En te ed

r o
acc r di n g to Ac t o f C o e
n g r ss, i n th e y e ar 1 87 3 , b y

$ . M STODDART
. CO,

In th e o fli c e o f th e Lib r ar ia n of C o n gr e ss, a t Wash in g to n .

i 477; 7

A PROTEST AND AN APOLOG$ RATHER THAN

A PREFACE .

$ O U are a bo u t to s ubj ect me to an a u to deje an d -

,

will I plea se s end you on som e ki nd li n gs retorted G ail

Hamilto n to Fann y Fern when the la tter asked her for
facts c o nc e rni n g her l ife to be u s ed in a biogra phical
,

sketch I w as met in some thing the same spirit a s this

.

by T S Arthur when I preferr ed a similar request to

. .

h im.

I think persons of a sensitive n atu re must shrink from

anything like a biogra phy o f thems elve s There is so .

m u ch whic h really co n stitu tes the i m po r tant part of their

lives wh ic h th e y cannot lay b e fo re th e public and which ,

the public h a ve n o busi n ess with that th ere seems little

,

left to tell B iography a lwa ys seemed to m e an ill eg iti

.

m ate b ra nc h of literatu re It is bad enough to writ e a

.

$
m an s l ife while h e is sti l l a live but then he is at lea st
,

a ble to retaliate u pon his biographer if h e is of a reve n ge

.

fu l turn o f mind W hen h e is d e ad he is helpless What

.
, .

is written is written B iograph ies at the b e st give bu t

.

warped an d distorted imag e s of the men they would rep

resent No p erso n c an write fully and truly the life of
.

another The springs of actio n in a man s life m ust ever

.
$

remain h idden and unkn own His feelings his affections

.
, ,

h is j oys h is sorrows h is a m b itions and h is disappoin t

, ,

3
m ents shoul d al l b e sacred ; they m ust ever b e m ore
or less u ncomprehended by al l save th e man hims e lf .

Still th e public craves to know th ese most of al l an d so

, ,

the literary vampire plunges his fou l talon s int o th e very

h eart of his helpl e ss victi m ; an d when h e cannot bring
out truth h e satisfies the m orbid c r av m g with somethin g
,

else instead .

Au tobiograph y seems th e only l egitimate m eth od b y

which we might know the real life an d character of a
m an . Yet even autobiography is u n reliable A m odest .
,

sen sitive m an w oul d from h is very natu re dwell lightly

on h is b est tra its All even th e best of m en woul d
.
, ,

natu ra lly palliate or omit their weaknesses th ei r errors ,

an d th e ir sins A nd there we are ag a in not m u ch n ea rer

.
,

the truth th a n b efore .

Still it is a natura l an d per h aps n o t al togeth er u njusti

,

fi ab l e desire on th e part of th e pu b li c to k n ow something

of its favorites an d to a certain exten t it m ay n o t be n u
,

fair to gratify it The private life of a pu b lic m an sh ould

.

b e j ust as secu re from intrusive curiosity as th at of th e

hu mblest among us bu t his public l ife—that is the l ife
, ,

whic h tou ches influen c es or is i n fluen ced b y h is public

,

—
career may b e scrutin ized with p ardon ab le interest an d ,

sometimes with profit .

This is a l ong prefa ce to a s h ort b ook B ut I h a d ju st

.

so m u ch to say on th e subj ect of biograph ies and I feared

,

I might never again get the op p ortu nity of saying it .

B esides I wish it to be u nderstood on th e part of m y

,

re a der as an exp l anation wh y I h a ve n ot e n tered m ore

deeply into p ersonal affa irs in this biograph ical sketch ,

an d by th e subj ect of th e sketch as an ap ology for daring

to meddle with h is l ife at all .
 B I O G R A P H IC A L S $ E T OH

T$ S TAR TH UR .

T S A RTH UR may be rightl y said to belo ng to the

. .

$
ranks of America s noblest and tru e st a ristocr a cy her ,

self made m e n Neither fa mily wealth nor ed ucatio n

-
.
,

has singly or combined served to make him what h e is .

He stan ds to day on the emi n ence which h e so d e s e rvedly

-

occupies in th e respect an d admiration of his fello w cou n -

tr y m en h aving reached that e minen ce solely by his o w n

,

ex e rtions — by h a rd toil by c a reful and u n w earied study

,

an d by u n d au nted persev e ran ce .

Timothy Shay Arthu r w as born n ear Newburg New ,

York in the yea r 1 8 0 9 an d he is consequently in th e

, ,

pr e sent yea r ( 1 8 7 3 ) six ty f our years ol d His m other

-
.

w as a woman of rare n atural gifts an d from her h e has ,

inherited that peculiar genius which has m a de h im em i

nent She was a d aughter of Timothy Shay of North
.
,

S alem New York who had served as an o ffi cer in the

, ,

Revol u tio n ary war He was a m an of superior mental

.

e n dowmen ts and gr e at integrity of character If to .

these high e r qualities he h ad added politic a l ambition ,

h e would h ave b een eminent as a statesman B ut h e .

if?
1 5
6 T
. S . A R TH UR .

shrank fro m p ub lic l ife an d decl ined th e h onors that

,

were o ffered h im p referring to remain a private citizen

, .

His daughter Mrs Anna A rthu r died in B altimore in

, .
,

1 8 61 at the advanced age of eighty one years b eloved

,
-
,

and revered b y a wide circle of friends It m ay b e said .

of h er with out qualification ,

N on ek n ew her b ut to l ov e h er ,

Non e n amed her b ut to p raise $

.

Miss $ irginia F To w nsen d who h ad often met h er

.
, ,

wrote this b eautiful tribute to her memory

Th o u h ast gon e h ome at even i n g an d thy life ,

W as r o u n ded o utw ard to its fo u rscore y ear s

L ike the c al m o f a s p r i n g day th at st an ds still
An d listen s fo r the summer Th o u h ast w alked .

The l on g p ath o f thy p ilgr im age with feet

S h o d with the s an d als o f the p e ace o f G o d ,

An d so seren e a light u p on thy face

Th at l ooki n g o n it s o metimes I h av e th ought
, ,

G i ves G o d his an g els such $

.

To thee b e b ro ught
No cro w n s n o r l au rels ; th at still b ro w o f thi n e
Its gen tle a n d its g raci o us w o m an h oo d
W ore meekly as we d re a m the childr en d id ,

C h r ist s b lessi n g o n thei r hea ds

$
.

An d th o u h ast set
The n ame o f wife an d m other with such p earls
O f b rave an d l ovi n g deeds th a t fr o m the ro b e
O f thy life fo lded u p an d ro lled a w ay
, ,

They d r op d o wn shi n i ng .

