New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-11-11
LITERARY NOTES.

That remarkable lnguisb. the late W. G.. Pslgravo,
never sought TO retain language when he ceased
TO need It he le' himself forget it, II Is said Nat
in two months he acquired facility In colloqual
Japancse-which would have booh an ca "'i''"'i'
feat for anybody Else.
Margaret Deland, the author Of "John Ward
Preacher is a young matron living in Boston. She
is Of Scotch blood, and I'm creed IS liberal Episco-
pallan The clever little " Book Buyer tells Story
illustrative OF Mrs. Deland's simplicity and modest
estimate OF her own powers. She had amused her.
self by writing poems and destroying them a. soon
as read, seemingly caring nothing for them or at
taching little or no importance to the gift which they
revealed But one day as She was returning from
marketing She called upon friend, and waile wat
ing I'm the parlor amused herself by writing poem.
The sudden entrance of the friend surprised her In
the act, and a moment later. I'm playful way, the
poem was snatchcd away from the uaihinbng author.
There on a scrap of coarse brown wrapping paper
was her exquisite poem, THE Snccory, which was
thus barely saved from the ignomnious fate of its
predecessors"
Joel Chandler Harris Is described in /" Literature"
as a man of medium height; compact but supple,
and rather on the rotund order. lie has chestnut
hair a mustaclc of the shade and honest
and merry blue eyes. lie Is good na'ured and b
unaffected: he is fond Of books-and especially fond
Of the Bible.
Mr.. Harris has written paragraphs OF
ccedlng good the subject OF dialect Many
writers, he says, perceive that the magazines and
book publishers are anxious TO get hold of stories
that teen with dialect. and they therefore conclude
that dialect the object In vewtha It is the prInc
pal matter, so to speak. In one way and another,
the dialect business has assumed immense proportions
In modern literature and 1t Is matter of surprise
to us that the writers thereof have not formed
dialect-trust in order to bull the market But tho
protest against it has good grounds to go on. When
a story IS written merely for the sake OF Introducing
dialect the dialect becomes jargon and the result.
far the reader is concerned, is disgust We
arc at loss underst apd how. this critical and
fnical age, the term dialect story could come to
have any meaning Properly speaking, there can be
no such thing as a dialect story. Jargon may com
mend itself to publishers but the dialect story has
no existence. Dialect IS simply part and parcel of
character and the writer who Is developing or depct-
ing character has thought of merely writing
dialect than the artist who IS compelled TO paint n
vart on mans nose has OF pointing bunons. II
there IS such thing dialect stories war;-panicr
follows as matter OF course, and Sir Joshua Roy
Mods not only painter. but painter
Of moles."
The bit Of dialect whether story poem. which
" goes" is tho bit which has I'm II that one touch
Of nature which makes anything go.'
William Fitzgerald wrote for a now extinct Dublin
periodical Kottabos,' a ieu desprit on the Sonnet
which II hating, merits remembrance
L.,
Albeit unsklhIl in the tuncful art
VIII make a sonnet; or at least III try
TO MAKE a sonnet, and perform my part
But in a sonnet everybody knows
There must always be- fourteen lines my heart
Silks AZ The thought: but. courage, here II goes.
Ihcle arc seven lines already cOuld / get
- seven more orr, the task would be performed and yet
For somehow rhyme has got a wondrOus start
- vi reason and while puzziing on I've let
The subject slip What shall Il be! But stay
Here comes the fourteenth line. IT'S done UIi,zai
When the noble volumes In which John Usv and
J. O. Nicolay tell the story OF Lincoln and his period
shall have emerged from the BINDERS people will
begin to estimate rightly the value of this work II
VIII I'll place which other book Of the kind NAV
touch The relations Of Lincoln with Mcclellan Grant
and other public men VIII be treated in tho forth
coming Century instruments and LlncoIn's plan
for the gradual abolition OF slavery VIII be set forth
There IS great deal Of writing in these DAYS about
the works OF Mrs. Amee Rives Chanler-a great
deal of unnecessary writing, be It said. Mrs Chanler
Is young lady OF good natural powers which are
entirely unframed, and which as yet deserve no
serious critical consideration 1t may be said But
The Quick or the Dead sellsla Wei. 90 do syhs