The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-07-07
THE BLAME FIXED.

The "LounRer." In tho Critic Of June 10
says; Juat so long as books and poems a,s
published ANONYMOUSLY. just 40 long will
people who didn't write them claim 10 b
their authors. Tho history Of literature I
filled with such p~rstensions IdoA't know
what to attribute thcM 10, In svsry case. II
some cases 10 ID downright dishonesty that
inspires them; In others 10 10 4 sort Of
mental alteration. This claimant may be
honsst enough in all else. but on this one
Point hia or her conscience mai have a
'BeSutiful snow" and Rock Me 10 Sleep.
Mother" we're 40 plentiful ~ blackbsrfiss
At the time these poems were u
the zenith Of their fame. And ~ Tor
the Sake Holme stories tho olaim anita 10
thsir authorship were extraordinary not only
for their number, but because some Of them
were people who ought to have known bet
ter than to make diahoasss claims, aud
whose intelligence must have told them
that thsv would DO found out sooner or
later. know 4 man who married q woman
believing her to be SAKE Holr2, and though
he has been mar led n numbGF OF yOara. he
believes so still. Now in tho matter Of
these stories, / happened TO be in the secret
of their authorship from the start-in fact,
before they were written-and heard them
talked over between tho author and the
editor of this Century Chen Scribner'sl.
~ ohV oNG al AlCW - WOAA Va AZ vsAV
author. their style was unmistakable, and
who but a roet could have scattered such
gems Of verse with so lavish q hand over
the ra2es OF her rose?
What / was about to speak OF was the
case Of a bogus claimant that came to my
knowledge quito recently. In this instaAce
the falsS claimant has n double design In
his claim, not oniy TO poss az a writer. but
to win the affections Of an heiresa. who ad-
mires "b aims, and who has n weakness for
literary folk. This i'm udsnt fellow Claims
to be the author of The Anglomaniacs."
treating with scorn the fact that Mrs. Bur
ton Harrison's name appears upon tho title
pnge of the later edition OF the book. Not
only doea no claim to be the author OF this
clever sto y, but he sayB that to prove 1t no
can show the publishers check for several
thousand dolIars'' for royalties paid him.
Now what / should like to know is what can
be the state of mind of a girl who can be-
lieve q man In tho face Of suoh evidence
against him. and what will be the end OF 1t
all il he succeeds in his plan ana mAtries
her and she discovers afterwards that she
has been won by q dishonest man.
| was speaking of this to o man who SAID
that a similar instance had just come to his
knowledge. NJ, Edwin Royle. in a play
called Friends" which be wrote and In
which he acts. has introduced some lines
in the first net that came into his hands
several years ago.. when they were said 20
pc GlOIy ulOuSs AZ eAo kboy sAS
cited by Miss Selma Fettsr, and are said to
have attracted the attention of the senti-
mental. 1t was announced IN the pro-
Qramme shat they were anonymous, IN
the claimants appeared. One lady.
who has written verses in her day. heard
them distinctly, as she sat far back in the
and is hard Of hearing; but she
Thought" that she recognized them as
hers. She did not insist, however. Another
lady, out west. knew that they were
by q friend of hers one night on
the water. out under the stars, and she had
the original ps~noil-wsitten manuscript n
her note book. A man, still in the west.
ia sure shat Miss Grace DEMO Litchteld
wrote them; but the controversy seems to
have been settled in favor Of Mrs. Susan
Spaiding, of Rockford. near Will
mington. Del, in whose volume of Losms
Tie Wings Of %lcarus" they appear. The
poem was printed in the Critics Free Par
lament on April %. 1891. with an inquiry
as to its authorship; and two correspond
ents sent US Mrs. %spaldiug's name. These
a g the lines that have caused the a2itA-
ton. They are called Fate:
1.-TWO shall be born the whole wide world apart.
And speak in different tongues. and have no
thought
Each of the others being. and no heed;
And these. Ger unknown seas to unknown
lands
Shall cross, escaping wreck. defying death,
And a. unconscionsly shape every act
And bend each wandering step to this one end,
That, one day, out Of darkness, they shall
~ meet ##fr 4. .4r YE asJ.@@ta 4" "#E
And read life's meaning in each others eyes.
"And two shall walk some narrow way of life
20 nearly side BIZ side, that should one turn
Ever SO little space to left OF right
They needs must stand acknowledged face to
face
yet with wistful eyes that never NEE,
With cropping hands that never clasp, and
lips
Calling in vain to ears that never hear:
They seek each other all their weary days
And die unsatistied-and this is tats!"