Th o u di dst hear G od s vo ice $

Afte r l on g w a iti n g in the even i n g s cool $

,

An d th o u didst g o o ut s o ftly while fo n d ey es ,

W a tched the g ates cl ose b e hi n d thee .

Oh , n o t o ft

Ar e sil ver h air s o er s o seren e a b ro w

$
 HIS L IFE AND WORKS .
7

Par ted fo r the l ast slum b er $ O h n ot o ft ,

Fa lls a life mell o w fr o m the b o ughs o f time

As thy life fell to r est $
$

An d n o w slee p sw eet ,

Thy wor k well d on e Th y feet h ave w alked to

$
.
$ -
day
Amid the white ten ts p itched a l on g th at sh or e
W he r e thy hear t we n t b efo r e ; the w ate r s b r eak
Thei r shi n i n g su r f u p on th ose p eaceful b an ks ,

An d r o u d thee b a th the mighty welco me ro lled

n
,

En ter i n to the rest p r e p ar ed o f G o d $ $

To the last h er intellect w as clear and her sw ee t re

l ig io us char a cter fragr ant a n d beautiful Few so n s c h e r .

ish the memory of a m oth e r with a more loving reg a rd

than the sons of Mrs Ann a Arthu r fou r of w hom ar e
$

.
,

stil l living The subj e ct of this sketch was her s e co n d son

. .

Whil e T S Arthu r w as still very young his par e n ts

. .

removed to the vicinity of W e st Poi n t His earli e st r ec .

o ll ec tio n s are of Fort M o n tgom e ry on th e H u dson River ,

.

In 1 8 17 when h e w a s e ight years old th e y removed to

, ,

B a ltimore a n d it was i n that city that the struggle of life

,

beg a n for h im in earnest .

His school advan tages were few and according to th e ,

d ecision of his te a chers of l ittle av a il He was exceed .

in g l y dull in i n tellect Though h e pl odded pati e ntly

.

an d long ov e r h is studies the t e achers took his excessive

,

slowness of thought and comprehe n sion for willful o b sti

n acy an d many were the chastisemen ts he received in
,

consequence The m eanings of things dawned upo n his

.

mi n d with great di ffi cul ty ; b ut when once un d e rstood ,

th ey were never forgott e n Thus wh a t h e m aster e d h e .

mastered th oroughly an d h e m ade it a kind of mental

,

capital which h e a lways retained .

I find in an o l d n umber of the P hr en ologica l $ o ur n a l

 T S . . A R TH UR .

an ac c oun t in Mr A rth ur s own words of th e di fficulties

,
.
$
,

h e experi e n ced in arithm e tic at the v e ry outs e t A su m .

in addition was given him upon a sl ate with directio n s to

fi n d an answer He says $ No w in the word additio n
.
,
‘
,
$

as refe rri n g to figures I saw n o m eaning I did not com

, .

prehend th e fa ct i n co n n ectio n with it th at two an d two

, ,

m ake fou r True I had learned my Addition Tabl e

.
,
‘
,
$

b ut stran gely enough th at did not furnish m e with any

clew toward worki n g ou t th e pro blem of figu r e s s e t for
m e on m y slate I was then in my ni n th yea r and I c a n
.
,

remember to this day with perfect disti n ctness h o w

u tterly discou raged I becam e as day by day went by an d
stil l I h ad n ot foun d a c orre c t r e sult to any one of my
sums n or gaine d a singl e ray of light on the subj e ct
, .

Stra n ge as it m ay seem I rem a i n e d for several months

,

in simpl e a d dition before I k n ew h ow to su m up figu res ,

an d then th e m ean ing of addition flashed in a sudden

th ough t upo n my min d while I was a t p l a y I had n o .

trouble aft e r th a t D uri n g th e n e $ t week I escaped both

.

s c oldi n g and belaboring ( a fa vorite ph rase of m y $

te a c h er s ) an d then p assed o n to subtraction Five m in

$
,
.

u tes devot e d to an expl a n atio n in som e sim ple form of , ,

$
what addition me ant would h ave sav e d m e th e loss of
,

mo n ths to say n othi n g of the p a in both mental a n d

, ,

bodily th at I su ffe red du ri n g the time

, .

And this is only a sample of the difli c ul ties which

presented themselves to him in mathematics from the
first to the last When he cam e to a n ew rule in th e
.
$

arithmetic h e woul d go to the teacher for explanation

, .

Th e teacher woul d refer him back to the ru le B ut that .

cont a ined to his in quiri n g mi n d n o meaning wh atever .

He wou l d study and pond e r long He wou l d go th rough .

 HIS L IFE AND WORKS . 9

the process accordi n g t0 the directions of the ru l e but

'

the whole su m might h ave been a seri e s of cab alistic

sig n s for all the idea it co n veyed to his mind At l ast
,
.
,

discou raged he would go on to the next form of figures

, ,

only to en counter like di fficulties and to be baffled in

l ike m anner It was not u n til years afterward when in
.
,

the n ight hou rs of his apprentice ye a rs he delved slowly

-

bu t p e rseveri n gly th ro ugh the higher bra n ch e s of mathe

mati es th a t he w as enabled to comprehend some of the
,

comp a ratively simple rules in elemen t a ry arithmetic .

According to th e expr e ssed O pinion of his teacher his ,

time was wasted in school his progress in lea rning w as

,

so discouragingly slo w So his fa th er feeli n g that h e

.
,

h ad no mo n ey to spend in a m a nner th at brought such an

'

unprofitable return apprenticed him to a trade As h e

, .

came in contac t with active life and as his m ind slowly

develop e d th e desir e for knowledge gradually a wakened .

It m ay be th a t the long hou rs employed in m anu a l l abor

g a ve ti m e an d opportunity for m e n ta l unfolding While .

still a yo u n g l ad h e beg a n a syste m of self education -

which was conti n ued patien tly through many years Um .

der th e old syst e m of apprenticeship then in vogue boys ,

learning their tra des had n ot th e sam e leisu re or liberty

that they now have Still the little time he could call
.
,

h is own was improved to th e utmost .

B u t before long his eyesight beg a n to fail him and he ,

fou n d th a t he would b e compell e d to lea ve his tra de after

his apprentice days were over Still the articles of
.
,

indenture bound him a n d h e must serve his time So h e

, .

tol d h is m aster th a t as his sight wou ld be so imp aired th a t

he would n ot be able to m ake a livi n g by his trade wh en
free h e though t he sh ould be allowed some little opp o r
,
10 T s . . A R TH UR .

tun ity for education In com p liance with this w ish h e

.
,

was permitted to a ttend night school for a limited period

-
.

