The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-03
LITERARY SURPRISE
4 COMING VOLUME THAT WILL BE
WELCOMED ny YOUNG AND OLD.
unioue and Beautiful Book by Frances
Burnett, James Whitcomb
Riley and Eugene Field.

appreciative reading public in a beautiluiiy
illustrated juvenile work. the product OF
the Joint authorship of Frances Hodgson
Burnett. James Whitcomb Riley and Eu-
gene Field, which Is soon to be brought Out
by a Chicago publisher. With ali the Sc
crecy Of three children plotting an interest
Ing coup on an unsuspecting housenoid' TINS
trio OF famous writer's put their neans 10
gether last autumn with a view TO prouuc-
Ing a wholesome and delightful DOCK lot
the multitude of little ones in the land. 90
well have they guarded their secret tnat ah
knowledge of it has been confined to less
than a half dozen persons besides the three
authors and their publisher. Publicity was
avoided partly because the venture, involv-
ing collaboration, as it did, was something
of an experiment, and IL was thought wise
to be sure that the result hoped TOT mad
been secured before any announcement Oh
the plan was made.
The work. IL is learned, Is now completed
to the satisfaction OF the three auenois'
and on obtained from James
Whitcomb Riley a dispatch was sent out
from this city a. few days ago makIns .
bare announcement Of the forthcoming pun
lication. 1t failed, however, to give detaiis'
and was an insufficient and unsausIaceory
chronicle of a literary event SO important
and one which. by reason OF us ihVoi'
collaboration of three such weii-Knowh au-
thors, is unprecedented IN TINS county,
IT have felt a very deep interest In TINS
work" said James Whitcomb Riley, wnen
QUESTIONED concerning it, land l know tnae
Mrs. Burnett and MI. Field lave lone the
Same. You must excuse me from saying
much of my part of the undertaking, put
I believe the idea to be an excellent one,
and I confess 1 shall be both surprised anu
disappointed IL the result DE not received
with favor"
THE authors lave felt a peculiar pleasure
in the very secrecy in which they nave peen
preparing this surprise for the young 1oiks'
and this fact is strongly signiflcant OF the
peculiar sympathy which they feel LOT the
child heart and their wonderful ability to
appreciate and please 1t. Inat a. 'nrve
are masters Of the art of writing TOT emil
dren was long since recognized by critics.
That this mastery comes from their own
susceptibility and tender kinship IN KNOW
ing and interpreting the feelings OF cnlidren
Is something probably not generally unoer-
stood except by those who have personal
knowledge Of the daily life OF each.
In the proem Of this novel work Mr.. Riley
has described the child heart in a way
which indicates the common inspiration
which we may believe has actuated all
three writer's in preparing the forthcoming
publication. 1t contains all the tender ap-
pealing of a classic, and Is a song from the
poets heart, as sincere and worthy as any
ever sung by Shelley or the unfortunate
Keats. An excerpt will illustrate this;
THE CHILD-HEART.
ssThe Child-heart is so strange a little
So miid-so timorously shy and small
When grown-up hearts throb. 1t goes scam
l- DeIluk
Behind the wall, nor dare peer out at
1t is the veriest mouse
That hides in any house
So wild a little thing Is any Child-heart!
r. "Child-heart!-mild heart!-
Ho. my little wild heart.-
Come up here to me out O the dark
Or let me come to you!
may. little Child-heart. you have never
To fear us;-we are weaker far than you
Wis we who should be fearful-we, indeed,
Should hide us, too. as darkly as you d.
Safe, as yourself, withdrawn,
Hearing the World roar on,
Too awful, awful, awful for the Child
hearth
Indeed, the pathetic note Of this poem is
the cue followed by the joint authors
throughout the production. The bare an
nouncement Of the coming publication Is
sufficient to arouse general interest, ands
by way of satisfying curiosity, 1t may be
said that the work was apportioned among
the three authors in accordance with the
distinctive genius of each. To Mrs. Bur-
nett was assigned, perhaps, the most diff
cult part-that of writing the prose story.
When a copy of her story reached Mr..
Riley and he had read only three or four
chapters, he exclaimed:
>..Surely, she was inspired in writing this
The story has twenty chapters. none of
them long. The characters are few-Meg
and Robin, tw~elve-year-old twins, being the
principal ones-and the incidents are so con-
tinuous and Intensely interesting and SO
charmingiy told that the veriest child, with
its strange little heart throbs, cannot fail
to follow with delight when the story is
read to it by older and wiser folk. The
writer of this article has been permitted to
read the copy of Mrs. Burnett's manuscript
in Mr.. Riley's possession, and unhesitat-
ingly pronollnces the story one of most
wonderful feeling and insight into the child
nature. SURPRISING In interest both for
young and old even Mrs. Burnett's beauti-
full and widely popular Little Lord Faunt-
leroy Each chapter has what may be
termed a poetical Introduction based on or
foreshadowing the subject matter of the
chapter it introduces. These are contrib.
uted alternately by Mr.. Riley ana Mr..
Field. the former having written a series
OIL poems winch surely VIII be regarded as
marvels of tenderness and truthfulness to
tho beautiful traits of child life, and the
latter a most charming collection of verses,
some as full of pathos as his Little Boy
Blue" and others replete with a humor and
fun which will delight the young peoples
In the first chapter of the story Mrs. Bur
nett has the twins-Meg and Robin-dis-
cover and appropriate to themselves as a
secret rendezvous a coy nook high up on
a stack Of wheat straw in a great barn.
The twins are orphans. and, at the time
the story opens, are living with a coarse
grained aunt on an Illinois farm, and this
nook on the strawstack they chrlsten the
STRAW Parlor." Mr.. Field has taken that
for the subject of some exceedingly clever
verses introducing the first chapter. Three
Of the seven stanzas are these:
THE STRAW-PARLOR.
Way up at the top of a big stack Of straw
Was the cunningest parIor that ever you
saw
And there could you HE, when a-weary of
play,
And gossip or laze in the coolest way:
No matter how careworn or sorry ones
mood
No worldly distraction came there to in
uude!
AS a refuge from onerous mundane ado
/ think / approve of Straw-parlors-don't