Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-18
LAND OF LETTERS.

A young art student of New York who used to live next door to the author of that tenderest of love songs, "Kathleen Mavourneen," is authority for the state ment that he was cross and erabfd old man, of whom all the children in the neighborhood were afraid.
 The modern literary man is apt to be a cosmopolite. After many wanderings Robert Louis Stevenson dies in Samoa. Kipling has been a great globe-trotter. Bret Harte, Marion Crawford and Henry James are practically denationalized. Julian Hawthorne, after much travel, has settled down in Jamaica. Stanley J. Weyman has wandered over Europe afoot Conan Doyle has travelled much and is planning further globe-trotting. Literary material is no longer focal 1s- sue.
 The late M Stambuloff could talk ex- cellently in French. Russian, Turkish and Roumanan. All of these Were en- tirely self-taught, and though his French might occasionally be faulty in gram mar his fluenoy and force of expression in that tongue were remarkable He was a good antiquary and numismatist and his collection of coins was of the fin st. He was fond of whist, draughts ana chess and was keen sportsman. Stam- buloff was described as a short, thick set man. with deep chest, broad should CTS and brilliant black eyes. His strength was very great though swimming was the only exercise in which he indulged: In this he was an adept Great personal bravery accompanied his physlcai strength
 Abbe Tolstoi, the son of the famous Russian novelist, went to Rome a snort time ago and soon became one ot the sights of the city, His photograph was ,I,1 xx-in np0Dle stopped in the streets to look at the blonde-bearded bearer of the great for- eien name He had visited the Italian capital to announce his conversion to me Roman Catholic church, believing mat he was called to aid in bringing about the union of the Greek and Catholic churches But he was excommunicated by the Russian synod, and then the Nati- can for political reasons, ordered nm 10 leave Rome. ToiStoi, however, retuflleu to the city secretly, and the Vatieah' III order to try his sincerity. had him placed in a monastery. A few days ago. now. ever, the abbe apparently grew tired or his new surroundings and escaped to Russia.
 All noyelists and writers make slips or blunders in greater or less abundance. hut it is among the lady novelists that the most freuuent and amusing biundefS must be looked for, and in Oulda works they abound In greater lIequenOy than in the works of any other nVlnS novelist. In one of them will be found a horse winning the Derby three years m succession; guardsmen sitting up all night drinking hard, smoking pertumeu cigarettes, gambling for fabulous sums and starting forth in the morning after a breakfast of ortolans and green char treuse fresh as daisies and prepared to do deeds of prowess in the hunting ileld or at the covert side, and that great feaS, too. performed by man with a taWny mlstac and Hanks like greynounu, who. while snipe shooting, espies an eagle. "a dim speck in the ethereal vault" What cares he that ms cart ridges only contain tiny snipe-shot? lie hangs away with unerrng aim ana "sloWly the king of birds, with his glo- rious pinions outstretched, sinks at ms feet o corpse" In another of her books gentleman performs a similar feat. but this time, for the sake of variety, with a rifle bullet Mr. Walter Besant, Ill hlS novel "St. Catherine by the Tower
 speaking of the riverside lnhapitahts, says: "They go to church but three times in their ives-When they are paptlzed' when they are married and when they are buried" It is only people in novels who go to be buried during their lives. MT. Rider Haggard, in his King solo mons Mines" made an eclipse Of the moon take place at the new moon in- stead of the full, when the earth IS De- tween the sun and the moon.