The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1879-02-02
SLIPS OF THE PEN.

Iully yOuEN, OohN, hECuOlonOp VI Aunm.
SLIPS OF THE PEN.
Chambers Journal.
When Mrs. Caxton innocently made her
wiser-haf the father of an anachronism, that
worthy scholar was much troubled In conae-
quence. His auachronism was living ono.
or he might have oomforted himself by refl cot
ing that greater authors than he had stood in
the same paternal pre- 5csmept. Our old Eng
lish dramatists took tremendous liberties this
way, never allowing considerations Of time and
place to star in the way of any alusion like
would have been slow to appreciate q modern
managers anxiety for srob % illogical fidelity.
His Greeks and Romans talk about cannors
and pistols, and bis Italian clowns are thor
ough cookneys familiar with every nook and
corner of London. And 80 it is with other
caterers for the stage. Nat Lee talks about
cards in his tragedy Of 'Hennibal;" Osway
makes Spartan notables carouse aud drink
deep; Mrs. Cowleys Laced 81 monian king
speaks of the nights still Sabbath; D'Urfey's
ancient Britops are familiar wltn Puritans
himself up for a crtic) supplies a stage direo-
tion for the represen tative of his Saxon heroine
to pull off her patches when her lover desires
her 10 lay aside her ornaments
When Colman read Inkle and Yarico'to
do. Stuff Nonsensep why 7" asked the
alarmed dramatist. "Why, you say in tae
finale
Come, let us dance and sing
While all Barbados bslls shall ring
1t won's do; there is but one bell in the
island" This mistake was excusable enough;
but when Milton described
"a green mantling vine
That crawls along the side of yon small hil,"
he mastcertainly have forgotten he had laid
the scene Of "Comus" In North Wales. Ernest
Jones, describing q battle in his poem, The
Lost Army" Gays:
Delay and doubt did more that horr
Than bayonet charge or carnage shower"
and some lines further on pictures his hero
"An with wounds, when day was low,
With severed sword and shattered shield; )"
thus making his battle rather a trial of the
respective powers of ancient and modern
weapons than conflict between equally armed
| foes. Mr.. Thaokeray perpetrates moe little
an achronism in "The Newcomee" when he
| makes Give, in letter dated 193-. quoting an
Academy exhibition oritique, sek: Why have
consort from smee's brush f'-she author. in
| his anxiety to compliment the artist, forget
| ting that there was no consort till 1910.
A ball in china shop is scarcely more out
of place than q bull in u serious poem, but ac-
oidents will happen to the most regular OF
| writers. Thus Milton's pen slipped when he
wrote
ht TIE s to s aeS oi sSs
| a quotation reminding US that the favorite
| Beauty when unadorned, adorned the most"
| is but o splendid bull, beautiful for its bold
ness Thomson was an adept at making
pretty bulls here is another:
he saw her charming, bat he saw not half
Tho charms her downcast modesty concealed;
rs if it were possible to see some of them, al.
though they were concealed. Pope, correct
Pope, actually tells US
Young hars in his boundless mind.
A work { ouLGst Immortal Rome deAigued"
The author of THE Spanish Rogue" makes
" q silent noise" invode the ear of his hero
General Taylor immortslizsd himself by per
petrstng one of the grsndest balls on record,
in which he attained What q certain literary
professor calls "a perfection hardly to be sur
passed" In bis presidential address he an
nouoced to tie American Congress that the
Uuited States were at peace Icih all the WOrtd
aud continued to cherish relations of amity
with the rest Of mankind Much simpler wss
| the blunder EDensh offioer during the
Indian mutinv, who informed the public,
| through the Times that, thanks to the prompt
measures of Col. Edwards, the Sepoys at Fort
Machison "were all unarmed and taken abaok
aud, being called upor, laid down their arms"
There was nothing very astonishing IN on irish
paper stating that Robespere cleft no children
behind him, except brother, who was killed
at the same time - bat it was startling to have
an English journal assore us that her msjeSty
Qneen Victoria was 'the last person to wear
another man 8 crown"
single i'll chosen word often sufices, by
the suggestion of incongruous ideas, to render
what shoulh bs snblime utterly ridiculous.
One can hardly believe that poet like Dryden
could write
my soul lie packing up, and just on wing"
Such q line would have come with better grace
from the author of The Courageous Turk"
q play containing the following curious pas
sage:
"How now, ye heavens grow you
So proud that you must needs put on curled locks
And clothe yourself in perwigs OF fret"
Nearly equalled in absurdity by this from Nat
Lees G 1ipus:"
Zach trembling ghost shall rise
And leave their gIisly king without waiter
A. 1f ut
Owhyhee came to England, the poetssters. of
course, hastened to improve the occasion, and
one of the results of tteir enthusiasm was
mouody commencing:
Minerva in heaven disconsoate mourned
Tie loss OF her Cook
an opening sufficient to upset the gravity of
the great navigators dearest friend.
Addison lays it down as 8 maxim, that when
al L.. nh -inin