The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-08-18
ROMANCE or LITERARY DIs-
 CovERY.
The Spectator.

ID tno mefcat nccluent nAve W0 Deen indebted for the preservation of vol. tunes which arc justly considered 10 rank among the most. precious relies ot literature, and not lees remarkable than the disooveriea themselves is tho fact that they have oftca been made at timo when further delay would have made them impossible. This has been particularly noticeable In regard to the remains of classical literature. In A dungeon In the monastery of St. Gall, Poggio found, corroded with damp and covered with filth, the grcat work of Quintillian. In West phaiia monk stumbled accidentally upon the only manuscript of Tacitus, and to that accident we owe tho writ ings of historian who has more in- finence, perhaps, upon modern prose literature than any ancient writer, with the solitary exception of Cicero. The poems of Propertius, ono of the most vigorous and original of tho lio- man poets, were found under the casks in wine cellar. In . few months the manuscript would have crumbled to pieces and become illegible. Parts of Homer have come to light In the most extraordinary way. A consid- erable portion of the aillad," for In. stance, was found In the hand of mummy. The best of the Greek TO. mances, the "Ethiopics of Hellod- orus," which was such a faverIte with
 Mir. Browning, was rescued by com mon soldier, who found 1t kicking about the streets of a town in IIun- gary. To turn, however, to more modern times, every one knows how Sir Robert Colton rescued the orig. final manuscript of "Magna Charta" from tho hands of common tailor, who was cutting 1t up into measures. The valuable "Thurloe state'' papers were brought to light by the tum. bling In of the ceiling of some chan- bers in Lincoln's Inn. The charming letters of Lady Mary Montague, which have long taken their place among English classics, were found in the false bottom of an old trunk and in the secret drawer of chest the cu- rious manuscripts of Dr. Dee Iurkcd unsnspected for many years. One of the most singular discoveries of this kind was the recovery of that delight ful volume, "Luther's Table Talk.r A gentleman In 1928 had occasion to build upon the foundation of house. When the workmen were engaged in digging they found, dying in deep, obscure hole, wrapped in a strong linen cloth, which was waxed all over with bceswax, within and without this interesting work, which had lain concealed ever since its suppression by Pope Gregory XIII. We arc told that one of the cantos of Dants's "Pars- diso," which had long been mislaid, was drawn from its lurking place (it had slipped beneath . window si!I) in consequence of an ibtimati0n received In dream. One of the most interest ing of Milt0n's prose works-the essay on the "Doctrines of Christianity,"- was unearthed from the midst of c l bundle Of dispatches by . Nr. Lemon, deputy keeper of the state papers, in 1928. As years roll on and curiosity | Is more and more awakened, such dis | coveries must become rsrer; but prob. 1 ably many precious documents are | still lurking in unsuspected corners, and not a few literary discoveries re- main even now to be made which will, | when made, immortalize the fortunate | discoverer.
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