CORRESPONDENCE. Charles Reade and Dean Swift.-Mr. Charles Reade has written a novel in the Graphic newspaper. It was accidentally brought to my house at Christmas, and, looking at a page of it, I was reminded of Dean Swift's " Journal of a Modern Lady." Mr. Charles Reade writes : "Down they sat, and soon their eyes were gleaming, and their flesh trembling with excitement. Mistress Anne Gregory held bad cards; she had to pawn ring after ring-for these ladies, being well acquainted with each other, never played on paroleand she kept bemoaning her bad luck- Betty, I knew how 'twould be. The parson called to-dayThis odious chair, why will you stick me in it?Stand further, girl. I always lose when you look on.' Mrs. Betty tossed her head and went behind another lady. Miss Gregory still lost, and had to pawn her snuff box to Lady Dace. She consoled herself by an insinuation, 'My lady, you touched your wedding ring. That was a sign to your partner here '-'Nay, Madame, 'twas but a sign my finger itched. you go to that, you spoke a word began with H. Then she knew you had the King of Hearts.'— 'That is like Miss, here,' said another matron. 'She rubs her chair when she hath Matadore in hand.' -Set a thief to catch a thief, Madam,' was Miss's ingenious and polished reply.' Hey-dey,' cries one. -'Here's Spadillɔ got a mark on the back: a child might know it in the dark, Mistress Pigot, I wish you'd be pleased to pare your nails.' But if It was four o'clock before they broke up, huddled on their cloaks and hoods, and their chairs took them home, with cold feet and aching heads." The Dean writes : With panting heart and earnest eyes, In hope to see Spadillo rise; In vain, alas! her hope is fed; She draws an ace, and sees it red. In ready counters never pays, But pawns her snuff box, rings and keys; This odious chair, how came I stuck in 't? * * * * * * She stretches, gapes, unglues her eyes, Of headache and the spleen complains; Her night gown and her slippers brought her, Again Mr. Reade: "Miss Gregory was returned with the tea. at her glass when Betty 'Madam,' said she, with a sly sneer, the goldsmith waits below, to know if you'll redeem the silver cup.'-'There, give him that for interest.'-' And my Lady Dace has sent her maid.'-'That is for her winnings. Never was such a dun. Here, take these ten pistoles my lord left for the wine merchant. They are all light, thank heaven." Again the Dean :— Madam, the goldsmith waits below; If you'll redeem the silver cup He keeps in pawn?" Why, show him up." To take for interest cent. per cent. I thank my stars, they all are light." Again Mr. Reade : This business of importance o'er, "The cook must keep it back a while : No woman breathing takes up less." I have read little of Mr. Reade's story beyond what I have quoted. There may be more stuff of the same sort in it, as Mr. Reade makes a slight reference to Swift's "Polite Conversation." If this is how novels are made, surely novel writing must be an easy art. C. F. Mr. Disraeli on Critics.--I do not re member that on the appearance of "Lothair" attention was drawn to the fact that Mr. Disraeli was not the first person to define "critics" as "the men who have failed in literature and art." Coleridge uses words which look as though they may have been in Mr. Disraeli's mind when writing. Reviewers," he says, "are usually people who would have been poets, historians, biographers, &c., if they could; they have tried their talents at one or at the other, and have failed," &c.-Seven Lectures on Shakespeare and Milton. By the late S. T. Coleridge. J. Payne Col. lier ed., 1856, p. 4. A. G. S. Milton's MS. Poems.-Hazlitt, in his "Journey through France and Italy," speaking of Milton's visit to Italy in his youth, says that— "It is said that several of Milton's poems, which he wrote at this period, are preserved in manuscript in the libraries in Florence; but it is probable that, if so, they are no more than duplicates of those already known, which he gave to friends." Have these poems ever been examined? Are they still unpublished? UNEDA. Philadelphia. Enigma.-Can any of your readers furnish me with the answer to the following? "ENIGMA. The noblest object in the works of art, Bayard Taylor on the Turkish Bath.— Some "Opinions of Eminent Authors" are prefixed to the American edition of Erasmus Wilson's treatise on the Turkish bath, and amongst them is an extract from Bayard Taylor, commencing with "No man can be called clean till he has bathed in the East." Can any of your readers inform me in which of Mr. Taylor's works the above is to be found? JOHN PEARCE. Dean Swift and Lord Palmerston. It is very usual to attribute the following sentiment to the late Lord Palmerston : "Whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together." It occurs in 66 Gulliver's Travels," p. 129, Vol. I, first edition, 1726. FITZ RICHARD. Harmonious Accident.