LITERARY GOSSIP.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1665, 27 January 1904, Page 14

LITERARY GOSSIP.

Mr Michael MacDonagh’s biography of Daniel O’Connell Avill be ready in a fortnight. His chief aim, folloAving 'the noAver style of biography, lias been to give a life-like presentation of the man rather than merely to record Avhat he did. Tho book brings out O’Connell’s great and admirable qualities, but doc® not hide the curious blemishes upon his character. His career at the Irish- Bar will furnish one very interesting chapter. There are portraits of O’Connell in the book.

A multitude of readers will hear Avith deep regret of the. death of Mr Hugh Stowell Scott, known for the last ten years under his literary alias of Heriry Seton Merriman. He was never robust, and he has succumbed, at about the age of forty, to an attack of appendicitis. Death took place on the 19th inst. at his residence, Long Spring, Melton, near Woodbridge. Mr Scott Avas so retiring and! modest a man that be never alloAved the fierce light of publicity which beat® upon a popular novelist to shine upon him, so that the books of reference record nothing except the dates of liis publications. Indeed, we are informed that he himself would have preferred that there should be no obituary notice of his life and Avorks; hut it is impossible to record the premature death of one who made so considerable a mark on tlie literature of liis time without; some slight sketch of his career. Mr Scottt was a member of the firm of Henry Scott and Sons, and has 'been since 1885 an underwriting member of Lloyd's. H®

did take; much part in the , actual. undhirw-BTfeihg; : and.-adopted the; itaine of Seton Mem-man in order, we believe,; that-his family should hot. know: that lie; was; hid time?’ on literature} brat- many of. his- books show far milkirityj with- the; business of: Lloyd’s. The taste for literature was, indeed, too' stroiifgd to’ be} resisted,,. and after 1892 he definitely adopted; the 1 literary life,. being ‘encouraged in his early career by the appreciation' of the; late Mr James (Payri. It was then that-he published his first two newefe lt “Frem- One- Generation to -Another 13 aaict ‘The Slave of the Lanip.” - Tlie bookby which h e made his small book of. Imperial interest, entitled, ful story of ..Russian life, showing the careful study for which all his books were- remarkable.- This. raja, into- several editions, and thenceforth; in many bo-oks first published; in'the “Coniliill” he made ct successful appeal to a large, public. Like bis friend Mr Stanley; "W oyman, he travelled; much and. 'worked with, extreme care } Russia* Spain, and” (in 1 fek- latest, work) the Napoleonic campaigns in Bast-' ern Germany ’formed the background of his careful interesting .storhsri -Personal! y Mr Scott! was; gr ea tiy liked, and his death will be d severe loss to las friends, as. well as to literature. —“The Mail.”} '-- r : ’i ; ■

There; are-many references to Brown--v. ing in Mr (shed* biography of William Wetnibire Stony, the- sculptor; The-personal description of the poet, from Story’s pen, was as follows“He? ia of my size, best-'slight-er;' with, straight black hair, small eyes, wide apart, which he twitches constantly . together}, m mhocth face, a slightly aquiline nosey, and manners nervous and rapid. He- has great; vivacity, but not, the least, humour; some sarcasm, oon- * siderable critical faealty. and very great frankness, and friendliness of manner and mind.” One- looter from Browning to Story contains, a bit' cf hews, viz. the poet’s refusal of a much-covetqi literary post.? He wrote: s —“Thackeray has just rerigji&dithe editorship of the ‘CornhSl.’ •Why should I not trust, to you what .1 know you will keep to yourselves but what will certainly amuse you as nothing else I could write like to do? What, good in- our loving each other unless I ch> such a.thing Soy O Story, O EmeEyn, the editorship has. under the eircumstances, etc... etc: been offered to me:! I reallv take it as a compliment, because; I am>„ by yotnr indulgence, a bit of a poet .if you like,, but a man. of the world} and an. able- editor, hardily 1 They count on my attracting writers-—I who could - never muster ~ English readers enough to?pay for salt and bread.”

Tha.pudSgels; are; taken up for Sir It.edv.ers: Buller (in. “Macmillan’s Magazine”) by his consistent- champion,. the Hon., W. Forfceseue. That writer, in reviewing the’ disclosures of the War Commission, puts; & new interpretation, upon the - Ladysmith telegrams, which deserves attention, especially as ■Buller’s words are quoted presumably from the-official: records: —-“Sir Redvera telegraphed' home that, not being strong enough to relieve; Ladysmith, he thought that he- had, better let it go and take xvp positions for the defence of Natal. He received,, aa- he expected, an answer that the- fall of Ladysmith would be considered a national disaster, and that be was, at liberty to use the troops *hhen amg, as- he thought best. “Many thanks, exactly what I wanted/ replied the general. f ‘l was in doubt as to weight I should attach to financial consaderations: dt Kimberley. 1 The Government have characterised this famous telegram- as a ‘clumsy threat.’ A. threat, it undoubtedly was, but,, unfortunately,, it is too often only by threats: that generals in the 'field can prevail 1 ! over the timidity and incompetence of Governments. ‘I daresay/ said the Duke of Wellington, that I may have said to the Government as often as. 50 times, d n it, if you don’t do this l or that you may as well give up the war at once.” Incidentally Me Fortescue ’ declares that Cecil Rhodes,' who controlled the majority of the Kimberley defenders, put pressure on the Imperial authorities by threat® bo* surrender the town. Hence Bulleris; message quoted above. Hence also; another passage in his correspondence with. Lord Milner “In dealing with Kimberley we must put De Beers out. of the question. . - Ail we . have to- do is to keep the XTniopj.)Jack- frying over South Africa, and jj. trust 'Methuen and Kekewich to da. piifti Tvitbqut favour. ta any partioulaiivset of capitalists/ 1 ~

In its Christmas number the “Century Magazine? s '(Macmillan and Go.) retains the cfutlme of the new cover design: which attracted considerable notice in the November issue, but this month it is embellished’ with a study by X&e&rge W. , B&JjloweU, representing the coronation of Charlemagne by Pope i/eb lIT., in the basilica iof „ St Peter’s oh Chnstmas ' Bay,.. 800 A.D. The drawing is heproduced in. soft, rich colour,, r&gainbt. a. cream, ivory, black and grWA background. The frantisK piece 4s' a ; *l^clonha ’s and Child,” by Hugo BaUd^ - sinci three pictures in colour . accoinpahy Edith Wharton's 'paper•Vs3UißUsi- ,> Mfes V3os©t con^ributehra' '.novel#.'ia- fan*

Chiistmas pictures in colour, entitled ‘‘The Light of the World/’ which are dpawh .in a pre-Raphaelite. manner, and there are" two other coloured illustrations made by Miss Ellen ; Thompson., is illustrate Jacob Riis’s. article. “The Children of the People.” A special art feature is an engraving by Timothy Colo of Murillo’s “Adoration of the Shepherds/’ the ninth in the Series of wood engravings of Spanish masters made by Mr Cole. Fiction by the bestknown writers of short stories come in this number,. Ernest Thompson Seton has >& group of nature sketches “Fable, and Woodmyth;” and Maurice Materlinck contributes a sketch entitled “’Chrysanthemums.”