The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1894-08-30
| ANTICIPATING FAME.
eEsANT's PATHETIC STORY OF "PAul
THE WANDERER."

THE WANDERER"
Tho Quiet Dignity OF a HAN Who Was riv'
ing For Postcrity-A Pretty Little skit
Written In tho English Novciist's mimi
table Style.
knew him fer several years before
his death. When l first made his 40
quaintance, no was already an old man.
He was also, as was evidont from the
first, q very poor man He went about
shabbily dressed. He carried biscuits
In his pocket to the reading room ON
which no lunched or took snacks at In
tervals during tho day. Perhaps he had
dinner aftcrward, but always suspect
ed his dinner to be an uncertain and q
movable feast. 1t was understood that
no was something in the literary way.
/ got to know him by sitting next to
him day after day. We exchanged the
amenities of the reading room, apollo
gized for crowding zach other with
books, ABUSED the takers, remarked on
the impudence of those who go to the
room in order to flirt and SO forth.
When i got to know him better, ]
made little discoveries about him, as,
for instance, that he liked glass OF
beer In the middle of tho day and that
he could not afford the twopence. may
say, not boastfully, that l was able to
offer him this little luxury. We used
to go out together for the purpose. He
was good enough to take an interest in
my work. He proved to have consider
able knowledge Of books and gave mo
considerable help in this way.
One Sunday met him in the street
We stopped to speak. He lamented the
closing of the museum ON Sunday. For
his own part, he said, he would have
the reading room open every day in the
week. Why close the avenues of knowl-
edge? Why damn the fountains and
springs of wisdom? So we walked and
talked. He was perfectly dignified in
his manner, though his great coat was
SO thin and shabby that one might be
ashamed to be seen with him. He stop
ped presently at the door of house in
High street, Holborn.
81 lodge here" he said. "Will you
come up stairs and see my hermitage!"
remember that he called it grandly
his hermitage. He led the way; the
stairs were dark and dirty; he took me
to the fifth, or fifty fifth, floor. He liv-
cd in the back attic.
'tThis," he said, sis the cell of the
recluse. live here quito retired. There
are other dodgers, believe, but l do
not know them. I live here with my
library in simplicity. The air is whole
some at this height.
He threw open the window and sniff
ed the fragrance of the neighboripg
chimneys. The room was clean; the
furniture was scanty; there was no fire
in the CRATE; on shelf were about 25
books-his library. The man looked per-
fectly contented with his hermitage.
There were no papers on the table,
nothing to show that he was writer.
do not know how he lived-certain-
" he did no work at the museum-but
he never borrowed In one corner stood
q wooden chest He lifted the lid and
nodded and laughed.
"Ahar' he said, "now l am going to
reveal a secret You didn't know, no.
body at the museum knows, the people
in the house don't know, that am
what do you think?-a poet. 1t is 80
years since / paid for the publication
Of my collected poetical works. Yes,
sir, and am going not only to commu-
nicate this secret to your honor-in safe
keeping-but to present you with a
copy. There, my young friendr' Hepro-
duced thin volume. II am Paul the
Wanderer. In fact, the title page bore
the legend, COLLECTED Poetical Work
of Paul the Wanderer.
Thirty years, he repeated. '"There
were 500 copies The press received 30,
the public bought four; there remained
446. have now given you one. There
now remain 40. l have bequeathed
these to the public libraries of the ma
ton. Sir, you are young. You will
yourself perhaps publish your poems.
Remember for your comfort that it
takes so years, or two generations,
for the noblest poets to take their
proper place. Greatness-true, stable,
solid Src..,.,:css, not the empty applause
given t. :. cckemeral favorite-re-
guires so year; g. least. Go, sirl Take
tho book E:,yc gwen you, and in after
years. when ] am gone, tell the world
that you knew-Paul the Wandererl'
l wrung his hand in silence and left
him. Moro than 90 years have passed
since he published that work. No one
has yet spoken to me of Paul the Wan
derer But l now understood his digni-
ty, his self respect and his content. He
was anticipating and enjoying his fu-
turo famo. He was living for posterity.
Present poverty and neglect were moth
ing.-Walter Besant in London Queen.