The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-27

lish Literature" (Macmillan). says
New York reviewer. Mr.. Gwynn him
self I'm a preface refers to his work al
text book. and says he has desired L
address himself to young readers, o.
TO those who have made no exhaustive
study of literature. In TINS 1 Gay . !
book covering the entire range OF Eng
Hsh literature Mr.. Gwynn justifes OF
the ground that there are certain auth
Ors who are bligatOry-concernlns
whom total ignorance is a defect al
least to be concealed" Here at thf
outset, there will be those READY &c
quarrel with Mr.. Gwynn for seeming &c
excuse, if not actually encourage In1l
literary hypocrisy common enough IL
polite drawing room circles ana WON
ans club programmes, but not general
ly condoned- On the other haho, nov
ever perhaps, Mr.. Gwynn should be
praised for Offering to act as guide
along the high places of English htera-
ture to help would-be literary per
sons'-if we may adopt the speech of
the day-in making good their bluff. :
Mr.. Gwynn begins with Chaucer ana
ends with Tennyson. All of the great
names are dealt with, at more or less
length, and the interstices between the
great are generally filled with at least
passing mention of the minor. Here,
then, in a small octave Volumn unroiIS
the vast panorama of English Hlitera-
ture, which may well make the skePtl-
cal ones gasp. Reading, the wonder
will grow that one small book, fat as
It is with its more than 400 pages, can can
hold all it does For few VIII questl I,l
formed the feat and covered the
ground. Nor is the impression produc-
ed that of 'scrappiness, or or the de-
tached sentences of the text book varl-
ETY. but Ia Their a connected series OIL
biogra phicaI and critical essays
The book it must be believed, VIII
rather challenge the criticism OF the
mature than furnish aid and inspira-
ton for the young. For example, VIII
there not be outcries regarding the FOL
lowing in regard to Browning; he
may vanish from general view, as
Donne man of very similar qualltles
and defects, has vanished, or as Cowley
vanished half a century later; ana
also against this of George Eliot: Her
reputation, great in her own day, is
now in the period of observation Whlch
often follows a sudden fame" Admit
ration for Dickens, MIR. Gwynn says.
is a matter of temperament" and 1t
is plain his own does not greatly re-
spond to the author who. never con-
tent with the printed word, always de-
sires to have his audience in front of
him, and, like the actor, puts on
rouge and grease, because without
them in the glare Of the footlights his
is described as the most Iovabfe fig
ure in all letters" and Mr.. Gwynn s
comment on the great tragedy and
the heroic manner in which he met it
is worth quoting:
1t was a stupendous achievement,
and a glorious; but at tragic cost
Within these seven years the strong
worker shaved himself to death,
hacked his genius out of being. 1t
is Daudet'S story of the man with the
brain of gold. Scott, too, reached the
days-the days of Count Robert of
Paris" when of the miraculous treas
ure nothing was left but few scraps
clinging to the wall of the hollow
skull; and he too, was seen in the
worlds market stupid and dazed, hold
ing out a hand all bloody with scrap
ings of gold on the finger nails-till
deaths mercy delivered him.
The latter rather than the first part
of the volume has been considered,
because the former is necessarily
largely rendering OF verdicts long
since regarded as final and unreversi
BILE. 1t will be strange, however, if a
reading of Mr.. Gwynn-s survey of the
priceless literary heritage bequeathed to |
England by the centuries preceding
the nineteenth does not lead many
to reread; or, If theirs is virgin soil |
to start today to have more than an
inherited familiarity with |
the masters of early English literature
to remedy in short rather than
longer to conceal any defects in their |
knowledge of literature.
To the reader of autograph letters
there often come delights of an unex-
pected nature, says the Bibliphile in |
the New York Evening Post A recent |
catalogue from London contains two or |
three unpublished letters that throw
light on the methods and minds of their |
writer's. Here, for example is one writ |
ten by Shelley, dated Bishopsgate Oc- |
tober 9, 1915, addressed to his solicitor |
respecting suit -nending against Mr.. |
Goodwin, his father-in-law, who, as ali |
the world knows. was in constant debt. |
1t reads as follows:
If 1 do not mistake. you are Mr. |
Godwin's legal adviser in a suit pro-
seeding against him from Mr.. Hogan. |
The object of my letter is to learn Gf |
you think yourself justified in favoring |
me with the information) Mr.. Goodwin s /
~ ecise situation with respect to this |
SUIT l have heard that it must ar
rive at its conclusion next term: that
mere are no means of delay. am anx-
ous to know how far that statement
IS correct. If, however if is irnpossi-
BILE to prolong it beyond the beginninp
oI next month. wish to inquire Wheth-
Pr MI Hogan is absolutely determined !
not 10 accommodate the affair in any
manner short of the actual payment IF
The debt and costs, or whether MT
Iodwin has offered no security which
ne considers safe. In the latter case I |
imagine that l could suggest through
NY own liability a means of relieving
Mr.. Goodwin from the action YoiI
would oblige me by not Informing Mr.. |
SodWin OF my application until it shall
tppear tnat II is likely to be attended
With some favorable issue Your very
,bedient servant
PERCY b. SHELLEY"
Another from Laurence Sterne, a fine
md rare letter. which indicates that he
vas not unmindful of the delights of
ociety. 1t reads:
My Dear SRA perpetual round Of
wherein every moment of
ny time has been mortgaged together
With some days of illness, the natural
ruftS of so much destination hos r,,,f
nut Of my power what was so oft in my
lead to wait upon you. 1 do myself
he pleasure of being an hour or two
with you on Tuesday morning. being
determined at noon to set out for Rath
or week to break this magic circle.
{ / should not be with You by halfl