--In Horne's " New Spirit of the Age" it is noted that some of the most tragic scenes in Mr. Dickens's works (notably Nelly's funeral, from the "Old Curiosity Shop ") are written in blank verse," which it is possible may have been the result of harmonious accident, and the author not even subsequently conscious of it." Perhaps the following perfect hexameter from cap. vii. of Thackeray's "Esmond," describing the wonderful wifely devotion of Lady Castlewood, may be worth embalming. "Strange what a man may do, and a woman yet think him an angel!" MARS DENIQUE. "The Star-Spangled Banner, and “ To Anacreon in Heaven."-As inquiries have been addressed to me at various times as to the authorship of "To Anacreon in Heaven," it may be well to place it on record in your columns. The air has acquired a widely extended interest from its having been adopted for the national song of" The Star-Spangled Banner." In the second half of the last century, a very jovial society, called The Anacreontic, held its festive and musical meetings at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, in London, "a large and curious house, with good rooms and other convenience, fit for entertainments," says Strype. It is now the Whittington Club, but in the last century it was frequented by such men as Dr. Johnson, Boswell, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Dr. Percy, especially to sup there. A certain Ralph Tomlinson, Esq., was at one time President of the Anacreontic Society, and he wrote the words of the song adopted by the Club, while John Stafford Smith set them to music. The style of the club will be best exemplified by the first and last stanzas of the song: "To Anacreon in Heaven, where he sat in full glee, When this answer arrived from the jolly old Grecian, No longer be mute! I'll lend you my name, and inspire you to boot; This sets Jove and the gods in an uproar. They fear that man will be too jovial. At length they relent. There are six stanzas, and the last is as follows: "Ye sons of Anacreon, then join Hand in Hand, Our toast let it be, May our Club flourish happy, united, and free; And long may the Sons of ANACREON entwine The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine." The last two lines of each stanza were repeated in chorus. One of the early editions of the words and music is entitled, "The Anacreontic Song, as sung at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand, the words by Ralph Tomlinson, Esq., late President of that Society. Price 6d. Printed by Longman and Broderip, No. 26 Cheapside, and No. 13 Haymarket." Here the author of the music is unnamed, but it is in "A fifth Book of Canzonets, Catches, Canons, and Glees, sprightly and plaintive. by John Stafford Smith, Gent., of His Majesty's Chapel Royal, author of the favorite glees, Blest pair of Sirens,' Hark the Hollow Woods,' and of 'The Anacreontic,' and other popular songs. Printed for the author, and sold at his house, No. 7 Warwick-street, Spring Gardens, and at the music shops." At p. 33 of this collection is "The Anacreontic Song, harmonized by the author." If I have not the date of the Anacreontic Song, but the words and music are included in " Calliope, or the Musical Miscellany," published in Edinburgh, in 1788, 8vo.; and, before that, they were published in "The Edinburgh Musical Miscellany," of which the date is torn off in my copy. any regard to copyright was paid in those publications (which is by no means certain), the fourteen years of author's right must then have expired, and the date of the song would be between 1770 and 1775. According to the "Biographical Dictionary of Musicians," John Stafford Smith was born "about 1750," was the son of the organist of Gloucester Gathedral, and was afterwards a pupil of Dr. Boyce-probably in the Chapel Royal, as ultimately he became a gentleman of the Chapels. With such an education, he might well have composed the music between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. The contrary motion between the voice part and the bass shows the musician. W. C. Memoirs of R. B. Sheridan, the Dramatist. Where is the Memoir of Sheridan, written by Leigh Hunt, to be found? It is referred to as a slight sketch," in the life of the dramatist, by G. G. S., prefixed to Bohn's edition of Sheridan's Dramatic Works, (1864), and likewise published separately. Perhaps some one may also know who G. G. S. is? I may mention that I have discovered that another of the less known, yet valuable, Memoirs of Sheridan, viz., that written by Professor Smyth, of Cambridge, and referred to by G. G. S., was printed at Leeds, for private circulation, in 1840. R. R. [The Biographical and Critical Sketch of R. B. Sheridan, by Leigh Hunt, is prefixed to Sheridan's Dramatic Works, published by Moxon in 1846. G. G. S. is Mr. Sigmund.