Some tim e during his apprenticesh ip h e bec a me a

m ember of th e first temperan ce society formed in Ma ry
l and an d has ever sin ce been an earnest advoc ate of the
,

c a use He h ad seen many sad instan ces of the evils that

.

flow from th e use of liquor an d arrayed himself against

,

both th e tra ffic an d the in dulgence as soon as a cl e a r

impression of his individual responsibility in society took
possession of his m ind In his own person he has never
.

experien ced any of the evil effects of drinkin g As a .

b oy he was m u ch exposed to temptation and in great

$
da n ger of havi n g h is taste viti a ted B ut his m oth e r s
$

warnings and steady opposition to th e drinking customs

of th e ti me h a d the right e ffect upon h er son He was .

afraid of l iquor ; and though as a boy h e often took it , ,

wh en h anded to him by men and women who should have

kno w n b e tt e r h e was so c a refu l abou t th e quantity h e
,

drank h aving a fe a r an d sh am e of getting drunk that

'

, ,

h e was n ever betrayed into t a king e n ough to even b e

wilder h im The feel ing of i n toxic ation he s ays is one
.
, ,

that h e n ever knew .

W h en about fifteen or sixteen h is talent for w riting ,

b egan to be developed It took first th e form of poetic

. ,

composition He used to sit at his work all day long

.

revolvi n g a couplet or a stan za in his mind ; and when

h e got it to suit him he woul d watch for an O pportunity
,

when no one w as observing him and with an old stum p ,

of a pencil wh ich h e kept in his pocket scratc h off th e

li n es on a scrap of paper and slip it out of sight At .

night in the solitude of h is chamber these literary bant

, ,

l in gs were dressed u p and laid carefully away with al l

 HIS L IFE AND WORKS . 11

th e l ove an d admiration which every young auth or b e

stows upon his first produ ctions .

As he had foreseen after spending more than seven

,

years in learning his trade he was o bliged after becomi n g ,

free to qui t it on account of defec tive sigh t He fou n d a ‘

situatio n in a counting room where h e remained for the

-
,

n ext three years performi n g l ight ser ice for a small

,
v

salary Though these years seemed to be time wasted

.
,

as h e had few opportunities for acquiring a knowledge

of business which then seemed most desira b le for h im ,

still it afforded him after a l l t h e chance he needed in

, , , ,

consideratio n of what h is futu re career p roved to b e .

He had a mple leisure fo r reading and writing and he ,

i mproved h is time well It was during this p eriod that.

he b e gan to contribute to the public press without an y ,

thought of pay an d without any intention of ado p ting

,

l iter a tur e as a profession .

In 18 33 in sea rch of a larger income h e l eft h is situ

, ,

ation and went West as an agen t for a banking institution .

B ut soon after his arrival West the institution l ocated at

the East failed an d h e came back to B a ltim ore out of
,

employment .At th is time h e obtai n ed the editoria l

charge of a l iterary paper and very soon ach ieved a ,

local popularity I have been told that one of his

.

e a rlier stories written in sensational style and pu b lished

,

in eight m onthly parts was exceedingly po p u l ar Im , .

m ediately upon the issue of a new part th ere would b e a

rush to obtain copies and men an d b oys might be seen
,

h urrying along the streets or sitting in their shops or on ,

their doorsteps e a ch with the story in his hand intently

, ,

reading or talking a n d laughing abou t it

, .

In 18 36 Mr Arthu r was m arried to M iss E l iza Al den

, .
,
12 T S . . A R TH UR .

daugh ter of the l ate C aptai n $ ames Alden of Portl and , ,

Maine an d sister of Re a r Admiral $ ames Alden U S N

,
-
, . . .

They h ad seven children five sons an d two daughters , ,

five of whom fou r sons an d one daughter are s till living

, , .

O f their sons one served as captai n of light artillery

,

du ring th e late war entering the service at the begin

,

n i n g an d continuing to th e end Another was in the .

United States Navy as engineer for five years A nother .

is a physician .

Mr Arthu r in h is domestic relations h as b een m ore

.

fortu n ate than many n oted l iterary men for few men ,

h ave been happier in those relations and few h ave be e n ,

m ore beloved by their ch ildren The death of his oldest .

daughter which took place in 1 8 62 j us t as she h ad

, ,

attained h er twenty fi rst year was fe lt as a deep afll ic tioh

-
, .

The tie between fa ther and daughter was very stro n g a n d ,

h er l oss touched h im sorely In tem p eramen t and c h a .

r a c ter she was more l ike him perha p s than any of h is , ,

oth er children .

It m ay be felt almost as a trespass on p rivate life to

speak h ere of th e estimable lady wh o for m ore than
thirty seven years h as been the faithful companio n and
-

be loved wife of Mr Arth u r B ut ou r interest in publ ic

. .

men tu rns so natu rally to their private relations that we

are u n able to repress a desire to know something a bout
t h em . In the c ase of Mr Arth u r sensitive as he is .
'

about the intrusion of himself or family upon the public

gaze there is no reason beyon d this sensitiveness why th e
,

p ublic wh o h ave so lo n g known h im shall n ot h a ve at

leas t a corn er of the veil that h ides his h ome life drawn
aside and so I shall m ake a b rief reference to Mrs
,
.

Arthu r Sh e is as I have said th e sister of Rear A dmira l

.
, ,
-
 HIS L IFE AND WORKS .
13

$ ames Ald e n U S N an o fficer whose high perso n a l

,
. . .
,

worth and ra re ability are well k n ow n to the public .

L ike h im she is possessed of gre a t e n e rgy an d p e rsistence

,

of ch a ract e r a n d attra cts strongly by her perso nal qu a l

,

ities her fran kness and h e r ready sympathy with her

,

fri e n ds in a ll th a t interests them Few wome n h ave .

kind e r he a rts or re a dier hands She is young e r th an her .

h u sb and by about seve n years a n d still retai n s th a t c ase ,

of man n e r mark e d perso n a l attra c tio n s dignity an d l a dy

, ,

like beari n g which h ave a lw ays m a de her a fa vorite .

H e r love for her husb and h as from the first been d e ep

a n d te n der growi n g with ye a rs
,
an d he is as tenderly ,

a ttached to h er He has often been he a rd to say th a t

.

b u t for her un rem itting c a re a n d w at c hfulness over h im

duri n g many years of fe e ble h e alth brought on by in ces ,

san t brain work pursued to e xhaustion almost every day

-
, ,

h e would long ago h ave finished his labors on earth .

Ther e were few yea rs d uring a great portion of their

m a rri e d life in which her hands ministering to him ,

th rough oft recurri n g periods of utter prostratio n th e

-
,

res u lt of ov e rwork did not hold him a w ay from de a th

,

a n d lift him b a ck to useful a n d earnest life a g a in To .

her the public owe m u c h for the faithfu l wifely duties

that so often restor e d strength to failing hands whos e
work was not yet do n e .

In THE B R IL L IANT an annual edited by Mr

$
L
.

