LITERARY BURNINGS

Evening Star, Issue 22442, 12 September 1936, Page 2

LITERARY BURNINGS

The Archbishop of Canterbury, who has been -confessing that a monograph of, which, in early life, he had some hopes, was “ consigned to the flames by a maid who thought it was wastepaper,” is only one of many who have suffered the Carlylean casualty. But in most cases the culprit is of more exalted station. There was the wife of Robert Ainsworth, who, when her husband had finished Ms Latin dictionary, threw it all into the fire during a conjugal dispute. There have been critics who held, that that was also the fate which overtook the plays which Shakespeare may have written at Stratford-on-Avon. It was Sir Richard Burton’s widow who burned the manuscript of ‘ Scented Garden ’ (“ I think I have shocked Mrs Grundy this time,” was the authors own comment). R.L.S. burned the earlier version of ‘ .Tekyll -and Hyde in something .of .a, temper at his wife’s criticisixis* A case by itself is that of the original draft of Swinburne’s ‘Rosamond. Ho had been staying with Mr (afterwards Bishop) Stubbs, vicar of Navestock, to whom he read the manuscript. - Mr Stubbs hinted criticism at the more amatory passages, whereiipon the outraged author uttered a loud scream and bolted upstairs, where he locked himself into his bedroom. It was : not till morning he came down. “I lighted a fire,” he said, and hurned the manuscript.” Stubbs expressed his horror. “But it does not matter.: I sat up all night .and, wrote it again from memory.”— Observer.

A negro boxer was to fight a heavyweight champion. When ho reached the ring he hung back. “It s all light, Sambo,” said his second. Just say to yourself ‘ I’m going to beat him, and you will win.” “ That’s no good, boss, replied Sambo. “ I know what a liar I am.”