cumstance and surroundings affect them little more than friction affects an express train. They command their own development without even the consciousness that to command costs strength. These cannot be sophisticated; for sophistication is subordination to the ways of your world. But these are the very greatest and the very rarest ; and it is not the greatest and rarest alone who shape the world and its thought.

There is a rank and file in literature, even in the literature of immortality, and these must go much to school to the people about them. It is by the number and charm of the individualities which it contains that the literature of any country gains distinction. We turn anywhither to know men. The best way to foster literature, if it may be fostered, is to cultivate the author himself -a plant of such delicate and precarious growth that special soils are needed to produce him in his full perfection. The conditions which foster individuality are those which foster simplicity, thought and action from self out, naturalness, spontaneity. What are these conditions?

In the first place, a certain helpful ignorance. It is best for the author to be born away from literary centres, or to be excluded from their ruling set if he be born in them. It is best that he start out with his thinking not knowing how much has been thought and said about everything. A certain amount of ignorance will insure his sincerity, will increase his boldness, and shelter his genuineness, which is his hope of power. Not ignorance of life, but life may be learned in any neighborhood; not ignorance of the greater laws which govern human affairs, but they may be learned without a library of historians and commentators, by imaginative sense, by seeing better than by reading; not ignorance of the infinitudes of human circumstance, but knowledge of these may come to a man without the intervention of universities; not ignorance of one's self and of one's neighbor, but innocence of the sophistications of .learning, its research without love, its knowledge without inspiration, its method without grace; freedom from its shame of trying to know many things as well as from its pride of trying to know but one thing; ignorance of that faith in small confounding facts which is contempt for large reassuring principles. - Woodrow Wilson, in the Atlantic Monthly.

PERSONAL GOSSIP ABOUT WRITERS.

Black. - William Black was born in Glasgow in 1841, and stated that the traditions of his family

were that they were of Highland Scotch origin. He married an English lady, and has three children (one of them a boy), aged respectively twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. During the winter season he resides principally at Brighton, and in summer removes his family to Oban, where he has a cottage, Kilchrennan House. He is fond of yachting, fishing, and other out-door amusements, and during the summer and autumn months spends much of his time in those healthful recreations. - Neil Macdonald, in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly.

Office

Curtis. For a long time George William Curtis has been somewhat inactive politically. He has been several times urged to accept foreign missions, and on one occasion could have had the mission to the court of St. James if he had consented. holding has always been something abhorrent to him, and long ago it was found that any suggestion of his name would be useless, for he would not listen to it. Mr. Curtis is very rarely heard nowadays from the public platform, and this seems a pity, for there is no living orator who equals him in the perfection of what is called the old-fashioned school of oratory. Mr. Curtis is aging beautifully. His hair is quite gray, and his whiskers, still cut after the English style, as it is called, are almost white. His form is bowed a little, but his complexion is still ruddy, and his eye is clear, and his greeting is always of that kind which gives a man delight to meet him. He will probably do but little more literary work outside his charming essays in Harper's Magazine. What his fame will rest upon it is hard to say. His two novels are still read, although they are not of the sort which is the vogue of the present day; his orations are published, and they are models for those who desire to see what the fascinations of the English tongue are when it is used by a master. Mr. Curtis' mature years have been as delightful as it is the lot of any man to enjoy. Years ago, when engaged in the publication of a magazine, Mr Curtis became involved in obligations which were a sorrow to him, and would have blighted the life of a man of less moral fibre. He set to work to pay them off, and to do that entered the lecture field. For several years he submitted to this tedious and harrowing grind, but as he was a lecturer of great popularity he saw his debt gradually diminishing, .until at last he was able to say: "I am a free man. I have done it. I owe no man a cent." Since then Mr. Curtis' life has been one of comfort. He receives a large salary from the Harpers, and he spends a part of the year at an old farmhouse in a country town in Massachusetts, and the winter months at a beautiful home he has on Staten

Island. Those who know Mr. Curtis best are inclined to think that he takes greater delight in conducting services at a little Unitarian church near his home on Staten Island than he ever did in his most splendid oratorical triumphs. This little church was organized some thirty years ago, and, being for a time without a pastor, Mr. Curtis was asked to conduct the service, and he consented, and for more than thirty years he has filled this little pulpit. There is a hymn sung, Mr. Curtis reads a prayer, then another hymn, and then he reads to the congregation a sermon selected from the writings of those who have uttered mighty thoughts on spiritual things.-E. J. Edwards, in the Newark Times.

