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Show LITERARY NOTES. Onp of tho nioiit vivid docrlptfon of Darwin Dar-win in tlint of Ilftcckol, Hot down after a viait to tho Ensli8hmau In 18H0. It Ik quoted in the recently published biography of tho ucrmun. "When tho enrriajro drew up before be-fore Durwin'a house, with Its ivy nnd fhadowy olms, tho jrreat Bclontldt stepped out of tho sltado of tho crooner covorod porch to moot mo. Ho hnd a tall nnd vonrrablo an-poaranee, an-poaranee, . with tho broad Miouldora of an Atlas tunt boro a world of thought. A Jover like forohoud, us wo nee in Goethe, with a loftr mi broad .rnlt deeply furnmed by the plonph of intellectual work. The tender and irlendlv eyes wore overshadowed by the jcreat roof of the prominent brows, Tho eontle mouth was framed in a lonjr, ailvory whito beard. Thn nohlo expression of tho whole foot, the easy and soil voice, tho slow and careful pronunciation, the natural aud simple tenor of his conversation took my heart by storm at. iho first roadhiR. I seemed to havo before mo a venerable sage of ancient Greece, n Socrates or an Aristotle." An episode of the honeymoon of the vouna Spanish sovereigns was a "literary reunion at the house of the Count of Vlllana. Alfonao and Victoria sat on a small, raised platform and listened to recitations by thn mont distinguished dis-tinguished Spanish writers, IneludinK Sonor Eche;oray. The pools of thn day read pooius wrltton especially to eclehrato tho royal marriage. The story of a queer coincidence is told by Sir Arthur Connn Doyle. While traveling upon the continent, he visited a onrtain mom-tain mom-tain inn, which waB in winter, he learned, occupied only by two men. Those men, prisoned in a waste of-snow and ico, had for all that pcrioil no communication with thn World below. Here wan n situation for a novelist 1 And the novullal accordingly be-gau be-gau to let his imagination play about tho possibilities of tragedy Kurrouhdlni; tho two in on Dii the mountain height. Hut the story was never wrtttftii, for happening to como upon a volume by Guy do Manpassant, which was new to him, ho found therein, under the title "of 1 'L'Auberge," tho very 6tory ho had meant to write. Apropos of Tennyson's cruffness Is a story repeated by tho London Chronicle. "Tonnyeon, In his last days, gavo audience to an Amorlcan a friend of Longfellow and Lowell who oainii armed with credentials. 'I bono you don't write,' was tho cautious old pool's rtrst remark. 'No, my Lord, and I don't talkl' was the swift roply. This response re-sponse set Tonuysou ot his ease, and ho at least 'talked,' to his gutt&f.'s vast contentment.' content-ment.' An edition Of Goetho's pocint has just been published in Japan the first to appear there, Tho .Tapancso editor has added a critical "appreciation." John Whlshaw was a clever and wealthy young Englishman who, appearing in London about 1760, hooatno tho friend of tho most famous peoplo of his day. lie was a dog-matio dog-matio person, and in conscquonco was often called ''tho Pope of Holland House." A mass of letters exchanged (1813-19-10) between him and Lord and Lady Holland, Lord Latin-downn, Latin-downn, llnllam, Sismondi, Sir James Mackintosh, Mack-intosh, Marie Edgewnrth and other important import-ant personages has lately been found among tho effects of one of Ills contemporaries, and has just buou published in London. Tho titlo of the book, which is full of more or less entertaining en-tertaining gossip, is that which Whishaw's dogmatism earned for hint. On hts own pnrt he Ik always cautious. Here ia what ho says concerning tho JJvrons: "It is quite determined that Lord and Lady Byron aro to separate, though It Is very much agalnkt the inclination of tho former. Ills conduct, according to ercry account, has been very culpable. What Is to bo said, for Instance, of his never sitting down to tablo with his wife, alleging tltat he disliked hco-lug hco-lug a woman cat; of his taking nu notice of her friendfv and not even asking her father and mother to his house when they were living liv-ing at tho hotel a fow doors off for sonic time last spring! I am afraid there novcr wan any real affection between them." Tho vonorable Justin McCarthy has not given up literary work, though his deparJ-llig deparJ-llig eyesight leaves him dependent upon tlie (iyOK and hand of his daughter and of a sec- 