The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-04

And those youthful stories" said his
father, recently, ARE just as interesting
III my opinion, as the ones he writes now
How He Was Educated.
Mr.. sheldon was educated at Phillips
Academy Andover, Mass; Brown Uni
Verslty, and at Andover Theological Sem
mary, graduating from the latter insutu-
non IN 1856. After a summer in Europe,
ne entered the ministry and began
preaching at Waterbury, VT. But the
spirit of the West was in him. So when
he received a call to become the pastor
Of the newly established Central Congre-
sational Church in Topeka in 1855 he
gladly accepted it as the opening he had
been waiting for, His church began with
sixty members; now it numbers more
than 800. His first work was TO build a
modest little church. in which began his
strikngly original career He was dissat-
lSlled with the quality of Christianity he
saw IL many professed Christians. He
wanted to know what IDEAS the masses
of the people had on the subject of Chris
tianity, and he wanted to find out about
their daily lives and occupations.
With this desire in his heart he asked
his congregation 10 excuse him from pas
torai work for three months, and his con-
SreSation saw little of him except during
church services. He was at home scarce
ly any of the time, but very few people
knew what he was doing. 1t was char
acterisIc Of the man. He was getting
acquainted"
Topeka is the headquarters of the Atch-
ison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. Hun
dreds of men are employed in the railroad
shops. and hundreds of trainmen make
their headquarters there. It was among
these that Mr. Sheldon spent much of ! is
10 oh ,-,lot
ihe railroad company. and dressed as an
employe he made trips up and down the
road in company with the trainmen learn
ing their ways and drawing out their
IDEAS on every conceivable subject, es-
peciaDy on religion. After that he spent
a week or two with the physicians of To-
peka, studying them. He read their books
and visited their patients with them. An
other week was spent with the lawyers
in their offices and in court Again he
spent hours riding on streets cars, talking
with motormen and conductors.
MIR. Sheldon receives hundreds of letters
asking questions regarding "In His Steps"
Many people suppose that the church de-
scribed in the story is an idealized pic
ture of Mr. Sheldons church. No one is
more quick TO correct this impression
than Mr.. Sheldon himself. It is imposs-
bic for him to answer personally all the
letters he receives, so he has prepared
printed letter which he sends in reply TO
many of these, in which ne says:
THE story, In His Steps, when writ
ten was purely imaginary. 1 knew of no
such places or characters in existence. 1t
was not founded upon fact, but it was
written with desire that the imaginary
might become real. Since the story was
written l have heard of several characters
who are very nearly like those in the
book"
Writes a Novel Each Winter.
Notwithstanding his remarkable success
as a novelist, his literary work is a secon-
Gary matter with Mr.. Sheldon. His church
is first, above everything else. Each win
ter he writes a novel which he reads to
his congregation before allowing it to be
published
Since his books have attained such i'm
mense popularity in England Mr.. Sheldon
has been flooded with letters from all
classes of English people. Among these
are many communications from publish
ers asking for stories, and to one of them
Mr.. Sheldon has acceded. His publishing
agent is now in England arranging for
the book to appear simultaneously in Eu-
rope and America, and Mr.. Sheldon him
self contemplates visiting Europe next
autumn.
The immense sale of I'm His Steps in
England is doubtless due largely to the
fact that twenty English firms were pub
fishing the book at one time. An Eng
lish publication says that in four months
its circulation has far surpassed the to-
tai circulation of all of Mrs. Henry
Woods novels in forty years. East
Lynne, which has had a larger cirouIa-
ton than any other English copyright now
el, has only reached 100000 copies, and il
is said that the total number sold of
William Blacks novels is not more than
100000; Three Men in Boat, a remarka-
bly, popular book, reached 16O 0O0 Beside
the Bonnie Brier Brush, $1,000; A Pris-
oner of Zenda, 10000; and The Christian,
the most popular book of 1887, sold to the
extent of 123, 600 in that year. But I'm His
Steps" has reached a sale of 3,OOO 900 cop
les. Three of Mr.. Sheldon's books, pub
lished in England at penny, ran through
an aggregate edition of 100000 in three
weeks
Mr.. Sheldon is rather above medium
hight and is of stout build. When he first
came to Topeka he INDUCED in all sorts
of athletic sports, which he has given up
10 a great extent now, as he has grown
more portly, and there are larger calls
upon his time.
Mr.. Sheldon's family consists of a wife
and one child-a boy of 2 years. His wife
was Miss Mary A. Merriam of Topeka,
and they were married in 1891. The fam
lily lives in an unpretentious cottage home,
not far from Washburn College. Near by
lives Rev. Stewart Sheldon, father of the
author, who acts as his sons secretary
Clarence Henry Matson.