Duncan.

The author of that very unconventional book of travels, "A Social Departure; or, How Theodosia and I Went Round the World by Ourselves," and of that bright and humorous social study, "An American Girl in London," is now living in India. She is not yet thirty years old, and was born, brought up, and educated in Brantford, Ontario, the eldest of a large family. Her father is a merchant there, and has been identified with the place for more than thirty years. He is a man of keen intelligence and of wide reading. Miss Duncan's mother is Irish and quick-witted, and the daughter undoubtedly inherits her cleverness largely from her.

The Duncan family has always lived in a pleasant, big old-fashioned house in Brantford, surrounded by lawns, and fir trees, and fruit orchards. From a child Miss Duncan read everything that she could find that interested her, including much fiction, and recollects especially the delight she took in "The Back of the North Wind " when it appeared in Good Words for the Young. It was Appleton's Magazine, however, that first inspired her with literary ambitions. The desire filled her to write sonnets and stories like those which appeared in the pages of this periodical. She yielded to this desire, and meeting with the usual discouragements of young authors, determined to try journalism as a stepping-stone to literature.

Miss Duncan's first newspaper work was in the year of the Cotton Centennial at New Orleans, whither she went to write descriptive letters for the Toronto Globe, the Buffalo Courier, the Memphis Appeal, and other newspapers. After that she went to Washington, and became a member of the editorial staff of the Washington Post. This newspaper experience, especially that in Washington, was of great service to Miss Duncan. Her "copy" was freely, and even severely, criticised by the editor

of the Post, with the result of improving greatly her manner of writing. Leaving Washington, Miss Duncan joined the staff of the Toronto Globe, and later that of the Montreal Star, passing one season at Ottawa as the special correspondent of the Star. It will interest the readers of Miss Duncan's "Social Departure" to know that the Theodosia of that famous journey around the world was Miss Lily Lewis, a young woman of twenty-three, who is also engaged in newspaper and other literary work, being a contributor to Galignani and several of the London journals.

We have referred to Miss Duncan throughout this sketch by her maiden name, the name by which she is known to the readers of her books. She ought properly, however, to be called Mrs. E. C. Cotes, using the name of the gentleman whom she met in Calcutta, and whom in less than two years she married. Mr. Cotes has a scientific appointment in connection with the Indian Museum, and has acquired considerable of a reputation in the field of his special research, Indian entomology. He is the author of several entomological publications, which have recently appeared under the authority of the Government of India. - The Book Buyer for

October.

Griffis. Among all the prominent Boston preachers there are few who have so varied an experience as that of William Elliot Griffis, the popular pastor of the Shawmut Congregational Church. As a pulpit orator Mr. Griffis is practical in his methods, and as a worker his church admires him greatly. Rev. W. E. Griffis was born in Philadelphia, September 17, 1843, and was educated at the common and high schools. As a youth he entered the jewelry manufactory of Carrow, Thibault, & Co. When nineteen years of age Mr. Griffis felt a call to the ministry, and he prepared for college under a private tutor. Afterward he entered Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J., and there distinguished himself as a student of natural science, English literature, and composition, taking several prizes and medals. On leaving college he engaged in a fourmonths' tour through Europe, and on his return went to the Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, N. J. At this time Japanese students came over to the schools and colleges in large numbers, and Mr. Griffis became interested in them. The civil war in Japan was just over, and there was a call for a man to go there and organize a system of popular education on American methods. Mr. Griffis was selected for this work, and arrived in Japan December 29, 1870. After spending one year in the work in the interior, where he was interested in the study of

