Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-12
DEsERET EVENING NEWS SATURDAY. FEBRUARY 1a 1885,

lege magazine. Some of the most in
teresting of his early attempts were
made ut his home In Virginia during
his vacations. For a time 1t was his
custom to write stories for his friends
ON states and to rub them out after
reading them. AS he told me this,
said
",rhat must have been great waste
of good material. The stories you then
rubbed out would be very valuable
now"
II don't know about that" replied
Mr.. Page, with n laugh, Thee are
many things which / have written
since then and published which | wish
could now be on the slate SO that
could rub them out"
when did you do your first work in
dialect writing2'
II suppose some of 1t was zone In
those slate Stories" replied Mr.. Page
I tried to write in dialect while ! was
at the University of Virginia and later
on, after | began my practice of law
in Richmond. IT was when / was
practicing there that I wrote n poem
entitled 'Unc Gabe's White Folks and
sent IT to the old Scribner which is
now the Century. 1t was accepted and
| received check for SIS for IT, 1t was
my first money for literary work. and
/ remember that ] was very proud OF
the check. Later on wrote an article
then sent them my first story, which
was entitled 'Marse Chan"
THE ORIGIN OF "MARsE CHAN"
rs there any story connected with
the writing OF 'Marse Chan, Mr..
Page?" l asked.
Yes; the story started in my mind
from an old letter which friend of
mine showed me. This letter was from
an llliteratc girl in Georgia to her SOL
der sweetheart. The letter was poorly
written and poorly spelled, hut full of
pathos. The girl had. 1t seemed. trihed
with the man, but after he had left
for the war she had realized her great
love for him and written. She wrote.
i know l have treated you mean.
amt never done right with you all my
life and loved you all the time. when
you asked me to marry you, / laughed
and said | wouldn't have you, and II
makes M cry to think you are gone
away to the war. Now i want you to
know love you, and | want you to git
n furlow and come home and I'll marry
YOU With few words of affection
the letter closed, but postscript be-
low was added: Don't come without
a furlow. for unless You come home
honorable / won't marry you This
letter was received by the soldier only
few days before the battle of Seven
Pines, and after he was shot 1t was
found in his breast pocket Just over his
heart The pathos of 1t struck me so
forcibly that out of 1t came the story.
'Marse Cham"
When did you write Meh Lady,"
asked.
Not for some time after 'Marse
Chan was written" he replied. "The
law, you know, is n very jealous mis-
tress, and all Of my energy was going
IN my practice. Such writing as / did
In Richmond was done during the
evening, and for a time | stopped writ
Ing entirely. for fear the work would
interfere with my success at the bar.
The story 'Marse Chan was kept for
several years by Scribner's before it
was published. 1t had been paid for
and ] wrote the editor asking why they
did not publish 1t. Shortly after that
] received the proof, and the story APP
peared. l was married in 1885. and
'Meh Lady was written q short time
after that. / then wrote other stories
and have been writing more or less from
that time to this"
LAW AND LECTURE.
you We're speaking of law. Mr.. Page.
Were you very much of lawyer"
THAT is a leading question" said
the story writer. with a smile. 81
think you ought to ask that of some of
my co-practitioners in Richmond rath-
err than me. ] will only say that was
able to support myself within six
months after l began my practice and
that for eighteen years, and, indeed