Arthu r a n d published by B aker Scribner Ne w York , ,

in 1 8 50 appea r e d a short po e m e ntitl e d O ur Weddi n g

, ,

Day and signed with Mr Arth ur s initi als Few wives

,
.
$
.

h ave been w ritt e n about more truthfully or lovi n gly We .

take th e liberty of rep ublishing this b eautiful tribute in

this connectio n .

2
14 T S . . A R TH UR .

OUR W EDDING DA$ -

.

Twel ve years $ it seems b ut yester d ay

S i n ce fi r st I saw thy face,
Its gi r lish b ea uty s o ften ed d o wn
T o w o m an s l ovelie r g race ;
$

An d yet twel ve yea r s h ave p assed aw ay

S i n ce st an di n g b y thy side
, ,

I called thee with a th r ill o f jo y

, ,

My o w n m y l ovi n g b r ide
,
.

Twel ve ye ar s $ n o t al l the time h ave we

B ee n s p o r ti n g mid the flo we r s ;
$

Twel ve year s $ the le n gthe n ed ch ai n is n o t

L i n k e d a l l with su n n y h o u r s .

$ et th ough u p on o u r w ay th r ough life

S o me sh a do ws h ave b ee n th ro w n ,

Ho w much o f p eace an d sweet co n te n t

An d su n shi n e h a ve we k n o w n $

An d n o w , th ough Time h as o n my he ad
A few thi n s n o w flakes cast,
An d o er thy face, still y o u n g an d fa i r ,
$

Hisfadi n g fi n ge r s p assed ,

Th o ugh car e an d t o il ar e still the d o wer

L ife b r i n gs us d ay an d n ight ,

Love m akes a l l time s im p r essi on s dim

$
,

O ur heaviest b u r den s light .

In w akin g d r e ams I musi n g sit

An d see thee b y my side ,

The fa i r y ou n g gi r l w h o l on g ag o
B ec ame my h app y b r ide ,

Thy h an d o n me c o n fi din g l aid ,

Thy b r eath u pon my cheek ,

Thy l ovi n g eyes h alf d r op p ed from

S o ge n tle t rusti n g meek
, ,
.
 HIS L IFE AND WORKS .
15

An d c anit b e $ I star t to thi n k

Twel ve year s h ave p assed aw ay ,

An d si$ dear child ren ro u n d us clin g

O n this o u r weddi n g day -

S i$ h app y child r e n ; n on e are l o st

Al l ca r e I will forget ;
I m th a n kful m o st of al l fo r this
$
,

Thei r m othe r s with them y et

$
.

I do notthi n k th at m an y h omes
Are h app ier l ove th an o u r s ;
, ,

I do n o t thi n k th at o the r s p aths

$

W i n d m or e am on g the flo wers ;
I do n o t thi n k the su n light fa lls
More b r ightl y o n the w ay
O f m an y w h o h ave li ved to see
Twel ve times thei r weddi ng day -
.

An d now after three ti m es twelve retu rns of th e day

,

hav e come and gone and h us b and and wife can count as
,

m any gr andch ildren as children th ey stand in spi rit I , ,

a m sur e n e a rer togeth er than on their first wedding day

,
-
.

In 1 8 3 7 or 18 38 he received th e first pay h e ever

ob tain e d for literary labor outside his regul a r e d itorial
duties Those who th ink to enter the professio n Of liter
.

at ur e and fro m th e first to com mand a re a dy sale for

,

the ir productio n s at libera l rates would do well to r e ad ,

and dig e st the followi n g fact $ For a period as long as

or l onger than that served at his m anual trade did Mr .

Arthu r serve as an ap p rentice to literatu re without ex ,

p ec tatio n or p robably thought of reward before he made

, , ,

his first p ecuniary success Even then it was but a b e

.

ginning and a very smal l b eginning of that which was

, ,

still years i n coming to him He wrote a domestic tale .

,

and sent it to Godey s L ady s B ook For six months he

$ $
.
16 T S
. . A R TH UR .

h eard nothing of it an d had given u p al l h o p e of ev er

,

seeing it in p rint wh en on e day h e rec e ived a note from

,

Mr G odey enclosing a check fo r $ 1 5 and a sking for

.
, ,

m ore articles of th e sam e character Tho se who hav e .

ever received their fi rst p ay for m an uscript c a n readily

con ceive th e u n alloyed deligh t this m oney and note gave
the then young a uth or It was the sign m anual of his .

future su cc ess It was so to speak th e index finger

.
, ,

pointing ou t th e path he was to tre ad M rs Sigou rney . .

,

the poetess w as at that tim e a ss o ci a ted with Mrs H al e

, .

in th e editorship of th e L a dy s B o ok ; and ch an cing to $

see this story by the then unkn own w riter she w rote to ,

M r G odey that this was the c l ass of stori es it w as desir

.

ab l e to obtain for the m agazi n e Hence t h e letter an d .

the check The name of this sto ry was if I mistake n ot

.
, ,
$
The Soft Answer Th ese who are fortunate enough to
.

$
h ave old files of the L a dy s B ook dating back to 18 3 7 o r
18 38 will be e n abled to read th e story for th e mse lves .

Mr A rth ur b egan to write c onstantly in the sam e

.

style a n d soon found a m arket for h is productions

, .

In 1 84 1 M r Arth u r left B a ltimore with h is fa mily

,
.

and came to Philad e lph i a then th e city wh ich stood ,

foremost in th e possession of fi rst class p ublication s -

Gr a h am s A
$
an d t alented w riters f aga zin e w as then th e
.

highest liter a ry publicati on of America The Sa tu r day .

Co ur i er w as if I m istake n ot a w eekly fo r fa m ily re ad

, ,

ing edited with rare ability God ey s La dy s B oo$c stood

,
.
$ $

$
almost if not qu ite alone in the l and as a lady s mag a zin e
, , ,

a n d possessed at th a t time a n u n question ably high litera ry

ch a ra cter $ oh n C Nea l Edg a r A Poe an d other celeb

. .
, .

r ities in the worl d of a uth ors m a de Phil a delphi a thei r

h eadquarters and New York w as the n the provinci a l

,
18 T S . . A R TH UR .

ever since u n til th e beg inni n g of the p resen t year w hen ,

the w or d Illustrated w as add e d maki n g i t Ar thur s

$ $
,
$

Il lustr a ted Home Mag az ine an d its character w as ,

chan ged from that of a lady s fashion to a family lite $

rary m agazi n e .

In 18 6 7 M r Arth u r started t h e publication of the

, .

