New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-04
LITERARY NOTES.

The new volume, "Boston" by Henry Cabot Lodge,
in the series of Historic Towns" promises TO be US
popular as was Mr.. RoOsevelt's New-York"
We may hope for stronger work in Rider Hag-
CARDS new novel, I" NADIA, the Lily" than he has
offered US lately For it, is Zululand and he
knows more about that region than he does about the
land of Eric BriShteyes.
We can understand the "smart business sense
which leads publisher 10 adopt what people Of good
taste regard as a mcreurcous method Of pushing a
book But what can be said of author who de
berately lends him or her self vulgar caChpenny
trickl A new story by not unknown novelist has
lust been announced To be issued without Gtle'
every purchaser Of copy being invited TO suggest an
attractive title, and cash prizes" being offered for
the names best adapted 10 the story" This is bust
ness" indeed, and it cannot be supposed that volume
published in this way is meant for the serious con-
sideration Of critics.
biography of Leigh Hunt which ought to be enter
tanning least is growing under the pen of Mr. CoSmo
MOnkhOuSe.
DR.. Furness (of whom all Americans have right
be proud has lately been reckoning the number of
lines Shakespeare's comedies which are too obscure
10 be explained or interpreted. g have wasted the
time," he sys "to count roughly the lines which 60
10 make up the comedies. There are over 32,Oc0
Now how many the lines in this number where
through printers blunder the sense is
tho Obscury and the corruption Of Shakespeare
text, think you would be justified in making the
very moderate guess of 800 Surely there ought to DO
500 TO justify the clamOrng and hammering editors
But no, you are far astray Then halve the 500.
Still far far wide. As a matter of fact, out of the
32,157 lines in the comedies the lines that are beyond
the power of assured healing are Just nineteen"
The Boston correspondent Of that clever little period
ical, The Book Buyer" quotes Mr.. Whittier as say
that tunes N~hon
seemed to him that must take up his pen and write,
but that he felt that he had enough and that his
work was really completed 80 is this wise self
restraint in aged and honOred wrcr that it Is well
worth admring remembrance.
Rosset in 10 wrote thus to the author Of certain
magazine article English sonnets:
had already realized. rerelding what Won say OF
Wordsworth that yonr views ana my own MeX muCn
In harmony. No one can Admire his finest work moro
than ] do more clearly rs paramount place IN
avaaIenesS Of much Of his work You admit. Il is
probably his great merit--nOt defeCt-that he Is no
poet for poets, but for mankind at large say TINS III
must say that the undenable plagiarism from
SpenSer In his most famous sonnet does seem 20 ne
most dep0rable fact. To suppose that u man 30
gifted did such thing quite deliberately is impossible
images is puzzne difficulty. do not know whether
Main was the first to note it, but Judge 50 and must
In spite of the hectic and overdemOnstrative charac-
ter Of Dobells style generally, cannot but consider
executed. There is nothing in Dante finer than the
bir>-smilc in the sonnet called The Army Surgeon
given by Main: and the force and command Of those
on America in his notes Overpower even their mani
excuses Of method.
He who quotes this letter adds In previous letter
TO the correspondent ROssetti had said that ne
grudged every note given TO Wordsworth form of
expression which he to have takT a fancy.
1t reappears in letters that have been previously pub
lshed but which 1t will be did represent his
total judgment. The apparent plagiarism referred to
in the second paragraph certainly discovered by
Main (whoSe knowledge Of sixteenth and seventeenth
century English poetry extraordinary. and It IS
very curious. The referred is of course. the
beginning The world Is too much with as and in
Sponsors Colin Clout's come home again. have in
line 245-
Triton blowing loud his wreathed horn
while line 215 introduces PrOeus, and line 263 ends
with pleasant lea The parallels at first sight
startling, ard it is difficult to regard them US acct
dental"