New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-07-26
LITERARY NOTES.

S. Nicholas FOR August is as fresh anu iF"Sl""
,o,;ch,f,l "a n ses-breeze or a cool greenwood
I'll, Of himsicalities. gayeties and goodness
rro, cover to cover IL is healthfni and JOYOUS
now and handsome illustrated edition OF the
,,ta John Hill Burtons curious work. the BOOK
Unnter.p has just been brought out by the b'scN-
woods memoir of the author, 10y hatharl"o
R,rton presenting a number of pleasant aacouoVeS'
il prefxed 20 the volume
Among the chroniclers Of Washington life may
moi be counted Mrs. Burnett. The scene OF her
story. although One Administrator might nave
been Boston or Chicago tor all the distinctive chaf
actor Given TO it. IL is reported now that MIS-
snono,d has written o novelette, called ho'A
Greek Church." In which Washington society Is
portraved ia life.ike manner Of MIS- hul"c''
story by the way. an rate correspondent "'''Vs ~
us; aWhy why, why does she waste nei u"oo"''0'
talent In writing a boon dependent ior IT'S 'n'oIo''
upop the love of a married woman Tor man WHO
ism, her husbandi It's not wholesome; us c"''i-
monplace; and, worst iau't OF ALL nrs' Du' w
not made 1t entertaining.
Mr. Furnivali has hcen writing an energetic letter
20 the newspapers insisting that the name OF
aGentle vii" was. should he. and must re speuoa
"Shakspere, as IS shown by three out OF the poet
FIVE authentic signatures now existing. MI. fur-
nivolI ends his letter IN this lively fashion," having
this first hand evidence of course refuse to aunt
any second-han tampered-with evidence lo,' -
the conceitful Elzabethau age printers publishers
friends would naturally follow the 'cah'ihs P"o
tieeof the heralds. and produce ShakspereaS 0""No
speare, Let all second hand men i0.lo" 'he'n ""o
their smelling. while the st-hand or manuscript
men follow the unauthorized Shakspefe' I""'
the latter should be in the minority Is only h"'"'
il Is because they are IN the right"
lientenant-C olonel Ferguson. in his interesting
md Henry
note, that in Ersknes time the religious wor'u Vi
scotland was less hostile to the stage than al a
later neriod On one occasion the General Assembly
adiourned that its members might see MIS- Siduohs
perform. Henry Ersklne himself, thonah NJ was
an active ruling elder. even took part III tue sq''o-
bes of the green-rOOm, and was one OF 'ile @'N'-
Gates and writers who signed n manifesto 'h'e"'oi
ing to desert the Edinburgh Theatre IL the pari VI
.IoGer in Venice Preserved were played 10y any
bo,iy bnt Mr.. Woods local actor. On her WISH 10
Edinburgh Mrs Siddons was invited to henry
Trskipes honse: and his children never forgot the
tragic tones in which she would call tU the servant
Some claIet, boy!
In = hook on Baluchistan recently printed in Eng
land there is an extraordinary testimony TO the
highly developed moral sense OF the baluch'
wanted" says the author. " to send large SUN Vi
money back to TASK, and as was on the point OF
sending oil Brahim with IT, he happened to look out
of the tent. There's man. he SAID, Just gong
he'll take it, and he ran out and called 10 man
lust disappearing among the bushes THIS was per-
feet stranger TO all OF but he duly delivered the
money; and when Ii secret | limited to BIahh
do,lts about its safety the tone of his reply He's
a Baluch, made me feel quite ashamed. One trI"e
of Baluchis will chapao' plumber another tribe
directly they get chance, but petty THEFT rs uii-
known among them "
Among q collection of Oriental MSS lately ac-
auired by the British Museum are three OF the
oldest Arabic MSS. hitherto known. They are
dated A. H. 34S=A. u. 959 A. II. 301=A d. l0Of'
and A.. H. ABA. d. 1913. The British Museum
has hitherto possessed only one single MS Oh th's
kind dated A. H. 39S=A. d. 1907 Besides being vi
SO early date, these MSS. show the cause oi the
law laid down in the Talmud that the sacred
Scriptures must not be written in any other than
the souare Hebrew characters" They demonstrate
for the first time that the Jews were in the habit OF
writing the Scriptures in other characters. Another
mint of extreme interest TO the Oriental student is
the fact that though the commentaries are written
in Arabic they contain large quotations from Anahs
commentaries IN Aramaic. thus proving belo
doubt that Anan the founder of the Karaites wrote
in Aramaic the language spoken IN Palestine III the
time of Christ
There is an agreeable bitter about Tie Lona)n
Standards review of Democracy" that clever
novel in which an American takes d hopeless and
cynical view of his own country. This sheerlng
by Americans at American customs says TINS Ing
lish critic is not iii the highest taste We nave
seen the bumors' of Presidential levee ana we
NAV have laughed-never ill-naturedly we hope-at
some OF The nconPruiIes of the entertainment
But an American who can write so bitterly about
go small a matter as the usthetic uncomellness OF
his Chief Magistrate and his Chief Magistrates
wife standing up in awkward attitudes TO SHAKE
hands with their visitors, would do well 10 take 10
heart the remark of famous American statesman
TO a European poet who, some thirty Years aso,
went over to the United States to be petted and
lonized The bard. who was the subject oil great
monarchy. thought to curry favor with his enter
tanners by dsparaging his own country and ex-
pressing wish that he had been born republl-
ran SIR said the statesman in question, there
is very true old proveTb that it is an Ill bird That
fouls Its own nest and not over-fond OF such
birds in this country Patriotism in those
DAYS the greatest of social virtues in the eyes OF
every American To laugh at the absurdltes or
eccentricities of ones cOuntrvmen is fair enough
n may even lie useful. In more serious MOOD To
lift up ones voice testify against the vices which
most easily beset own people may lie religious
duty not to be shirked. But these 'eeneel at
tacks on the social shortcomings OF their country
men, in which it is much the fashion Tor Amer
can novellsts nowadays TO indulge Tor the ainuse-
ment of foreigners are consunmltey vulgar. They
wall give more pain to thoso persons who have had
occasion to know aud love Americans than to
Americans themselves. lew matchmaking people
OF either nation will fail to say to themselves
thought. if not in words when they have finished
the perusal of Democracy There ~ no doubt
acme amount OF truth in the authors satire; but
lie that is half the truth is ever the blacklist OF
nm