davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
= 4 -

den by physical infirmity 10 walk or
stand without extreme difficulty. sat IN a
big easy chair while she received her
guests.
Although IN the Tennessee Mountains.
Miss Murfrr-'s iirst book. showed hat ~
,.lleut power Of rharac:-r-dIawing which
j. the greatest of her charms "a a writer
otl-r books that came after were better
and more popular. Among them We're 'Ih-
Despot of Broomsrdge cove. In the
clouds ana Where the Battle Was
F'ought''-aIl stories of Tennessee. She >tiil
retained her nom de plume OF Charles ES-
bert Craddock.' and that name appears on
the latest Of her books. The Juggler."
AUout 1889 Miss Nurfrc. left 81. Louis
and lived in the Last FOR 4 time. but soon
sh,- returned TO Tennessee. where she IS
sill living and writing.
While here Miss Murfree became mrm-
Der Of the Mercantile Library Association
and was a frequent visitor AZ the old rooms.
The venerable curator of the library. W. II.
II Anderson. remembers her well. He re
calls her first visit. and also AT n later
period the deliteration OF the board. which
resulted IN her name being placed In the
lis, OF honorary members Of the assoria-
tion. Her name still remains on that ex-
elusive roll.
Which brings 10 mind the fact that only
one other ST. Louis writer OF fiction holds
4 place on that roll lie Is Thomas r
Garrett. who. ten or fifteen years ago. pab-
lished The MasQue OF the Muses.
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
ON THE DRAMA.

Nothing il more difficult than 20 v-'-a n
preface which Will Vique curiosity aud stu
be clever enough IN itself TO compel at-an-
tion. Hundreds fail in such fntrcductIons
where an occasional writer succeeds. but It
Is perhaps only George Bernard shaw. the
whimsical. the inimiJabl- who can make
his Introduction as delightful as his book.
No one VIII b"grlidge the space he gives 10
the three prefaces in Three PLAYS for
Iurftans." and surely lie would be hardened
who could resist his apology for not prevail
Ing upon distinguished friend TO Introduce
him Now. what 1 sar is. why should
get another man 70 praise me when l can
Iraise myself? Ills fantastic defense
against the charge OF originality winds III
with the plea that The novelties Of one
generation are only the resuscitatsi fash
lens OF the generation before last" But the
following extracts from these preraces will
suggest IN 4 measure the mans wit and
Caring. and the magnetism OF his farcirul
caprice:
Since | gave my PLAYS, Pleasant and
Unpleasant to the world two years ago,
many things have happened 70 me. I had
then Just entered on the fourth year OF my
activity az a critic OF the London tkeaters.
They very nearly killed me- l had survived
seven years of London's music four or five
years Of I.ondon's pictures. and about as
much of It's current literature. wrestling
critically with them with all my force and
skill. But the theater struck ne
down Hlso the veriest wcakliny. / sank TN
der it like a baby fed on starch
Why was this? What is the matter with
the theater. that strong man can die OF IL ?
Simply this: The theater is still regarded
as u playhouse. Now. the wall-fed Eng
lishman. though he lives and dies n school
boy, cannot play. He cannot even play
cricket or football: he has TO work at them
and that is why he beats the foreigner who
plays at them. To him playing means
playing the tool. lie can hunt and shoot
and travel and fight: he can. when special
holiday festivity is suggested 10 him. eat
and drink. dice and drab. smoke an! lounge
But play he cannot
"AEd so we must conclude that the the
alter IS n place which people can only en-
Cure when they forget themselves: that
| is. when their attention IS entirely cap
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
LOVES CONFESSIONAL.

