New-York tribune., 1891-09-19
LITERARY NOTES.


Mt, Edison win himself Illustrate 1t Is saa. the
romance on the future of electricity which he is "nns
in collaboration with Mr.. G.. p. Lathrop
1here ss cor,ical blunder, typographical eyidenuy
in the article on James Russell Lowell published IN
tho last number Of "BlRckwOod' The wrlter CANS
The q oeurtin,s of zehle and Huldy "mniature gem
q. the Iutoh school, and proceeds to quote tne
sopr lines beginning: "When Ma bimeby upon Gun
slips The scotch printer who bas never heard VI
tho Yankee worm bimeby," and imsgines IL 10 "
o surname renders the verse thus
"when Ma BiIniby upon 'em snPs'
All kinds o. sInily round the lips.
An teaTy round the lasheS'"
A volume of Rudyard Krlings stories have been
frarslated into Swedish, and they have ooeh TO
ceived with enthusiasm in the land Of the North'
II IS understood that Mr.. Bret Harte's work re-
taius all its early popularity. Already his maeral
for some months OF next year is disposed OF.
Mr.. swinbune has been doing something which
Il is hard for a poet who is at the top OF the uee
to do gracefuly-he has been writing ABOUT the
brother poets who perch far down upon the lower
branches His article the minor English poets Will
appear in the next L" Forum"
The last letter written by Charles Dickens was
sold in England the other day for about ten dolarS
1T was addressed TO Mr.. Makeham ana runs tnus :
1t would be quite incOncevsble 10 me-ouI ior sou
etter-that any reasonable reader could POSSIBLY aIo
"a Scripural reference 80 passage IN bOoR OI ihe'
reuroducng much abused social figure of speech I'm
pr.ssed into all sorts OF service on all sorts OF map
proprlate occasions without the fantest cennecoh O
IL with it's original source. am truly Shocheu ~ iu
that any reader can mako the mlstahe'
have always strven in my writings to express
veneratlon for the life and lessons of eur SAVIOUR
because feel it and because rewrote that history
for nv children-every enc OF whom knew 1t nom
having IT repeated 10 them long before they coua reau'
and almost as soon they coud speak. But nave
never made proclamation Of this from the house'ops
The passage-from Edwin DroOd'-of which Mr'
Makeham complained that In which DICKENS say >
describing how the mother Of the Rev. Minor canon
septinus Crisparkle would always take her son 10
a medicinal herb closet if she noticed the most I'M
perceptible pmple on his manly brow. Into ths
herbaeeous penltentiary would the Reverend Sepumus
submssvey be led like the highly popular lamb VINO
has so long and unresstngy been led 10 the slaughter
and there would he unlike that lamb, bore nobody
Int HIMSELF 1t would certainly be nuisance says
one indignant Englishman, If one could never uiih
about being led like lamb to the slaughter without
somebody deserving Biblical alludon In the mack
peyed phrase.
DIR. George Macdonald has ready for publication
new novel, The Flight of a Shadow
There be many wise persons who deplore the fact
that people will persist in taking novels and nothhg
else out Of public libraries. Walter Besant doeS
not snare tnclf sTltls AihS MI NN'"F''N'
cars he says irrsverently "whO lounges to his own
Office at hafpast ten in the morning, and never does
stroke of work after five in the evening ana never
has spce he first began pretends to be Disappointed
because people who have worked hard from six In the
morning ill six ut night do not, in the evening"
undertake a course of geology or Euclid, OF some
other science which would not advance them one STEP
Instead of that to this intelligent genemans disgust
thew read rubbish That is 10 say, they read BOOKS
which transport them out OF themselves, inspire them
with ideas show them how other people live, ana
broaden their views and teach them charity ana
brotberly love- My friends the contempt for I'M
arinatiye literature is hard to kill. Yet, to alter
welI-known phrase, not who makes the laws OF
the country so that l may write their novels 1or ue
neope. There is no teacher like the novelist; he
who writes a book which catches on with the
tworkingmen has more power them-because
thew are unconscious of -tban the greatest orator
of the day or the most popular paper that is
published"
Captain John G. Rourke has served on our Western
frontier moro than twenty years, and having KEEP
careful diaries during his very active life In that
region he has abundance of material for vigorous
and picturesque book. His experience In Indian
lighting and Indian administration under that splendid
officer General Crook, has provided him with no emo
of interesting incidents and valuable detail "On the
Border with Crook" is the title of Captain Rourbe's
book now in the schbner press
W. Bourdillon, the author Of that ever-charmine
lyric, beginning "The night has thousand eyes,
has prepared for publication volume under the
title of I" Lost God"
There is to be a new edition of Robinson CrusOe'
published by Cassell-wth illustrations by Waite
Paget.