the feudal system, which yet obtained there, he was invited to Tokio to found a polytechnic school, and he remained there three years, and in that period he met most of the prominent persons in Japan. He left the mikado's country in August, 1874. On his return Mr. Griffis spent two years lecturing on Japan and in writing his book, "The Mikado's Empire." He then entered Union Theological Seminary, New York City. While there he had charge of the Knox Memorial Church, Thirty-ninth street and Ninth avenue, which gave him a good idea of "How the Other Half Lives in New York." A few days before his graduation he was called to the First Reformed (Dutch) Church at Schenectady, N. Y., which was founded in 1661. The subject of this sketch was there for nine years, and filled the chair of metaphysics in Union College, which college two years later conferred upon him the degree of D. D. His study of the Mohawk valley at that time has resulted in a book, now in the press, entitled "Sir William Johnson and the Six Nations." Many other books have come from the pen of the reverend gentleman, many of which have gone through several editions. In February, 1886, Mr. Griffis was called to succeed Dr. E. B. Well at Shawmut Church. He has just returned from a European trip, having spent a month in Holland studying the many points of contact between Dutch and American history. He was also a delegate to the International Congregational Council in London, where he met many eminent divines. Mr. Griffis married a daughter of Professor Benjamin Stanton, of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., June 17, 1879, and has two handsome little children, a boy and girl, respectively four and seven years of age. Boston News.

Hawker.

Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Hawker, otherwise "Lanoe Falconer," the author of "Mademoiselle Ixe" and other popular books, had a very hard time at first in getting her work accepted by publishers. The first manuscript copy of " Mademoiselle Ixe" was absolutely worn out upon its travels. Nevertheless, the young lady continued to write as persistently as the most popular author alive. Last year the tide turned for her, and she says: "There is now more trouble about not publishing my stories than there used to be about publishing them." In private life Miss Hawker is said to be charming, full of quaint sayings, and a keen, but sympathetic, observer. She has a young and clever face. - Buffalo Enquirer.

Quakers; his grandfather was a born believer in free republican government, and came to America with those principles firmly implanted in him; he became a pronounced Methodist, but his son, the father of the novelist, was a believer in the doctrines of Swedenborg, in which also William Dean was educated. His father was a man of more than ordinary culture, possessed an excellent library for his day and generation, and the boy was brought up in an atmosphere of books and culture. He was led early to court literature, and almost as soon as he could read William Dean made verses and put them in type in the office of his father.

William was born at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, March I, 1837. When he was three years old his father removed to Hamilton, Ohio, where he bought the Intelligencer, a weekly newspaper, where the future novelist learned to "stick type " when he was only twelve years old. In 1849 the father sold his paper because he could not conscientiously support a President who believed in slavery, and he removed to Dayton, where he bought the Transcript, a semi-weekly, and made a daily of it. This failed, however, at the end of about two years. In 1851 the elder Howells was a clerk of the House at the State Capitol, and William Dean worked as compositor for four dollars a week in the office of the Ohio State Journal. There he made the acquaintance of John J. Piatt, which was very helpful to him. The family removed soon thereafter to Ashtabula, where they worked on a newspaper, the Sentinel, which the elder Howells purchased, and on which the family worked; this journal was transferred to Jefferson, where they issued it.

At the age of nineteen William Dean Howells became Columbus correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette; and at the age of twenty-two he was news editor of the State Journal at Columbus. It was during this period that he began to contribute to the Atlantic Monthly, his first poem being entitled "By the Dead." He contributed some five or six poems during that time to the Atlantic. In 1860, when Lincoln was nominated, he wrote his life, and his share of the profits, $160, paid his expenses on a trip made to Montreal and Boston. While at "The Hub" he formed the acquaintance of James Russell Lowell, then the editor of the Atlantic, and by him the young poet was introduced to Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was appointed by President Lincoln as United States consul to Venice, where he remained from 1861 to 1865. It was during this period that he mastered the Italian language, read Italian literature, and devoted himself to thorough cultivation of polite letters. He published a series

of letters on "Venetian Life," published in book form in England, which gave him a pronounced position in literary circles. It is said that Venice was never so faithfully photographed.

