NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 431, 13 February 1909, Page 9

NOTES.

It is gcnorally known that Bret Harto's stonos havo always, been disliked, not to say strongly reserfted, by Californians. A recent address by Professor Royce, of Harvard, himself a native of California, helps us to understand why. ~ .These, stories, .he maintains, are. upon . a:,, deliberately . false .romantic./,.method." .Their main; fault is that they depiot the early" 'mining camp as if it were more or less an estab-lished-institution, and portray the miners as if they already, possessed a sort of provincial They/depict, a definite social typo'with. a dialect and with set customs and nttmnors—with a local consciousness, indeod,almost such as might be possessed by a Highland clan. The fact was,-.so Professor Royco tells us, that there 'did not really exist the social background, that.Bret Harte had to find ■■" for : his . characters. Everybody in the : mining. camps was there, so to speak, by. .accident. Nobody intended, to stay. Tho customs and dialects were thosb of all parts of.the country.. California had not yet reached the definitely provincial stao-e of: her development, and the impression produced by the-novelist in his representation of the mining> community is consequently- misleading.:. •■•■■:-. ; .". , .". i ;■■'.■-■;.'■■.-.' ■: '7.,-'■-■■ :''<■■'■:■

'•': vPublisliers.are already' busy : with thoir spring lists (wrote "The Nation", on January 1), and-in-another few weeks we shall be ; able -to judge.of,tho prospects of the season .^-at.;least;fr6m 4 'the reader's point of view. .There'.'is ; a likelihood that/biography -will be quite ?as much in vogue as it has : been .of late, though_ there is a growing feeling that the domand'for jthis class,of book is falling oil.:: .Anniversary celebrations .usually call :forth:one:'or:more. biographies.of the person commemorated, , and 1909 is unusually rich in anniversaries.- Here is a .list of some. dis-. .tinguished people, who were born in 1809:— .Edgar-Allan P0e,... . ... '.'January j 19.. 'Mendelssohn' >.'.;. /.^.February 3. ■-• Darwin. ... ... \. '... February 12., Lincoln ' ..'.-., ...... : ... - February 12. ■ ; ; -, Fitzgerald...:.. ..... ... March 31... ■'■ . ■ Lord. Houghton: ... .....June 19.: V ..Mrs. Cowdon-Clarke ... June-22. ,'■"■■ ' :J. S. 'Blackio .';','.:.', :-,...: July 29. : : Kingslake :,..:•:-.:; ■..-. August 5."- :■ Tennyson' / ... ..... . ..... August Si". :'■.. iO. W. Holmes '.... •''■.'.;.■', August 29. Ij-.'.. .Fanny Kemble '... ... November 2". Mark Lemon. : ••• '■••. November 30. Gladstone ... ::,... .... December 29.. This year also, sees tho. centenary. :of Thomas Payne's death: on June.. 8; the .bicentenary of the birth of.''the''.first- Lord Lyttelton, on "January 17; that, of; Dr. John- , son, on September 18;' the! tercentenary of Sir John Suckling's: birth, on' February 10, and of '' the first . Lord Clarendon's .on Februafv 20. Finally, thero is the centenary of the "Quarterly Review," the first number of; which was published in February, .1809. ■ .Have you '.noticed) if you happen to bo a novel reader, (asks:the "Book: Monthly"), that horoes and heroines are becoming more varied? -In the fine old days of the threevolume, novel, the characters of a book rbughly-in.two lots—the bad people and the good people:. \ Wo liave ,changed. that. nowadays, .and;the.:preseirj),novel..more accurately; reflects the average of human-nature, which is.neither,^wholly-:good nor wholly bad.,'We are all 'more or less■■'.creatures of- circumstance in, actual life.: TheVnoyel-which truly reflects life will make. its characters also creatures, of, circumstance. Tliey, l : will ■■• do some good_ thingstand.some bad things,; but it is best iri.fiction, asin fact, thafthe-good things should : be more.numerous.-...-',, : -

