Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-12-15
A NOTED NOVEL WRITER.
Mrs. e. d. E. N. Southworth and Her
Life's Work.

Lies Work.
THAT contractor thinks widows ar
the most troublesome people in tn,
world, | suppose. There's another
one on the other side of his work, ant
am here. We bother him when he
breaks our windows. It's troublesome
to him.
Mrs. f. D. Z. N. Southworth, the
novelist, opened a conversation this
way few days ago at her Prospect
Cottage with a sparkle in her eye:
and smile at her little joke.
The Union Station at the end of NJ
street, in Georgetown, where the
Great Falls railroad will join the
Georgetown road will be built on the
property just east of Mrs. South
worth's historic home. Already the
great grove of trees in front of it is
cut down and the excavation has COM
menced, which will leave it sixty feet
"above ground The dynamite
blasts shake it to its foundation. In
a little while the bare brick walls OF
the station will cut off most of the
fine view in this direction, which has
partly given it its name. But there
is still the great stretch ofthe Potomac
south and the hills beyond. "Pros-
pect Cottage" can never have its out
look here taken away while it stands.
Mrs. Southworth has lived in this
home almost since her girlhood and
her seventy fifth birthday occurs this
month. She told how, soon after she
began to write and when she was still
a school teacher here in Washington
in 1850, she climbed this hill and
looked out over the miles of the Poto-
mac and at the blue of the distant
Virginia hills, and was so charmed
with the scene that she Immediately
secured the cottage, aud almost all
the time since then she has lived here.
And l shall for the rest of my life
now" she concluded the story.
In these rooms and on my porch
walking up and down, leaning on the
rail looking out have composed most
OF my books. The larger portion
were begun and finished here. And
there are seventy-three of them. do
you know? Almost one for each
year OF my life But l can never
catch up now. I shall not write any
more books. Haven't done enough ?"
Mrs. Southworth told something of
the story of all this work of hers that
more than one writer younger than
she has acknowledged to have had a
great influence on American character,
that is still having its influence, and
that in it all never had one line intend
ed to do harm.
Among all the people that l have
met, and they have been very many,
and among all the thousands that
have written to me, | have never found
one who has not read some of my
books, and | have never heard of one
have you?
Il commenced in 1916 to write
story for the National Era 1t was
my first novel "Retribution. l
bad not intended to make it long, but
it continued in number after number
and they told me it was liked, 1t was
the first serial story published in this
country. worked on it after school,
sometimes long into the night. l
was very much interested in it my
self DIR. Bailey, the editor, asked
ME for another From that time l
never had a manuscript refused; and
that was the beginning, too.
When | commenced to write for Mr.
Bonner's Ledger l never stopped un-
til stopped writing for all. Nearly
all my work was for the Ledger, you
know. He told me, and | knew it
was so, that my stories increased the
circulation of the paper wonderfully
from the beginning.
Every one of my books was based
on incidents in life that l saw, even
the most improbable of them. I could
tell you stories, true ones that l have
never dared put in my books. The
Hidden Hand was a true story, or
partially true 'Capitola' was true
picture. All, | loved my work as l
wrote that 1t was the saddest time
of my life My son was sick and my
sister and l had other troubles, but
when | commenced to write they all
flew away.
'Ishmael was partly true. The
character Ishmael was portrait of a
we'll known man who became famous,
and was at first woefully poor and for
saken. 1t was recognized, too. l
never told whom had in mind, but
many people wrote to me about it.
"You know l have seen a great
many people and visited great many
scenes. l have travelled from the very
north of Canada to Mississippi, and
through the West, and l was three
years in Europe, so that l have had
plenty of material.
And yet, after my first novel, and
after every one since, l have had the
conviction that | was written out. l
did not know where the plot for the
story to follow 'Retribution' was to
come from. But they always came.
never rested. Mr. Bonner kept HE
working, and there was almost not a
day that l did not write"
This wonderful woman told of her
many friendships with distinguished
people, and of the commentators and
encouragernents that she received
from almost every one They nuiu.