Ch il dr en s Hou r a bea utifu l illustrated child s m agazine

$ $
,

which appealed at onc e to the pu b lic taste and has ever

remai n ed a favorite Th e m anagement of this l ittle
.

periodic al has al w a ys b e e n to h im a l abor of l ove He .

h as a peculiar t al e n t for j uvenile writi ng and few c an ,

exc e l h im in it In writing for ch ildre n he aims to con

.

vey th e high est l essons of morality th e pu rest an d lof ,

tiest sen timents to i n cu l cate charity a n d kindlin ess of

,

feelings an d to give i n struction in practica l subj ects in

,

lang u ag e th a t sh a ll be a t once simple a n d easily com

p r e hended In fine he would surround childhood wit h a
.
,
-

perfe ct atmosphere of pu rity love and wisdom ; and those ,

writers wh o in any way fa ll short of his stand a rd of ex

c el l en c e c a n n e v e r hope to fi n d their art icles accepted for

h is little m aga zi n e M a ny of h is j u venile stories have

.

bee n gath e red i n to books O thers are still scattered . .

O n e of th e pretties t of his books for boys and girls is

that e n titled The Wonderfu l Story of G entle Hand
$
,

an d other Stor i e con ta i n i n g th e choicest of his stories

s
,
$

for c hildren the book is beautifu l ly illustr a ted .

In 18 69 M r Arthu r in conj unction with h is sons

, .
, ,

began to publish a little eclectic m onthly wh ich they

called On ce a Mon th It was a gem of a m agazine .
.

taking the very cream of foreign publications with ,

enough original m a tter to give it a chara cter of its own .

It ough t to h ave su cceeded b ut it did not ,

.
 HIS L IFE AND WORKS .
19

In immediately u pon the suspension of On ce a

18 7 0 ,
Mon th he issued a monthly illustra ted fa mily paper
,

called Th e Wor kin gman intended as its name indi , ,

c ated to furnish good r e adi n g for mecha n ics a n d their

,

families and to take th e plac e in a measu re of the sen

, , ,

sa tio n al newspapers which form ed their weekly literary

aliment After cont inuing its p u blic a tion for two years
.

with tolerable success he concluded th at his l abors were

,

too m uch divided between his th ree public a tions and ,

that if they were expen ded on two only it would be

better b ot h for himself an d his public atio n s So b e dis .

posed o f The Wor kin gm an an d h as since given his ,

thought and e fforts to the Ho me Magaz in e a n d Chil

dr en s Hour an d to th e writing of cert a in b ooks which
$

are addi n g still greater lustre to his n ame .

Hav ing given thus a brief outlin e of the persona l his o

tory of th e man it will not be amiss to speak directly of

,

h is works .

So many years ago that the writ e r of this article can

no t remember them all T S Arth u r b e gan his lit e r a ry
, . .

career His first p r o duc tion s p r o duc tion s which fore

.
fl
~

—
shadowed the possibilities of h is genius w e re l ively al ,

m ost sensation al in ch aracter and de alt with th e a ctual

, ,

l ife aroun d h im in a way that led some contemporary

critics to call him the Dickens of America an d pre$ $

dict for h im a wonderful futu re .

For some inexplicable reason —at l east if there is any

‘

explan ation the writer of this has fa iled to learn it an d

, ,

can only v aguely surmise wh at it m ay b e—M r Arth u r .

su ddenly changed his style and from being the a nimated , ,

semi sensational writer settled down into the staid author

-
,

of mi l d mora l fiction w h ich l atter h as finally b uilt u p his

,
20 T S . . A R TH UR .

re p utation and made h is n ame a h ousehold word throug h

,

the l ength and breadth of the country .

Men of literary prete n sions t ake a certai n pride i n .

sneering at M r Arthur s writings and declaring that

.
$

they n ever read them Nevertheless T S Arthu r h as

.
, . .

been a power in the country He has appe aled directly .

to th e people and h as stood in n o n eed of th e services of

,

literary m iddlemen Whatever th e order of merit of his

.

writings h e has done more fo r Americ a n literature than

,

an y one other person a n d his n a me wil l be remembered

,

and loved when those of his critics will be forgotten to ,

.

gether with their productions .

I doubt if there is another m an in th e cou n try wh o

h as do n e s uch a vast such a measu reless amount of good
,

with the pen His stories spite their literary deficiencies

.
, ,

h ave appealed directly to the he a rt They h ave been .

good seed sown an d the h arvest has been abundant

, .

Nevertheless it m ust he confessed that they do not com e

,

u p to a h igh standard of artistic excellen ce I think their .

—
fa ult is easily detected It is a fault if fault it is whe n
.

$
it is deliberately committed a t the command of the author s
best j udg m en t—which runs th rough everything style , ,

p lots incidents names an d all It is a l a ck of indi

, , .

v id ual ity . As I have already said I j udge this to be in ,

ten tio n al . To reach the l a rgest class of readers he has ,

felt that he should ge n eralize as mu ch as possible in

ch aracters and in subj ects His styl e of writing is the.

perfection of carefully correct and finish ed E n glish ,

polished and rou n ded out of all its a n gles and every ,

trace of individuality elimi n a ted from it .

So with his stories He ge n eralizes in his plots They

. .

are a l ways what m ay happen to any individual and w h at ,

 HIS L IFE AND WORKS .
21

are constantly happening to most He avoids rath e r th an .

seeks origin ality I am not carpi n g Ther e m ay b e

. .

wisdom in this— a t least Mr Arthu r has himself th us

, .

decided As a producer of m oral literature for th e mil

.

lion he is more likely to be thus successful than though

,

h e originated and individualized more .

Dickens gave us Pick w icks Pec k sn ifls Q uil p s Mark

'

, , ,

Tapleys M icawbers and M r an d Mr s B offi n s all types

,
. .
,

of chara cter more or less common perh aps in the world ,

but still of individualized and exc ep tion a l types A rth u r .

brings to ou r notice B row n s G ra hams Da lys G rants

, , ,

—
an d Armstrongs th a t is to say commonpl a ce every day , ,
-

p eople like ou r neighbors an d oursel ves And these

,
.

people are in trodu c ed to us not in the gran d crises of

,

their lives but busy in their daily a ffairs It is for th e

, .

r e ason perh aps th a t there are no intricacies of plot the

, ,

u n raveling of which must be watched n o riddles of cha ,

r a c ter to be divi n ed — for the reason that the story comes

dir e ctly down to the common and the trivi a l —that each
rea der recog n izes himself or herself an d accepts the l es ,

so n that is i n culc a ted .

F ar be it fro m m e to say that T S Arthu r has made a . .

mistak e in th u s devoting his literary gifts He might .

,

perh a ps have written in another str ai n an d ple ased a

, ,

m ore critical audience bu t would the harvest of his en

,

d eav o r s have b e en so bro a d a n d so full ?

