The record-union., 1899-05-28
Literature and
Literary Workers.

Sarah Grand is now engaged VIII re-
peat, or even exceed, the success OF
The Heavenly Twins. y Two-thirds of
it has been written, but no title has
yet been decided upon. 1t will not be
published until the autumn of l9cO. NO
definite details concerning it are known
beyond the fact that it has a character
nicknamed "Petticoats' The author is
writing in uninterrupted peace and
quiet. The comparative failure Of
THE Beth Book is ascribed to the
circumstances under which it was writ
ten, Nine Grand being in attendance
at the time upon a sick relative, and
moving about from one health resort
to another.
Two foreign artists have lately taken
up authorship. M. Verestchagin has
just finished a book entitled DIARY
Notices. in which he presents various
thoughts and aphorisms ON the ques-
ton of peace and disarmament. He
does not look forward to any great re-
suit from the peace conference. In
my opinion he says, ''the attempt
must be abandoned to restrict in any
way the right of the individual Powers
to prepare for war in case they have
a desire to do so and the money for it.
1t appears to be more expedlent TO
come to an agreement that peace shall
not be allowed to be disturbed for two
or three, or even only for one year,
and that in case misunderstanding
and conflicts arise a court OF arbltra-
ton shall be convened One cannot
very we'll expect to get more from peo-
pie who were only yesterday ready to
fly at one another The other artist
author is Joseph Israels, the Dutch
man, who has written and himself IL
lustrated a book of travels in Spain.
Longman's Magazine: Mr. Palgrave's
adventures with the Oxford chair of
poetry suggest reflections. When Mr.
Sharp left that tripod, Mr.. Palgrave's
uncle, Sir Francis Doyle, succeeded for
ten years Then there was a contested
election between. Palgrave and his
friend, Mr. Courthope QSSo). 1 re-
member that Sir Francis Doyle paid
me the greatest compliment I ever re-
ceived, in wishing me to stand on this
occasion; but, naturally, and most just
ly, he took the part of his kinsman-
But how odious these contests are. The
competitors are usually friends Gas Mr..
Courthope and Mr.. Palgrave We're; as,
in fact, the competitors almost always
are) and why should they be pitted
against each other in quest of votes?
1t is no reflection on Mr.. Courthope
to say that it was Mr.. Palgrave's turn,
and he was elected. Then the tenure
of ofIice-ten years--is too long. Men
wax old before their turn comes round.
Make it an affair of three years tenure.
In three years anybody can say what
he has to say. Time enough there is,
in all conscience We have never had
Mr. Swinburne, and, too obviously,
never Will. The young Oxford poets
will be elderly before they have
chance. There can be no doubt as to
who should succeed Mr.. Courthope in
the chair of Matthew Arnold; and,
afterward. les jeunes should have their
opportunity.
The custom of re-electing, after five
years, ought to be abolished; it seems
to be only a tradition. Poets and crit
les at Oxford come in little groups
Mr.. Arnold, Mr.. Clough, Mr.. Palgrave;
or Mr.. Mackail, Mr.. Beeching, and their
group Thus it takes thirty years to
give three of them a chance to be edi-
flying, or (but of this Mr.. Arnold was
the solitary example) entertaining.
These things ought not to be thus Mr..
Jowett's mission was to make people
write great books One pupil did
it. wrote a big book at least, and then
the master didn't read il, as an in
jured person had the audacity to tell
him. He wanted Mr.. Palgrave to
write the Lives of the Poets" an ex-
cellent idea. But, if Mr.. Palgrave had
obeyed, can one not see the master
taking up DIR. Johnson's Lives of the
Poets" merely for comparison, and then
forgetting to return to the novelty?
We grow cid, and say 1.-The old is bet
ter" 1t is recorded here of Mr.. Ruskin
0S9O that, hearing Mr.. Palgrave's
Landscape in Poetry read aloud, he
said who is -?'' a friend of Mr..
Palgrave's 1 think l can remember
in the sixties hearing Mr.. Ruskin ask,
who is Villon?" and certainly l lent
him the works of that poet, with
which he had been unacquainted.
Here is a description of Timrod, the
South Carolina poet. found in an ad-
dress recently delivered in Charleston
by DIR. Burns: I'm stature Timrod was
below the medium hight. He had al
ways excelled in boyish sports, and as
he grew to manhood his great breadth
of shoulder still seemed to indicate
physical vigor which the shallow chest,
the slender waist, the thin, transparent
hands and habitually lax attitude but
too plainly contradicted. His hair,
which was very dark, fell in loose
masses over a low but broad forehead.
The square jaw was almost stern in its
strongly pronounced lines, the mouth
large, the lips exquisitely sensitive, the
gray eyes set deeply under heavy brows
and full of a melancholy and pleading
tenderness which attracted attention to
his face at once, as that of one who had
thought and suffered much.
His walk was quick and nervous,
with a certain energy to it that be-
tokened decisiom of character lily sus-
tanned by his stammering speech. For
in society he was the shyest and most
unimpressive of men. His singular
modesty and mistrust of the real worth
of his opinions, even on subjects which
he had studied profoundly, were partly
the cause of this, but much of it was a
purely constitutional defect To sin
gle friend whom he trusted and of
whose sympathy long accord had as
sured him, he would pour out his inner
most heart; but let two or three be
gathered together, above all, introduce
a stranger and instantly he drew into
himself and became a quiet and unob-
trusive listener. But he was never
moody or uncongeniaL'
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