The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-06-04
Ijterary Notes.

Literary Notes.
The Appetons have offered Gen. Sherman
$4,000 for the copyright of his book.
Another interrogatve novel, Did She Do
Right?" is ready; this time by the author of
can Old Fashioned Boy"
The sale of NJ. Guizot's collection of auto
graphs produced considerable sum. Several
letters from Cardinal de Richelieu, one of them
addressed to The Duke de Luynes and signed
"Armand Evesque de Lucon,' one of the rare
documents which bear that signature, produced
1000 francs. One fir nm Napoleon l. to M. Poz-
20 di Borgo, colonel OF National Guard of Or
cino, and signed, "Bonaparte, officer of artil-
lery," was sold for $40 francs; one from Marie
Antoinette, with few lines from the hand of
Louis XVI, 450 francs. An amateur paid for
an autograph of Gustavus Adolphus 120 francs;
sixteen letters from Saint Simon, 80 francs;
and a note from Nine. Ronald, 80 francs.
VIM. Black has written an article for the
July Harper on Lewis Island, the most north
erly Of the Hebrides, and the scene of his most
delightful story, The Princess OF Thule. The
article will have illustrations. among which we
hope may be portraits of the charming Sheila
and the King of Borva
F.B. Patterson of New York announces a
work on the theory and practice of journal
ism," embodying the views of the leading jour
nalists of the country.
The London Academy" thinks that Pro-
lessor John Fisk's Doctrine of Evolution,
with Criticisms of the Positive Philosophy"
"may not be unfairly designated the most
important contribution yet made by America
to philosophical literature
"One Summer" novel "by a young lady
hitherto unknown in literature, will shortly be
brought out by Osgood & &c.
A new edition revised throughout, of DR..
Diapers "History of the Intellectual Develop
ment of Europe" is in press in London.
Bev r. S. T. Lowell, author of "The New
Priest,'' is writing another novel which Rob
erts Brothers will publish in the fall.
Mrs.. Diaz is best known as william
Henry's mother" but she has unusual skill.
almost amounting to genius, in storytelling,
Some of her stories that appeared in the At
lantic years ago. and lie buried there to-day.
are among the best of the many excellent sto-
ries that magazine has had. But Mrs Dlaz,
instead of writinglstories, is trying to tighten
little the burden which is crushing the women
was one effort, and a very notable one. Re-
Gently she has written for the weekly Tribune
six letters on The Work and Culture of Amer
lean women. These she has expanded some
what, aud Osgood & Co. will soon publish
them.
Mr.. Tennyson's drama, which he has been at
work on for SO long time, Is now 10 press and
will soon be published. 1t is entitled Queen
Mary" and embraces the life Of Mary Tudor
from her accession to her death, together with
the chief scenes in her reign.
Disclaiming any intention to be personal, the
Atheneum makes the following surmise con-
corning the origin of Mr.. Browning's latest po-
EN-; SIT is-we venture to think-impossible to
understand or even to dimly sympathize with
The Last Adventure of Balaustion without
knowinga few simple facts-faets that are
matter of neutrality-suspicious. its author. Mr..
Jowett is Master of Ballot, Mr.. Browning is
the one Honorary Fellow whom Ballot has
elected, and the two are friends. Mr.. Jowett
no old Oxford man nee be reminded, is especi-
ally fond of the Symposium for its own sake
as work of art, and still more for the sake of
the subtle problem which its last few sentences
throw down, and to which we know but one So
lution-that the dialogue itself is the answer.
This being so, it is to be hoped we in no way
exceed our province in suggesting that the
Master of Ballot and its Honorary Fellow
must have talked over the conclusion of the
Symposium more than once, and possibly
even until cock-crow, and that in some way
the poem has grown out of the discussion. 1t is
always interesting to guess, even il we do not
exactly know the circumstances under which
any great work has seen the light"
One of Shakespeare's geographical blunders
is considered by Rev. f. G. Fleay, one of the
most faithful of his English students, to the
effect of making it out no blunder, though he
Is oddly uncertain about the effect of his evil
dence. After showing by geographical work,
Peter Heylyn's cosmography, current and in
high repute in 1908, that Milan was then re-
puted to be "environed with water by two
great channels, the one drawn from the river
of Addua, 1.-THE Adgel the other from the
TESTS or Atheists 1.-THE Ticinol which run hard
by it, etc." and that therefore it was fair to
presume that when Shakespeare wrote his play
of the 1.-TWO Gentlemen of Verona he doubt
less had warrant in geographical works for
giving that city and Milan water communica-
tion,-Mr. Fleay is quite stumped by DIR. John.
sons assertion that Shakespeare conveys his
horoes by sea- and regrets that he does not
know where this assertion is justified in the
play in question, yet DIR. johnson is usually
correct" But he is not always correct, nor
was be in this instance. Shakespeare speaks of
embarking for Milan, of shipping thence, of
"the tide;'' this last being the only allusion to
justify the thought of the sea. But this is
easily explained by the need of getting ata
fixed time into tidal stream, such as the
Adige, on which Verona is situated, AMI the
canal from which to Milan, allowing that such
thing ever existed, must have started from
point some ways below Verona. By the way,
what do the people who believe in the Baconi-
an origin of Shakespeare's plays do with their
geog raphc and other ignorances? Bacon, of
course, could never be guilty of such errors as
furnishing Bohemia with a seaport. An ideal
Bohemia, with totally fictitious sea, would
never have occurred to Bacon, who had, with
all his wealth of thought, a poverty of imagi.
nation.
NoUo aud Afhnr TtamS