.; Dean. Wace, in his appreciation of Delano, points out how it was:that; the.-'.'Times. , . , .;was a redox; of his great personality.-': Hβ says :— '■Having..had no- subject sent to me, for several:. da'ys, ; ; at ; the instance of a person of. high '• distinction, who was a great friend ; of. Delane's; w>'write an article arid offer it to him.. But it was at mice returned to me with one of Delano's inimitable'.notes, jsiying:'. 'I; return you : this; article,' because it-.is, , I .assure you, essential that whatever, is to appear in.the "Times'. , should proceed from' the initiative of '-whoever -holds...my place; and-not. from that, of'any other!"person; however .highly- esteemed! : The , - effect of 'any .divergence from this ..principle'.would be to deprive your' contributions of f any value, and .to prevent their being accepted as- embodying '-, the- opinions, of the ' "Times,", which must, believe me, be.those of no - other than, Yours-faithfully, ' 'John T;' Delano. , ■That note , exactly .-.. expresses the ..principle on which his .whole work as editor was carried through. He insisted on ; being himself responsible; for; all the news' supplied ,to the public;; be was -solely responsible" for the interpretation of those-'news.-.arid for'the comments' upon them.'. He selected the letters! addressed to .the "Times' , which to-.bo published;- he chose'." the books which were '.to 7 : be reviewed, and exercised .an ..independent judgment on .the reviews '■.which were,, supplied; he; was scrupulous as to, the .way, in , which even small; matters of interest were-announced and handled. ■ '.

■•' Dr. Alden has recently, remarked,'"Let us to a; magazine, otherwise of the highest quality- add the. attraction of; pictorial jllustration equally..excellent;/.the!.audience,is at 'once multiplied tiireefold;"'!Ho: was thinking, no doubt,, in the first'place of an American, audi-. ence, ..but.thopiles; of.illustrated; books oir" the'Yuletide counter remind .us that in this country also there is a "natural demand for .the visualised embodiment, the ; defiuite ob--jective'. projection not usually attained to m-.the."text. , ! ; : Tkowhole question of the illustration : of ■ imaginative : work .Has' some curious.aspects.'.. From the point of view-of the- creative '.artist illustrations are* perhaps, always, a.disappointment.' .Even. Thackeray, .who illustrated his .own books/ somewhere whimsically complains of his "artist's" -liini--,ta,tions.:. Tennyson, frankly confessed .himself disappointed with.'.certain illustrations to.'the "Brook," and • Christina Rossetti - simply ■wroto the,word : "Alasl"; on the cover of ah illustrated: edition , , of, ..".Goblin Market!" Such expressions : of opinion are not criticisms of;the artistic, worth of thej pictures. .'.They only indicate, that the conceptions of:.the artist .clashed: with; .the; conceptidns'- "of '-the poet, and they do so, one'may guess, in most cases; Something of the same'sort ■happens in'thecasis of-ehildren//: If,.they;first :make: thei acquaintance with,' say, such a book as the "Arabian Nights" in an 'edition without pictures; they _make unconsciously,.as • they ; read, mental .-pictures'of:'their .-'own,-''and the ■illustrations'of any edition'ithey may see';later. seem.shockingly;inadequate. On the other hand,;if...'their -edition was illustrated the. illustrations become in itheir minds for ever integral :. with the text, and are not to be interchangeable with other.' Many patres-; familiarum can bear witness to. the shock. >hich : last year : the -senior members , -.of the nursery sustained' when they saw the junior members presented with' copies of "Alicdin Wonderland" with illustrations other: than those, of Tenniel. The representations which posed as ,tbe Hatter,-the Cheshire Cat,: and Alice herself seemed shallow impostors. Probably with ■ grown-up .readers ■ the illustrated, work of fiction is a mistake. In the interest' of tho story the illustrations are. apt to .be •forgot. On the. other hand,:' tho : adult reader is singularly susceptible to iliustra-. tioiis"on'.'tho'outside of a novel. .It is oft-en an illustrated cover or an illustrated wrapper which, turns the hesitating-."spectator" into a "purchaser." This principle-Ameri-cans have long known, and; have captured some markets naturally purs in- consequence,, and it is, one noticos, boing increasingly acted upon by publishers of -'.'cheap, reprints on this , side also.—"-.Manchester Guardian.' '