LITERARY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2771, 24 April 1907, Page 74

LITERARY NOTES.

— Alesnvs Metfnien ?re on the point of is c v.ing the complete collected edition of Oscar Wilde's works.

— A volume of verse by John Gregoiy, the "coobier poet"' of Bideforel. has been published Ihere is an introduction by •\1- E. J. Watson, who finds and perhar.-" rightly, greater i octry m Gregory's life than "in hio verse, though this is full of interest.

— Burn', though con«cious of tho influences which formed him into a poet, w-as unable to tell how he trained his genius into art, yet an artist he indisputably was; and it is astonishing how marvellously correct, both in details and as wholes, most of the writings are. Pie is one of the most correct poets that the world has known. — Bulvvcr Lytton, " Essays." —Mr Xat Gould i< really a wondeiful man, seeing that a fresh story from his pen generally appear* before his last work has been more than a month or two on the bookstalls. How many sporting novels he has written within the last 10 or 12 years we ha\e no idea, but "A Sporting Squatter"' (John Long; 2«) is one of the best of the sciies and ought to command a full measure of «uecc-s. As the title suggests, the scene is laid in Australia, and, as is s o often tho ca=c in Mr Ucmld's work-s, racing U made to play a big part. — Field.

— The career of Major-general Lewis (commonly called Lew) Wallace, author of "Ben Hur" and '"The Fair God," is related in his lccently-published autobiography. He se'ved a° a \o!umeer in the .Mexican war, and greatly distinguished himself m the ei\il war. He knew intimately nearly all the men who 10-e to celebrity dining the cnil war, whether on the Fedeial or on tho Confedeiate. tide Wliat he ha 1 - written about Lincoln. CiiYinl and S'leiman, as well as other piominent men, is e\Wmel> intciusting The book will increase our cftimatc of him as a born soldier and leader of men.

— "Outside the annual crop of 'girls' books' " wiires "W. B. T.," in the Academy, ''there a*x: hardly any novois fit to be put in Oiir daughrei^' hands, dimply because a certain vogue foi the 'so\' n-'j\el has gainrd a footm"-. and o'.n wnte 1 - like a floi k of -hetp, jie lu^bi'ijj he ltor sk^ Her, one a f tcr the oth< r, tlnougli the Rap through which the leader scrambled. Like sheep, too, th^y lea\e a good deal of their clothing .ird defnn btbind tiieni." —To all fan -minded folk who read tempciaiico htttatiiK .\ithout tho Ijiyor's spectacles we c<r'>!in<"id "Licencing and Temj orunci in Swclon, Norway, and Denmark." b\ Kdwin A. Piatr (.John Muiray; price 2- 6d netl. Tfie truih about fhe (iothenLurp; iy-!om is plainly told by one who honestly ir.\e c ti<-ateti n, and the piinciple of th<> Dani'-h tenijn ranee sccietit, of allowing UH'ii members tv regaid beer of iow alcoiiolie a.-% a ttniperanc<> bc\<.riifi;e i- fot only <!o-eril»td, but appro\<d. though th< auc/ioi ib a lifelong abstamc fhi-> at 'it ink- he a-sumes _bccaii'c he hold' "'that ti>< cau-e of scbri;ty — that i» to -.'y of "temperance' in tho trtie-t - t<< <>t the »o'd — i-a greater far than {''<> c^iu-e of evtitme ttototah^m. The be ok a gidvv. unbiased, and, to our thinking, ju unantucrable stateni-Giit. — F;el«l.

— Acr-ordi.'ijr to L'Clair. a famous lite rarv partiu r-hip is to come to an end ottina tv pohr.cal difforonros. MM. Paul and Victoi Mar^u<" iitt^', wi.o liavc collabotv>t d uuh ron-picuou 1 ! ~utcer=. an<l parcount of the Franco-PuKsian war, and tho tiag- v »ly of the Comiiimio winch followed it, will hei,ce r orth no* be i<.'-pon»'blc f->r oai h otlier - -i v<j}k Victor, the yountrer partner, lia= ju-t be* n defeated d<- a K;ulieal Socialist at a tfcnaronal election, and hia biother, ai a prutot against what he con =ider-- to be a #ra\e error of judgment on the pan o? M. Victor, has decided to vsoik alone.

