The evening world., 1888-07-20

a"' ~ ANAH
He was born on the banks of the Hudson
in the town of New Windsor, N. T., in 1888.
His early home is described in his popular
story, 1.-THE Opening of a Chestnut Burr"
and again referred to in the description of the
quaint old garden that has 80 important a
place in his new book, "A Face Hlumined."
He studied at Williams College, having
the ministry in view, and after a year at
he responded to the Governments urgent
call, and took the chaplaincy of the Sec
ond New York. or the Harris, Cavalry.
After two years in the field President Lin
coin appointed hin one of the chaplains of
the Fortress Monroe hospitals. just before
entering on this new duty he joined, as n
volunteer, the celebrated. raid, i'll the spring
of 1864, IN which Col. Dahlgren was killed,
and which had AZ its object the release Of the
Union prisoners at Richmond.
Al the close of the war Mr.. Roe accepted q
call from the Presbyterian Church ut High
land Falls, N. y, within a mile of West Point.
and yerv soon entered with the people on an
effort TO erect a new church ediiice. This IN
volved u long and difficult struggle, but was
successfully accomplished. Mr.. Roe being in
defatigable in his efforts to raise the neces-
sary funds.
In the spring of 1874 Mr.. Roe removed to
Cornwall on the Huds n, near his early
home. where, to counterfeit the tendencies of
too sedentary pursuits, he began the cultiya-
ton of small fruits and plants, end had q
thriving nursery. Here, in this pleasant
home. amid the most beautiful natural
scenery, have been written most OF his later
stories.
Ten years ago one had hardly heard of E.
P. Roe as an author. At the present time,
him o. one who, If We may rate success by
the wide circulation Of q writer's books, is
our most successful novelist. His first liter
airy venture, =" Barriers Burned Away" Is
rnup ~ 40 fprku ninth nF fiftiath thnnQanH
- What Can She Do ?" his second story,
is in Its thirty third thousand; Open
ing q Chestnut Burr" his new vol
une, is in its forty ninth thou
sand and almost equally large editions mark
the sale of his more recent books. His latest
novel has almost attained the phenomenal
success whirh attended T." Barriers Burned
Away" 1t is in its forty-sixth thousand.
tainly remarkable. The aggregate ~circula-
ton of Mr.. Roe's stories Is nearly half a
million Of copies. Ont book must represent
OF an average three readers At least. Thus
novels. This fact alone would assure Rev.
Z. p. Roe's claim to the attention Of any lit
srary critic.
There was something in the fact that Mr..
Roe is q minister, and thus the author of
stories, all of which are informed by deep
religious convictions. Sugar-coated pills
have o strong attraction for many people.
These books, also, are universally regarded
hs Wen huhptcu ior NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. huu
probably few churches are unprovided with
copies. for people who do not approve of
novel reading in theory find nothing excep-
tionable in them. This fact, therefore, un-
doubtedly explains q great deal of their Of
their popularity.
There is also another cause which is ex-
planatory of the wide circulation of these
books. Mr.. Roo not only writes to the mid
die class, but also about them. He portrays
admirably the ordinary. every day life of
common peoplo-often. ii must be confessed,
of rather commonplace people. But such
people enjoy nothing better than hearing
about themselves. They find in Mr.. Roe's
r%ations. They seem. whilo reading Of the
experience of others. to be recalling their
own. Thus. in Without q Home" the au-
thor deals deliberately with the modern opium
or morphia habit. More people than one has
any idea of are addicted 10 this habit. Many
of the young women, and even of the girls,
in our New England factories are absolute
writes in his preface am sure l am right in
fearing that in the morphia hunger and con-
sumption one of the greatest evils of the fu-
ture is looming darkly above the horizon of
society" he speaks what is believed to be the
truth. Any one who deals .thrillingly
as this cannot fail to write. effect
lively. In the same story, also, he gains
the love of every shop-girl in our large
cities. by his sympathetic treatment of the
evils and hardships which they are forced to
bear. No wonder then, that. making such
subjects the motive of his stories. he is phe-
nomenally successful. That he tells the
truth about and seeks to better the condition
Of a large, hard working class OF people will
be n reason to many why he should so sig
nally gain hearing from its members.