The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1894-08-31
ANTICIPATING FAME.
eEsANT S PATHETIC STORY or "pAUL
THE wANpeREa."

TIE WANOG1Eto.
The Quiet Dignity Of = BInn who was Liv
inE For Posterlty--A Pretty IAttIs Ski
Written In the EnEllaa Noveilsfs Hnimi
table style.
knew him for several years before
his death. When first made his 40.
qnaintance, he was already an old man.
He was also, as was evident from the
first, very poor man He went about
shabbily dressed He carried biscuits
In his pocket to the reading room on
which ho lunched or took slacks at in.
tervals during the day. Perhaps he had
dinner afterward, but / always suspect
ed his dinner to be an uncertain and a
movable feast IL was understood that
he was something in the literary way,
got TO know him by sitting next to
him day after day. Wo exchanged tho
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 tho
room in order to fiirt and SO forth.
When / got to know him better, /
made littlo discoveries about him, as,
for instance, that no liked n glass Of
beer in the middle of tho day and that
he could not afford the twopence. Imay
say, not boastfully, that l was able to
offer him this little luxury. We used
to go out together for tho purpose. He
was good enough to take an interest in
able knowledge Of books and gave me
considerable help in this way.
Ono Sunday met him in tho street
We stopped 70 speak. He lamented tho
closing Of the museum on Sunday. For
his own part, he said, no would have
the reading room open every day in the
week Why close tho avenues of knowl-
edge? Why damn tho fountains and
springs Of wisdom? So We walked aud
talked. Ho was perfectly digDifled in
his manner, though his great coat was
so thin aud shabby that ono might bo
ashamed to be seen with HIM He stop
ped presently at the door Of a house in
High street, Holborn,
81 lodge here, he said. "Will you
como up stairs and ses my hermitageg"
remember that no called it grandly
his hermitage. He led the way; tho
stairs were dark and dirty; ho took me
to the fifth, or fifty-flfth, floor. He liy.
ed in the back attic.
"This, he said, sis the cell of the
recluse | live here quite retired. There
arc other dodgers, believe, but ! do
not know them l live here with my
library in simplicity The air is whole
some at this height.
He threw open the window and sniff
ed tho fragrance Of tho neighboring
chimneys. Tho room was clean; tho
furniture was scanty; there was no fire
in the CRATE; on shelf were about e5
books--his library The man looked per-
fectly contented with his hermitage,
There were no papers on the table,
nothing to show that ho was q writer.
/ do 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 and
nodded aud laughed.
"Ahai" no said, ''now am going to
reveal O secret You didn't know, mo-
body al the museum knows, the people |
In the house don't know, that l am
what do you thinkf--a poet. Il Is 30 |
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 safe |
TO present you with
copy There, my young fTiendp' He pro.
duced thin volume. II am Paul tho |
Wanderer. In fact, the title page bore
the legend, COLLECTED Poetical Work
Of Paul the Wandereri =
Thirty years, F" be repeated. There
were.b00 copies. The press received SO,
the public bought four there remained
440. have now given you one. There
now remain 445. ! have bequeathed
these to tho public libraries Of the ma
tion. Sir, you are young. You will
yourself perhaps publish your poems,
Remember for your comfort that 1t
takes 80 years, or two generations,
for the noblest poets to take their
proper place Greatness-truo, stable,
solid greatness, not the empty applause
given to an ephemeral favorite--re-
Juires 80 years at least. Go, sirl Take
the book have given you, and IN after
years, when ! am gone, tell the world
hat you knew--Paul the Wandererl"
wrung his hand Ia silence and left
lin More than 80 years have passed
since no published that work. No ono
las yet spoken 10 me of Paul the Wan
ierer. But now understood bis digni-
y, his self respect and his content He
vas anticipating and enjoying his fu-
uTe fame. He was living for posterity,
Present poverty and neglect were moth
ng.-Walter Besant Ia London Queen,