Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-09-20
ANTICIPATING FAME.
eEsANT's PATHETIC STORY or "PAUL
THE WANDERER."

The Quiet Dignity Of Man Who Was Liv-
ing For Posterity-A Pretty Little skit
Written In the English NoveIIst's InimI-
table Style.
knew him for several years before
his death. When first made his &C.
quaintance, he was already an old man.
He was also, as was evident from the
first, a very poor man He went about
shabbily dressed He carried biscuits
in his pocket to the reading room on
which he lunched or took snacks at in
tervals during the day. Perhaps he had
dinner afterward, but always suspect
ed his dinner to be an uncertain and q
movable feast 1t was understood that
he was something in the literary way.
I got to know him by sitting next to
him day after day. We exchanged the
amenities Of the reading room, apollo
gized for crowding each other with
books, abused the takers, remarked on
the impudence of those who go to the
room in order to f1irt and 30 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 the day and that
he could not afford the twopence. lmay
say, not boastfully, that / 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 a consider
able knowledge of books and gave me
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 dignifed in
Ills 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-
ed in the back attic.
"This," he said, sis the cell of the
recluse. live here quite retired There
are other dodgers, l believe, but dc
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 neighboring
chimneys. The room was clean; the
furniture was scanty; there was no fire
in the CRATE; on shelf were about 81
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.
lido not know how he lived-certain
ly he did no work at the museum-but
he never borrowed. In one corner stood
a wooden chest He lifted the lid ani
nodded and laughed.
"Ahap' he said, "now am going Il
reveal secret. You didn't know, no
body at the museum knows, the peopl
in the house don't know y.that am
what do you think?-a poet 1t is 81
years since I 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 saf
keeping-but to present you with
copy. There, my young friend!' He pro
duced thin volume. II am Paul tn
Wanderer. In fact, the title page Dor
the legend, COLLECTED Poetical Wor
,, of Paul the Wanderer
"Thirty years." he repeated. "Ther
were 500 copies. The press received &c
the public bought four; there RENAME
446. I have now given you one. Their
now remain 445. have bequeathe
these to the public libraries Of the NJ
tion. Sir, you are young. You wi
yourself perhaps publish your poems
Remember for your comfort that
takes 80 years, or two generation
for the noblest poets to take the:
proper place. Greatness-true, stabl'
! solid greatness, not the empty applaus
given to an ephemeral favorite-r'
: quires so years at least. Go, sirl TAX
the book have given you, and in aft
= years, when I am gone, tell the worl
that you knew-Paul the Wanderer!
o wrung his hand in silence and le
him. More than 80 years have passe
Q since he published that work. No OF
l has yet spoken to me of Paul the Wa
d derer. But I now understood his dign
q ty, his self respect and his content. T
Q was anticipating and enjoying his +,
: ture fame. He was living for posterit
9 Present poverty and neglect were not
j. ing.-Walter Besant in London Quee
v Another Mammoth Statue.
Z The sculptor Nikolaus Geiger is pu
d ting the last touches to his statue
% Barbarossa, which is to symbolic &