To you. whose every word and deed and
thought
Ring true and honest as thrice tested gold.
The tale q my shortcomings / have
brought
Now you have given the pardon bssousht,
Forgive the little sins L have not ooidi
The foolish. petty faults scarce can name,
So mean and paltry are they that fear
You would not think them worth q word Of
blame.
You would but pity and-dsspiss thsm,
dear.
And since love you 80 IN wornan's visa
Nor am from woman's curse Of pride
exempt.
I would far rather read within your eyes
Hatred. my best-beicved. than contemptl
Wherefore. 70 You. whose every deed and
thought
Are crystal-clear-you. whom I boved too
we'll
Tho tale Of my shortcomings have
brought.
And YOU have given tho pardon hesuught,
Forgive the little sin. cannot tell;
-Aileen Beath IN Smart Set.
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
The Rise Of Eugene Field. Poet.
and the Success of Augustus
Thomas. Playwright.

l. was about the time that Miss Nurtrpa
gained substantial prominence that the
genius Of Eugene Field came 20 be Yully rec
UgniZed outside OF the newspaper world and
ST Louis began to hunt up hi. birth record
and other documentary evidence 10 sub
stantiate her claim TO a proprietary interest
in him. Field was born In St Louis in Issa
but. following the early death of his
mother. spent most OF his boyhood with rel-
atives in Vermont. lie got his only college
education In the University OF Missouri
After tour OF Europe. lie returned to s.
Louis and began his newspaper career. H.
worked Ia St Louis. 81. Joseph and Kansas
city until 1851. when he went 10 Denver
1t WAS in Denver. in December. 1881 that
he published his first book" a collection
OF ninety-four quaint burlesgue primer
lessons which he had been running in the
Denver Tribune. He called ii The Tribune
Primer and the circulation was SO limited
that copies Of the edition are eagerly sought
by book collectors. A RrokIyn bookseller
collected twenty of the lessons and pub
lishr,l them. with Il few crude Illustrations.
in 1Sse. under the name. The Model Prim-
err; but Field claimed that this was Il
pirate edition. In 1ssG the Brooklyn man
reprinted his edition. rather more elaborate
ly. But all these editions are wholly out
Of print.
In 1Ss3 Field went to Chicago. and In 1857
published through a Boston house. 'Cul-
| tures Garland" collection OF trivial writ
ings on variety of subjects
In 1899. "A Little Book OF Western Verse -
anI a companion volume. "A Little Book
of Profitable Taes'-the first of his books
10 be Incorporated wholly in the later edi-
finuS ,f wnrka-wpr, pIrl,I;SbcI in N.v
York. CHIEF among his following works
| were a Second Book Of Tales" The Holy
Cross ami Other Tales" THE House. -
Echoes From Sabine Farm" with
| Trumpet and Drum and The Love Affairs
| OF q Bibliomaniac." This was Fields last
book. and is not. according to a personal
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
The Editor The Critic Jeanate Gders Newest Phooa
Copyr Lock-

tuTed. their Interest thoroughly reused. their
srmpathies raised TO the eagerest readi-
ness, and their seihshness utterly annihi-
lated. Imagine, then, the result Of conduct
ing thedters on the principle of appealing
exclusively TO the instinct Of self-gratif-
cation In people without power OF attention,
without interests. without syTnpathy-in
short. without brains or heart! That 10 how
they were conducted whilst I was writing
about them: and that is how they nearly
Killed me.
Yet the managers mean we'll
The manager may not want good plays: but
he does not want bad plays: he wants nios
ones. Nice plays. with nice dresses, nice
drawing-roorns and nice people are ir1dis-
rensable: 10 be ungenteel IS worse than 70
fail. l use the word ungenteel purposeIy
for the stage presents life on ESQ q day. not
as # IS. but as # is conceived by the earn
ers of 50 shillings a week. Life has
rs realities behind its shows. and the the
ster has nothing but It's shows -
Can any dilemma be moro complete?
Love Is ASSUMED TO be the only theme
that touches all your audience incalnbIy.
young and old. r,ch and poor. And yet,
love Is the one subject that the drawing
room drama dare not present Out Of this
dilemma. which Is a verv old one, has come
the romantic play; that IS. the play IN
which love IS carefully kept of the stare,
whilst II is alleged as the motive OF aIl the
actions presented TO the audience. Ths re-
suit is, TO me. at least. an fntolerahie per-
version OF human conduct Al ths
instance Of Martin Luther We long ago gavs
up imposing celihacy on our priests; but Va
stiu impose II on our art. with the very
undesirable and unexpected result that no
editor. publisher or manager will row &C.
cep, q story or produce q play without love
interest IN Il. .
'On the stage. II appears. people Do
things for reasons. or the stage they don'ts
that is why your penny-.n-the-slot heroes,
who only work when you drop q motive IN
to them. are so oppreasiveiy automatic and
unintereSt!ng.
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
Young Mr.. Blossoms Hard Luck
Story and His Coming Chroni.
cles of Club Life.