$
I never had an y literary ambitio n s ays Mr Arthur , .

h imself in writing to a friend

, I am a lit e rary m an
.
$

only through th e force of circumstan c e s I h av e tried .

h a rd to m ake my way in life in p u rsu its outside of lit e ra

ture but every e ffort to do so has proved a fa ilure and a
,

l oss ; an d I have b een driven back to my pen work again -

,
22 T S . . A R TH UR .

to fin d in t h at m y su rest sou rce of in co m e an d my m ost

p eaceful an d tran quillizing employm e nt .
$

Speaking of his m a n n er of writi n g h e goes on to say ,

I do not constru ct a story My plots an d ch a racters

.

are n o t pre arranged an d i n dividu aliz e d I take on e or

-
.

two c h a ra cters at some poin t in life with the en d but ,

—
dimly foreshadowed often n o t seen at all an d move —
for w ard with them After th a t all is simple development
.

—
or simple l iving n othing coming oh t j ust a s it seems to
promise at any si n gle point in th e story but everythi n g 18 ,

subj ect to u n l o c ked for modific a tio n s a n d n e w relations

-
,

as tho u gh an intelligence m ore far seei n g than m y own -

were dire c ting the issues of th e lives I am portraying .

New chara cters sudde n ly present themselves an d t ake

thei r pl a ces in th e story and becom e oft e n th e stro n gest
,

a n d most i n flu e ntial Fr e quently I do n ot see the ou t

.

come of my stories un til near th e close ; but rarely if ,

ever am I dis appointed in that ou tcom e Writing th us

,
.
,

I a m a lwa ys surprised at thei r u nity whe n com p leted .

$
Whatev e r m ay be the appeara n ce I am n o literary ,

mechanic I never w ork to a plan

. M y work — if
. I m a y
use the word work —is a lw ays a growth This being so I .
,

h a ve n o abiding sense of skill I n ever feel as if I had

.

an pow e r with my pen — n ever feel a s if I cou l d write

y
a nythi n g. I often begin in we akn ess forcing myself to ,

take u p my pen while som e di m ide a l floats in my mind

, .

To fix this and bring it down into l ivi n g action seems an

al most impossible thing B ut as soon as I fix an d local
.

—
ize something touch h uman life in its ou tward action
—
somewhere a sense of pow e r is fe lt a n d I seem to b e ,

come the subj ect of new i n flu e n ces and a m often as mu c h

,

$
surprised at th e result as any reader can possibly be .
 HIS L IFE AND WORKS .
23

Mr A rthu r s c hoice of temperan ce themes h as n ot as

$
. ,

I have al r e ady intimat e d arisen from an y ex p erience in

,

his own person of th e evils of i n tem peran ce spite of ,

rumors to tha t e ffect I hea rd of o n e man wh o wen t so

.

far as to say that he had dra n k with M r Arth ur many .

a time in liquor s aloons - — $

a statement which is relished

e x ce edingly as a j oke among his fri e n ds who know th at ,

the i n form a tio n co ncern i n g b ar rooms which he puts in -

h is stori e s is obta i n ed a t s ec on d han d In early youth h e .

was mu ch e xposed to tempta tion but was h a ppily re ,

m ov e d from its enticements before an appetite was formed .

He w as an eye an d ear witness of some of the first results

-

of th a t tempera nc e m ovem e n t k n o w n as Washi n gto n i a n

ism an d g a ve it th e best e fforts of his p en H e was at
,
.

th e time associat e e ditor of Th e Mer ch a n t a d a ily p a per ,

start e d in B altimore by Du ff G r e en to advocate the

el e ctio n of G e n e ra l Harriso n to the Presidency of th e
Un it e d Stat e s a n d w as call e d on to b e pres e n t at one of
,

th e first of the Wash i n gton experien ce meetings He .

m ade a r e port in The Mer cha n t which was C opied al l ,

over th e Un it e d Sta t e s and gav e to the p ublic its first

,
$

k n owledge of th is remark able movement His Six .

Nights w ith the W a shi n gto n i ans was written an d p u b $

l ish ed soo n a fterw a rd .

Tw e nty y e ars ago more or l ess T S Arthu r wrote

, ,
~
. .

T e n Nights in a B ar Room $
It was a work of c on sid
-
.

er ab l e pow e r a lthough di spl ayi n g mu ch of th e distinctive

—or sh all I say i n disti n ctive — characteristics of its au

,

thor Nevertheless it was a work that took a h old upon

.
,

the common mind The book had an imm e nse s ale It

. .

w as dram a tized and for y e a rs delighted at int e rv a ls not

, , ,

o nly th e play going pu b lic b ut a sti l l larger class of p eo

-
,
24 T . S . A R TH UR .

ple who co n demn th e atres an d plays in ge n eral but who ,

$
saw n o h a r m in goi n g to wit n e ss T S Arth u r s great . .

mora l tempera n ce dr am a I thi n k the t e mperance c a use

,
.

is gr e a tly i n d e bted to M r A r th u r for this book to say

.
,

nothi n g of his m an y short t e mp e ra n ce stories Th e re is .

still a stea dy s a l e of this w ork a n d of cou rse its influence,

is still fe lt .

Fou r y e a rs ago I he a rd a p u blish er ask M r Arth u r if .

h e could not write a sequ el or a t l east a c omp anio n to , ,

Ten Nigh t in a B a r Room

s Mr Arthu r shook h is
-
.
$
.

he a d s adly a n d repli e d th a t his days of writing were

,

nearly p as t that h e fe lt his life w ork was a l most fini shed

,
-
,

an d th a t h e n o long e r possessed the s trength an d vigor

eith e r of mind or body n ecessary to sust a in him in a pro
lo n ged me n ta l e ffort He evidently felt th a t h e had a lready
.

done h is best an d he did n ot w ish to produce a work the

,

result of w ani n g powers He still conti n ued to write

.

sh ort stories a n d m ade occ asion a l co n tributions of more

,

or less le n gth to the liter at u r e of his especi al C hu rch .

Wheth e r h e w as finally over persu a ded by a publisher -

,

or whether h e w as s e ized with th e impulse h imself I c an ,

not say At a l l e v e n ts in 18 7 2 he w rote an d published

.
,

Three Y e ars in a Man Trap a s e n s a tio n a l temp e ran ce

-
,

novel which w as in its elf a c onvi n cing proof of the m is

,

t a ke h e h ad been l aboring u n d e r abo u t his abilities It .

rose in poi n t of lit e ra ry e x c ellen c e far above a n y thi n g h e

h a d prod u c e d befor e a n d l e ft T e n Nights in a B ar
,
$

Room so fa r behin d it th a t th e re w as simply n o c ompar

iso n bet w een th e two Th a t a m an wh o had n ever e v e n
.

sp e n t ten nights within a b ar room preci n c ts wh o w as -

, ,

p e rh aps as guiltl e ss of all b a r room w ays a s a r e m ost -

—
,

women a m a n w h o once wou l d n ot go to be registered

26 T . S . A R TH UR .

th ing grotesque in the idea Yet on e wh o rea ds this b ook

.

wil l be forced to admit that in sens a tio nal literature h e

fin ds his true sphere and writes with w on derful force an d
,

e ffect Yet h e does not n or do I think it wou ld h ave

.
,

been possible for the man to write an ordinary sensationa l

,

story of th e th ird rate newspaper type All his instincts

-
.

are a gainst such authorship .

