Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-06-02
LITERARY FOOT NOTES
John Burroughs, Author and F'ruf
Culturist.
SIaden, the Australian Author and Poet
Mark Twain and His Forthcoming
Departure-A Friend of Walt
Whitman's-Oscar Wilde.

SounIy, IN. T., on the HUDSON River. he
is born country-liver, and can abide the
city no longer than actual business de-
tains him there. A few days ago he arrived
in New York for the first time in over six
months, and 1 had an hours pleasant
chat with him. He was on his way with
the artists connected with one of our
leading magazines to edo up" together
with them, a picturesque region.in an ad-
jacent State. His literary work, of late,
has not been abundant; for he has about
fifteen acres of grapes to look after, and
his hands, instead of being colored with
the stray ink-spot, were trile tinged
las he showed me) with the metallic solu-
ton with which he had been spraying
the singular but formidable ''black rot''
that has lately proceeded over the vine
yards of this country from west to east,
and which has only recently reached the
vicinity of the Hudson.
Mr.. Burroughs when he writes, has
seclusion of his own, which he finds in
bark-covered cabin on the slope of his
dooryard, overlooking the river. 1t is
much more picturesque house than
Thoreau's, of Walden Pond fame; and,
being among the.trees fifteen rods away
from the family house, is well fitted for
silence and communication with nature.
The birds, the butterflies, and all winged
things find it; and, presume, the col
ony of hornets nest, among
the shelves of books, could live
amicably with their owner, whose
secrets he would be sure, however,
to share, and, if they were of Importance,
communicate to the public. This coy
study, if it were round instead of square,
would look like section of one Of the
Yosemite trees-such one as the Chi
cago people hope to putwwup at the great
Columbian Fair.
Mr.. Douglass Sladen, the distinguished
Australian poet who, with his family,
has been living in New York during the
winter in a pleasant fiat, has lately left
for Europe and will make his home, for
year or two now, in London. Mr..
Sladen is very genial cosmopolitanized
Englishman, who has lost his insularity
by extended travels through China,
Japan and India, as we'll as in other
parts-which countries he pursued with
an authors purpose, on behalf of the
magazines and their eager readers. He
is graduate Of Oxford, is:about thirty
| five years of age, has dark brown hair,
| very black eyes, and q short mustache
| and beard. He is said to resemble to
some extent Mr.. r. w. Glider of the
Century,; in other words, is an Angli-
| cized copy of him. He has brother who,
\ as the English express it, "has a good
| living" near Rochester, England. Mr..
Sladen's best known works here are his
| own poems, "The Australian Poets"
Literary New York." and younger
| American Poets" He will write next
| about literary London.
The gayety of our country is soon to be
eclipsed for season or longer by the
early departure of the humorous Mark
| Twain for an extended residence in Eu-
rope. His home on Pennington avenue,
Hartford, Conn, is as unique as the one
he described in the Galaxy after the
lightning rod man had exploited it,
though not in the same way. He told me
once, when had its hospitality, that he
found it difficult to write in the winter;
but when summer and the birds come,
| and vegetation is lush and boom
ing, then his mind is fluent, and
he can unravel Strange stories of
the death of Kings or anything
else. He will be missed from Hartford
and E1mira, where his society is most fire.
quently to be had; for in New York, he
rarely fingers longer than imperative
business demands. AS he has long got
past the necessity of playing the literary
man for pay, it is doubtful If he will
favor the world with any very elaborate
work during his absence.
One of the prominent and close friends
of Walt Whitman is Mr.. j. Fl. Johnson, oil
New York, who has himself impressively
poetized the Rocky Mountains. He has,
in his library, more and more various
editions of the "Leaves of Grass" than
think, anyone else in the world can
boast. He does not speak favorably
just now of the health of the "Good
Gray Poet" who is too weak even to ride
in his wheeled chair with advantage. Mr.
Johnston is soon, with his wife, to join
the stream of literary and other tourists
who, flor this season, will visit the fal
shores of Alaska.
Julian Hawthorne is vigorously at work
on an exhaustive history of Oregon
which will appear in two volumes. He
ought to discover some Economically
olored facts in his studies that can b.
ade available for future exploits In
!; fiction.
"Cross Currents" is the title of story
from the pen of May Angela Dickens
daughter of Charles Dickens, which il
very appropriately to appear by and BY
in the popular English weekly once
edited by her father.
Oscar Wilde, who has lately JOINED
some English reformers, who advocate
what they call reformed dress fol
women, is to bring out a book soon
titled 'Intentions." It is a series o
essays, and is announced for publication
, in New York, Robert Buchanan, tn
.hglish poet, who is a good fault finder
. titles his new volume of essays, soon to b.
l offered, ''The Coming Terror" Thi
also is to be published in New York ant
its spiciness can be safely predicted.
The Mitchell library book auction sal