The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-02-24
LITERARY NOTES.

1t is said of w. S. Gilbert, who has writ
ten with rare felicity for the uses of
musician, that he has no knowledge of
music whatever. He knows only two
tunes-one is God Save the Queen and the
other isn't. But to write his librettoS he
must certainly have fine sense of rhytnm.
The pleasant sum of $4,000 is to go this
year to the author of the literary work
which the Swedish Academy shall consider
the most noteworthy from the idealist
point of view. The period set for nominal
tionS-by members of the Swedish, French
and Spanish academies, and by the pro-
fessors of aesthetics, literature or history
at any university-has almost expired. Ii
will be remembered that this prize was
founded by the late DR.. Nobel, one of the
inventors of dynamite.
Authors may well envy the state and con-
dition of Queen of England-her copyright
is perpetual. The late Queens heirs may
continue to garner profit from my Life in
the Highlands" if that book is still on
sale. Its simplicity, not to say triviality,
does not much commend ii to the reader of
to-day-he is too near the period, says
Tribune writer. But doubtless the reader
OF two hundred years hence will find 1T in
teresting and valuable, and the British SOW
ereign of that time may put moneys in his
pouch thereby.
1t is now thought in England that Lau-
renee Housman is the author of IAN En-
glish Woman's Love Letters" The belief
has caused some criticism of the position
in the matter of the Murrays, the first of
English publishing houses, but il is right.
says London correspondent of the New
York Post to say that Mr.. Murray never
vouched for the authenticity of the letters.
The author alone did that in his introduce
ton. Mr.. Housman is on record as the
author of number of books. none of which
has attracted attention on this side of the
Atlantic
Miss Bertha Runkle, author of THE Hell
met of Navarro" a lively romance now
running serially in the Century Magazine,
is a young author. When she wrote this
story she was but little over twenty years
of age. Being so young there is little to
record concerning her. She is the only
child of Mrs. l.. G. Runkle, well-known
New York journalist She is a native of
New Jersey; never went TO kindergarten as
child nor to college a young woman;
has travelled little and has never been to
France, a fact which she herself suggests
may account for her laying there the scene
of her romance.
Mr.. w. L. Alden, commenting in his Lon
don letter on book by one T. Edward
Pembroke concerning Bret Harte, has this
pleasing thrust at literary affectation: 81
am very sorry to see." he says, that the
book has a foreword.' DR.. Holmes long
ago said-in the Autocrat think-that
there are certain words which blast a man
IOr up ana DOWN. Among
these he instances gent. If the good doc
tor were living now / am sure he would
add to his list the word foreword.' man
who can say preface and deliberately
prefers TO say foreword' may possess
literary ability, but the chances are greatly
against it, One might we'll expect a
/ Ken of Bret Harte' TO be worth reading
as to expect much from a book with a
'foreword.'
Mr.. Maurice Hewlett's next novel, it is
understood, will be entitled 1.-The Tuscan
Crown The story will deal with Florence
at the height of her greatness The period
is one with which Mr.. Hewlett has already
shown an unusual acquaintance His first
entrance into literature was made through
notable series of Florentine studies He
is very careful writer. 1t is said that in
case of Richard Yea-and-Nay'' he made
first draft of the book with the utmost
care, writing ii out as fully and with as
much pains as though he had intended to
send the copy to the printer. He then de-
stroyed the manuscript entirely and wrote
the thing all over again from the begin
ming. Twice more he did this, and only
when the story had been four times writ
ten out was his fastidious sense of form
quite satisfied. Mr.. Hewlett is a business
man and makes the production of litera-
ture only an incidental occupation.