The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-08

impressive and masterful a way tbs
last word ON Queen Victoria's diamond
jubilee. The story of how this poem
came to bespublished is rather a pretty
one andshas not yet been publicly told
A young American woman, whose name
] am not at liberty to disclose, was Wis,
iting Mr.. Kipling and enjoying the high
privilege of having him read her some
of the things that he had still by him.
undecided as yet when or whether to
release them to the printer. Among
them was "Recessional," which Mr.
Kipling himself seemed to regard with
perhaps, less esteem than any of the
others. His guest was particularly inn
pressed by il, was indeed most en-
thusiaStic over it, recognized its great
ness Enthusiastically, and urged its inn
mediate publication with all her power.
Kipling yielded his scruples and mailed
the poem to the London Times, and it
promptly appeared, in the compli-
mentary way of which we know-that
is, cOnjoined with the queens formal
letter of thanks to her subjects for the
splendid testimony of affection they
had just paid her, and highly COM
mended along with the letter in a
Times leader.
Mr.. Kiplings poems, by the way,
dences. The poem he published in the
current number of McClure's Magazine
on torpedOes and torpedo boats sup
plies one. L am not in the secrets of
McClure's, and so cannot say how
long the editors had had that peculiarly
opposite poem by them when they
published it. But from what 1 know
of such matters in general l should
say that it was morally sure that the
poem was written not a few months
ago. the instance 1 have just reeited
shows how slow Mr.. Kipling is to part
with his productions. But however far
back the poem may have been written,
such was the poets prescience that he
inserted in it the lines:
l am told that when the poem came
up in proof from the printer. the print
er's proof reader had raised a query on
the margin of the proof whether main"
in the second line should not be spelled
with capital M and a final Sc" I'M
agine the feelings of an up-to-date edi-
tor when TO such a question he had to
answer, self-denyingly, mol"
About ten years ago there appeared
in Scribner's Magazine a short story,
native enough in its characters and
atmosphere. but rather French in its
theme and sentiment and its dramatic
cleverness. and signed with the name
of Margaret Sutton Briscoe. The name
had never before appeared, l believe,
in any of the more important maya
zines, but it has appeared not infre-
quently since; as the capable woman
who bears it illustrates very interest
ingly in her career the success that
may be expected to attend a patient,
unresiSting pursuit of an earnest, we'll
defined purpose. At the same time she
submitted her early stories at Serib=
ner's she WIS a young girl living in
Baltimore. She had had fair education.
good family training and some social
experience. But she had had no spec
ial guidance in her writing. and she
enjoyed no literary pull" Her native
If stinct for her chosen craft soon dis
closed to her, however, that if her
were to be availa bic they must
be interesting; and so, even her early
stories had rarely the fault of so many
early, stories, that they related nothing,
that they got nowhere. And then she
discovered that, for her, at least, it was
important to have the seat of produc-
ton somewhere near the center of the
market: that to sit in some secluded
dale, remote from the general literary
tide. and with no knowledge of its par
ticular curves and eddies. was likely tc
mean a long and perhaps everlastir-
OF arrows into the mere 4
So she came on to New York, and for
several years practically made her
home here. Then she was married TO
Professor Arthur Hopkins of Amherst
college, and removed to Amherst,
Mass, where she is now the capable
director of a house, a devoted wife and
mother, something of a social leader,
and yet purSues her literary labors !
a given number of hours |
every day, and is showing a constant |
in the quality of her |
work. The book of short stories which /
she has Just brought out, "Jimty and |
Others" is her third, and its excel /
ence over the earlier ones is obvious; |
and, what is more. it gives clear prom I
sc of books to come that shall be still /
better.
1 must say that I find in Mrs. Hopkins |
an attractive and inspiring instance. In !,
writing the other day of Mr.. Morgan (
1 found it prudent to warn
he literary aspirant against a possibly
ialse inference that might be suggested
by the story of his career. 1 am not
sure that a similar warning is not call
I'd for in the case of Mrs. Hopkins. I'm
loubtedly she was forwarded some
What, on coming to New York, by her
social gifts; very likely it was, in part,
he unconscious potency of these in her
bat prompted her to come. If she had
lad the Wordsworthian shyness of ma
IRE, she might have found the Words
VCrthian power of recusive produc-
ion. But be that as it may, she came;
md she conquered. in some measure,
She did not sit all her days in
literary attic. and send her submits
ions by post with a stamped envelope
or return. On the contrary she soon
.ttained-and ] don't know but I may
ay she made it her business to attain
to the height so wondered at and en-
-;,,z l,r~4 h. 3 H..
ces, the height. namely, of knowing
II the editors" But, thanks to her spe-
ial social endowment, she did not know
he editors to their personal discom-
crt; she showed herself to them a per-
On whom, whatever you might think
f her writings, it was a pleasure to
now, and, thanks to her literary sense,
he did not allow her acquaintance with
he editors to produce the work that !
cod editors would want. In other
'ords, all her acquaintance did for her !
q the end was to secure for her a
rompter reading Of her manuscripts.
ometimes, and TO give her some useful :
ints. and ideas as to the form and di- I
ection of her work. But the work it.
elf was still practically the sole re- !
ance; she must still write her stories:
ri they must still be stories that the {
ublic would care to read. And from
&c same necessity no literary aspirant /
eed hope ever to get relief. either by {
moving the editors or by having I
riends- who know them, or by any de- {
ice Whatsoever The writing the edi-
1rs want, they are glad to get, no
latter from what pen it comes; the
-riting they do not want. they, as
1le. viii not have. no matter with
hat graces of embassage it be prof '
red to them. T
What l may call the man who was
here is in particular literary request
JNs Men who have followed a COM