The Hawaiian gazette., 1898-11-08
,oa tase slrptsis

iisfoa ffedefic me author Of ths
vel kn0~u novel, The I,amnaiion ol
1hcron Ware and ~ other excellent
novels recently died IN I,yndon. Ne
bad ben fof sifteen years the core.
sisondeut ~ the Nes york Time. Ute
letters 20 that Journal. teiegraphsd IN
fuli every saturday niEbt. and appeal.
ing iu the sunday morninf paper. were
read by the educated men. In the pro.
iossions ana IN business with close at
ientiOn
Several persons, competent 80 pass
judgment GA rrederic's writings. be-
cause Of the acknowledged merit Of
their own writing have said that Mr.
Frederic was one Of the masters Of
English style. and that IN clearness.
In force. and expression be- stood
among the few
For this reason. we ask those Who
are nov In their studies and are per
piexed about the countless problems OF
life. 20 hx in their minds the literary
culture Of this man
lie was not a graduate Of any great
university. Tie was graduated by the
University Of Thought and Purpose
that has no charter or location, but
exists in every mans brain.
His father was a railroad brake
man, who was killed by an accident
when Harold was two years Of age.
The boy hated study, and gave himself
up TO boylsh sports lie was not sub
iected to that miserable dwarfng pro-
cess which 50 many good but misguid-
ed parents apply 10 theig children by
forcing them into studies TOO early In
life As he had to support himself,
he sold newspapers and drove a milk
wagon. out OF school hours. and In the
early morning. At fourteen years of
age, he learned to set type, Then he
became reporter editor and politici-
an, who held the Democratic faith. He
accepted, sixteen years ago, the post
OF London correspondent Of the New
York Times.
How was II, young friends, that this
son OF a brakeman, this young man
who had no advantages, how was
il that he. at the time OF his death In
his forty second year, could use the
English language with scholarly pre-
uHk.
while thousands OF the graduates of
Yale and Harvard ana Princeton, ard
the other colleges, with ali the advan-
tages that wealth can give, failed TO
make themselves his equal? II will be
said. he had genius" He did have
native power. II counted for much.
But he said. and those who knew him
said. his success was mainly due TO
infinite work. Many of these gradu-
ates OF the universities were like jew
elled watches-perfect and equipped in
all Things. excepting in the lack Of
handspring Persistent work was the
handspring of this mans mental ma
chinery. He said to some of us. who
met him in the lobby at Albany. years
ago that few men did as much dead
work" as he. The dead work OF the
gold miners, who blast out, and carry
away a large amount of rock that con-
tains no gold, but stands in front Of
the paying ore is like what he meant.
While thousands Of young news
paper men We're hungering for his con-
spicuous position, as a correspondent,
hardly one of them cared to give, in
order to obtain 1t, the days and years
Of incessant toll in making himself a
master in the use of our language, and
in the broad study OF the principles
that underlie social and political life.
This mans life seems to lessen the
value of a liberal education. II does
not Ii does show, however, that in
telligent labor and persistent study,
may enable the poor boy-even the
child OF the brakeman-to confront the
double firsts" of oxford, and the
Doctor of Law of the universities of
America, an. even surpass them in the
practical uses Of education.