Mr. Blossoms "Documnnts in Evidence"
published I'm 1892. probably owed It's i'm
mediate success more TO the uniqueness Of
its design and execution than to a popular
GppreciatiOn OF its value as a literary work.
It IS a prettily done album OF letters and
clippings which record the progress OF a
tEree-cOrTered love affair. The letters are
IN fac-simile. two OF Mr.. Blossoms men
friends writing those OF the two men IN
the cas-. and Mr. blossoms sister writing
those Of the heroine. Mr.. Blossom states
that the Inspiration for the Documents
came to him while he was engaged in a de-
Iayed ove-haulinG OF a disorderly desk He
came upon certain documents in evidence
In little AFFAIR OF his own-some bills.
some clippings and some violet-scented let
tiers and notes. lie thought II would make
good story. and he went to work on It.
He offered TIC manuscript TO Chicago
firm OF publishers. but It was returned
with thanks" Then he had It printed In
81 Louis on his own account. He is stu
printing it ana still selling 1t. the latest
edition being I'm the region OF the twentieth
thousand.
Checkers" Mr. Blossoms second work,
was first offered to the same Chicago pub
fishers who had refused Documents" They
refused IT, also. But smother Chicago Arm,
Herbert ;. Stone & Co.. accepted II and
brought II out I'm small volume, gorgeous
ly bound in red. In 1925. Checkers fol-
lows the rocky way of the life of q Lad
who uses slang and Is a "deed-ga sport"
in spite OF his many throw downs by
Dame Fortune. The scenes shift from Chi
cago to Arkansas and back again. There
is a race-track scene. IN which ''Checkers''
goes broke" and then there follows a
chain OF untoward events that Is finally
broken for time by Checkers falling in
| love with an Arkansas girl and marrying
her IN spite of ''the old man. Checkers Is
not a bad sort. except for his slang and his
tendencies gambler. and he makes
friends He and his wife build a homo in
Arkansas and they are happy-until Check
ers loses his money In q bank failure. his
wife dies through another bit Of hard
luck" and happiness in Arkansas 10 "all
off, with Checkers. He burns his house
and starts out after "the ponies again
the same quain, philosopher that he was
before he knew anything but "hard luck"
And Checkers is still phiiosoph!sing IN
slang-and IN the midst Of ''hard luck
when the book ends.
Mr. Blossom says there is man in St.
Louis who has been up against just
about the same game" as that which
Checkers had TO contend with. He Is a
slangy man. who knows all the race horses
and who tells quaint stories OF the tricks
that have been played him by chance.
Checkers is close to the 5000 mark in
sales now And II present plans carry. Mr..
William Collier will be Checkers on the
stage next season. for he has secured the
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
Two St. Louis Women Who Have
Recently Achieved Consider.
able Success.

