The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-08-19
From the New York Press.

lCle correspondent, DelleNeS III TWO
things, sensation and success, and in
himself he combines the two. He is
not a Trinitarian.
He was a Unitarian once, however,
That was almost twenty years ago,
when he was studying for the min
istry in the divinity school at Harvard.
He was graduated at the head Of his
class and read n prize poem and a
prize essay at the exercises. The es-
say was on German philosophy. The
Atlantic Monthly thought well enough
OF it to publish II. Folk who read the
essay, and who had followed Norman
through his six years at Harvard and
had seen him win honors easily and
receive the degrees of bachelor of arts
and bachelor of divinity, predicted a
brilliant future for the young theo-
logue, and they We're half right. He
has achieved distinction. but the direc-
tion in which his energies turned was
not the expected one.
Mr.. Norman was born in England
of English parents. They had hobby
in regard to him of n sort unusual with
English folk. They wished him to
know that other countries had their
good points; that other countries might
| in some ways he as worthy of respect
as England.
HE TOOK TO HERESY.
This was extraordinary heresy, but
| the lad took kindly to it, and has al
| ways had small regard for prejudices,
insular or otherwise.
After studying in one of the best
! English public schools he went to
| France, and later to Germany. In
| deed, his vacations had been spent
| usually on the continent, so that he
was cosmopolte by the time he was
| ready for college. with comfortable
| reading and speaking knowledge of
| French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
To follow out his parents scheme of
| educating him broadly, young Norman
| was sent over the Atlantic and en-
| tered in Harvard college for the de-
| gree of bachelor of arts. He won n
reputation for himself in ancient and
modern languages, bellies lettres art
and music, but not to any great ex-
tent in science, except as applied to
handling foils and boxing gloves. He
made warm friends for himself of
Longfelow, Lowell, Holmes, Higgin-
son, Howells, and pretty nearly all
the members of the wonderful grouI
that gave some justification to Bos.
toms being called the Hub.
1t was at the time of the famous
Greek play which attracted so much
attention both at home and abroad
Henry Norman played the principal
female part in this the chief male part
being done by Mr.. Riddle, the Greek
tutor. After the regular four years
course and his degree of B. A., Mr.. Nor.
man went over to that most delightful
of all relics of old Harvard, Divinity
hall, and spent two years under the
most beloved of all professors, whom
even chilsome Cambridge felt affec.
tion for, the venerable DIR. Peabody.
CIRCUMSTANCES MADE CHANGES
He did not mistrust then that h,
would ever follow a calling other thar
that of clergyman, although he expect
ed to write as we'll as to preach. n,
did not voluntarily break away from
the work he had studied earnestly 81,
years to prepare himself for. Circum
stances managed the matter for him
and these were not commonplace eth
er Niagara Falls was one of thes
circumstances: another was the gen
erous patriotism of several Boston mil
lionaires; the young graduates abilit,
to write was another and the suddel
I death of his father was fourth
Niagara Falls at that time was hedg
| ed in by a vast number of pens an,
devices for taking the tourists none,
and making hideous the grandest nat
ural scenery in America. No one il
, New York worried effectively about il
but Boston, which New York delight
l to call suburb, took the condition O
] affairs to heart and protested yigor
ously. Norman was sent to the seen
, of disgrace, and spent more than
month there studying the situation
= Then he wrote, and before long tn
5 public warmed up little. Just the,
= Mr.. Norman, sr., died, and Henry ha
= to hasten home, only to find thing
E gone pretty much to smash financially
}. and the need of getting to work for
i living for the family instant. He wa
: an Englishman in England, but he wa
among strangers. If he could hav
/ had his mother and sister with him /
= America he would have done famouslS
: but Mrs. Norman was not stron
e enough to undertake the journey.
THE PEN HIS RESOURCE.
r What could he do? Preach? Not 4
once. perhaps not for year could h
find support that way. The only othe
practical experience he had was writ
ing. So he wrote and earned $40 tn
= first year. Three years later he wa
Z making $1,000. Several articles o
Il America which Norman had some fu
: with brought him into notice, an
{ thenceforward his light was never hi
under a bushel. He prospered and ha
;. forgotten all about Niagara Falls an
- its great disgrace, but one day he wa
! ordered over to the states to arrane
- for a cable news syndicate. At Alban
, he was shown through the capitol an
= invited on to the floor of the assen
=, bly,.
II What is going on just now?" /
- asked.
"Oh, they're just voting an apprc
priation to buy the land along Il
a American side of Niagara Falls
make park of 1t. It's a regular di
grace the way that place-why, wht
makes YOU laugh?"
Mr.. Norman went on to the staff
IS the Pail Mall Gazette the day NJ
l. Stead went to prison for his Londol
'e Babylon articles. The circulation
re the paper had fallen off seriously, ar
ID the prisoner did not know that the
would be anything left to edit whC
r he got out When the editor-in-chi