Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1895-12-26
HARDY, NOVELIST.
SHORT SKETCH OFASUCcEssFUL MAN
OF LITERATURE.

How He Abandoned Architecture For story
writing-The Greenwood Incident shows
That There Is Sometimes Something In
a Name.
Much has been said and written about
Thomas Hardys work, but very little
indeed j. generally known Of the man
himself An obvious reason ii the nov
elist' dislike Of personalities, his shrink
ing from public curiosity, and the sim
pie, serene-almost medi@val-tone Of
nature that dominates him.
a. young man be proposed to fol-
low architecture NY a profession and
studied with diligence. He went into
the office Of the wei known architect,
Sir Arthur Bloomfield, a. R. A., in
London. While equipping himself for
his future career, lie used biz spare mo-
ments in writing novel that he called
Desperate Remedies III This book, aft
er several refusals, 1t last found a pub
Usher, but it did Hardy no more good
than harm. Meantime, following his
architectural work, he carried out his
first commissioD-naturally a modest
one, a. young architects are Dot usually
intrusted with cathedrals Although Bis
maiden effort il letters had met with
comparative failure, his zeal was un-
abated, for be Immediately wrote 50 IN
der the Greenwood Tree. =
AT the time this book appeared Fred
erick Greenwood, now the distinguish
ed student Of European policies, edited
The Cornhill Magazine It il habit
with Mr. Greenwood occasionally to
"prowl' about old bookstalls Looking
over a basketfuI Of cheap books all
thrown together, be chanced to light
upon "Under the Greenwood Tree. M
For the sake Of its name he picked it
up, paying a few pence for it. The able
editor saw at a glance that there was
genius in that neglected and discarded
work, and, finding out Hardy, then in
his thirty-frst year, he commissioned
him to write novel for The Cornhill.
1t was then that Hardy, forced by cir
eumstances as well as impelled by his
love for letters, abandoned architecture,
and, throwing himself into his work
with perfect singleness Of purpose, wrote
Far From the Madding Crowd, U
book that now stands with few others
among the lasting literature achieve
ments Of this century.
Though he is neither listless nor lam
gnid, Hardy's appearance j. that Of a
man who has lately recovered from al
illness. His cheeks are slightly sunken
and his skin j. sallow, speaking Of sed-
entary labors, the midnight lamp and
Of constitution that could not support
the sustained strain of an arduous task.
Yet his eyes tell another tale and pos
sess that phosphorescent Light that indi-
Gates energy. The solution Of these con
Trajectory marks must be that he j.
mentally as robust as he is physically
delicate, or it may be that the strong
mind has sometimes to struggle against
the dropping Of the body.
Hardy il neither tall nor commanding
in stature His manner il free from
nervousness, showiness or excessive
movement; indeed, tranquil, thought
full spirit is characteristic Of him, and
there is nothing in his presence that is
strong enough to intimate the quality
Of his mind. The most that can be said
is that his face IL exceedingly keen and
clever. His bronzed hair, now tinged
with gray and brushed back, is becom-
ing thin His slender mustache adds
point to his finely modelled features. al
though spare in type. his shoulders are
broad and give him tile appearance Ut
being larger than he is when he is seen
sitting down.
As is the case with many English
writers, Hardy lives il the country and
goes to London once every year f0r q
few weeks to brush away the cobwebs
by contact with men who keep tile rust
from their steel and the tarnish from
their silver. Hardy quiet home is not
far away from the pretty little town Of
Dorchester, in Dorsetshire, his native
county.
This home j. entirely the work Of bis
own hands. Every room. window and
hall; every alcove. cupboard and door
way is designed to suit his own and his
wifes fancy. The house stands on a
small piece Of land and is surrounded
by a few acres Of garden and lawn The
manner in which the land came into
his possession is interesting.
The particular piece of ground be
wanted was part of a large tract belong
ing TO a land company Of which the
Prince Of Wales was president Though
the prince aid not know Hardy person
ally, he greatly admired biz work. Oil
4 one occasion the directors Of the land
company met, the prince presiding. and
when the report was read Mr.. Hardy 5
\ application for a few acres Of the com
I pany's land was alluded To, but merely
I incidentally, with The remark that IL
would, Of course, have to be declined.
4 The prince said: What Hardy is I'll
Not the author?'' Eyes; Thomas Har-
4 dy. was the reply. "Then why not
let him have the few acres?M said The
u prince. "He would not have asked had
be not set his heart Oh the spot. Yes
let him have them. - Cor. Boston
I Transcript.