Two 81. Louis women who rank well ~
popular authors are Nrs. Kate Chopin vino
was boIn IN this city, and Mrs. Sheppard
Stevens who came here from Iittle Rock.
Ark. few years ago. Mrs. Chopin was Il
Miss O'FIaherty, and was well known a
beauty and "A social favorite previous TO her
marriage. and removal 20 Louisiana. She
returned 70 81. Louis in 1886. after the death
of her husband, and now makes her home
with her sons at No. s317 Morgan street
Mrs. Stevens is daughter OF the late Right
Reverend Henry Niles Pierce. Protestant
Episcopal Bishop OF Arkansas and Indian
Territory. She is the wife Of William e.
Stevens. an attache OF the United States
Engineers Office in tho Federal building.
Mrs Chopin's gentle face. framed by snow
whits hair shows scarcely n wrinkle; Mrs.
Stevens. who Is quite a young woman. il a
decided blonde. with strong. handsome feat
urez.
Mrs chopin dii no literary work until her
return to St Louis but her people" arc the
Crcolea of Louisiana. Her first work, "A
Night in Acadie." was published in 1891. 1t
was 4 volume Of Creole stories. rich in the
life OF those whose character she portrayed.
and had a fair share OF success. Later she
published AT Fault" and Bayou Folk. -
anu ti'Hs iii AN''s Sii' ihpi'H'i''. hN AVIAN
ening" This work IS preten;ious. and Is
more nearly " hat is known as problem
novel" than any other ST Louis book. It
has To deal with the heart and the wiles OF
Il woman. and ends tragically. There has
been much severe criticism OF this book-not
su much of the workmanship as Of the
story: hut Mrs. Chopin says she dos not
mind that.
t'lali0 flPpflN raDtllV- and
with practically no revision. She declares II
/ - either easy to writr. or utterly impos-
! slhc." and therefore she has TO fixed plan
except Il general one Of working In the
morning.
Mrs. Stevens's plan OF work is as different
| from that of Mrs. Chopin as is her personal
| ity. She declares that writing is hard work
for her. and that she does much revising and
alterinS-not Of scenes or characters, but of
words and paragraphs. She devotes her
mornings to literary work, usually remain
I ing at her desk about four hours each day.
when she Is creating ihc story. and for ir-
regular periods while she is revising It.
Il never begin the actual writing Of a
book or story until have fixed IN my mind
the march Of people and events through the
pages" says Mrs. Stevens When 1 have
mapped out the story, begin to write it.
and continue TO the end without revision.
Then I devote much time 10 going over 1T
changing its literary form frequently. but
never altering the characters or incidents"
1t was thus that she wrote Il Am the
King" dlittle. Brown & Co. lSo0 and The
Sword OF Justice" in 1899. The former deals
| with the Crusaders and with Richard Coeur
Ge Leon: the latter is Il story Of the early
Gays of Florida. when Frenchmen and Span
| iards were struggling for the possession of
that rich land
The stories which comprise the book. Il
Am the King" Were originally offered to
publishers as separate works, and as such
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09

the play.
Mr.. Blossom. who is son OF Henry NJ
blossom. Is young man who plays Eoif
anu the banjo and i fond OF club life. 1t
Is from this HE that h- has drawn the In
sp.ra,ion for his latest book. now IN the
hands OF Stone x Co.-"Room Four and
pber Stories TIE characters are club
men, and the stories are an expression OF
Mr.. Blossoms dissent from the generally
accepted view ~ the inan who chooses to
put on dress clothes after dark
This ENDS the list. to date. of more than
locally prominent -. Louis authors Of fic-
tlon- And Il f. rather a crcdltab.e list
HARRISON CLARK
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09

,,-,r-,--t->- r,,r, THE SUNDAY rsrpyErJC
..,..,.,--,.. .,.,,,. ~ their two
.,,,. ,,.,,.,,.. ,aI
''''''
t!cIt'i 'ffN'- i''s
the 's."a3i'Nt sellers A--'' i''''
two fIyo-.Jr.-"C Checkers. \ lit."-'.''N
S,r,-,-.. David E.rr.:n' has pissed .'S
.;x i,,,,,.i,o1,r Thousand. 't...narI ear
- ., g.. .,.... s.,.,..rrag aud IF
,--..s .,..r ....r,...'......'. f. nearing
-, .,..,..-,,J
.... -. .....f.,.-. -f,. '.,'a~v,.I''
.,.., .l,.. ,,...I....rS :. T,9,.,,
ais. 7,..,,., v,,,r,,, con-
..,..,,..,, -,.,,., ..,, .,.,,., g., ,
H.. ..,. ...- 20. Lin. ,Sr...,.,,
-. H.. N ~ -s.,, Il wrote
s.: ~. 4.,.,,. l.,.,.. .,.r.. n7 l'l,l-,!
-. 49,, ,,f.,,-,riu ~. hor0 and
- 20. :. 4.,..- ,.,.-.-,-..f from smith
-. .,.i ,,,..-,f.f - - I,lr,!s woman.
-. t,r,.,,.,,, ~. ais, b,,, and reared
-, u~,.,,,,.a sr.f, rhe sam. Smith
,ca,.,,,v- and hos ;,ot married ANYBODY.
r3,-b .rsr claim =. Ia:,iS 20 home al
,bo,,cb NJ tbf..,:fu spends most us his
,,r,a ,r \av- rrrllaa
There IS no intention in this coupling =
..ro,,.sl.. and .,,b..krrz' - pretend that
..,-,,,,l,.rs,. : o,a - -l,a .r,a, hooks Of
,b ,,,r;,,l as ..,.4~,-.g.. + r1r,,aJ.l ny
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
Some Early St. Louis Writers Of
Fiction. Introducing Chalres
ESbert Craddock.

