Not as much notice as might have been wished has
been taken of the centenary of the birth of Austin Dobson, which fell on Thursday of this week. It is made the more per- tinent by the death of Humbert Wolfe, another civil servant who achieved his greatest distinction in literature. Austin Dobson's department was the Board of Trade, where he earned a living while he lived by writing. His knowledge of every aspect of the art and literature of the eighteenth century was immense ; of the many biographies he wrote of the men of letters of that century perhaps the best was that of a woman of letters, Fanny Burney. His light verse is charming, and he did more than any modern writer to popularise the triolet. He was, incidentally, a distant con- nexion of my own, but fortunately for his peace of mind be
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