The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-10-30
ODD BLUNDERS IN NOVELS
Some bad Breaks" Made by Famous
Women Authors.

marvellous anachrOnlsmS with their
sur risingiy thrilling tales is we'll
known. Dickens, Scott, Thackeray.
Reade and so on right down 10 the
latest. Mrs. Florence Barclay, have
all fallen into the trap before now,
says Tid-Bits. But in nothing are
so many laughable blunders made by
novelists as in regard to sport, and
this is particularly the case with wo-
men writer's, however eminent or
experienced they may be.
"Ouida" was probably the most
astounding of all great writer's of
her sex in this respect. Three in
stances will prove that she took very
little pains to learn the details of
any sport she was describing. Speak
ing of one of her heroes, who was
taking part in a famous boat race.
"Ouida" makes this astounding state
ment:
,
but none rowed as fast as No. g.
If "Ouida" has any blunder to
surpass this amusing error in sport
ing contest, it may be found in her
description OF a great horse race,
wherein her heroine is supposed to
be the owner of the winner. And,
this horse having won, the female
novelist goes on to show the sensa-
tion made by the lady owner 1--WE do
not wonder at it, either) when "she
came proudly into the paddock, lead
ing in the winner of the Waterloo
Cup. Of course, all sporting men
know that the Waterloo Cup is the
trophy awarded for the finest dog
race in the world.'
"Ouida," too, seems to have been
totally regardless as to whether
sporting items got mixed with her
educational ones or vice versa, for
in another story she makes her hero
became very popular at Cambridge,
where he got his Blue for history. .
This is funny enough to make a
varsity man laugh for a month, as
Blues" are given for the sports
Captain for Gel tain games only. How
any fellow under the sun could get
his Blue for history either at Ok
ford, Cambridge or anywhere else, is
a puzzle. But your woman novelist
never troubles about detail like
that. Not she. Why should she?
If Cambridge doesn't give Blues for
history when she says so-well, it
ought to that's all.
Even the celebrated Marie Corelli
is not always accurate when she
comes to write about mems sports
and mems work. Says she, in The
Treasure of Heaven" when her hero
is speaking in that book,
After school hours got an even
ing job, with a shilling week, for
bringing home eight Highland bull
heifers from pasture.
Bull heifers, indeed! What sort of
creatures are they? The job sounds
a bit like that when somebody used
to send juvenile boys to the nearest
grocer's for "penn-' of pigeon
milk
One of our living women novellsts
made her readers fairly stare, especi-
ally those of them who were swim
mers or sailors. Indeed, the feat of
hero notwithstanding to her
story-ought to be immortalized in
letters of gold. The hero was suppos-
ed to have jumped headlong into a
raging river to rescue the heroine
(this is how it should be in all real
stories) and the following way is
how he did it (Which is how is should
not be done in any story):
With one hand he held her lovely
head above the seething waters, and
with the other he called loudly for
help
The best of all such amusing blum
ders, however, must surely be an ac-
count a popular authoress has in
serted in one of her tales which have
thrilled" thousands of fair readers.
When a jockey rides a Derby winner
he usually thinks he has done enough
to bring him credit for the week.
When player makes a century at
Lords he generally fancies his re-
nown is secure for little time, at
any rate. And when a man goes
shooting partridges and astonishes
all the best shots at the sport ne
should be satisfied with himself.
But when nobody does all these
three things he must be a hero above
the ordinary. And when he does
them one day after another, in turns,
he must be a perfect marvel. But
&c ,~,,n of tho h00ln-