•LITERARY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2320, 18 August 1898, Page 47

•LITERARY NOTES.

— Miss Rose Kingslcy, the eldest; daughter of Charles Kingsley who has written some notable works on 'jFiench art, has just received an important appointment under the French Goveniment.

— Disraeli is seriously a figure in literature Rightly or wrongly, Ido not myself rate .Disraeli's novels so highly as they are rated by many critics, by judges so eminent and so diverse, for example, as Fronde and Mr Leslie Stephen and Mr Henley. But this at least is not to be denied, that with their disappearance would disappear one whole chapter not otherwise to be replaced, and that not the least brilliant of thp literature of English fiction. — W. P. James.

— Ex-President Cleveland, like his great predecessor. General Grant, has found a gold mine in his pen, and could, if L\e wished, easily double his income by a few hours' writing a day. He is at present engaged in writing the story of his two 4dministralions, a work which will not, however gee light during his lifp, but will form a substantial provision for his family. A .short time ago he declined an offer of £500 each for a series of articles on subjects of general interest.

— What is the value of posthumous fame? This planet is but an insignificant; spot in the universe — so small, indeed, that ifc cannot be seen by the inhabitants of the millions on millions of globes that environ it. Its very existence counts but a second in the eternity of time. We know that, as'ifc had a beginning, it is destiued to have an end, and then thd human race will be a thing of the past. What the French preacher said when pronouncing om oration over the dead " Grand Monarque " is applicable to the greatest and the noblest of all that have ever lived or ever will live: " God alone is great, my brothers." — Henry Labouchere.

—It is the fashion to talk of Pinero as our greatest living dramatist, and to refer to the wondrous brilliancy of his dialogue. Certainly, in " The Beauty Stone" Mr Pinero has hidden the greater portion of his light either under a bnshel or elsewhere, for his story is very slight, his characters talk in language- of the most ordinary kind, and, generally speaking, the -'" romantic musical drama" is a horribly dull thing, quite, unlikely, I should say, to attract the big audiences which crowded the Savoy to see and hear " Patience," " lolanthe," and "The Mikado."— Morning. — The announcement; that Mr Vf. E. Henley is to have a Civil List pension has been received with satisfaction by his literary colleagues. As a critic and a poefc he has done excellent work, and the reward for it is, even in these days, miserably small. Had he been a popular novelist he might have accumulated a modest fund, or, if he had started a scrappy journal for the million, a fortune. But the poet who is labelled " minor " and the mere working journalist can rarely obtain more than a bare subsistence, and sometimes, as in the case of poor Jefferies, not even that.

— Messrs Constable and Co. have nearly ready the Life of the late Mr William Terriss, whose tragic murder at the stage door of ths Adelphi Theatre is still fresh in our minds. The biography has been prepared by Mr Tom Terriss and the actor's old friend, Mr A. J. ftmythej while Mr Clement Bcott contributes an introduction to it. A photogravure poi trait of Mr Terriss as Henry VHI. at the Lyceum appears as frontispiece to the volume, and muaefous other pictitfes oi til? ponvdat