His n ew story is called C ast Adrift an d belo n gs to ,

that category of novels which some writer has rath e r flip

a n tl y designated as t
$

p Novels wi
$
h a Purpose Yet his .

—
p urpose capitalizing the p or o t as you pl e ase stand ;
n — ,

in g out prom ine n tly from first to l a st alw ays present as ,

the spirit of every i n cident does not as is too apt to be

, ,

the case in this cl ass of n ovels overbalance the int e rest , .

He h as dra w n star tling pictures of life as it exists in

'

—
th e hea rts of our gre t cities the wretched life of pover
a

ty ignorance misery and crime which is led by thousands

, ,

of h uman bei n gs among so called C hristian people Ho w

-
.

he wh o has never caught m ore than a glimpse of this life ,

n or d w e lt u pon its outskirts as man y in cities are forced

,

to do can h ave comprehended it in all its fullness h ave

, ,

perceived al l its ramifications its causes an d its effects , ,

and have sketched with equ a l fidelity its promoters and

its victims seems incomprehensible Therein is shown
,
.

the genius of the novelist It would seem as th ough half

.

a life time spen t in the m idst of these people would scarcely

su ffice for su ch a thorough comprehension of all the sub
jec ts of wh ich he treats Yet it is not
. the result of fancy
—one is sure of th at Some of th e characters of his book
.

are drawn from life and will no doubt be recognized O n e

, .

of them I knew immedi atel y having o ften seen h im in ,

the pursuit of h is occu p ation of begging .

 HIS L IFE AND WORKS .
27

Albeit Mr Arth u r is possessed of a kindly and sympa

.

th iz in g he a rt an d generous impulses he strips street beg ,

-

ging of all its false guises and holds it up to view in its

naked ugliness showing that those who en courage it are
,

encouraging idleness deceit an d d e bau c h e ry He has

,
.

robbed th e little Itali a n street musi c ians of al l pleasan t

-

romance and sho w n them to be n o more and no less than

,

white slaves bought an d sold as literally as were the n e

,

groes in the South and being trained up in a sch ool of

,

vice an d crime He has described at tolerable length th e

.

l ottery policy shops which flou rish so plentifully in som e

-

quarters of o ur cities —institutio n s the existence of w hic h

is not known to one perso n out of ten outside these quar
—
ters an d which wax fat on th e pecuni a ry and m oral
ruin of thous ands upon thousands of victims In desc r ib .

ing them he confesses his pen h as hesitated and tol d less ,

than the truth ; bu t what he t e lls us is fearful enough ,

without our desiring to read m or e Th er e a r e trap s set

$
.

far m ore thickly than one would drea m of to cat c h the

unwary and drag the m down by more mea ns than on e to
,

the very depths of hell He h as described in th e most.

vivid of colors yet with delicate strok e s of his pen how

, ,

unprotected in n ocen ce is robbed an d d e graded and ,

b rought to death or worse than death by wily wretches

, ,

who are constantly on th e lookout for victims In chap .

ter eight of his book he gives an incident of this character

too horrib l e for belief if we were n ot assured it is frequent
l y duplicated in real life The con clusion of th is chap
.

ter is grand It is the strongest the best p age in th e

$

.
,

whol e book It is n ot the trick of the n ovel writer for

.
'
-

se n s ation producing no more effe ct upon the h earts of his

,

readers than does the m imic thunder of the stage u p on th e

28 T S
. . A R TH UR .

nerves of the auditors It is a n e a rnest stirring a ppe al

.
,

of one wh o has go n e down in comprehe n sion into the

lower depths of soci e ty a n d s e en the gh astly misery and
,

hellish w ickedne ss ther e in to the C hristian world to

,

arouse to though t an d a c tio n in th e m atter L et m e . .

quote this p age It c a nnot be printed or read too often $

.

The wh ole n a tion giv e s a sh u dder of fe a r a t the

announ cement of a n I n dian massacre an d outrage B ut .

in al l ou r l arge cities a r e s a v ages more cruel an d bruta l

in thei r instincts th a n th e C omanches an d they tortu r e,

an d outrage an d m ass a cre a hu ndred poor victims for

every on e th a t is exposed to Indi an brut ality and there ,

comes no succor Is it from ign orance of th e fa ct ? No

.
,

no no $ There is n o t a j udge on the ben ch nor a lawyer

, ,

at the bar nor a legislator at the State capital nor a

, ,

m ayor or police o ffi c er nor a minister who preaches th e

-
,

gospel of C hrist wh o cam e to seek and to s a ve not a n

, ,

intelligen t c itizhn but knows of all th is

, .

What then ? Who is r e sponsible ? The whole n ation

arouses itself at news of an I n dian assault upon some de
fenceless frontier settlemen t an d the general government
,

sen ds troops to su ccor a n d to punish B ut who t akes .

n ote of the worse than Indian m assacres goi n g on d aily

and n ightly in th e heart of ou r gre a t citi e s ? Who h unts
down a n d punish es the hu man wolves in ou r midst whose
m o n th s a r e red with the bl ood of i n n ocen ce ? Their deeds
—
of cruelty outn umber every year a h undred n ay a thou ,

sand —fold the deeds of ou r red savages Their haunts .

are known an d thei r work is known They lie in w a it

,
.

for th e u n wary th e y gather in th e price of human souls

$

, ,

n one hindering a t ou r very ch urch doors Is n o one

,
.

res p onsib l e for al l this ? Is there no h el p ? Is evi l

 HIS L IFE AND WORKS . 29

stronger than good hell stro n g e r than heav e n ? H ave

,

the chu rches noth ing to do in this m atter ? C hrist came

to se e k an d to s ave that whi ch w as —
lost came to th e low
liest th e poor e st and the vilest to those over whom devils
, ,

h a d g ai n e d power an d c ast out the devils

,
Are those .

who c all th ems e lves by his name diligen t in the work to

w hich h e put his blessed hands ? Millions of dol lars go
yearly i n to m agnificent chu rches but how little to th e ,

work of s a vi n g an d succoring the weak the h elpless th e , ,

b e tray e d th e outcast an d the dying who lie u n c ared for

, ,

at th e mer c y of hum a n fiends an d often so n e a r to the ,

t e mpl e s of G o d that their a gonized a pp e als for h e lp a r e

drow n e d by the org an an d c hoir .
$

Some of th e ch a ract e rs I h a ve al r e ady s a id an d some

, ,

of the loc aliti e s a re re a l a n d r e cog n izable O thers are

, .

pu rely fi c titious y e t al l a r e true to th e l ife C harl e s

, .

