The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-03-14
WEEK WITH BEN-HUR
How General Lewis Wallace Wrss his
Famous Novel.
The Story of Its Writing as Told by a
Friend-H0w the Imaginary Child
Ben.Hur Grew UP-An In.
terosting Story.
Written for the Sentinel.

Written for the Sentinel.
Copyrighted 1885,
In April, 1873, the writer was In the
golden age when the years are all sum.
mers." Her happy lot 1t was to visit Mrs.
Lew Wallace In Charlottesville, Ind, the
homeswhere the imaginary child, Ben-Hur,
was growing up. The famous "ohariot
race was on" at that very time, and
one might fancy It would have destroyed
the family peace as thoroughly as the car
OF Juggernaut crashing through the house,
but not so. for General Wallace adds to his
greatness the supreme grace OF being ami
able at home.
II Is pleasure to remember that during
the week spent so near Ben-Hur and the
"wite OF his youth" the sky was not dark
ent" ny one impatient word. The crack
OF ihr chariot whips heard around the
wOfid 10 seven different languages, but Il
o-v-r fell upon those OF his own house
hold The book was dedicated to his lady
love, n royal Offering worn with every
womanly g'ace BETTING il.
F'n'rei Wallaoe's manner was so CT urtly
that The first half day the visitor trembled
and wished him away. that she might
his imperial presence. Bat the gulf was
bridged by his oRd 'usic. Toe next
morning the house fairly quaked as he
paced his study, to the tune OF good old
Ortonville," or some other bulwark OF the
Methodist hymn-book, roared 30 Justify that
IL might have walked a mummy At the
breakfast-table he said, with awful state.
illness, ibid you hear sounds OF melody
from my room this norning?n "Yes,h
said the bashtrl maiden (who still had tbs
ear-ache), "but / should call that below.
dy." The singer stared an instant, not
being used to such very plain English,
then burst into a laugh as merry as the
Cheeryble Brothers. The ice was broken,
and behold the waters beneath were warm
the very fountain of-life and good cheer.
The Ben-Hur study had but few require
ments for this easily satisfied man, so he
had chosen little nook as far from the
household sounds as possible, and as bar
rem OF modern cenveniences" as q monks
cell. The children of his fancy needed no
seats-they peopled the air-and he occu-
pied the only chair In the room. All the
rest OF the furniture stood on the four. legs
OF the table-pens and paper heaped con
fusedly on a big blotter, the New Testament
Geikie's Life OF Christ" "Ivan hoe aud
few reference books The door was Away
shut for work, but opened readily for play,
and the visitor usually knocked as she
passed, and always heard the cordial
Come in" responsive TO her Interruptions.
Then ne would tilt back in his chair and
pocket his hands, like all other men, aud
laugh and talk like precious few other men.
Often he would read aloud what he had
Just written, and ask If ii would do in a
way that would have battered the very
elect, and which gave rise to the visitors
doubtful boast that she had helped write
was all the same, so the author had made
her think.
This was courtesy, pure and simple, and
an example to less busy men. He wrote
first on slate TO rub out easily, then on
soft paper with a pencil. His patience in
going over and over the same ground till
be had brought it up to his standard
would have commanded the respect of an
ant. The final copy of the book was on
large unruled paper, in violet ink, so ex-
quisitely done that the professional reader
of the Franklin Square house prom sunced
ii the finest manuscript ever offered him.
/ remember little dispute between Bsn-
Hur and his wife over a word. He said
that when he began the book he was two
days searching fer an adjective with just
the right color in it to describe a certain
thing, and at last be found it in opalescent.
Mrs. Wallace declared for opaline as being
simpler but, wife-llke, she yielded to the
stronger authority, and, no doubt, -four
ished opaline in her next publication.
We find this jewel of a word In the
march OF the wise men-"By and by the
moon came up, and as the three tall wlire
figures sped with soundless thread throuah
tbs opalescent ligxt, they appeared like
spectres flying from hateful shadow"
General Wallace's Observation-Disclosures is
proverb IN his family, which brings down
many a glbe on his head, and before the
laughter at his putting sugar in his soft
boiled egg two heaping spoonfulsl had
died down, he might be seen, just as delib-
erately, sailing his coffee. This quality
might be one of heredity, if certain wild
legends pointing, toward his maternal
grandfather are true.
He is peculiarly man of reserved force.
He lives in the background of himself,
and the casual observer fails to see the big
heart buttoned up within, the laughter
carried in his sleeve, and the inexhaustible-
industry IN his pockets. Read the record
of what he has accomplished In the fields.
of battle, diplomacy, art and literature,
and you will see how great his energy is,
though every trace of 1t is suppressed,
somehow, as he goes about his daily duties, .
with less bluster and hurry skurry than the
Ordinary man takes to get his one talent
buried in the ground. 80 he always hsd
Nms for HOUSEHOLD matters, and could
and did minister to them as well as he
His wife said one day, Lew, the little ban
tam hen has Matched her family" HAS
she" said he-"how many? with as mach
interest as If they were American eagles.
And when she asked him to Ego and take
her off" he went, and could be seen stoop.
ing down before the nest, handling the
tiny handspring chickens tenderly enough
to suit even the fussy bit OF a mother. If
those chicks knew who it was that set
them up housekeeping, thew would have
all grown up peacocks. Fancy Thomas
Carlyle asked to stoop so low He would
have annihilated ''all those pretty chick
ems and their dam at one fell swoop," and
then grumbled for week because the hen
had picked him.
General Wallace is fond of writing out
under the forest trees that surround his
house, and the bantsms used to settle on
his shoulder and knee, and eat out of his
hand as he sat there alone with his own
creations.
Through all that visit fun carried the
day and part Of the night too, for each
evening brought party in some friend 8
house, and Ben Hur was ruthlessly dragged
from his chariot aad carried off to every
one of them. He went not las q school,
boy toward his books" moreover-nay,
he flocked with the magpfes and jsy-biras
as il he bad been OF their feather, and
many time (Mr Beeeher TO the contrary
notwithstauding) the eagle was heard to
oanbla To ha ouro ha Unuld 0ftan fnr-