' actor in his many dramatic successes are also included. i — Hermann Sudermann, a translation of whose novel, " Rcgina : The Sins of the Fathers/ has been published by Mr John ! Lane, of the Bodley is the most cmi- ! nent novelist and playwright in Germany. His appcirinre suggests the man of action, rather than the man of letters. He is of i giant stature, muscular, boarded, and blue1 eyed. Of very humble origin, he was born J in rural East Prussia, .and grew up in extreme povcity and hardship. His home is in Berlin, but v. hen writing Sudcnncnin loaves his fionib and buries himself in some obscure nook in Italy or tho Tyrt.l. Nob i until the last pasje oi his MS. is leached [ does he allow himself to be di&iurbod by i correspnndence. ! — " A Man of Kent," of the British i Weekly, informs v? that Dr Oonan Doyla, I who is no\v fairly settled in his new house 1 at Hindhead, n not burdening himself wilh j nidiiv literary engagements. He is looking 1 fonun'l wiih keen zest to a political I eareoi , and anticipates being in the field for , a constituency in a year's time. I —'■ Lounger"' in the ISTcw York Critic ! hazards an opinion that it must be a very 'exciting thing to be an author. "There I is a good <t<\il that is like gambling about ' it ; that is. ifc has the same uncertainty," 1 lie Kiivs. "The vewnvds may be enormous ' d? tJu-.y ina.y be nothing, or one book that ' an author writes may be a great success ' and another may be a failure." This is \ true enough, and it does not necessarily ' depend on the author. The outbreak of : war or the death of a famous man may syn1 chronise with its appearance, and a most . promising volume may fall flat and leave ! author and publisher bnienting. — " Eothen," immediately and widely popular, long since soared into a cVissic ; it stands TThique amongst English books of travel. On the author's death, ?..t years ago, it was "Eothen," rather that 1 tbo w<ir , in the Crimea, that men cited v? claiming | for him literary immortality. Tr was pubi lished jnionymonsly ; and curiobitv. aflame ! to learn the' author, found him in c> mar. oi j little more than 30, with Eton and CamI bridge behind him, rising in note and j practice at the Chancery Bar. His book ! made him a lion ; but he haled London ! drawing rooms, and reserved himself for chosen 'friends. With him died the last of the brilliant &et— Milnes, Hay ward, j iiassey, Merivale, American Ticknor, Twisleton, and others — who were wont to dine together behind the glass screen at the Athenaeum. — Speaker; — The Xew York Bookman for May says:— Mr Quiller-Couch is a young man of 35 years of age, and comes of a family whose roots are embedded through many generations in Cornish soil. Most of his work is true to life, and is founded on present observation and traditions of the past in Cornwall. Especially has he studied the j pooi people of these parts. 'He thoroughly agrees with Mr Thomas Hardy that that ! class of society is infinitely fresher, more human, and more romantic than the lower classes. There is little fear of Mr QnillerCouch being tempted by the story of adventure, as his preference is for the serious ( novel. j — Mr T. Fisher Unwin announces a new ! book of humorous tales entitled " The i Humours of Donegal." The author is j Mr James Mac Maims, better known by his norn de guerre " Mac.'' He is rapidly coming to the front as an Irish humourist. i Two other books of Donegal tales which he 1 has put before the public recently earned { warm encomiums. As Mr MaicMarms is himself one of the Donegal peasantry, he can handle the Donegal vernacular Avith j fluency. j — The "Eversley" edition of the Bible, ! iv eight volumes, 'published by Macmillan. I and Co., is completed by two volumes of the New Testament. It is a pleasure to get the Authorised Version in a shape so | convenient to the hand and so attractive to the eye. The Bible has been made repellent by the blinding type, the narrow columns, and the verse divisions. Here all these have disappeared, and vre get the text presented paragraphically as literature, in a fine bold type. — The Press Bazaar News will be the smallest evening paper ever issued, and at the highest price — viz., one shilling. But it will be a curiosity— a thing to buy, and a thing to keep — for we may well ask, When again are we likely to find such a combination of journalism of every colour _ en- ! gaged in the production of one little print? In many ways this paper will be something quite oiifc of the common way. It will be a real evening paper, containing all the news, but its staff will combine the editors of almost every important paper in England. Lords and ladies, preachers, actors, men of science, and men of business will contribute to its special departments. It will be set by the linotype machine, and all the metal used will be melted by ''p|"'"tv, fov no naked lights will bo allowed, and it will be printed by hand. To those who attend the bazaar the produc- ! tion of this unique newspaper will be a 1 "show" of the greatest interest, while to j the large number who cannot be there we feel sure that a copy of such a newspaper will be an interesting memento of a most interesting event. A copy of each day's issue will be sent on remitting 2s 6d to Arthur H. Pollen, 188 Fleet street, E.C. We should add that every penny received for the sale of the paper will go to charity, as the Linotype Company is «tuuU ing the whole expense.— The Hospital.

lIUSCTJHB HIJETTXIATISM TROMPTLV RELIEVED.

Mr J. K. Holton, a well-known fur dealer of Oxford, Pa., says lie sometimes suffers with muscular rheumatism, and while having one of the most painful attacks, he called at W. T. J. Brown's drug store, and Mr Brown advirfecl him to try Chamberlain's Pain T3alm. lie did so, and it gave him immediate relief. Pain Balm is also recommended for rheumatism by Mr E. W. Wheeler, of Luther's Mills, Pa., who has used it and found it to be an excellent remedy. If troubled with rheumatism give ifc a trial. It is certain to relieve the pain as soon as applied, and its continued use will effect a cure. For sale by all leading Chemists.

—In baltle only one ball oul of 85 takes eSfccfc,

Coal mines aro now being worked at a depth of over 2000 ft, the coal lying in horizontal veins from 2 to 3 feet thick, where the work must bo done at a temperature exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. — Tesla has repeatedly declared that it would bo possible to send out from the earth an electric vibration which would reach the planet Mars, so that if there were people and instruments there to receive it, telegraphic communication might be opened up between the earth and that distant world.

— \n important experiment dealing with locusts is reported from South Africa. An, experimenter there succeeded in destroying millions of the insects by inoculating a few ot them and turning them loose.

—To illustrate the rapidity of thought, a distinguished scientist says that if the skin be touched repeatedly with light blows from a small hammer, the brain will distinguish tha fact that the blows are separate, and not continuous pressure, even when they follow onS .another as rapidly as 1000 a second*

— The first article made in aluminium was a baby's rattle intended for tho infant Prince Imperial of France, in 185b. its lightness, brightness, and ring fitted it admirably for such a purpose ; but only a prince could afford iuch a rattle in tho&e day*

— Tho empire of the Spaniards founded in America just, after the discovery comprised about 12,000j000 suuai-e miles of territory*