Dickens h as not portr ayed hu man n atu re more faithfully

than h as T S Arthu r in this book There is o n e di ffe r
. . .

en c e however between Dickens an d Arthur The former

, , .

$
always strov e to keep i n his rea d e rs m inds th e u niversal
broth e rh ood of m an an d to un it e us to the lo w est by som e
,

c hord of h u m an symp athy In the l a tter we see lit tle .

'

of this Arthu r c an n ot from h is very n atur e l o ok upon

.
, ,

these people with other than fe elings of the utmost ab

l

h o r r en c e. H e seems a lmost to forget th at th e y are h u

m an a n d to ignore the possibility th a t there m ay still be
,

a germ of good within them He c annot sympathize with .

th em in any way an d h e does n ot ask his r e a ders to do

,

so He has bro u ght a reluctan t pen to a description of

.

this life and th e se p e ople an d h e h as doubtl e ss been,

trav e li n g through the v a lley of th e shadow of death o p ,

p ressed a n d terror stricken with ghastly forms looming

-
,

5?
3
30 T S . . A R TH UR .

up out of his me n t a l gloom wh ile h e h as written This .

fe eling of h orror and wr e tchedness this abhorrence of ,

vice an d sin h e m ak e s his re ad e rs share with him ; a n d

,

it m ay b e a m ore effectual w ay to a rouse peopl e to a s e nse

of d uty in the extermination of vi c e tha n Dickens h u $

m an ita r ian sty l e that lulled the energies at th e sa m e

,

ti m e it a w ok e the symp a th ies and diverted the i magi

n a tion I thi n k though the m en wh o are to d e scend
.
, ,

—
into this pit of vilen e ss an d cl e a nse i t th at is th e mis ,

sio n a r ies to these degraded and sin bu rde n ed people -

will n eed to h a ve a di ffe r e n t fe eling a gre ater fa ith in ,

h um a n ity as a whole if they woul d rescu e and save many

,

of the d w ell e rs th e rei n .

I will not sketch the plot of this book as that woul d ,

b e un fair to its fu tu r e r e ad e r Its plot is p erhaps the .

least importa nt part of it a lthough i t is an interesting,

an d a s e nsation a l o n e If the book has a flaw it is that

th e ch a ra ct e r of M rs Din n efo r d is overdrawn —that it
.
,

seems impossible for a woma n to be so u n womanly so n u ,

m otherly so cru el a n d so relentless as sh e is described

, ,
.

Y e t I am assu red th at su c h th ings h ave been and tha t ,

even in this ch a ra c ter the author h as not transcended t h e

limits of a ctu a lity .

$
$
C ast Adrift is a gra n d a noble book I need n ot
,
.

commend it to the fri e n ds and admirers of Mr Arth ur s .

$

writi n gs B ut those who h av e heretofore sneered a t

.

them a n d bo asted th at th e y n ever read them should sus

, ,

pen d their j udgm e nt o u this until th e y h a ve placed the m

selv e s in a positio n to giv e i t intellig e nt criticism .

I doubt if there is anoth e r Americ a n writer who has

produced so m u c h with his pen as T S f Ar th ur His . .

b ooks are largely published in England and h is nam e is ,

 HIS L IFE AND WORKS . 3]

familiar wherever the English language is spoken No w .

in advanced years with h ealth som ewh a t enfe ebled bu t

, ,

w ith m i n d apparently as vigorous and clear as ever h e is ,

reaping the h a rvest which all h is life long he has b e en

s owing — a harvest rich and precious Almost d a ily come
.

to h im from a l l q uarters of th e coun try l e tters of kindly

, ,

acknowledgment a n d gratitude for the good his produc

tions have done th e ir writers No w it is a poor woman
.

beaten down and discou raged in th e battle of life to

whom som e lesson or so m e word of comfort h as com e ,

teach ing an d upliftin g in time of n eed Then it is a m an

.

saved from a career of sin leading h eadlong to ruin by

a time l y admonition co n tained in one of his t a les Some .

times the service acknowledged is comparatively sligh t ;

ag ain the w riter says the wh ole cou r se of a life h as be e n
c h anged in co n sequence M r Arthur is deeply tou ched
. .

b y these letters y e t he accepts th em and th ei r words of

,

thanks w ith a hum ility beautiful to see .

Everybody l ooks u pon him as a personal friend an d , ,

in truth his tim e is sorely taxed by calls upon him for

,

a ssistance and counsel L iterary aspir a n ts h ope to receive

.

encouragement or at least j ust cri ticism from him ; the

, ,

friendless and needy turn to him for pecuniary aid H e .

gives out of the abund an ce of his h ea rt which c an n ever ,

become bankrupt words of counsel an d encou ragement

, .

B ut Mr Arthur is n ot rich ; l iterary men wh o have n o

.

oth er resou rces seldom are .

The poor and u nfortu n ate h ave always found h im an d

his excelle n t wife th e i r true frien ds and he has never been
,

at a l oss for obje c ts in his im m ediate vicinity upon which

to display h is inherent b enevolence It would moreover.
, ,

take the i ncome of a m i l lionaire to res p ond to all the calls

 LIBRAR$ O F C O NG RES S

0 0 1 5 9 8 8 60 8 6

T S . . A R TH UR .

upon his ch arity wh ich are m ade to him throug h the m ails .

Sometimes a poor girl writes wan ti n g a few hundred dol

,

lars a ye a r with which to educ ate h e rs e lf th e money to be ,

repaid in writi n g for h is m ag azin e s th e samples of writing

,

sen t bei n g dear if val ued at th at m an y m ills ; perh aps it

is a n eedy congregation who beg for a few hu n dred
,
$

dollars which h e would n ever miss fro m his ample

,

means with which to build them a chu rch Though it

,
$
, .

h urts him in a way that none save th ose of an eq u ally con

siderate a nd generous n atu re can comprehen d to refuse
th ese a pp e als or leave them unanswered he is forced as a , ,

m atter of course to do so
,
These are th e sh adows of his
.

life which perhaps render all the brigh t e r by c ontrast those

,

opportunities where h e can by any eflb r t of his brighten

the lives of his fellow bei n gs and h el p to elevate them to
-
,

a purer an d hap p ier altitude .

Some one has said an d I believe said truly th a t Mr

, , .

Arthu r n e ver wrote a sentence th e public a tion of which

he n eed regret And it m ay be a dded that th e world is
.

the better for his having l ived O f h ow m a n y men and

.

women famous or otherwise can this be said ?

, ,