— A notable feature of tho pubhcatiOn^ v.l ich camo to h.-md b\ the la c t mail is the n-uo of I'aM I of a 'erial edition ot "litMvoll'f. Johr-nn"' (Sir I-aac I'ltinun an'l Sci'-). Thi« pait (Oinpn-os 96 pa^o, and contain ß a beautiful phoujir r «ii nrc of Dr Jcl'ii'-on after the portrait by Sir Joshua RfjnoU l -. There aie c\er 60 other illu&tia'.on=. The vroik '- to be completed m 11 moi.tiily pan.-. a'i<l t),e lllu-trations w! icb ha\ i be m riiott caiefuJly select ee], will be al-'O-u n IjUJiilmt. The text It, to he un<ibi ;'l/c 1. a .^ Inflicn of John-o-nisna. .; to be ir.< ludud. and ih-" annotations by Mi Rr>ger ln?y< n arc fo he incci^oratod a- far <i~, possible in de^cript've not<^ unt'c i ihc pii fu^e.-. Tlioiv <-houl(l be a bi'jr demand for llii' work, e-pce'dlly from MudenN of < itT'iT^nth-ccntuiy 3i.n jr ltirnl.

— Air (ifn.'.' .ilcrf dith. the \otcran nowiw. uho fiii^ ju-t ccl< brii'od In < ~c\'.iity ninth birti.dtiy, ie coueidered by

many to be our greawst living maj of letters. Although he can by* Ro~means bo called a popular writer (he has been described "an author for authors"f. his works undoubtedly bear the maik o' tiue genius, and are of a style to grow more popular as time goes on. In his earlier days he had a hard struggle to obtain a hearing, and it was a long time before his books were appreciated It is said that while be was engaged in writing ''Evan Harrington" he was so poor that he lived almost entirely on oatmeal and water. In spite of his great ago Mr Meredith is still as vigorous in mind a* ever he was. and it is ci ly a short time ago that he starrled the world by advocating temporary marriages. At present he lives, more or less of a recluse, and sunounded by his beloved book?, in a charming house at Boxhill, in Surrey. In view of recent events, it is interesting to note that the author of "Diana of tho Crossways" is a firm defender of woman suffrage, and believes that the fair sex should be given a chance to compete with men in most of their professions.

—Mr Edrnuna Gosse, who writes the introduction to "Pendennh" in tho "World's Classics." raises an interesting point. He asks whether, among the reasons which have been conjectured for Thackeray forbidding the writirg of his life, it has ever been suggested "as the most plausible of all" that he had put so much of it into his booki that he did not wish their texture to bo broken by repetition: "Certainly in 'Pendennis' " (sajrs Mr Gosse) "it would be difficult to divide what is imagined from what is remembered. . . . The chapter 'where Pen appears in town and country," for example, requires no posthumous commentary to assure us that it is undiluted autobiography. Whila Thackeray was writing it he forgot all about the characters in his novel ; he recollected his own young adventures, when, 'a« a flippant, witty, and amusing- critic, lie worked away hard c. cry week,' 'mado his bow at some very pleasant bouses, which men opened to him,' and affected "no small varieties of London life.' To have all this repeated in an official biography we can surely understand he would feel to be eating the cake and still tryirg to ha\c tho cake." Thackeray, Mr Gesso further asserts, gave his life away to tho no\ei-reader m "Pendennia" just as Fielding had given it in "Amelia," and "there must be the end of it."