The chronology o. ST. Louis authors ex-
tends we'll back in years. although II f. only
recently that the famous ones have written.
Perhaps one OF the earliest of them whose
work gained more than local recognition
and circulation. was John l.. Bowman. His
You and Me-" published in 1867. was not
great. but Il was pleasing: and Il still has
a place in many libraries.
Next In the list appears the name of John
Henton Carter cCommodore RolIinspin''l. }.
.no published his Log OF Commodore
Rollingp!n'' in 1874. following at intervals
with LOG Cabin Poems" THE Impression
Club" Thomas Rutherton" and other writ
fngs that did not gain 50 great a degree OF
popularity. Mr.. Carter is still nving-and
st.ll writing. there being promise that he
will produce a new book within few
months.
In 1880 Mrs. Elizabeth Avery Merriwether
published. through a New York house. The
Master OF Red Leaf novel which had
some success; and in 1853 she published.
through the same firm ''Back and White"
q story In which Southern characters
moved, and which more closely approached
popularity with the public.
In 1884 Thoma. Manning Page. who re-
Gently died and left will which caused
rather more than passing interest, published
q bulky volume which he called bohemian II
Lfe" and which reached second edition.
And in this same year there was pub
lshed by a Tennessee woman. who had
moved TO st. Louis a book which was the
first OF a series which has given her Il
place in a rather exclusive list OF American
authors.
The book was In the Tennessee Noun
tains." The author given as Charles
Egbert Craddock.' 1t was not until some
time later that It became known that the
masculine nom de plume-which fitted so
well with clearness Of description. a
strength OF plot. and fOrcefulness Of style
had been adopted by a soft-vciced. gentle
faced woman. Miss Mary Noailies Mur.ree.
Miss Murfree was born I'm Tennessee, I'm the
shadow Of the mountains. among which
dwelt tho hardy folk who lived again in
the best of her books. She moved 20 st.
Louis. with others of her family. IN the
early eighties and resided for tim. AT
Beers Hotel. and for another time AT Web
ster. She was frail oe body gentle of dis
position. and aristocratic in the best South
ern way. Miss Murfree is not remembered
as q great entertainer in St. Louis. hut
nevertheless there are some who recall
charming receptions that she gave-charm-
pathos. for the sweet-faced hostess. forbid
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09

v'rN refused steadilv until Little. Brown
y 60. suggested that they ie reInodeied into
chapters ard pat into book form. Mrs
Stevens acted upon rhe suggestion. and Il
Am the King was given TO tho world.
Th"rc To sIIrh difficulty with "Th,
Sword of Justice" II was designed as "A
i"ph, and Wis Immediately accepted by
LittIe. iruwu ii e."
- worked at writing stories for five years
before mot with any success in dispensing
Of tho results or my labor" says Mrs.
-, ,N.rS frankly
The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-09
Writer'S and Books OF 9 Mda 9nMf THAT hat of St. OuiS.