On his return to the United States he became an editorial writer on the New York Tribune. His thorough knowledge of Italian and French subjects, as well as European matters generally, made him a valuable addition to the writing force of that great journal, and also a salaried contributor to the Nation. In 1866 he was made assistant editor of the Atlantic, and in 1872 he became its editor. He contributed, besides his regular work, to the magazine a great deal in the way of criticism, general sketches, and fiction. He was also an occasional contributor during this time to the North American Review, writing papers on foreign affairs and literature. He held the position of editor of the Atlantic until 1881, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. He was a valued member of that circle that made Longfellow's house their meeting place when the poet of "Evangeline" was translating Dante. Howells used to study Spanish literature, and all the time kept up his varied literary work.

His first real story was that called "Their Wedding Journey," which was from the beginning a This determined his career as a writer of Since that time his works have followed

success. fiction.

rapidly one after another. The Century and Harper's have been the chief avenues for the preliminary publication of his works. In 1882-83 Mr. Howell's was again in Europe with his family, and since his return home has been in Boston. In 1886 he became a salaried contributor to Harper's, conducting a new and critical department called the "Editor's Study," and contributing exclusively to its pages. "Venetian Life" (1866), "Their Wedding Journey" (1871), "A Chance Acquaintance" (1873), “A Foregone Conclusion" (1874), "The Lady of the Aroostook" (1878), "The Undiscovered Country" (1880), “A Modern Instance" ( 1883), “ A Woman's Reason" (1884), "The Rise of Silas Lapham" (1885), "The Minister's Charge" (1886), “Indian Summer" (1886), "April Hopes (1887), "A Hazard of New Fortunes," and the "Quality of Mercy."- Chicago Inter-Ocean.

Some of his best known works are:

James. It is announced that Henry James has made a dramatization of his story, "The American," and that it has already been received with some favor in London. News also comes from London that Mr. James has decided hereafter to confine himself to dramatic work, and has two or three

plays in contemplation, and will devote the next two or three years to writing them. This will seem to many of Mr. James' admirers like a tacit admission that the comments of the critics respecting his literary efforts have been accurate. For twenty years he has been engaged in an effort to establish a new and in a manner an ideal literature. He has been writing novels in which there is no story, not because he is unable to write a story, but because it is his theory that novels nowadays should not be stories, but should be analyses of men and women, and of the springs which go to influence modern social life. Just after Mr. James was graduated from Harvard College he wrote two stories which brought him to the attention of the reading public. These were "Roderick Hudson and "The American," and excellent stories they were. They revealed Mr. James' power as a story teller. Not long after, Mr. James wrote a short story called "Daisy Miller." Had he gone on in that way, he would have increased the reputation that he then made, but he became too curiously interested in the theories which make story-writing merely dissections, and he repressed his natural gift for telling a story well, and instead produced a number of books which utterly failed to attract the public. There were four or five of them, some of them published as serials, one or two pretending to portray certain phases of life in New York, with which Mr. James was not familiar. People tried to read these novels of prodigious length, and they did not dare find fault, because Henry James was the writer of them. Yet the effect was palpable upon the sales of his books. His market dropped. One of his editions did not sell 1,200 copies, and if he had been dependent upon literature for a living, he would have been obliged to live in a garret. Fortunately for him, he has an independent income. It seems now that Mr. James is satisfied that there is no field for such literature as he writes. He has become fascinated with play-writing, evidently, and if he will give his talent perfect freedom, he ought to be able to conceive a story, to arrange the situations, and to make logical climaxes which will furnish an actor of talent a very good play. — E. J. Edwards, in Keene (N. H.) Sentinel.

