LITERARY GOSSIP.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20488, 5 March 1932, Page 13

LITERARY GOSSIP.

A ''Ballade of Good Tidings," by Mr Belloc, in the "New Statesman and Nation/'

The other da;>- the £ fell out ol bed Vitli consequercefc that are far from clear; I-'or instance, Eldorado Deeps, instead Of jumping up, incline to lurch and veer; And while Commander Turtle thinks it

queer Professor Guff is willing to explain: But anyhow, tho quiet profiteer WilJ mi,«S- the .Riviera and Champagne.

The out o' work will miss his loaf of bread, The half-at-work will miss his glass of beer, The City cleric—who might as well be dead— Will miss the slight advance in his career, And rery many of my friends, I fear, (Like Algernon who hasn't got a brain) A'pacing hollow-eyod on Brighton Pier, Will miss the Riviera, and Champagne. Ladies and Lords who once on glory fed, lienaldo, Phaiamond and Guinevere, And Francis, that in glittering armour led The long defile of Lance and Halbadier; High Captains of an elder world, give ear— Cue ear and Bonaparte and Charlemagne— The nobler masters of the modern sphere "Will miss the Riviera and Champagne. ENVOI Prince, Oh my Prince, 'Tis heavenly to hear! , Stroke the piano: croon it once again . . . . "The Rich, the Very Rich, this very year, Will miss the Biviera and Champagne "

Two i:otes from the "Ravs and Reflections" column ot the ''Weekly Scotsman" of January 23rd, just before the annual Burns celebrations.

Within the next few days Burns Societies throughout the world will be extolling the Scottish Bard. Sentiment has free rein on these occasions, and no one who knows' the power of sentiment for good or evil would decry the sentiment inspired by Burns's nobler works.

But sentiment that overflows in flowery speeches and end# in well-rounded perorations may come very near to the cant ■which more than anything else was repugnant to Burns. One of the great, aims of Burns was to restore the Scottish language. Now when the language is threatened by education, travel, and intercourse, as it never was before, the need to have the language recorded in enduring form is imperative. How many Burns Societies will give . financial aid to the ■ Scottish National Dictionary, which is struggling to overcome financial obstacles!

Edinburgh Burns Clubs have another call on them for the translation of sentiment into practical adtion. Burns can never be truly honoured whilst the monument reared to his memory remains dishonoured by neglect. Has the time not come for the Burns Societies, by mutual' conference, to determine on some scheme of restoration and, upkeep? "Just the price of half a glass from each of his admirers," it has been pointed out, would accomplish all that is needed. The monument is in a very bad position so far as keeping it clean is concerned, for it' gathers a great deal of sobt from the railway. It is admittedly in a filthy condition, especially the pillars, and would be much more attractive if it were thoroughly overhauled.

Edinburgh's record in connexion ■ with this monument is not a particularly good one, for there was great difficulty' in- raising_ the necessary money to complete the project. The town council irefused to donate 20 guineas towards its cost, and numerous advertisements appeared in the "Scotsman" asking for, subscriptions. The monument was handed over to the town so is now nearly 100 years Old. Could it not be thoroughly "ditched" before it becomes a cOntetiarian 1

In a letter to the Chicago "Herald Tribune." Mr. Hugh "WJalpole refers to some interesting, publications promised for this year.

There is to be a very interesting picture of a .frightful Utopia interpreted for us by Mr Aldous Huxley; Mr Strong has written his beat novel so far, I yenture to prophesy, in "The Brothers," and Mr Charles Morgan, author of "Portrait in a Mirror." .should have a great success with his. forthcoming novel, "The fountain." There is, I believe, to be a further "Rakonitz"- volume from Mis* Q. B. Stern, and, sometime in the eumraor. Mr Priestley's novel "Far Away." Of books that are not fiction the v moat interesting of which I have heard is Virginia Woolf's second aeries of '"The Common Reader." This should be a treasure. It will be-a Scott Centenary year and lives of him are promised by John Buchan and Una Pope Hennessyl There will be the magnificent and' I suppose final ■ volume of his letters that Professor Griereon is prepariag. Therfe will, I hope, be Professor Trevelyan'r sequel to hi® magnificent there, is to be E. V. r,ucas' autobiography .and another volume of Desmona" McCarthy's-.essays.

"L'lllustration" reports the visit to Stockholm of a group of artists from the Theatre FrartcaiSj who on four consecutive evenings presented iti the Swedish capital comedies of Moliere, Alfred de Musset, Henri Becque, and Octave Mirbeau. King Gustavus attended the performance in person, and showed Jhis appreciation by decorating Leon Bernard and Mesdames Deroyod and Eobinne. In the course of the coagratulatory speeches with which the French artists • were greeted, tlie "historical fact was brought out-that the modern Swedish theatre dates from the visit of a French company in 1753 to the court of Loiiisa Ulrica, mother of Gustavus 111.