tnry-no suggestion OF provIincs about an
cIcnt manor houses on one continent and an
island-no hint OF colonial days and tn.
War OF tho Revolution. The Ce!cbrity'' -
e novel with no -r,r.pS~ except to lruuse.
a. is rleverly written and interestingly as
-ruhl.d. NnG SOM. Of its hts -: character
.r.. wing ar" u"f "',,.I.i tu 't;i.Aiul ar
y,l' or LHy .h"I W.rI. ot r-,rr; date.
l;ut n "kt"ltrd carver th"r" - the mu-
sic "t swords drawn In Wur and in hraws.
ih.r" Is tie 'lJ"k "f spurs aui the dash or
h'IF si"cGS IT," Shlt air uf The S"I-the
! rar'h "f historic l"'u ih" N"aE co.: liberty -
III" tiHLl 81 - I"N" that hN"d through trying
tih'4 ann finn-rI''i. u - - STORY Thi'h
9"!'"e'H 'i' hNiS"h"a's. "'d "a ""th "h''h
SHOWS mU'h i''.iiS ir'" ih" annals 81 lnr
past for that "s-rutia! element. ''a'iIiu
sphere II = = story Hhi'h shows .;."us
Imaginative power. q clear head FOR proper
tIyu uf rfrrtS al. = dramatic appreciation
" ,.limaNrS = work witch Indicates -ttiv
energy and much of fh. peculiar skin If the
historian its hriiliuncy IL more in its con-
c.ptiou than IN It's ,.<r.utiuu: but th, exc
cutinu shows pilnsiakiu;, industry; and tie
brilliant man IS NOT Il success II hc il lack
Ing !u capacity for Labor.
There are urdo,ir.l., seN.r. critics al,
"Carv,I." They point out defects in styie
I'm treatment ana in S.uti:i-nt. they lind
fault with the plan AMI with the workman
ship. But IN eighteen months 90 90 copies
0. the book have been sold. and the presses
still running.
And now Of Winston Churchill. the man.
He was born lit -. Louis on November 10.
ls,l. And in the same houSe-on Uli,e street
his mother died ii sacrifice to the new
Ilir- Ills parents We're 4. =. uTlhill ana
Emma Hliir" churchill Th.' home Was IA
Portland. NJ. but Ms. Churrhilfs family
lived IN -. Louis. Niusto:i'S father left the
child with his rrImdnIot;:.r. hut IN "a few
years she. too. died. aIi Ms J. Il ,ia22tin.
an aunt. took the lad iat. Eei home. at No.
9>lo Pine street. This was the home of
Winston churchill until after graduating ut
Smith Academy lie went 10 the Naval
Academy at Annapolis. Nd. lie graduated
th,,, and theu went Oh an extended cruise
Upon his return h. became. an .s;o.f.ta 81
itor OF the Army AID Navy Gazrits Later
he was made managing .aitor a., th. ,,.s-
r.opolltau Magazine. and whil.. holding tn,s
position he married ,ries Nfah.t ttaI
daughter Of G4org.. II. Han , grordg,,,..,,
ter of Mrs. Beverly AIl.n srd - 49,.
OF Mr. John c. Orgick
Nj. Chmchilrs ambition had arv,vs hae,
TO be a writer OF books. The desire had no,
left him when the position Of mauagIn. Cd
good salary and great r. possibilities. ana
soon after his marriage ha r.sirnas from,
the stafr-agatnst the tudsmen, O, hts
friends-and began writing "Richara Car
vel" In a period Of rest from this work h,
...-rl,
Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1900-10-17
LAS VEGAS,
From the Optic.

From the Optic.
Jessie Montgomery, for a number OF
years with Col. II. @. Head. has taken
a position with the La Cueva Cattle
company. near Maxwell City.
A check for $1,000 was to-day given
Mrs. Pauline GRAF and two sons. Jake
and Joe. by Edward Henry. agent of
the Equitable Life Assurance company,
the amount OF the policy on the life
OF the late Alfred Well.
Serapio Romero has gone across the
country to Clayton with a bunch OF
sheep for delivery 20 parties at that
point. He turned over 1000 head OF
the fieecy fellows to purchasers here
yesterday, n In all. has bought a 1900
head this season.
w. T.. Craft, Colorado manager Of
the Chicago Art company. passed
through the city for Albuquerque, in
search of the man. Faulkner. who is
there. Faulkner was representing the
company and sold a mileage ticket,
the samples Of the company and is in
arrears $40 in his accounts.
Paul Kempenich has come up from
Albuquerque and found employment in
a dry goods house here. He may not
be so difficult to locate as was that
other Albuquerque young man who
came up for a similar purpose, he being
las located on the Pacific oas
somewhere.