The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-12-30

Such Is the Life Work Done by Mrs.
r. ID. +. N. Southworth.

f. ID. T.. N. Southworth.
New York Commercial Advertiser
THAT contractor thinks widows are the
most troublesome people in the world, i
suppose. There's another one on the other
side of the work, and am here. We bother
him when he breaks our windows. It's trou-
bleSome TO him"
Mrs. E. ID. E. N. Southworth, the novel
list, opened a conversation this way a few
days ago at her Prospect Cottage" with a
sparkle in her-eyes and a smile at her little
joke.
The Union Station at the end of M street
in Georgetown. where the Great Falls rail-
road will join the Georgetown road, will be
built on the property just east OF Mrs.
southworths historic home. Already the
great grove of trees ir front of 1t is cut
down and the excavation has commenced,
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 1t its name. But there is still
the great stretch of the Potomac south and
the hills beyond. Prospect Cottage" can
never have its oadook taken away while ii
stands, 80. 1922
Mrs southworth has lived in this home
almost since her girlhood, and her seventy
NTH birthday occurs this month. She told
how. soon after she began to write and
when she was still a schoolteacher here in
washington in 1850, she climbed this hill
and looked out over the miles of the Po-
tomac hills, and was so charmed with the
tage, and almost all the time since then she
has lived here.
And shall for the rest of my life now"
she concluded the story.
In these rooms and on my porch walk
ing up and down and leaning on the rail
looking out 1 have composed most of my
finished here And there are seventy-three
OF them, do you know? Almost one for each
year OF my life. But can never catch uI
n M" ! snaIi not write any more books.
Among all the people that have met,
ana they have been very many, and among
all the thousands that have written to me
1 have never found one who has not read
some of my books, and 1 have never heard
or one, have you?
Il commenced in 1916 to write a story
Tor the National Era 1t was my first
novel, Retribution.' / had not intended to
make 1T long, but it continued in number
liked. 1t was the first serial story pub
.ished In this country. 1 worked on 1t after
school, sometimes long into the night.
was very much interested in it myself DR.
Bailey, the editor, asked me for another.
From that time / never had manuscript
refused; and that was the beginning. too
when / commenced to write for Mr.
Bonners Ledger ! never stopped until
stopped writing for ALL Nearly all my
work was for the Ledger you know. He
told me-, and / knew 1t was so, that my
stories increased the circulation of the
paper wonderfully from the beginning
incidents in life that saw. even the mo S
improbable of them. could tell you stories
true ones-that have never dared put in
story, or partly true Capitola was a true
picture. All, L loved my work as / wrote
that. 1t was the saddest time of my life
My son was sick, and nv sister and had
other troubles. but when commenced to
write they all flew away.
=" IshmaeP was partially true. The char
acter IShmael was portrait of a we'll
known man who became famous, and was
at first w9efully poor and forsaken; 1t was
In mind, but many people wrote to me
about 1t.
you know, I have seen a great many
people and visited a great many scenes; /
have Travelled from the very north of Cana
da to Mississippi, and through the West,
and | was three times in Europe. SO that
l had plenty of material.
And yet, after my first novel, and after
every one since, have had the conviction
that was written out. l did not know
where the plot for the story to follow Retri-
button was to come from. But they always
came. never rested. Mr.. Bonner kept me
working. and there was almost not day
Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of
her most intimate friends. Through her she
met great many people in England, also.
among them Lady Byron.
Lady Byron was dear friend to me- She
was so different from the idea l had formed
pleasant and very approachable, and She
was exceedingly kind-hearted and charita-
BILE. too
MIS-. cOutnWOTtn tOiu Oh tllS WISH 10 Eng
land TO secure, II possible, something from
the English sale of her books. But IL could
not be done. Except for the pleasure of her
visit and her friendship with Lady Byron, 1t
was a failure
II remember so we'll how first knew 1
was. being translated. 1t curious
thing. 1 had received n pair of French
slippers from the man who had made them.
a Frenchman here in Washington. As
took off the paper they were wrapped in
read La France Perdu.'
but have since secured copies of Ger
man TRANSACTIONS, made early as 1854
and have then now. All OF my stories have
been translated and republished in Europe.
You see can never know how many read
ers / have had.
"But now / don't have so many people
come to see. me- a great many write.
though, people asking for photographs and
autographs. and girls asking for advice
about becoming writer's. 1 mostly advise
/ them that too many are writing now, and
that IL is hard TO make ii pay. If they wish
to write for pleasure. il is different mat
ter. / spend my time now with the few
people / see and in writing little and In
reading. / read most of the new authors -
And she talked OF kipling and carrie and
Jerome as IL they We're very near friends.
She had read all of Barrie and of Kipling
with intense enjoyment. and is now doing
Jerome.