest poet in all the world ’ will only carry conviction to a portion of my readers. Homer and Virgil have first place with many. To the average Englishman that place belongs to Shakespeareto the Gorman, Goethe: to each nation its own most prominent- poet. But to those who have a subtle sense of the meaning of great literature Dante stands at the very head of the procession. To-' know well ‘ The Divine Comedy ’ even in a translation is to be immune from too much worship of the very mediocre gods of modem idolatry. “Matthew Arnold—than whom our modern times has produced no literary critic of equal merit—quotes many from Dante in support of his claim to incomparable power, notably ‘ln la sun vohmtando o nostra pace’—‘ln bis will is onr peace.’ - “I am not a good Dante scholar—l wish I were—but I am quite sure Mr Ruskin was right in faying that yon had better know ‘ Tho Divine Comedy ’ by heart in Cary’s translation than Milton’s ‘ Paradise Lost.’ Happy are they who, like Mr Lowell, can learn the Italian language through a study of Dante. If I wove to give advice to a young man or young woman on tho threshold of his or her career, and with a passion for literature, I should insist that sanity of outlook. a freedom from the crude cranks which beset every decade, could best be obtained bv a devotion to Dante.

“Shakespeare with all his great dramatic art, his exquisite powers of versification. can have no such heartening effect. He has made cranks as well as saved us from them. He has served the cause of reaction bv Ids worship of kingship and other exploded ideals of life. “ Dante built his work upon permanent philosophical ideals, unchanging and unchangeable, He has form in equal perfection with Shakespeare, his poetry is not less noble, be has an equal insight and a greater vision. “Let, then, my young .friend read his Dante in my old friend Butler's translation with the Italian text and the notes; let him know something of tho critical work of Edward Moore and Paget Toynbee, whose text of tho ‘Letters of Dante’ was one of the most notable books of lastyear. Let him steadily add the many good translations and interpretations to his shelves, and ho will have safeguarded his old age from such meretricious art which obtains at the moment.” Much has been written of Dante and Beatrice, and many pictures have been painted in illustration of this romantic story. Beatrice was the “ glorious lady of his mind.” of whom he wrote in both the ‘Vita Nr.ova’ and the ‘Divina Coinmedia.’ Her original was said by Boccaccio to have been a Florentine, Beatrice Portinari. When Dante first' saw her he was a hoy of nine and she a child of eight. She was married at an early age to one Simone De Bardi, and died in 1290 at the age of twenty-four. Beatrice in ‘ The Divine Comedy ’ was idealised by Dante as the embodiment of the spirit of love. Tho admiration appears to have been one-sided, for some scholars think that it is probable that Dante never even spoke to Beatrice.

The following lines were written by Tennyson, at the request of the Florentines, in honor of Dante : King, that has roign’d six hundred years, and grown In power, and ever growest, since thine own Fair Florence honoring thy nativity, Thy Florence now the crown of Italy, Hath sought the tribute of a verse from mo; I, wearing but the garland of a day, Cast at thy feet one flower that fades away. NOTES. Henri Bergson, perhaps tho most famous of living philosophers, has resigned hie professorial chair at the College of France. Sir Rider Ha’ggard has presented to the British Museum a massive Peruvian finger ring, found on the finger of a mummified chieftain lying on a stone table in a burial mound in Peru. Sir Rider Haggard says that the ring was one cause of his beginning to write romances. He introduced it into ‘ King Solomon’s Mines.’ Books and curios relating to Shakespeare and to Stratford-on-Avon have been bequeathed to the trustees of the Melbourne Public Library under the will of the late Mr William Victor Holtom, of Avonhuxst, Queen’s road, South Melbourne, who died on April 2(J. Two cups and a snuff box, which form part of the collection, were made from a piece of an oak beam which was removed from Shakespeare’s house by Mr Holtom’s grandfather in 1858. when restorations were being made. By his will of November 18, 1920, M’r Holtom left real estate valued at £4,830 and personal property valued at £27,500 to his children and grandchildren. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle practised aa a doctor (with a leaning towards eye work) in Elm Grove, Southsek, from 1882 to 1890. In 1881 or 1882 Mr H. G. Wells was employed at Hyde’s drapery stores, 9 King’s road, Southsea, in the same neighborhood. This business is atill carried on under the name of Edwin Jones, Ltd. Messrs Jones’s accountant was also with Hyde’s. He remembers Mr Welle, who apparently did not care much for his employment, and cancelled his indentures after three months.

