The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-10-21

AUSTRALIAN DICTIONARY OF DATES"

LIT e r TU RE.
AUSTRALIAN DICTIONARY OF DATES.
Australias first biographical dictionary must not
pass unsaluted. Mr.. ]. Henniker Heaton's "Dic-
tionary of Dates George Robertson. No. 125 New
Pitt street. Sydney. N. s. W. to satisfy de-
mand for more knowledge of that great British
colony. which boasts sort Of cousinship. several
generations removed. with the United States. Nor
Is 1t by means unnatural that this early record
OF notable men should ut times smack Of the annals
OF colonial Little Pedlington. The introduction Of
vaccination and sheep catarrh the earthquake,
execution. libel suit duel and horse race the forma
ton of cricket clubs the passing of a betting act;
the life of celebrated pckpo ;ket; the prowess of
the "hying pieman;" the presentation of diamond
bracelet to the Governors wife, obituaries
couched in the form of double acrostic; anecdotes
respecting Cacobau Thakombau King of Mbau; all
these would naturally find place in parochial
cycloppdia of this nature. Possibly it will in
terest many people out of Australia to know that
'the mother of one of our most eminent vocalists
was the cousin of Captain Medwin. the companion
and bioGrapher Of Byron;" that some notability
gave name to "that beautiful flower the Bank
sia." and that literary young lady of Sydney
"being much thrown into literary society in Eng
land contributed often to the Monthly Packet" Pos
siby it will raise smile to with what liberaiiy
these patriots bestow their names of honor upon
the ''Father Of the Colony" Gather of the Sugar
Trade" "Father Of the Iceworks," and founders Of
other nascent industries. But beginning had to be
made somewhere, and Mr.. Heaton has devoted
years to gathering up all the shreds of interesting
matter that might attach to explorers Of visitors to-
jewellers Australian SOIL He deals very fully with
the explorers from Captain Cook to Luigi d'Alber-
tbs and Robert O'Hara Burke. from Sir George
Mares, who surveyed the coast. to Matthew Flan-
ders, who navigated Georges River in whaleboat
He marks the spot where Vincent Wallace taught
music. where Charles Darwin botanized. where
Henry Kingsley wrote '.Geofrey Hamlyn," where
Robert Lowe practised at the bar. where Guerard
painted. where Admiral Rous made his first handi-
| cap where Anthony Trollope compiled his book Of
travels and where several governors waived their
ancestral privilege to life of and devoted them
selves to the good Of the colony. Even lovers of
romance may feed their literary tastes upon the
story Of eva" young Irish poetess whose lover
was sentenced to the penal settlement in the out
break of 1s49 At his cell door she whispered in his
ear, ..Be you faithful. I'll watt" And she did.
HYGIENE OF THE VOICE."
A new edition of DR.. Ghislani Durant's excellent
treatise the Hygiene of the Voice is just issued
from the press Of Cassell, Peter. Galpn Co. The
general plan of the book remains unaltered. but
each chapter has carefully revised and consid-
cradle additions have been made to several Of them
Dr. Durans advice is practical and is the result Of
his own experience as q singer and physician. Any
| one who has lived among public singers will know
how careful they of their general health-much
| more than those connected with the dramatic
stage. This is for the that the depends
upon the health for its quality and endurance. Dr..
Durant has made thorough study Of the voice and
is in itself conducive to health for the rapid develop
ment Of the lungs is great preventive of the de-
velopment Of pulmonary diseases. The chapters
on the preservation Of the Voice. and the
Diseases Of the Voice. particularly valuable to
the singer Dr. Durant speaks very strongly against
the use Of lozenges or troches, SO common in the
greenroom and choir. He says that they
than useless, and that most OF them positively
injurious. Some Of the curious habits INDUCED in
by distinguished artists in order to refresh
strengthen themselves in their moments of rest
during the exercise of the voice mentioned.
The Swedish tenor Labalt ate two salted cucumbers
wachtel swallows the yolk Of an egg. beaten up
with sugar; Carl Formes drinks porter; Pasta drank
porter Mime. Sontag ate sardines; Mile. Desparre
drank warm water; Adena Patti takes settler water
Christine Nilsson, beers Nine. Malibran, in opposi-
ton to all the customs Of singers, ate supper half
an hour before the performance; Miss Kellogg takes
beef tea, and Miss Cary takes "Tom and Jerry"
sometimes and sometimes porter.
BIGELow's LIFE OF FRANKLIN"
Mr.. John Bigeow congratulates himself upon the
fact that the photographed "Llfe of Benjamin
Franklin" which he edited, has been the Of
making Franklin better understood in England.
The occasion of this sefcongratulation is the issue
of revised and corrected second edition the work
in three volumes from the press of Lppncott Co.
1t ia handsomely bound in cloth, and Is cheaper
form than the edition Of 1874. The delight that
Englishmen should be brought to pay homage to the
great man who in these volumes tells frankly
story of his lfe is not to be rashly interered
with. We can easily imagine how sad it would
make one feel who worshipped Franklin. to find
him only known in the select circles of Great
Britain . cute utterer OF quaint and homely say
ings-an almanac man. who had something to do
with flying kites a bait for lightning. and who
was vaguely connected with the 'dsloyalty" of
about century since. which we call patriotism. For
this Ignorance however, the friends of Franklin have
been much to blame The autobiography proper.
which had wide circulation from Its first pubica-
ton, sixty-two years ago. could not convey an idea
of the height or breadth Of Franklin. The bulky
volumes of his works were long without any attempt
at arran cement reduction. and the few English.
men acquainted with them could not leaven the mass
of their countrymen. who laughed ut Franklin q
sort of twopenny sage or hated him the shrewd.
unbending negotiator who pushed the iron OF
American independence home upon the statesmen
of Great Britain. The life by Mr.. Bigelow gives
fuller view of the man. Franklin bad poseur,
and a man who writes his life must pose There
fore, in his letters. where he had less thought of
how he looked--wherc. in fact. he was writing with
nil his faculties directed to describing the history he
was so largely helping to make-we catch more
natural and moro striking expression. 1t is much
more necessary. We submit for Franklin to DO
known i'll his moral grandeur and statesmanlike
force to Americans than to the English any other
nd Of Mr. VIZ