The Washington times., 1894-06-17
Liferaru Gossip.

HOA 49, u
A meeting of some Of the members of the
American Society Of Authors was held last
Wednesday evening at the home OF Mrs. NJ.
D. Lincoln Bessie Beech). Among those
contributing to the pleasure Of the evening
were Mrs. Claudia D. Money, wife of Repre-
sentative Money; Miss Isis Mcmillan, Mr.. E.
Grant Barnwell, Mr.. Giles Shine, and Judge
H. B. Moulton.
Oscar Wilde thinks that Gradgrind facts,
pure and simple, control modern fiction too
much and detrimentally. He says:
Even Mr.. Robert Louis Stevenson, that delight
full master OF delicate and fancful prose, is
tainted with this modern vice, for We know posi-
lively No other name for il. There is such
thing as robbing story of its reality by trying
to make it too true, and 1.-The Black Arrow" is SO
inartstic as not to contain a single anachronism
to boast of, while the Transformation of DR..
Jekyi reads dangerously like an experiment out
of the Lancet. AS for air. Rider Haggard, who
really has, or had once. the making of a per-
fectly magnificent liar, he is now 50 afraid OF be-
ing suspected ot genius that when he does tell
us anything marvellous he feels bound to invent
u personal "reminiscences and to put 1t into
footnote as Kind Of cowardly corroboratiOn.
Henry James writes fiction as II IL were a pain
full duty, and wastes upon mean motives and
imperceptible points OF view" his neat literary
style, his felictous phrase, his swift and caustc
satire hr. Hall Caine, il is true, aims at
the grandiose; but then he writes at
the top OF his voice He is so loud
that one cannot hear what he says Mr..
James Payn Is an adept in the art of conceal
ing what is not worth finding de hunts down
the obvious with the enthusiasm of a short
sighted detective AS one turns over the pages
the suspen of the author becomes almost un-
bearable. The horses OF William Blacks
pheton do rot toward the sun They
merely frighten the sky ut evening into violent
chromo-lithoeraphic effects On seeing them
approach the peasants take refuge in dialect.
Mrs. Oiiphant prattles pleasantly about curates,
lawn tennis parties, domesticity, and other
weariscme things Marion Crawford has immo-
lated himself upon the altar of local color. He
is like the lady in the French comedy, who keeps
talking about "ie beau ciel d'ltal!e" Besides, he
has fallen into bad habit OF uttering moral
piatitudes. lie is always telling us that to be
good is 10 be good, and to De bad is to be wicked
AT times lie is almost edifying.
Mr.. Wilde is distressingly afraid of facts
and reality. Indeed. one would think from
his Indignation that Mr.. Wilde prefers to be
classed among the mighty liars of the earth,
the apostle OF an unhealthy unrealism.
Col. Tom Ochiltree has come back from
London with wonderful story OF the way
William Waldorf Astor is running tine Pail
Mall Gazette ito relieve the suffering and dis
tress among the nobility of England" Says
tuo cotoi4ci-
His managing editor wears a coronet as he
uses the blue pencil His police reporter is a
descendant Of a family which came over with
William the ConqUcror. The society reporter,
when on on his vacation, lives in a baronial
castle in Yorkshire. No such stan is found on
any other paper on the globe. When Mr.. Astor
gets up in the morning and rings for coffee and
toast the duke, managing editor, is waiting
outside the door 10 receive orders for the day. a
tap of the bell summons three earls ard mar
euis. He tried 10 get a countess Tor lady cashier
of the business Office, and was much disap-
pointed at failing To do so, but expects before
the season is over to complete transactions with
a dowager duchess, who will lick postage stamps,
and add dignity TO the downstairs department
of the paper.
The Professional Woman's League in New
YORK has divided on the question of the
authorship of the Shakespeare plays, and the
fair ones have been doing some sharp talking.
One of the ladies declared that everybody
has been wrong. and that there has been no
such fellow as Shakespeare, but one Shags-
per made some pretense of writing plays,
while Lord Bacons pen name was known to
be shakespeare" Even DR.. Owen doesn't
go this far. aud Mrs. Wimble never dreamed
of such thing.
Henry W. Longfellow descended from John
Alden and Priscilla Molines through the fol-
lowing families
J. By the daughter, Elizabeth Alden: married
William Pabode.
2. Priscilla Pabodie; married Rev. Ichabod
Wiswall
3. Mercy Wiswall married Deacon John wads-
worth.
4. Deacon Peleg wadsworth.
5. Gen. Peleg Wadsworth Of revolutionary
6. zilpha wadsworth; married Stephen Long
fellow.
z. Henry W. Longfellow
Mr.. Longfellow descended also from Elder
Brewster and Henry Sampson, OF the May
flower Pilgrims. as the wife of Deacon Peleg
Wadsworth was Susanna Sampson, daughter
of John Sampson and Priscilla Bartlett who
was daughter of benjamin Bartlett the son
Of Benjamin Bartlett and Sarah Brewster.
who was the daughter OF Love Brewster. the
son of Elder William Brewster. Mr.. Long
fellow, says the Boston Transcript. de-
scended from John Alden in another line. as
the mother of the above named Priscilla
Bartlett was Ruth Pabodie. a sister of Pris-
ella Pabodie. the wife of Rev. Ichabod Wis
wall. John Sampson was son of Stephen
who was son of Henry Sampson.
1t was Christie Murray, the popular English
novelist, who first declared that when YOU are
wicked the only place to live in is New York.
The writer is now about to act on his own
principle. for he is coming 10 the metropolis
Of the New York rs Il consequence OF some |
exposures concerning his private life which
reveal him in light alleged to make our |
own Breckinridge seem snow-white lamb. |
The case mas been carefully suppressed, but in |
spite of that he has not succeeded in keeping |
all the facts from his friends. and he finds his |
social position a little weak The story is |
made up of the usual features of deceived |
wife, a mised girl and no end of deiuded |
relatives. who. from deluded. are changed 10 |
Indignant. The beauty o! Mr. Nurray's new |
move is that be is to bring to New York let |
ers of introduction from the literary lights of |
London and Paris. will be enthusiastically !
greeted by several stars of the Authors Club |
IN New York, and from all indications will |
Ind himself Il lion. These preparations have |
,eeI carried so lar that one gifted authoress |
n New York has entered her nrotest but the |
answer TO all this sort OF objection is that such |
hings count in literature. Was not Byron
wicked, and as for Shelley-well.
In the other clubs OF New York all the men |
ire wishing they were celebrated authors.
A certain book which has already had far
more free advertising than was its due is
one of the most remarkable in
tdnces of how popular novel fares ut the
lands of the members OF that excellent insti-
ution, the Brooklyn library. SAYS the Brook
yn Standard Union. Constantly increasing
demands FOR it caused the library authorities
o keep buying more and more copies in a
audable endeavor to meet rs many of their
ubscribers as possible in the matter until
low or rather ut the latest advices, the
lumber has reached thirty Notwithstanding
he fact that there are so many copies OF
be much-sought-after book, it has never
helesS been impossible for over a month
low for a certain subscriber to get one of
hem. for they are all in what is known as per-
etual circulation. That is. as soon as Il copy
5 returned. il is Immediately sent TO the next
ame on the waiting list, and that list is still
D long that the subscriber in question. allow
NJ to each Of those ahead OF her only the
minimum of time for reading and returning
he book, and taking into consideration that
mere are thirty copies to 90 around-it is a
eat little arithmetical calculation-cannot