The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-12-20
PERSONAL AND LITERARY.

james Payn, the present vel
known novelist, it Is said, has turned
out as the product of his pen in thirt,
years over 100 volumes, mainly fiction
but embracing some other topics.
--George Stovin Venables, dis
tinguished London lawyer, died recent
ly. He was the original Of Thackcray':
Warrington in 'Pendennis. He leaves
an estate OF $3.50, 900, and among the be-
quests is a legacy OF $l60 annually tc
his washerwoman.
Margaret Dolan. the author ol
John Ward, Preacher Is an Ameri.
can lady about thirty years Of age
She was born in Pittsburgh, and is the
wife of a Boston gentleman. Her first
appearance as an author was in 1884.
when she contributed a few poems to
the leading magazines.
Countess Tolstoi. wife OF the Rus.
sian novelist and reformer, does not
sympathize with her husbands ex.
IRENE religious views; and it Is said
threatens, II he attempts to carry out
his plans of selling all that he has
and giving the money to the poor. &c
ask for an official investigation OF his
sanity.
1t seems that the poets are fond OF
making fine speeches to,Mary Anderson.
When Oscar Wilde was in this country
he presented Miss Anderson with a
volume of poems in which he had
written: From a Poet to Poem. !"
And now Tennyson has written several
new pieces for her and calls her a
perfect poem
Mrs. Humphrey Ward, author Of
Robert Elsmefe," the most popular
book OF the day, lives in Russell
square, London, near the British
Museum, in house full OF books and
flowers. She is described as "a Won
derfully charming person, slight and
most graceful in figure and movement,
and with suggestion in her brilliant
face of her uncle. Mr.. Matthew Arnold.
I'm his volume OF professional rem.
iniscences Colonel Mapleson, speak
ing Of lima di Murska, says that she
travelled with monkey. two parrots,
an Angora cat and Newfoundland
dog. The last always dined at the
table with her of q plate laid for
him. and he never dropped morsel
on the floor or even on the table-cloth.
Such excellent manners might DO OBJ
served with profit by many who have
had better opportunities for learning
the etiquette OF the table.
Mrs. o. c. Converse, of Water
bury, Conn.,, is an old lady of seventy
eight, who had a hand in the educa-
ton of two Presidents Of the United
States. While teaching school in
South Bend. Ind, Benjamin Harrison,
President-elect, was one of her pupils,
and she taught him his alphabet.
When teaching in Ohio, James A. Gar
field. then fourteen years of age, was
one Of her scholars. He had been
driving horse on the tow-path, and.
his boat being frozen In. he devoted .
few weeks to her instruction.
A japanese newspaper is a very
different thing from what we are ac-
customed to find on our breakfast
tables. Our last page is its first; its
columns only run half the length OF
the page; it has no such thing as
head lines or ''scare heads" and its
title runs from top to bottom, instead
of across; it has but few rough illus
trations; it prints few advertise.
ments, but those are paid for at COM
paratively high rate; its price is low,
ranging from one to two cents copy
and from twenty-five to fifty cents a
month, and it knows nothing yet Of
sensational advertisements or flaming
posters or deeds Of journalistic ''der-
ring do"