LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1722, 12 April 1913, Page 12

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Tho Lato Edward Dowden. : . .The ;late. Edward Dowden, whose death was-'reported the other (lay, was Professor of. Kriglish' Ijiterature at the Dublin University, a' post he had occupied since as far back as 1867. To most of us his name will .be chiefly familiar as, that of the author of several .works on Shakespeare. Not a. few .nrdcijt.' Shakespeareans of. to-, day.'would probably tell, lis that, they owed their first introduction to any critical and literary knowledge of Shakespeare to Dow-den'-ff- admirable littlo book on tho Bard of Avon, published in Macmillan's admirable series of Literature Primers a good thirty years ago. He! also wrote a useful■ "History of I'reneh -Literature," much inferior, however, to, and now quite displaced'by, a similar work by Professor George Saintsbury, an<t, edited a fine edition of-Wordsworth, besides writing much criticism "on Shelley, . Montaigne, Browning, and others. He seems to have been a very industrious if not exactly brilliant man of "letters."' The Stevenson Original's. Another book, this time of special interest! to Stevensonians, I havo recently - come across in "The Eobert Louis Stevenson - Originals" (also published by Mr. Toulis; of Edinburgh, in a very at-tractive-garb). The author is Evo Blantyre. Simpson, wlio is a daughter of Sir 'James Y. Simpson-, • tho ■ famous " Scots physician, who discovered, or at least first practically used, chloroform us an anaesthetic. Miss Simpson's brother, tho "lato Sir Walter Simpson, wasMhe "Cigarette" of-that charming book,. "The Inland Voyage," and the "Atlielrcd" of that delightful essay; "Talk and Talkers," in which, by'the'way,! it, may bo noted E. L.'s brother, 'the ' artist and art critic, Bob, was. drawn 1 as "Spring-heel'd .Tack," "Burly" being W; E. Honley; "OpalAddington Synionds; "Cock'shbtti''!Plee'miiig Jenkin; and "Purcel," Miv'now.Pfoferfjsor, Edmund Gossa. Mis 3 Simpson has . v.-ritten a' novel and entertaining book, which all :who.possess Stevenson's. I ,works and betters should hasten to .place .albngsido those volumes. Especially^'interesting are the pictures of Stevenson'as a youth, when he lived in-Heriot not far from the Siinj*-. sons,- who'resided close.'by, in Queen Street. There are many excellent portraits .some: in colour, including, I notice, a reproduction: of Signor Nerli's portrait, painted .at Vailima, and now owned by a Scots-law lord, Lord Guthrie, who, by, tho'-'way,-use's Swanston Cottage, once the, h'ome.'Of 'E;'.'L. S., as a summer residence. Lawyers interested to learn that Mr. .Utterson. EO prominent in that gruesopio but brilliant little story, "Dr. Jekyll' arid 'Mr Hyde,"' Was, it is thought, drawn from a.Mr. Mowbray, "a grim, dry,-warm-hearted old bachelor," who was the legal adviser of the Stevenson family. Captain' Nares,' of "Tho' Wrecker," "was partially drawn from' the skipped of "The Casco," tha- littlo RC'hooner m' which Stevenson did,so miich": voyaging in tho South. Seas, and' Jim Pinkerton, 'tho versatile sjjeoulator, - of Francisco,-' in the same story; from„a young: M'Clure, of the American publishing "film of that name. In "Weir of' Hermistori," that splendid, but alas; unfinished';,story of Stevenson's, the chief figure was admittedly suggested by Sir Henry. Eaeburn's portrait of.'Eobsrt'.Macmieen. Tord ißraxileld, tho'resohrte Sbbts Judge, who accompanied legal abilities by ft brutal ; facetiousness of tongue. Eacburn's portrait of Braxfield is produced in Miss: Sitripsori's interesting volume, tho prico of...which, I.may say, is six shilliiig.l. The Home University Library. Last week I recoinniended my readers not to miss Chesterton's little book, "Tho Victorian Ago in: Literature," in "the Homo .University-.:Library (Is. 3d.). Since then I';read';iii;'Mr. 01cment';.Shorter!s!'"Literary .Letter" in "Tho Sphere" (March. .1) a-warm eulogy of . t-bo-same-book/ - -Mr. Shorter also picfa. out other new volumes oFTEo'.sairiis; series for special- cpmmendation, - for.'instiLnce: "The Newspaper," by G.'B. Dibble,'- for Who .years -manager of . "The Manchester :'Guardian''; "Painters," .by'-* Sir Frederick Wedmoro; "The * Navy," by David Haunay; '"The Literature of Germany," by Professor 'JvC. I{obei'tson;."Dr. Johnson' and Eis Circle," by John Bailey; "Napoleon," by Herbert Fisher; . Mr. Fisher, says C.K.S., "gives us a really masterly impression' of Napoleon, and, what is rare among English writers, a very fair one.'