-ED.] Literary Libel. The following extract from the Universal Magazine of March, 1794, describes a trial very similar in many particulars to the libel case lately decided in the London Court of Common Pleas : "February 28. This day came on to be tried in the Court of Common Pleas an action for damages of considerable importance to authors and reviewers. The plaintiff, Mr. Swinton, published in the year 1792 a work entitled 'Travels into Norway, Denmark and Russia, in the Years 1788, 1789, 1790 and 1791. This work was reviewed in the month of July, 1792, in the Critical Review. The plaintiff alleged that in the review of the book, it was insinuated that he was one of those writers of travel who are scarcely ever out of their closets;' the work in other respects was roughly handled, and he, conceiving that he had been injured both in his character and in the sale of the book, brought the present action against Messrs. Robinsons, booksellers, who are the venders of the Critical Review. "The chief justice explained to the jury that this was a case very different from common libel cases; in his opinion it was a case of criticism, which if not left fair and open, the greatest injury would accrue to literature. The plaintiff had made out no case of loss or damage whatever; and as to its being insinuated that he had composed this work in his closet, the public might perhaps be as desirous to read the book as if he had actually traveled. They might be desirous to know how well a man can write fiction. His lordship instanced two books with which he presumed the jury were well acquainted and had been often delighted-Gulliver's Travels' and 'Robinson Crusoe.' He did not conceive that the plaintiff had proved any loss from the review, which, however, the jury might read and consider, and if they were convinced that he had been injured, they would no doubt afford a compensation. "The jury, without going out of court, gave a verdict for the defendants." SANDALIUM. Tyndale's First 8vo. Edition of the Newe Testamente.-Is there any copy extant, said to have been printed at the Wittenberg Press in 1525? MEDEA. [The New Testament in English, translated by William Tyndale, 1525 or 1526, is a small 8vo., and no doubt printed at Worms by Peter Schoeffer, as shown by Mr. Fry in the Introduction to his facsimile edition. Of this edition, heretofore considered the first, two copies, both imperfect, are all that are at present known. The most perfect, wanting only the title, was the Harleian copy; subsequently it passed into the possession of Joseph Ames, at whose sale it was purchased by Mr. John White for 15/. 14s. 6d., and was sold by him for 20l. to Dr. Gifford, who bequeathed it to the trustees of the Baptist College, Bristol. The other copy, very imperfect, was discovered by the Rev. Dr. Cotton in the library of the chapter of St. Paul's. See Bohn's Lowndes, p. 2611.-ED.] [Our correspondent's brief query exacts a rather long answer. We will make our reply as comprehensive as possible. The following are the chief examples. A. D. 1696. The Tory actor, Smith, died of over-exertion in the long part of Cyaxares (Cyrus the Great), after being taken ill during the fourth representation of that tragedy. Smith was the original Pierre. 1729-30. In this season, at the Lincoln's Inn Fields theatre, Spiller was mortally stricken by apoplexy, while playing in the Rape of Proserpine. By similar deaths, Monfleury, Mondory, and Bricourt, were carried off from the French stage. 1735. Bond, playing Lusignan, in Zara, overcome by his feelings, while blessing his children, died in the theatre. In the same year, fat Hulett, by an overstrain of the lungs (his custom on the stage), broke a bloodvessel and expired. 1748. Cashel, while acting Frankly, in The Suspicious Husband (at Norwich), was smitten by apoplexy, and died in a few hours. 1759. Mrs. Margaret Woffington, while repeating the epilogue to As You Like It, as Rosalind, was rendered speechless by paralysis; she died in 1760. 1794. Baddely, at Drury Lane, when dressed for Moses, in The School for Scandal, was suddenly taken ill, and he shortly after expired. 