Melville. - Herman Melville, one of the most widely read of the writers of his time, but little known to readers of this generation, died in New York September 28, at the age of seventy-two. By a curious coincidence, a paragraph, which mentioned the fact of his living in obscurity at a time when every well-kept library in the country is not without his works, was printed not long before his death. He

was born in New York, grandson of a member of the Boston "Tea-party." At ten he ran away to sea, and there acquired a technical knowledge of nautical affairs, which, when united with a vivid imagination and a rare gift of "spinning yarns," served to make him the greatest writer of seastories of his time. He was captured by cannibals in the South Sea islands, but made his escape. His experiences were made the basis of an attractive tale of the sea, which, under the title of "Typee," was published in 1840 simultaneously in New York and London. The book was a financial and a literary success, and Melville won a high position among the writers of the time. This book was followed by “Omoo,” in 1847; by “Redburn,” a novel, in 1848; by "Mardi and a Voyage Thither" (a philosophical romance); by "White Jacket; or, The World in a Man of War," in 1850; by "Moby Dick," in 1851; by "Pierre; or, The Ambiguities," in 1852; by "Israel Potter, His Fifty Years of Exile," in 1855; by "The Confidence Man," in 1857; by "Battle-Pieces, and Aspects of the War" (poems), in 1866; by "Clarel: A Pilgrimage In The Holy Land" (a poem), in 1876. "Moby Dick" was a story about a white whale, whose existence has always been a tradition of the sea. This book was dedicated to Hawthorne.

O. M.

Schreiner.- Miss Olive Schreiner, the South African novelist, is at present residing at Cape Town, where she mingles freely in society, and is frequently to be met at Government House. Miss Schreiner is quite a young lady, rather below the medium in height, with girlish form, dark, lustrous eyes, and a profusion of brown hair. Unlike most writers, she is brilliant in conversation, and will discuss without reserve the leading topics of the time. She is greatly interested in public matters, and is often present at the debates in the Cape Parliament. Although "The Story of an African Farm" the book which made her reputation - was published so far back as June, 1883, Miss Schreiner, with the exception of a few articles in the magazines and her "Dreams," has not since appeared in print. She has, however, not been idle in the meanwhile, but has been assiduously writing, and intends shortly to go to Europe for the purpose of publishing the more matured products of her gifted and richly stored mind. Miss Schreiner lives in pleasant rooms in Cape Town, close to the houses of Parliament, overlooking the private grounds of the governor and the Botanic Gardens, and commanding a magnificent view of Table Mountain. She often seeks for a closer commun. ion with nature by retiring to the solitude of

Dr. Albert Shaw, American editor of the Review of Reviews, will deliver a course of lectures on European social and economic problems at Johns Hopkins University this autumn.

Hall Caine has been selected by Dr. Hermann Adler, Chief Rabbi of England, to study the Hebrew question in Russia. He is the author of the powerful historical romance on Ishmael, called "The Scapegoat," which is now running in the Illsturated London News. Perhaps no other living writer, not even General Lew Wallace, of "Ben Hur" fame, has made so close a study of the history and home life of the Israelites of old.

Count Tolstoï has concluded that all of his works shall henceforth be free to be published or translated.

Jean Ingelow, at regular intervals, gives what she calls "copyright dinners," at which she entertains the poor in her neighborhood from the proceeds of her books.

Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, of New York, editor of the Magazine of American History, holds membership in twenty-six societies of the learned sort, several of which are said to have admitted no other woman.

Miss Ethel Parton, daughter of James Parton, makes her début as an author with a charming paper on Newburyport in the October number of the New England Magazine.

"R. O.," in Kate Field's Washington, says "There are certain authors spoken of as 'imaginative' when imagination is the one quality which they conspicuously lack. The whole secret of their attractiveness is that they have a talent of giving a curious twist to actual happenings. In this way they make the real seem unreal and fantastic, instead of making the unreal real. Stockton is the greatest adept at this curious art, which is not the less an art because it is not exactly what it seems to be."