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    THE CAPTAIN SPEAKS. ?. I ^ i "Sir," said...

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    The Captain Speaks. ?. I ^ I "Sir," Said...

    THE CAPTAIN SPEAKS . ? . I ^ i "Sir , " said Captain Slater , as he lighted His

    cheroot in the smoking-room of the Londojn , I " I will speak to you about the literature ! of i the Look year at . the I paper "will tell magazines you what ! Wh has y , been there doi halve jig . I been two or three fresh ones coming out evcfry I I 3 Ji & nonth W & J tit during UUlllI ^ the ( , iW , yJ W ear * - ^« . to K \ J > take lUA-V part i * . * . * . i . hi (« . i . the CJ . 1 ^ Great \_ J I tJ tAl . j '

    ! have Padding joined —ton in Handicap the race ; so and heavil thfc majority y weighted ' of them that j j they have not been able to make any running at all . j : j alley The name in London of every will street soon , square be used , court up , and , and . become blind I I a the reg result istered of title this for , sir / a ? Mag Wh . y And they what will have will ; be to j ! apply to the Metropolitan Board of Works to

    invent new names for old streets , to provide titles for the forthcoming magazines ; and they will have to procure new copies of all the old magazines and cyclopaedias at the British Musettm , to enable the contributors to the new publications

    b to e the their ru articles sh of read the ' in Gleaners time , so ' great and y he ill * Padders . * " Poetry , sir ? Ah ! here we have something choice , indeed . Have we not the Poet Cip ^ e , the Did you Poet ever Menken read La , and JVoj- ' the ade ? Poet If you Swinburne have liiot ?

    . don't . I have , and the only thing it suggests to me is the horrible idea of poetry being lashed to such a poet , hurled from Parnassus , and falling into the inky seiver of literature , where everyth ing that ^ f S V 4 ^ v W W is ^ ^ foul ^ trr H ^ p and w v v ^* v w filth * ^ VB V y T W , from " ^ ^ mw ^ ^ ^ the V ^ ^ w old " ^ w » ^ k ^^ Hol ^ m * ^^ ^^ « y w I ^ r r el ~^ 0 ^ l ^/

    street garbage to the ' Confessional Unmasked , * i seethes and stews amidst the rank and loathsome 1 ink-tipped reeds . j ** And what novels we have had during the yt ^ ar ! Novels written by boarding-school misses a ! fout

    great crimes and heroic criminals ! Novels wri ten by clerks about the habits and conduct of lords md ism ladies ! Novels ! Novels written written by by Boh women emians about about Boherri wome an n ! Old books under new titles Plagiarisms from the works of others . Translations from the French .

    ture Literary , sir , moral is a ity trade is all , and cant its and m humbug otto ought . Litera to be , - * Put money in thy till . ' Just think for a moi lent ot' the absurd hubbub made about poor Babinjjton this While : lie . What simply tran he slat do ed ? a Fr y ench nothing work by Octave -e . lian

    and Feuillet called , called it ' Circe 'Dalilah , ' ¦ ¦ aa , ' orig produced inal novel it as . his Was . own , not most offensive and . ^ - ' . brutal for two envious ! journals White for to such call a out literary * Stop success Thief ? ' and Was at it tacic not poor the j I i height of generosity for Babirigton ' s Editor to ; throw herself before her protect * nd defend him !| j from ignorant his noisy of ail true pursuers literary , \ yho princip showed le ? themselves Like Queen so

    Isal > eHa , when the indignant Barons burst upon her , and she exclaimed * Spare ! oh ! spare my gentle Mortimer , ' so did the great Queen of Fiction j heroically the noble call White to the ! What fierce ' and s that cruel you scribes askme to , spare sir ? Did I go to the Pickwick Banquet ? Of course I did .

    I went to see the great men eat and drink , and bow j their down homage before the . Was great it Pickwickian not an event , , and sir , , to offe stir r him the whole world pf Literature , Science , and Art ? The great Pickwickian was going to America to open a showand so all the i ^ ickwickian devotees

    assembled , round their idol , and beat their goiig 5 , and blew their trumpets , and called but to the anxious Universe to * Walk up ! Walk lip I' for the great Pickwickian was Alive ! Alive ! ' and was * just agoing to begin ! " Derogatorydo you call it ?

    Rubbish . Every literary man in these , days must have his show of some sort . Whether it is a recitation with comic voices and comic faces , arid two candles and a glass of water , or a panorama with comic singing , or imitations of vulgar old

    women , Punch and Judy , and a pig under a gate , it does not matter . If he wants to make mon profession ey , and , he rai mu se st the ha s ve tand ard show of t ! he Wh liter y si ar r y I should not be in the least surprised to . see some day the author of ' Pelham' going about

    the * wo country rking figures with ' a o wax f the -work princi exhibition pal characters , containing of his ] j creation ; or the Poet Laureate visiting the watering p poems laces ¦ " The with to R the oyal his accompaniment face Press blackened has been of , busy and a banj singing , sir , o during . his own the year pa their st year work to come , and to . do pro . Grey mi What se , s t Martin o be m , o name Hel re so ps of , du will ri the ng have new the work announced ? Is it not ' Life in the Highlands

    ; the or But compani ter Scotch on wo ' ? rk , a so nd , m will ay we not not this soon be expec called « Life in Higher—land ; or Melted Pats ' ? There , sir Waiter , I ' ve ! tol br d ing you me all * I The know Quarterl about y the . '" literary year .

    Pc00801

• Citation
  • Tomahawk (1867-1870), June 27, 1868, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/attw_27061868/page/8/