The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-11-28
AUTHORS SLIPS.

AU 11O1CO DuAbos
Amusing Errors Made by Many
Famous Writer'S.
Curious Anachronisms In Shakcspeare's
Plnys-Two Estimatco of Monte Cristo'o
Wealth - Thnckcray Gets Ills
Characters Mlxcd.
Somo ono hos been telling the
readers OF the St. Louis Globe-Dem-
ocrat about the errors of which we'll
known authors are guilty, in their
books, errors in history, philosophy,
astronomy, geography-everything.
Read what he says:
Shakespeare speaks of King John
and bis barons as fighting with can.
non, whereas these instruments Of
destruction were then entirely un-
known; he causes one character to
mention printing two hundred years
before the time of Gutenberg, and
another to alludc to striking
clocks N the days of Julius
Cesar; he mentions o billiard
table as part of the furniture
of Cleopatra's summer palace, and
causes Hector to quote Aristotle; he
makes ridiculous blunders In geog-
raphy, giving seaports to Bohemia,
OH inland country, and speaks OF
Delphos as on island.
In popular novel Of recent date
the author decided to kill his victim
with consumption, and then gave
him all the symptoms of pneumonia.
Wilkie Collins avoided blunders Of
this kind by s curiously practical
method. When he wished to use
sickness as o means Of promoting
the plot of his story ho interviewed
the family physician on the subject.
The Count Of Monte Cristo" is
full of slips that could have occurred
only through the authors torgetful-
ness. The fortune with which he
endowed his hero is enormous, be-
ing about four million dollars to be-
gin with, and after years Of the
most reckless expenditure, after
money has been scattered with both
hands, and in lavishly prodigal
fashion, the author assures his read
ers, in calm forgetfulness of the
amount with which he started the
count on his career, that the re-
mainder Is upward of ten million
dollars.
Thackeray, who was exceedingly
anxious to get everything right, was
perpetually getting things wrong.
Any reader who takes the pains to
examine critically the works Of the
great English satirist will find in
Vulnerable blunders, arising for the
most part simply from carclessness.
The names are mixed. The hero is
sometimes called by the name OF ono
of the other characters, and in ut
least one place an important charac-
ter Is called by name from another
novel. This wcs Philip Firmin,
whom he called Give Newcome. Nor
was this his worst blunder, for IN
another story he killed and buried
old Lady new and later brought her
again on the scene to round off o
corner Of the story.
George Elicit, whose knowledge OF
science is highly commended, in the
mill on the Floss" makes the odd
blunder OF having the boat over
taken In midstream by mass of
drift floating ct more rapid rate
than the frail croft, physical i'm
possibility.
More than one astronomer has
pointed out the mistakes Charles
Rcado has pcrpctrated in astronomy
and geography. But Reado Is not
The only sinner in this particular.
HowcllS sometimes makes a parade
Of his knowledge, and in one place
in "Silas Lapham," alludes to the
rank and file as synonymous with
officers and ncn. Dean Swift speaks
Of Pennsylvania as frozen, desert
plain, a blurdcr that might be ex-
tonuated on the score OF the igno-
rance prevailing in his time, and, for
that matter, ever since, in England,
Of American matters; while Amelia
B. Edwards, In Hand and Glove"
mentions "an ovcrseer on o MassG-
chusetts cotton plantation.
Ono Sole Writing Requisite.
There Is ct least one essential