Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1895-10-16
HIS CAREER ~ THE SOUTHERN
PART or AFRICA.
AZ FIRST Iiis Books Were Failures
In the Literary world OF
London.

the author of those once popular
romances, " King Solomon s
Mines and the weird "She."
Mr.. Haggdrd stood for election in
East Norfolk and his canvass was
attended with various lively and
exciting incidents which perhaps
may serve him as the warp if not
the wool for some future romance
of real life, since they failed to
served his political purposes. he
save his head from being broken
by some of his belligerent oppo-
nents in the canvass only to have
it badly fractured in a political
sense when they got at him at
the polls.
If this sudden and calamitous
ending to his political aspirations
has the result of turning Mr..
Haggard's energies into a literary
channel again the reading public
may gain more by his defeat than
the House of Commons lost. Mr..
Haggard has not been much in
evidence lately in literary sense,
but the qualities manifested in
the production of such remarkable
stories as king Solomon's
Mines and Jess surely justify
the belief that we have not heard
the last of this versatile and pow
erful writer. Mr.. Haggard is still
Il young man, only 80 last March,
and is therefore good for many
more years of work, as life usual
ly goes. 1t is worth noting in
this connection that Mr.. Hag-
CARDS first book Was of political
character. 1t related to events
in South Africa and appeared in
1882. 1t had no better success
than the writer himself has had
in politics recently.
Two years later he publish
ed Dawn" and a year later
THE Witch's Head" both
stories of adventure. They caused
not much comment. Dawn"
was rather crude, but The
Witch's Head" indicated that the
power to write stirring story
for boys lay in the author. In
the autumn of 1885 this power
was revealed when King Selo-
mons Mines" was published,
book that was highly praised by
the critics and Immediately ac-
quired wide popularity. The
presence of new force in fiction
was recognized, force that
brought freshness Of method and
great vigor and vitality of treat
ment to the development of an
old idea-the hazardous search
for hidden treasure, which now
nothing less than the diamoas
mines from which King Solomnd
was supposed to have got his
jewels. Such u story of daring
adventure, however, in which the
interest was not only maintained
but was increased from the begin
ming to the end, was well-nigh
unique, though it by no means
represented the highest form of
romance.
Writing of this story, which
made him famous, Mr.. Haggard
says: King Solomon's Mines"
was written as an experiment IN
boys books. 1t would be impos.
sibIe for me to define where facts
end and fiction begins in the work,
as the two are very much mixed
up together. l may add that its
success was quite unexpected by
me, az the work, undertaken at
haphazard, was carried out at odd
hours. for the most part after a
long day at chambers.
Mr.. Haggard's information re-
garding South African scenes and
native character was gathered at
first hand. For when only 10 Mr..
haggard accompanied Sir Henry
Bulwer to Natal, and during the
two succeeding years he served
on the staff of Sir Theophilus
Shepstone, the special commits
sioner to the Transvaal. He
withdrew from the colonial service
in 1879 and returning to London
and marrying the only daughter
of the late Major Marg;tson of
buckingham House. Norfolk he.