-'- In Chesterton's book he is cliiefly struck! by the account .of Carlyle and Ituskin, and ."the splendidly discriminating note on. Macaufay." "Of Dickens," adds C'.K.S.; "Mr. Chesterton has long since proved himself to bo a sound critic. The only novelist to whom .he is too kind is George .Eliot, although he'admits that most ot her work is .. . machine'.made." ".Machine' made" is a.term iwhich'. might • properly apply to "liombla," but' Mr. .Chesterton, surely, would; not apply it, say, to "Adam Bed<)." Personally, that : is the only, one' of. Georgo. Eliot's works..that "Liber" /cares for nowadays.. Mrs. Poy2er is surely among the immortals. Stray Leaves. •• A slip of the pen did much to spoil what point there was in my last weok's note' entitled "Chesterton on Strange Drinks." "Tho "Daily Mail and Leader" should, of course, have read "Daily News -and Leader." Whilo I am about it, open confession .being good for the soul, I may as well admit to an aggrieved or puzzled correspondent (E.F.H.) that when a week or two ago "Liber" wroto. of "Phineas Finn" and "Phineas Itedux" as 'i'rollopo's "poetical" novels, ho meant to say "political," There was precious little poetry in Trollqpe's novels, but there aro vast possibilities of mysteridus bungling in'"Liber's" handwriting.' When tho feminine-novelist decides to be realistic, she can easily outdo her male rivals* In a rticent story by a lady writer, I find a chapter giving tho fullest physiological details of what: may fco euphemistically called "an interesting domestic' 'ovent." There's- no- accounting for tastes, .but surely this is "rayther too rich" as Sam Wcller-put it. Wild horses won't: drag:tho title, of tho novel in cuiestiori from '.hie, so curious correspondents needn't wasto ink and paper. * Anatole France's latest novel, "Les Anges;" now running as a fouilleton in Paris "Gil Bias," and soon to be published in volume form, is arousing much interest in Franco. It is a satire on contemporary, life, written in a rather similar style-to "L'lle des Pingouins." An English translation will bo published- indue conrse by John Lane. A new-biography of "The Butcher of Culloden," .otherwiso William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, is to appear shortly. I'r-om 'what I gather from a publisher's announcement, we are to witness jet another' attempt at historical "whitewashing." # # - "First - Aid to the Servantless" is tlio, curious tillo of a book on the everlasting "domostic labour" problem. The author is Mrs. Frazor, wife of the-author of that famous book, "The Golden Bough." # *. -ir Mr. Hutchinson's clever book, "Tho Happy Warrior," reviewed in Tiik Dominion a week or-two ago, is said to be the success of the year in America; its sales (promising to rival those of Mr. Faruoll's "Broad Highway." Thb.'anonymous author of that strange but po-.verfuliy-wrilten- book "Ho Who Passed-To M.L.C!.'' lias written a new story eiilitled "The Life. -Mask." .Tli° aulhor dedicates her slory In Hid critics, whom sho thanlis for their Isiml-reception of hor first book, and says ".they imiv not ba sa' lenient tc the madc-ui) story as

they were to my real story. I want Ihcni nil to know that it was through one of them that happiness cnuio to me through •To M.L.U.'" This refers, no doubt, to (ho fact that tho author was, through tho publication of "Jlo Who Passed" reconciled and married to tho mysterious ''M.L.G.," an old lover. New editions of George Moore's earlier books aro appearing. Tho latest is "Impressions and Opinions," which originally nppearcd in 1890, and must not be confounded, which, however, it frequently is, with the samo ruthor's still earlier book "The Confessions of a Young Man," at once ono of tho cleverest and most impudent books ever written. * * * The March: "Windsor" is to contain a fully-illustrated article on "The Scottish and Irish Clans" by the Duke of Argyll.': » '» * Dospito its cost—twenty-three volumes at a guinea each run into money—the.iiew limited "autograph" edition of Kipling's works is already out of print and going up in price. » * * Here is an amusing ' story—from America. A leading American author has a littlo son of nine, who wont in to his father's study and saw his parent busy typewriting. "I'm going to bo an author when I grow up," said the lad,- which was news to dad, who had always_ understood that young Hopeful's ambition was to be an engine-driver. -."But,".continued the boy, "I'm not going to use tho kind of typewriter you do. I'm going to use tho kind they liavo down at the drug store. It has buttons liko yours, but when you press them, a little drawer full of mo'uey y pops out." » « » , Scribner's are publishing a uniform "Imperial"' edition of Sir Gilbert Parker's novels. 'I grant that "When Yalmond Came to Pontine" was an Exceptionally line story, but'l should hardly ha\o thought there would be a demand for a completed edition of this novelist's works.