The mirror., 1921-02-24

"Her eyes the glOwworm lend thee" The
confusion OF ideas is natural enough, but
naturalists stake their reputation on the
glowworm's being, in fact, sightless.
The haste in which Sir Walter Scott
found it necessary to produce the great
number of his novels in order that he
might quickly wipe out a great indebted
ness doubtless accounts for the numerous
blunders such as these pointed out by his
literary kinsman, Robert Louis Stevenson.
In "Rob Roy" two horsemen, riding on
urgent business, are made to take six DAYS
to cover distance of 100 miles, whereas
on another occasion the same persons cover
fifty miles in single day. Stevenson also
called attention to Sir Walters glaring
mistake in "The Antiquary," where the
sun is actually caused to set in the eastern
heavens. But, careful worker that he was,
Stevenson himself, to use his own words,
came to grief over the moon" in "Prince
Otto"
In "King Solomon's Mines" Rider Hag-
gard accomplished an unsurpassed feat in
eclipsing moon when it was new instead
of full. Sir Walter Besant also juggled
with the full moon when, in "The Chill
dren of Gibeon," he caused his new moon
to rise in the east at o'clock in the morn
ing.
Thackeray is almost as prolific of errors
as Shakespeare or Scott. In "Newcomes"
Give asks in letter dated 183-: "Why
have we no pictures of the sovereign and
her august consort from Smees brush?"
In answer to which one reason might be
attributed to the fact that the Prince Con-
sort did not appear until 1910. Similarly
in Rachel Esmond Warrington's Perface to
Henry Esmond," which Thackeray dated
1878, he had her refer to Rochambeau's
visit to America. AS matter of fact the
French soldier did not come until 1880.
In Henry Esmond," too, Thackeray
causes the venerable Dean of Winchester
to write, in chapter nine, certain letter,
whereas in chapter six, the good dean dies!
Victor Hugo puts into the mouth of
Charlemagne, in "Aymaillot," the words,
"You dream like scholar of Sorbonne."
That famous institution was founded in
1854, four hundred and fifty years after
the days of Charlemagne.
Errors of geography in fiction are nu-
merous enough. That graceful romancer
Sir A. T. Quiller- Couch in his first pub
lished story "Dead Mans Rock" placed
Bombay on the east coast of India, in the
Bay of Bengal, where geographers agree
in locating it on the western shore.
Even Schiller the German poet, was
careless. In his "Piccolomini" he speaks
Of lightning conductor" although the
period of the piece is at least one hundred
and fifty years. before that invention.
Certain of the literary errors were com
mitted not through ignorance, but in
downright Observation-Disclosures. At times
they are ludicrous. Trolope made his
Andy Scott come whistling up the street
with cigar in his mouth, and Defoe as
'ures his readers that Robinson Crusoe be-
fore taking off his clothes to swim to the
wreck took the precaution to fill his pockets
with biscuits. Later, in "Around the
World in Eighty Days." Jules Verne
brought his hero to his club in triumph
ust as the clocks of London were strik-
ng ten minutes to twelve!
Cervantes allowed his Sancho Panza,
n 'Don Quixote," to ride certain ass
after having volubly lamented that crea-
ure's decease. Lever, in "Charles O'Mal-
ey," gave to Portugal Andalusia as a
apital
Miss Marie Coreli has enriched the
world of zoology with the eight "High-
and bull-heifers" appearing in her "Trea-
ure of Heaven"
The LIST mi pht he added to ;ndefn;taI,,