The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-05-21
Literary Notes
and
The Workers

made public hitherto imprinted poem
by Abram J. Ryan, the gifted poet ano
patriot of the South. whose name mus'
be familiar to readers of American
verse anthologies, although he hlmseil
wrote
l sing with a voice too low
To be heard beyond to-day,
In minor keys of my peoples Wo;
And my songs will pass away.
The publication of the poem was ac-
companied by several pages OF inter-
esting personal memories. The Wrltel
Of these. when little girl, began &c
make verses, and Father Ryan helpeo
her with encouragement and criticism
Before leaving school she submitted a
poem in a newspaper competition, the
subject being the charity of the North
to the South after the yellow fever cpl
demic. Father Ryan was one OF the
judges. Mrs. Henry-Ruffin tells the
rest of the story as follows the Kos
airy Magazine" November):
"A few days after sending in my
poem, Father Ryan came to see me
Nellie, he said, I want you to do
something for me. l think the others
will be glad if you do; but they op-
posed my asking you. 1t will be a
sacrifice, but 1 want you to do it for
me-
What is it, Father I asked.
Ct want you to withdraw your poem
from that competition. That prize
should go out of Mobile. Besides, we
all know you and like you SO well. ]
did not think of your entering this con-
test, or 1 would have asked you not
to do it.
Certainly, I will take it out. Just
send it back 1 smothered my girlish
disappointment and said nothing more
Father Ryan afterward gave me a
laughable account of how the Bishop
and the other judges 'scolded him.
when he told them he had requested
me to withdraw. When he was gather
ing his poems together. he asked me to
let him place this poem, Reunited,
among his own. In looking over the
verses he had written. just after the
war, he said it seemed to him that
they needed something to soften them
81 Your poem, my child, is just the
sort I need. 1 could not write in that
tone myself. The war meant too much
to me. To you, it is only history. To
me, an awful memory. But I am grow
ing old. I want to forget the bitter
ness. l want to help others to forget
it. Your poem will touch a note that
I need and that cannot sing
80 my verses, Reunited went into
the book, as did long poem, The Pill
grim which had been written by his
young and beloved brother, David, who
was killed in the war. l especially stip-
ulated that there should be no signature
to distinguish my verses. and although
the meter, etc, is 1 think, totally un-
like any of Father Ryan's, I have yet
to read the first word that seemed to
note the prentice hand in the master
work
Although no English writer can rival
in productiveness the late Mr.. Halsey,
who left behind him no fewer than 900
novels and made light of completing a
novel of 1O00 900 words within a week,
says a contributor to ''Tit-Bits," we
have many writers of fiction who have
achieved marvellous records as writers.
The average English novelist is con-
tent to produce one novel a year, a feat
which cannot be despised when we con-
slider that the average novel contains
from 150,OO0 to 100000 words, and that
merely to copy it would represent a
months hard work, writing five or six
hours a day. Several of our novelists,
however, have produced three, four,
and even five of these novels in a sin
gle year; three have a joint life record
of go novels: and at least two have av-
eraged two and half novels for every
year of their writing life.
Among other leading writer's of fiction
who have averaged more than one vol
ume year is Mr.. Jerome, whose record
is sixteen novels in eleven years. STAN
ley Weyman, one of the most pains
taking of all our novelists, has pub
lished eleven novels in his nine years Of
writing, but he never attempted fiction
until he was thirty-five and had lost
the first fervor of youth. Frankfort
Moore has published thirty-six novels
in twenty-four years, and Mrs. Mac
quoid fifty-seven in thirty-seven years.
George Gissing is responsible for sew
enteen books in fifteen years, and Rider
Haggard wrote twenty-one novels in
seventeen years, four of which were
published in 1883. In recent years the
stealing over him apd sapping his lit
erary energy. Between 1895 and 1893 he
seems to have given the world nothing
in book form from his pen.
Among the '1aggards in literature"
the chief is perhaps Olive Schreiner,
whose average rate Of production is one
book in five years. Indeed, for very
many years it seemed likely that her
first brilliant venture, "The Story of an
African Farm would never have a
successor.
In the newest school of writer's S. r.
Crockett. the author of THE Stickit
Minister" takes the palm for fecundity
in numbers, if not in volume of his
novels. His first novel, the famous
'Stickit Minister" was produced as re-
Gently at 1893; but it's success was such
stimulus to Mr.. Crockett's industry
that 1894 saw four of it's successors,
and in six years it's author has written
and produced fifteen novels, or almost
as many as Mr.. Blackmore has pro-
duced in thirty-five years. Mr.. Barrie
| is content with much slower rate Of
production. He began we'll by pub
fishing four novels in his first two
years, but, singularly enough, his first
really successful novel, 1.-THE Little
Minister" seems to have given a check
to his industry as a writer of fiction,
for in all the intervening seven years,
| only two of Mr.. Barrie's novels have
seen the light. Tan Maclaren," like
Mr. Barrie, is content to go slowly and
to produce one book year; quite
enough, by the way, for thorough and
conscientious work. Last year he pro-
Gl.cpd hut q