Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-24

story than long one. In writing short
story you have to make every word tell.
You must be very concise, and l think that
conciseness is the great secret of success
In good writing. / like short stories better
than long Ones though would rather turn
out one long story than two short ones.
L don't ind, however, that / am a success
as bookmaker. My stories have been put
into book shape in number of cases, and
they usually sell somewhere from 1000 to
5000 copies. They don't run much above
this"
The Dialect story.
What do you think of the dialect story?"
1T seems to me that the people do not
care so much for it as they did in the past.
My stories are in dialect, for this is needed
In order to describe the people of whom
write. We people of the south are fond of
our dialect, and a party of well-educated
Georgia men, when talking socially togeth-
err will often drop into the dialect of their
boyhood. During the days when Alexander
Stephens was in Congress, a number of
well-known Georgians often dined with him
at the National Hotel. / was sometimes
present with them, and any one to have
heard our conversation would have put us
down as ignorant and uncultured. There Is
charm about the old dialect that appeals
TO those who used it, and 1t seems to me it
brings my people closer to me. 1 sometimes
use it in my family. though my wife and
daughter generally object"
How Alexander II. stephens Wrote
Letters.
The conversation here turned to Alexan-
der Stephens. Richard Malcolm Johnston
was one of Alexander Stephens closest
friends. The two men were closely asso-
| ciated together during a great part of their
lives, and one of the best Of our American
biographies is Mr.. Johnstons life of Alex
ander H Stephens. During the talk he told
| H. L.
this life Said he: Alexander Stephens and
myself corresponded together for years, and
we got into habit of writing letters to one
another under assumed names. This began
in 1862. 1 had written bit Of doggerel
poetry and l sent it to Mr. Stephens with a
letter signed 'Jeems Giles In this 1 pre-
tended that l wanted to be a poet, and
asked Mr.. Stephens advice as to how 1
should Improve my style and dispose Of my
poem. Mr.. Stephens recognized the hand
writing, and few days later 1 received a
letter which was signed Peter FinEle
Under this signature Mr.. Stephens wrote an
answer to my letter. Finkle pretended that
ne was sort of a private secretary of Mr..
stephens, and he wrote his masters ideas
on the subject of my poetry. 1t was. of
course. MIR. Stephens himself For some
time we carried on this sort of a correspond
ence, my letters always being signed Jeems
Giles and Alexander H. Stephens being
signed Peter Finkle. Shortly after the cor
respondence began / asked Peter Finkle to
give me some stories about his master
whom he called the Boss and in reply to
this Alexander Stephens told me in these
letters a large part of the story of his lie
He described his school days. and wrote
much more freely than he could have writ
ten had be been writing concerning himself
IN the hrst person. He was one of the most
charming writers, and he kept during a.
part of his early life sort of a diary or
journal l was visiting him at one time at
MS home In Georgia 1 had asked him many
hntt ~,
fore we went to bed one night he asked me
10 come TO his room. did SO, and he then
showed me a dusty old manuscript which
was marked 'Noli me tangere.' This was
his diary. He said he had not looked at if
for years, and that he often intended 10
destroy 1t. He read several pages of il to
me, and finally consented that | might read
the whole of it, This was before the war,
DEATH
How stephens Looked.
Please tell me how he looked?' said 1
he was a little bundle of skin and
bones He never weighed more than a
hundred pounds, and during his youth he
weighed less than seventy. In his diary
remember he rejoces at having increased
his weight to ninety-four pounds He was
at this time twenty-one, and he states that
when he left college at nineteen his net
weight was only seventy pounds During
his whole life 1 venture he did not have n
moment which was free from pain. He
was always cold, notwithstanding the fact
that he wore two suits of silk underclothes
winter and summer. He generally wore
gloves In the house and out, and he mad
the most delicate stomach of any man
nave ever known. He was melancholy in
MS temperament, and was full of fears
and anXieties about himself and his friends
he was the most tender-hearted man 1
have ever known, and he had the greatest
sympathy for his friends and everything
about him. He was sick for a week when
his favorite dog died, and he lavishei more
lcVe or his dogs than many men do
on their families. He was man of MANY
friends. and he made his friends troubles
his own.
His Character,
WAS he a good judge of men, Mr.. john
ston?" l asked
Not as individuals" replied Mr.. John
ston. He had broad ideas of mankind
In the aggregate and his foresight as to
pubic questions was wonderfully accurate
But the poorest, meanest, shabbiest negro
could impose upon him, and he was de-
ceived again and again by beggars and
frauds. He was the soul of generosity
He made, / venture, as much as $500 900
during his lifetime, but he died poor He
spent his money fast as he made it and
he didn't seem to appreciate its value
His law practice was large during q great
part of his life, and he received a great
deal Of money from his books. His Con-
stitutional View of the War must have
sold about 10000 copies. 1t was published
. Il! t~o NOiuI.ISs. IIl- I,ys.!.s &C.. -
a volume, and his receipts from il amount
ed to $4,000 He kept open house at Lib
erty Hall, his place in Georgia, and every
train brought him guests, some of whom
he had never met before. He was fond of
society and was a most charming talzer"
From Alexander STEPHENS the conyerSa-
ton drifted to Gen. Bob Toombs whom
Mr.. Johnston called the greatest intellect
uality he had ever known and from him
to other great men of the south He said
that he thought the giants of the south
were not as well known as those of the
north. 1t was only during recent years tina.
the south had contained many literary men,
The southerners of the past Were more Liz e
the Romans, in that they were men of
action and not writers. The northerners
Mr.. Johnston compared to the Greeks, who
were poets and scholars. as well as soldiers
He said that he thought the war mad
changed the south in this respect and thar
the present of literary activity and of
literary production in the south was largely
due to this change. Throughout tho whole
conversation MIR. Johnston exhibited the
WarmeSt of sentiments in regard to the
north, and his friendships are by no means
bounded by Mason and DiXon's line.
FRANK G.. CARPENTER
The Cries of Children.
From the Popular Health Magazine
An observer thus differentiates the cries