Portsmouth has many other literary associations (says ‘John o’ London’s Weekly ’). diaries Dickens was born at 339 Commercial road, Portsmouth, in 1812. The little'' house is now converted into a Dickens Museum. George Meredith was born in High street, Portsmouth, where his father had a tailor’s business. Walter Besant was born in St. George’s square, Portsea, and he gives a sketch of Portsmouth as it was in his younger days in ‘ Celia's Arbor.’ Pepys was often at Portsmouth, and refers to the town many times in his diary. An interesting letter by Poe about his ‘ Berenice ’ was recently sold by auction in New York. In it Poo said: “Your opinion of ‘Berenice’ is very just. The subject is by far too horrible, and I confess that I hesitated in sending it to you, especially as a specimen of my capabilities. The tale originated in a "bet that I could produce nothing effective on a subject so singular, provided I treated it seriously.” Messrs Gordon and Gotch have forwarded a number of magazines. The summer fiction number of the ‘Strand Magazine ’ contains stories by winters who stand very high in the public esteem, including H. A. Yacholl, Edgar Wallace, Morley Roberts, Phillips Oppenheim, Britten Austin, Edward Cecil, and others. There is a fine article by Roper Barrett on lawn tennis tactics and other interesting features. The ‘Royal’ holiday number is worthy of the occasion. A strong team of fiction writers has been engaged, the bright particular stars being John Galsworthy and Gilbert Frankau, but the average all round is high. ‘K.K.K., the Strangest Secret Society on Earth,’ is the feature of the ‘Wide World Magazine.’ This is claimed to be an. authoritative account of the working of the Ku-Klux-Klan, whose-activities have been revived of late. This magazine illustrates the old saying that truth is stranger than fiction. ‘ The Captain,’ a magazine for boys and old) boys, is brightly and attractively written. It is essentially British, and will appeal to all who love the open and who follow outdoor games. Sir Robert Gamin opened on August 20 the Australian Institute of Arts and Literature, which has been formed in Melbourne for the encouragement and assistance of original work, the organisation of lectures ten recitals, and the general advancement of the professional interests of members.

Messrs Ward, Lock, and Co. will be issuing shortly in their well-known Australasian Gift Book scries five new important books. ‘Back to Billabong’: by Mary G. Bruce. This is sure to be eagerly sought after, as it is a continuation of the Billabong scries. * The Ship That Never Set Sail ’: by Jean Curlowis, daughter of Ethel Turner. It was in 1894 that ‘ Little Australians ’ was written by Ethel Turner, and tho sale has reached close on 100,00” copies. Tho daughter lias inherited the gift of her mother, a good future is predicted for her in the world of literature. New stories will also be punished : ' King Anjie,’ by Ethel Turner; ‘ Tho Best School of All,’ by Lillian Pyke ; and ‘Ginger,’ by Isabel M. Peacocke. A curious story attaches to Sir Hall Caine’s story, ‘The Manxman,’ considered hy many good judges to bo his finest novel. Ho went in 1892 to Poland on behalf of tho Russo-,Jewish Commission, to study famine conditions, and was inspired to write a story based on his vivid experiences. His title was to bo ‘The Jew,’ Then ho suddenly realised that ho would bo entering into disadvantageous competition with tho great Russian novelists, and decided to transfer his story to the Isle of Man. Re said to an interviewer at the time:, “I turned mv Jewish story into a Manx story, and ‘ The Jew ’ became ‘ Tho Manxman.’ In my original scheme Philip was to ho a Christian/ governor of his province in Russia; Pete, Creegan, and Kate wero to be the, Jews. I thought that the racial difference between the two rivals would afford greater dramatic contrast Than tho class difference, and it was only reluctantly that I altered the scheme of tho .story.” It may bo doubted whether any other novel of such high finality has undergone the like transformation. An American publisher toils an amusingstory about a Chicago poet known ns “Laura Blackburn.” That signature stood for lyrics of tho Keats and- Shelley note which regularly appeared in one of tho daily papers, and then were made into a volume. Its admirers wero rnanv and sincere. and they resolved to give the poetess a dinner of thanks. She nc.cepted, and tho affair, at which ladies ns well as gentlemen were present, went without surprise until “ Laura Blackburn ” was called upon to respond to tho toast of her health. It was a big, handsome, rather stout man who uprose, for he was “Laura Blackburn.”

The first volume of his ‘Anthologie de I’Academic Francaise’ has been brought out hy P. Gautier. It treats of the time from the First Empire to 1870. and contains tho most notable inaugural addresses delivered during this period, among which are included those of Nodier, Hugo, Merimee. De Vigny, Ernest Renan, and the. younger Dumas.

Among the additions of literary interest made in 1920 to the Fit/william Museum. Cambridge, and noted in the report lust published, were a lock of hair of John Keats and new Wordsworth relics, “ a plum-colored court suit, which was lent bv Samuel Rovers to both Wordsworth and Tennyson when they were presented to Queen Victoria on their respective appointments to the Lanreateship.” Messrs Benn Brothers have published * s Hiakesnf-are.’ a play in five episodes, by H. F. Rubinstein and Clifford Bax. The authors, while conforming to recorded history, have mainly been concerned to dramatise’the story of the poet’s spiritual development as indicated in his works. The play also contains character sketches of Marlowe. Philip Hcnslowe, Edward Allovne, the Dark Ladv, “Mr W.H..” Heminge, Burbage. Kemp. Ben Johnson, Anno and Judith Rhakesneare, and others.

Messrs Blackwell’s 173rd catalogue is of the library of the late Dr Maeray, of Magdalen. His bonks include the Auckland 'Times’ of Anril 6. 1843. stated/to have been “printed in a. mangle.” Probably the earliest existing portrait of a Speaker is the brass effiev of Thomas Chaucer on his tomb in St. John's Chapel, in Ewehne Church. Oxfordshire. Thomas Chaucer was the son of Geoffrey, the poet of the ‘Canterbury Tales,’ He was chosen Speaker in 1407, and afterwards in 1410, 1411, and 1414. He died in 1434.