Joseph McCabe, in his recent Life of Edward Clodd, the rationalist, refers to Clodd's incredulity on hearing that Thomas llardy was a church-goer:

Clodd was astonished and incredulous when, iu Hardy's later years, I told him that Hardy had begged mo not .to describe l)im as a Rationalist, and when- another friend of mine, with whom Hardy stayed, described him going t?) church on (Sunday mornings. When he yielded at last to the truth, Clodd fell back upon criticisms o£ Hardy which he hitherto had considered as trifles. "A great, writer, but certainly not a great character," he wrote to Stockley after Hardy's death. More than one fellow-guest was not entirely comfortable -when Hardy was up at the Aideburgh party. "Anthony Hope" expresses the feeling of most of them when, after Hardy's death, he wrote to Clodd:— "Literary fame apart, what a dear, simple, unassuming man he was. But not so happy, I fear; it was he who maintained that it was better not to be born—and yet was nervous in the boat" (Clodd's yacht). Ilis better qualities Clodd deeply appreciated, and the friendship of twenty years was very genuine on both sides. . . . Clodd felt •hat early struggles had in Bome ways left * mart on Hardy and ho was not slow, like some others, to recognise it. Hardy's frequent visits to Aldeburgh were warmly appreciated by both.

Mi' Ivor Brown in a recent article on journalism as the nursery of literary talent refers to some celebrated graduates:

The Poet Laureate once attended nightly in the office of the "Manchester Guardian" to odit the miscellany column, and it is recorded that when there was not enough copy from outside, he used to write a poem as a fill-up, one of those poems which were afterwards published as "Salt Water Ballads," a volume whose first edition value subsequently ran extremely high. Kipling's apprenticeship to journalism is too well known to need comment; Shaw lived by criticism until the world was ready for his creation; Wells derived enormous help from the Fleet; street of his youth. Barrie Wrote leaders at Nottingham: and Bennett edited a woman's paper while he applied himself to the masters of French fiction, the better to'be the. master of the English novel. There was a rumour that her had contributed a serial to "Chatterbox," that splendid journal of the nurserv which some of us may remember with gratitude, but lie donied it. J. B. Priestley could not afford to proceed straight to his major novels; he had his brilliant journalistic interval. . -

Readers who enjoy the classical flavour of soiiie leading articles in "The Times' .wilt not less enjoy the protest of one with a different taste : ;

Sir, —May I enter my protest against your unseemly habit of quoting dead languages in your leading articles! A glaring instance occurs to-day (May 22nd) when, alluding to "Another Yachting Season," you assume that mariners "must smile at these «1d words": *

Jfequiquam dCus abscidit prildens Oceano dissociabiii terras, si tamen impiae . non tangenda rates transiliunt fads

Mariners do not smile at any such words. They give them a wide berth. Would it not,, therefore, have been more in accordance with the spirit of the age if you had given the vulgar.rendering, as under?

In vain do the Deities, long-headed schemers, Pour cold-water (salt) on our friendly (emotions, . • When,, at rates that defy competition, pur

steamers „ . *.■ Hop impiously over un-neighbourly oceans. V.

—Your obedient servant* • ' , CBITICUS.

Gabriel Hanotaux is at.work on the - * most extensive history of Egypt ever . , m undertaken. Planned and executed.with the co-operation of the Egyptian Government—a year or two ago M. Hanotaux described how King Fuad suggested that he prepare a history of Egypt on the. lines of his ambitious ''Histoire de la Nation Francaise" — it will-be complete in ; seven large '• octavo volumes, illustrated in-, black and in colour. The fi*st v volume, whitth . . ' has already appeared, contains an in- 1 ti eduction by the general /sditojr and « pfpseiftation of "'La geographic <le - i'Egj-pte a travers "les Ages,'? by the geograpbor Charles de la llonciere.

The appointment of the popular novelist, Martinez Zuviria,/ to ,j thedirectorship of the Argentine National Library in Buenos Aires has been received by hie fellow countryman with., „c' considerable surprise and some, dis- H approval Seuor Zuviria, who under ; • the pen name of "Hugo Wast" has > achieved an international reputation, j is, it is urged, a story writer, not a scholar or a trained organiser 'such »s [ the responsibilities of the position cqJL ; - for. Neither, the intellectuals" toain- < tain, is the deanship of scholars, which the position connotes, > an honour which ftelongsto turer of fictional best sellers. / \ According to Miss "V". Sackville- i West, Edmund Blunden should return* ~ " to his own business, of writing poetry,, - and Cease to muddle up the-functions / ; jt of poet and. critic. Mr the," "■»£ critic, she says, however, distinguished, , however learned, however , careful,' -', i never quite catches the native and genuine accents of the real writer - which he is. '

Mr Edward, Shanks has recently," r * said that he doe* not count himself 1 among' those who ' regard ,Winst*i .; Churchill as an eminent stylist. Mr ' Cliurchill writes, for Hie most' part, /' what he would call "historianese": it is not imitative of any particular his> torian, but it is reminiscent of most. " < historian*. It is, however, a good workmanlike instrument for his pur- • pose. * - 1

Mr J. ,C. Squire thinks the assumption is too generally made that it is too late to expect that- anything will,, ever be added to our extremely sketchy. knowledge of Shakespeare's life.' . The; truth probably is that, one way' and another, the known facts .about him will at; least be doubled in the next hundred years. *

According to the Publishers' Cirou- r lar, 9197 new books and 4126 new , editions were published in the United Kingdom in 1931, as .against 9907 and 8790 respectively in 1930. The increases were mainly in the. departments of literature, fiction and gomes, and the decreases it) poetry, religion, history, and biography. -

Mr J. C. Squire thinks too many (looks are being made out of the sweepings of dead men's studies. Tennyson, whose drawers are now being lived to a very old age, and had ample time to choose what he thought worthy of publication.