The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-06-02
A LITERARY ECHO.
BY EUGENE FIELD.

The fear that the west will not be fairly dealt with in the "History of American Poetry" now being written by two eminent New York lHterdteurS causes us good deal of anxiety. The Htter0teurS engaged in this stupendous work are Mir. Edmund Clarence Sted- man and Miss Nellie Hutchinson. We know that both have honest intentions, but how can it be possible for them to treat with becoming dignity and intel ligence of a locality which they have never visited-a locality as generous in it's intellectual as in it's physical products, whose culture is as ineffable as its territory is boundless? MT. Stedman is learned man and charm ing man, but he has never been farther west than 104th street in New York City, and as for Miss IIutchinson-he idea of the west is that it begins just on the other side of Syracuse, town she visited some years ago. Now we are satisfied that MT. Stedman and Miss Hutchinson mean to be fair, but how are they going to overcome the cruel prejudice which exists in the east against every one and every thing that is western? The eastern notion of the westerner is, as it were, an adaptation of Sam Johnson's remark anent the Scotchman. "The Scotch man, sir" quoth he, "can be made much of if caught young." It is against this teeling-this foolish, wicked prej- udice-that the two historians will have to contend this makes us solic- itous, apprehensive, fearful.
 But there is one paramount duty which occurs to us ill this supreme crisis, and sense of that duty makes it clear to us that, if we cannot en- tirely torfend misinterpretation, we can at least mitigate the severity of the criticism which western literature is likely to evoke from these critics. We must educate our critics up to an appreciation of western work. To this task we apply ourselves with more than ordinary enthusiasm, for we feel that in its pursuit we shall have the plaudits and the practical encourage ment of all patriotic sons and daugh- ters of the west-heaven be praised, the woods are full of them! And we do now, solemnly and in all sincerity, ask, request, solicit, and importune that such sons and daughters do with out delay transmit to us tor specific and laudatory exposition in these col umns all literary works done either in poesy, prose, or hieroglyphic by vest ern authors now on earth. We shall exploit All such works in scholarly and enthusiastic manner.
 It has been our rare fortune to be- come possessed of a volume printed at Columbus, O., in 1860, under the auspices of one William T. Coggeshall. This book is entitled "The Poets and Poetry of the West with Biograph- ical and Critical Notices" We think that the compilers of "The History of American Poetry" ought to have a copy of this book, and we have asked the indefatigable MT. Sizer (who is truly one of the most learned and most ingenious of Chicago bibliophiles) to hunt us up an extra copy for our eastern friends.
 The two poets whose work we most admire and whose personalities most charm us are MT. William D. Howells and Colonel Horace Rublee. Of these poets we are pleased to discourse at this time, and let our words sink deep into the hearts of E. c. Stedman and Ellen Hutchinson.
 civilian D. Howells," says "Poets and Poetry of the Vest" "was born in Martinsville, Belmont county, O., in the year 1887. His father being a printer and publisher, he learned the printing business in the paternal office at Hamilton, Butler county, whither his parents moved in 1S40. MT. Howells has been recognized as . writer about six years. He has been editorially connected with the Cin- cinnati Gazette and with the Ohio State Journal, and has contributed poems to the Atlantic Monthly maga- zine and to the Saturday Press, New York, and is now a regular correspond ent of the Ohio Fa,mer."
 The only misstatement in this bi- ography is that concerning MT. Howells' present employment. MT. Howells is now in Europe, but not as the correspondent of the Ohso Former; he is connected with pictorial mag azine published in New York City. However, we may overlook the inac-