— Air Sydney Lee, writing in the; Athenaeum, sa\s: — "Nearly three years ago tho trustees and guardians of Shakespeare's birthplace were fortunate enough to acquire tor their library the first edition o£ John Florio's, ' Worldc of Wordes ' (1538) in its original binding. The volume was formerly in the library of James Crossl-ey, of Manchester. On the fly-leaf appear two autographs (both penned in Shakespeare's life-time) of cultured residents in the parish cf Strat f ord-on-Avon, who wero successive owners of the book. The earlier autograph, dated in the year of the book's publication, is that of ' George Carew,' afterwards Earl of Totnc, a well-known statesman of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. whose country home was at Clopton House, wnhm a mile of Sh?kespeare's residence at Stratford-on-A-von. Tho second autograph, which is dated 1611, is tha.t of Thomas Stafford. Carew's beloved natural son. whose eminent services to tho Slate aro commemorated en the Carew. monument in Stratford-on-Avon Church. This copy of Florio's dictionary is now on exhibition in the libraiy at Shakespeare's birthplace, and is valuable confirmatory owdence of the culture which characterised the fimi.lv circle at Cloptcn House in Shakespeare's day. Th<> ciicutnp'ancc that Shako--} <.aie was on fannbar terms aliko with Flono and with hi- dictionary makes it l lie more app'opiMto that the Carew copy should have found :i peipiancrt homo in the iin tlipl *l"* I ibiai'j — The future of The Time? lu-^ beer. :ho svbject o f mmv m.iv ai^ ('w-im^ lie !o«(, fe-v week.>. A Loik'ou co"-.' -resident. <-(rJ-es the facts with aurhontj. In future Tho Torres will be the proper ;y of a private linutcd lipbihty company, liming, of rourse. at us head, as srokcrniiv.r c'l'-ccor, Mr Arthu>- F. Water. Ti.o n-'r.T 1 :, of -eir--ral other pei-oi.s more or 1-^s well known in the political woikl have be r -n mentioned in connection with the dircctorpfr — ictabiv that of Sir Tdward Tennar.t. Lib-ral M.P. fo>- Sal!4>buvv,— bu* tho mrnt'o.i oi the names in this connection, if not m o\oiy ea^e witho.it foundation, is at Ira^t premature. Nor is it likely (hat t'l. re will bu any matcnil change in the futu-c conduct of The Tini"« The intention of Mr AA'alter i-^ thai e\i=tin^ methods shall bf pre-er\cd. ,St«-'to;nents to the effect that the formation of the pri.nV company is ',n any way due to the Book Ciub contio-vcrsy ar-e also erroneous; it is m r act, clue to procci'iiings which w< r.» commenced before Ihrt conlro\or\v b<>gan. Tho ijrorrietary of The 'J'im<>^ fo- a pfiitury ]'C«-t lias L-een on a peculiar basis. Tho first John Walter, the fou-><ior of the oapcr, died in 1812. His share in the paper consisted of fish undi\ided '■■<' shsirrs, which he bequca 1 l:cd Ly will. He o'.so inserted in his will r prcMsinn rmplia^isinif tho necessity of giving absoi'ile rr,\vor inct control to whoever mitrht b.ive tho conduct of the undertaking TK-; -Tu-- 1 , have Icen, ai>iecc! and subdnided t,.-s'i! tb ; pr-pne-(ors—each on" occu;jj in>r t !■> • j ; 'tion cf a pirtnc-r — !is\<> lx com" m •■' i.uinoi'im? If; ;s w<-r'!crful thai a rn< <!'■ .1 r,< 'ViKiper cou!J bf r:riicW Ol! «.O 'oi2 i'l thesG CO.Iditions. ()u\\ great d:-Cirtion on the part; of the management and muoli confideneo on (hat of tho pamicr^ could ha\e mado it possible.

— Germany is now t\e best-educated nation of the Continent ■yet, only 100 years ago, G< rman teachers >n num parw of the countiy were so poorly paid that they used to site in fiont of hou-^s in order to add to th".'- miome by c<\<] pe'i<-\

— A fici cc fight between an otter anda pike occurred in the river ar Barham, Suffolk. 11io otter was eventually driven, off. A river-keener, who r-aptured th" fi«b» found it was 3ft in lencth, and weighed. 16lb. It was just a'i\e, but was badly mauled. The otter was wounded.

The mother who has acquired the habit of keeping a bottlo of Chamberlain's Cough Remedy on hand ?a\es herself a. great amount of unoasineis and atixiotyCough.s, colds and croup, to which children are susceptible, are quickly cured by its use. It counteracts any tendency of a cold to result in pneumonia, and if given a= soon as the first symptoms o£ croup appears it will pre\ent the attack. Thin remedy is free from all poisons, which ma-kee it, th-" mothers faiourite everywhere. For salo evcr^