1 rotary. He lives in a qmot soasidc place. Prof. A. E. Konnelly cf Harvard university uni-versity is putting tho finishing touches to a popular work on "Wireless Telegraphy." which brings this fascinating subject to Its I last development, scieutitio and commercial. Ho makes tho whole subject absolutely clear to thn unscientific mind, sketches Its history aud dwells in some detail on its development In America. Tho book is Illustrated inform-Ingly inform-Ingly with diagrams and plana. It will bo published by Moffat, Yard & Co. Lot tho literary man call down blosiings on tho Lamport & Holt Hue, which Bonds its ships from Glasgow to Liverpool, from London Lon-don to Antwerp, from New Vork to Brazil. For in its floot aro sturdy steamors named Cervantes, Byron. Tennyson, Horace, Virgil, Chaucer, Rosacttt and Voltaire. The lino also pays ito ruspoatful compliments to art, for othors of its ships are named after Titian, Volasqucr, Tlntorotto, Hubous, Raphael and Romuiry. Anothor ploasant bit of uows is to tho effect that tho London County Council has uamod sumo of its penny steamboats after af-ter distinguished men of lottcrs. A Pronch officer, Oharlos Francois, who was with Napoleon throughout his campaigns, cam-paigns, wroto a diary descrililns his adventures adven-tures and his observations, and portions of this diary aro about to bo published in English. Eng-lish. The book, which is to bear tho title "From Valmy to Waterloo," will havo a preface by Jules Clarctio. A larger number of poraons visited Shakespeare's Shakes-peare's birthplace last year than ever boforo. That number was actually ill, 106. Doro Cottago, the homo of Wadsworth, also recorded re-corded its largest number of visitors, -1250 tickets of Admission having boen sold. It appears, therefore, that the "commercial epoch" still nolds somo enthusiasm for great poetry. Tho most famous story of Fontonoy has been discredited by tho latest student of tho battle. It was not, wo are told, In a spirit of chivalry that tho officer of tho English Guards cried. "Gentlemen of tho French Guard, tiro first I" Vi'hatOTcr words woro used, thoy woro meant to convoy a taunt, "It boinjr the commonly accepted theory," says Mr. Francis II. Skriue, ' "that tho sfdo firing first waa beaten." In Henry W. Novinson's new volume, "Tho DaWn of Russia," published by the Harpers this week, occurs a very interesting account of a visit paid to Tolstoi at his "Bright Home," as the famous Russian's country place is callod. Mr. Noviuson found him ongsgod upon a book to bn called "Tho Kiwi of an Ago." "The prcsont movement in Russia ia not a riot," ho told Mr. Nevlnson. "It is not oven a rivolution; it Is tho end of an age. And that age (hat is ending is thn ago of empires tho collection of stnallor stales under un-der ono large state. Thoro is no truo com munlty of heart or thought between Rus In, I Inland, Poland, the Oauciisus, aud nil our other states and races. And what havo Hungary, Bohemia and Styria, Or the Tyrol to do with Austria? No more than Canada, Australia, India Or Ireland have to do with England. Pooplo aro now boglnnlitg to see tho absurdity of thosa things, and in the ond pooplo aro reasonable. That Is why tho ago of empires Is passing away." "Tho whole argument which ran on with a half-lronlo simplicity of this kind was magnificent, not so much for Its daring as for Its quiet confldonco in human reanon," continues Mr. Novinson, "I remeuibored how, for tho last twenty years, all the brazon trumpots of vulgarity had been sounding the note of empire over us at tlie ono great nd stirring purpose of existence. And here was this rujgod old man calmly tolling me, as though it woro somuthlng of a platitude, that wo had just come to tho end of on ago the ago of emplrp. Thoro he sat in tho familiar gray shirt, without coat or collar, thu bolt around tho waist, and the high leather top-boots (for ho had Just tramped around his land in tho snow), qulotly following out the oxact logic of his principles, no raattor whore it might load lilrn. He was sovonty-sevon, and In tonus of years one wn forced, as he said, to call htra old. Tho nplrlt had retired moro deeplv luto tho shrunk and wlthorcd form. But undor tho shaggy brow tho groy-green oyu still looked out with the cloarnosc of pro found thought and fearless simplicity which have mado him tho greatest robol lu the world." |