The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-01
Foreign Literary Items.

The celebrated Committee of the Com
mons on the Longitude was in June, 17l4; the
project of Winston and Ditton was heard, and
evidence taken. Their tract was published in
the same year, probably about June. But
the first announcement of this plan, now
thought so impracticable was probably in
July 17l3. In number (l07, July IA, 1873
of the Guardian, written by Addison, is a
letter signed by Winston and Ditton dated
the l1th), announcing the existence OF their
method, which they will communicate as soon
as they are assured that no other person will
be able to claim the reward for it: themselves
desiring no reward until Newton and other
competent persons should have approved of
it. The letter is genuine, without irony, and
beyond Addison in its handling Of astronomi-
cal language. There is not the least symptom
of an editorial joke, nor was the time
come at which such thing would have been
Ineligible. The letter in question has this
effect it introduces the name of Newton into
writing of Addison. So separated were litera-
ture and science in that day that the mere
mention OF Newton by Addison, Swift, or Steele
is of the utmost rarity. If We look into
Brewster's "Life of Newton" we shall become
sensible of the value of Boswell's art. Addi-
sou and Newton must have met often, at the
house of Lord Halifax if nowhere else; but it
is not on record that they ever exchanged
word. Addison occurs twice in Brewster's
Index, and we get the information that he de-
livered an address on Descartes at Oxford,
and that Garth cited HALEY 3 authority against
Christianity And this is all the connection
between Addison and Newton which the book
affords.
The ALhenu,um says:-When Mr.. Blades
reprinted Caxton' s very rare tract, "The Gousr-
nayle of lelthe, with the Medecyne of ye
Stomacke," from Lord Dysart's copy, he was
not aware that at the public library, Cam
bridge, was MS. of the Gouernayle. Just to
add one to the list OF MSS. mentioned in Mr..
Blades excellent illustrative Remarks" we
mention that there is MS. at Cambridge, in
which the treatise is called "Liber de Bone
Governance" Coat. iv. 10; but it has not the
short Introduction that CaXton's version has,
and is evidently a careless copy of the text,
emitting words necessary to the sense, that
are in CaXton, and the other MSS. One piece
of advice we extract, for the benefit of those
people who indulge now in four meals a day
"Bytwene two etynges, xi houres to be, is pro-
fytable; and so etc thres in two dayes, as to-
daye twyes, and tomorrow but ones; aud so
to continue forth" OF the second tract in the
book, the "Medecyne of ye Stomacke,"
which is so continually attributed to Lyd-
gate, an earlier version than Caxton's
had been printed by Mr.. Halliwell from the
Harl. MS. 225l in 1910, in his ''Minor Poems
of Dan John Lydgate," for the Percy Society.
Though Mr.. Blades notices this MS, he does
not notice Mr.. Hafliwell's print of it, nor i've
MSS. of the poem that Mr.. Halliwell mentions.
Mr. Blades however, notices three MSS. that
Mr. Halliwell does not, and among them the
Lansdowne, 500, which contains a very inter
estiDg poem, stuck on to Lydgate's. Lastly,
Mr.. Furnivall printed this year from Ms.
unknown to both the former editors, the
Lambeth, S53, the earliest version of the poem
that has yet appeared, side by side with its
Latin original ("Babees Book" pages 54-9).
But Caxton's print, about l49l A. D., and
Mr.. Blades reprint of 1858 (of ffty.iv copies
only, were unknown to the latest editor, as
also the Lansdowne MS, 500, and two other
of Mr.. Blades' MSS. He, however, added
Harl. 540l to the list of MSS. Trim. Coll.
Camb. B IL, "A, is another; and there must
be many more.
The Turkish press in London has under
gone modification. There is again only one
paper. The paper first started by Young
Turkey was the JlIkhbr. The editor of this
was Ali Suavi Efendi, a member of the pro-
fessional class (lawyer and ecclesiastic), and
only in opposition because he was an old Tory.
He is a man of considerable attainments in
Oriental literature history, law, and theology;
has acquired the French, and, to some extent,
the English language, and is the author of
some translations into Turkish. His sup
poTters OF Young Turkey, besides contributing
money, contributed articles, but the oOmbina-
tion OF old Toryism with their ultra