1798. Palmer ("Plausible Jack") was playing The Stranger, at Liverpool. In the fourth Act, referring to his children, he had just uttered the words, "I left them at a small town hard by," when he fell dead at the feet of Whitfield, who acted Baron Steinfort. Macaulay's New Zealander and Ruins of London. -The latest reference to this celebrated passage published in the BIBLIOPOLIST traces the idea back to Henry Kirke White. The same prophetic vision of desolation appears, however, at a still earlier date, in Volney's "Ruins" (1791), in the following passage applied not specially to London, but to Europe generally: "Who knows if on the banks of the Seine, the Thames, or the Zeider Zee, where now, in the tumult of so many enjoyments the heart and the eye suffice not for the multitude of sensations : who knows if some traveller like myself shall not one day sit on their silent ruins, and weep in solitude over the ashes of their inhabitants, and the memory of their greatness." (Chapter vi.) The following passage, translated from Lucian's " Charon," is not too remote to have suggested the idea to the first writer who made a modern application of it: "Nineveh is utterly demolished, so that it is difficult to know where it stood: yonder is Babylon, beautiful with so many Towers, fortified with so great a Wall; it will shortly be no more, and in no better condition than Nineveh!" Greenville, Ala. H. Theodore Hook-In that charming professional autobiography, which is one of the books of the season both from its authorship and the attractive scenes with which it deals-" The Recollections and Reflections of J. R. Planché," Somerset Herald-I find the following passage: "His fame as an improvisitore is a matter of social history; but I cannot refrain from giving one instance of his powers which is as creditable to his heart as his head. There had been a large party at the house of some mutual friends of ours, and Hook's neighbors at Fulham. It was late, but many remained, and before separating another song was requested of him. He was weary, and really suffering, but goodnaturedly consented on condition that somebody suggested a subject. No one volunteering, he said, 'Well, I think the most proper subject at this hour would be "Good Night." And accordingly he sat down to the piano, and sang several verses, each ending with Good Night,' composed with his usual facility, but lacking the fun and brilliancy which had characterized his former effusions. Some oddity of expression, however, in the middle of one of his verses, elicited a ringing laugh from a fine handsome boy, son of Captain the Hon. Montague Stopford, who was staying with his parents in the house, and who had planted himself close to the piano. Hook stopped short, looked at him admiringly for an instant, then, completing the verse, added with an intensity of expression I can never forget 'You laugh! and you are quite right, For yours is the dawn of the morning, And God send you a good night!' The effect was electrical, and brought tears into the eyes of more than one of the company, while cheer upon cheer arose in recognition of that charming and touching burst of feeling." Truly a most affecting incident. But turning to "A Book of Memories" by Mr. S. C. Hall, published, if I remember rightly, shortly before last Christmas, there is corroborative evidence and some. thing more that poor Hook, under all his brilliant superficiality, had a fountain of mingled pathos and moral disquietude in restrained play. Mr. Hall, who was also an eye-witness, writes: "There was a fair young boy standing by his side while he was singing; one of the servants opened the drawing-room shutters, and a flood of light fell upon the lad's head. The effect was very touching, but it became a thousand times more so, as Hook, availing himself of the incident, placed his hand upon the youth's brow, and uttered a verse, of which I remember only the concluding lines— For you is the dawn of morning, For me is the solemn good night.' He rose from the piano, burst into tears, and left the room. Few of those who were present ever saw him afterwards." Having presented the two versions of the same story by two different experts to the notice of your readers, I naturally leave them to judge which is the superior. R. H. S. The Value and Use of Books.-The Bishop of Manchester, in a speech delivered on the occasion of the opening of the Rochdale Corporation Free Library, quoted from a recent publication, placed in his hands for that purpose, a beautiful description of the value and use of books. And as the passage is so very choice, I have copied it, and venture to ask for its reproduction in the columns of THE BIBLIOPOLIST. "Thank God for books, and especially for good books. They are the spirits of the noble and mighty in all ages, revealing to us their best thoughts, speaking to us in their best language, condescending to visit alike the king on his throne, the peasant in his cot, the shepherd in his hut, or the philosopher in his study. They unearth to us the records of ancient days, bringing remote events to present view; they draw aside for us the curtains of the heavens; they show us the wonders of the earth, or uncover the depths of the sea. They take us into their inmost confidence, tell us of their joy and sorrow, introduce us to their choicest friends, sing for us their sweetest songs. They retire at our bidding; they come again at our request; and in doing all they can to instruct and please us they are never, never weary." J. P. |