The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-01-06

WRITTEN FOR THE sUNDAY REPUBLIC.
Paul Leicester Ford, before he became a
popular and well-known author, was an al
most daily frequenter of we olde booke
shoppe'' OF Brooklyn. N. Y, where he
browsed to his hearts content among the
rare and ancient volt mes on its shelves.
Mr.. Ford Is small and short in stature,
with clean-shaven and boyish face. One
day a frecuenter OF the "shoppe' stepped
up to him, and patting him on the head.
said In the patronizing tone most people
affect in speaking to children: "Ah. my
boy. are you interested In books. too? You'll
be like your father one OF these days" He
did not know he was addressing a man in
years and intellect, for Peter Stirling" had
already been published.
Mr.. Ford's father. the late Gordon L.
Ford. owned one Of the largest collections
of books and manuscripts in the country.
He was n rich man, and a most penurious
one. never buying a book without hagglinS
over the price and trying to beat the deal
er down. 1t Is told OF him that on one &C.
casion he found three Decent volumes on a
stand outside a book store. and asked the
proprietor II he would sell the three for a
quarter. On receiving an affirmative reply.
Mr.. Ford carefully looked over the three he
had selected. and laying down two. said:
IN take this one" and handed cut S
cents.
! All along the Hudson are strung the
homes and haunts OF literary men and wom-
en-. Mrs. Amelia Barr. whose last story 10
The Maid OF Maiden Lane" inhabits a
homo on the hillside above Cornwall called
Cherry Croft" charmingly placed in shad-
ed grounds and making a harmonious adj
junot in a pretty landscape. Here Mrs.
Barr spends most OF her year, though the
winter months are often passed In New
York or in the South. The house Is beauti-
fully furnished. and the library. full Of cost
L. hANLQ Ana frfsnHa and hanHGnma hFfR-
s-brac. Is especially attractive. Nearly all
her books are written at Cherry Croft.
Somebody has discovered a strong resem-
blance between Jonathan Swift and Manis-
~. the hero OF Mrs. Humphrey Wards
''Fleanor." both in character and personal
characteristics aud in their relations to
women. Lucy and Eleanor are Stella and
Varessa, and Manisty, like the Dean. &C
cepts much from enc of the women whose
lives are bound up In his and returns scant
measure for the abundance Of love and de-
vction given him by the other. And Miss
Agnes Repplier Quarrels with Mrs. Ward for
making Eleanor. at g. worldworn and
weary, faded and pasSe, looking at her
youth as a dream that is past and at the
future as hopeless because of her years. az
II life had already given her all 1t had TO
bestow. A woman at g, says the critic. has
just come into her heritage Of sense and in
tellect and charm. and then. IL ever. Is life
ANP9N VII living
There is a discussion in one OF the papers
under the heading as Mr.. Swinburne a
poet?' which has been going on for several
weeks. The mere fact that such a discus
SIGN is possible makes one wonder what IS
the conception Of poetry formed by the con-
tributors to the discussion. By and by We
shall have a discussion OF the question, Was
Sir Walter Scott a novelist? or is Mr.. Jo-
seph Chamberlain a politician?
Dir. SwinburIe, who is now gray-haired.
lives in a suburban town. and is seldom
seen In London. Every day, no matter what
the weather may be. he takes his constitu-
tional, and there has grown up a legend
among his fellow-townsmen to the effect
that Mr.. Swinburne has received a large
annuity, on the condition that he never once
misses his daily walk. 1t need hardly be
sai1 that this legend has no foundation IN
he has always had the look OF a fragile
man. I oRd what he thinks Of the dis
eussion - to his rank as q poet says w.