The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-04-01
Fresh Gossip About Authors
and Literary Matters.
POET wHITTIER's BIRTHPLACE
Preachers LibraFy-MisD Cleve.
land not Writing.
New YoRK, March q, 1888.

Written for The SUNDAY HERALD.
John Ruskin has, perhaps. no more
jealous American reader and admirer
than the Rev. DR.. T. De Witt Talmage
the famous preacher. This fact
CHANGED to learn only a short while
ago. Whatever comes from the pen OF
Ruskin finds one of its first readers 10
DR.. Tslmage. He not only possesses
all Of Ruskin's works. but is said to
have nearly every edition, English and
American, OF the Briton's works. A
wrong :mpre sion has been sent abroad
that DR.. Talmage IS but a casual reader
of books, and cares very little for sub
stantial reading. No statement is
farther from the truth. He is, on the
contrary, an extensive reader. and has q
library numbering between 1000 and
5000 volumes. The room wherein is
housed this vast array Of books is a
curious one, on the fourth floor of the
Talmage house in Brooklyn. An ordin-
airy Office desk, sofa. considerably
worn, a dictionary stand and three
chairs constitute the furniture. With
DR.. Talmage, this is sacred room, and
rarely does he allow anyone to inter it,.
Not even the servants are expected to
cross It's threshold, and such busting as
is necessary is done with a feather
buster in the hands of the preachers
wife. Library shelves are ranged on
each side OF the room and between the
doors. 1t is not snowy array OF books
that are arrayed on these shelves;
ancient-lookipg works often handled
predominant, aud, In every sense. it liz
library for use, and one that is doubt
less freqiently referred to. On the
chairs aud in the corners Of the room
are piles OF newspapers and printed
pamphlets. On one chair is heap of
manuscript, sermons and lectures-not
remaI kable for their appearance, for
the great preacher Is not great as pen
man. The room has three windows,
the one on the side Of the house look
ing out upon a beautiful park, being the
iavorlte one at which the pastor often
sits and reads. An lnkstand that looks
as if it would fall apart were The clotted
ink upon its surface removed, scraps Of
paper, few Ink bespattered penholders,
small pieces of blottipg paper. rest on
the desk, while banked up on either side
are mountains Of letters and papers.
Books of reference lie on open drawers
and on the floor. Every drawer is
stuff d full with papers, as if they were
tossed in hurriediy, yet in all their
chaos every paper has Its place. Tldi-
ness docs not prevail; e.erything is
ENio 4 ~
it. 1t Is, Withal, typical literary den,
characteristic of the occupant.
THE POET wHIrTIER's BIRTHPLACE.
The project of purchasing the poet |
Whittier's birthplace, at Haverhill, |
Mass, is destined to come to naught !
through the refusal of the present |
owner to dispose of it. The home is |
own, d by q retired New England mer-
chant, who is represented as being |
deeply interested in The preservation of |
the house and all its SURROUND lDgs He |
has Just completed arrangements for
the reception of all visitors who may |
wish to inspect the poets birthplace,
but d. ciines to sell the property upon
any terms If the projected plan has |
served only the purpose above out
lined, it has certainly accomplished q
beneficial object. The question of the
purchase was raised simply to
save the homestead from going into de-
cay and neglect, and if this end can be
assured without the necessary outlay of |
the purchase money, the poets admir-
ers will be equally pleased and satisfied.
1t would have required only the passing
of the summer months to have placed |
the purchase plan upon a working basis,
and the result could easily have been
achieved.
HOW FAMOUS BOOK WAS WRITTEN.
Anna Katharine Green is living in
Buffalo in a bright and comfortable
home, at present writing a new novel
with one hand, while the other is en-
gagged in the pleasing occupation of
rearing her interesting children. proof |
that the cares of motnerhood and busy |
may be borne gether, If
one knows the art. Being asked re-
Gently how she came to write detective |
stories. and to give few facts as to the
origin of her famous novel, The Leaven.
worth Case" she said:
II don't know that | ever saw bat one
detective in my life, and even to him /
never addressed word. Some BOYS in
the neighborhood where We lived had
thrown stones through window of our
house. Some one got a detective to
catch the boys. He came and sat down
in the room, and looked through the
broken window all the afternoon. Then
he went away. Really. that's all l ever
had to do with detectives. l suppose"
she continued, that if / were q man 1
would have been lawyer. Perhaps
have legal mind. At any rate. 1 de-
light in plots which call for skill in the
1nrsVeling. Before had ever written
, story l remember hearing of some
plot that interested me greatly, and I
thought of sending it to q friend who
could make a story of it. Some one :
laid, Why don't you make use of it
7ourself?' I worked over it for two
7ears, and the result was The Lsaven-
worth Case sent the manuscript to :
Putnam's Sons, and they agreed to pub.
ished 1t if would outi down. l went
through it laboriously, took 5000 words
,ut of it, and felt that 1 had improved
{. The book was hit. In ali editions
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