The age-herald., 1901-05-19

out old literary landmarks than Chel- sea. It was not so very long ago only a suburban London town, but now it is part of the great metropolis. No. 24 Sheyne Row, Chelsea, is the house where for so many years Carlyle lived. Not far away at No. 10 stands the home of Leigh Hunt. In 1886 the elder Kingsley came to serve the parish as its spiritual head, and here the two talented sons, Charles and Henry, lived for over thirty years. Along the upper end of Cheyne Walk is the home of the Painter Turner; and No. 1 is the home of George Eliot; close by Is the well-known house of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. In a recent article about these literary haunts of old Chelsea the au- thor wrote Not alone for their occu- pants are the literary homes of Chelsea notable. but for their guests as we'll. such guests as the one who called on Car lyle one winter night in 1S42, of whom he wrote the next day, Hast night we had poet here, a very clever man called Alfred Tennyson." And what list of notable names it is those who were well come visitors to their home, Emerson, Tennyson Hume, Fronde. Huxley. Tyn- dall, John Stuart Mill, Harriet Marti- neau, Dickens, Lecky, RuslSin, Millais, Leigh Hunt--these' and many others" The quaint old streets of Chelsea are the most popular spots of England and dur ing the summer months 1t is little won der that more Americans visit it than from any other country.
 The Bookman for the current month contributes a suggestive little squib des- ignated "The Best Age for Literary Achievements" After mentioning that Thackeray did not begin the writing of Vanity Fair until he was thirty-flve, and the contrasting early successes of Dickens and Victor Hugo, the editor says: "To establish any hard-and-fast rule would, of course, be manifestly ab surd; the history of literature is so filled with contradictions. Milton was fifty when he began the work of writing Par adise Lost Swift produced Guiiver's Travels at fifty-nine. Defoe was fifty eight when he gave up hack Journalism to write Robinson Crusoe. Middle march, which is generally considered George Eliot's finest book, was not writ ten until she was fifty-two Hood was forty-six when he wrote The Bridge of Sighs' and The Song of the Shirt At the other extreme we have for example By ron and Burns. and Pope and Musset. and Gautier, and score of others, whose greatest works were produced at an early age.
 While these notable extremes are true In looking over the achievements Of the past, the present records seem to furnish almost exclusive evidence of the success full work of young writers. In nearly ev- cry department of literary endeavor the young men and women are the ones who are doing the most notable work and achieving the most pronounced successes. Particularly is this true in the field Of fiction Never before have there been so many young men and young women Writ CTS. The literary journals are crowded with the names and faces of strong, viz orous-looking writers, who appear to be very much in earnest in what they pro pose to do in their chosen field of work Not all of them will be known or remem- bered a half dozen years from now by any means, but 1t can safely be asserted that much of the best and most success ful work of the past few years has been done by exceptionally young and inex- perienced writers.
 The newspaper exchange editor, says a recent reviewer, Is responsible for the | very substantial structures of some very | bright American literary regulations For | years MT Dooley's philosophy was en- | loved by the limited constituency of a | Chicago evening paper, and had only | limited fame until the exchange editors of the country began clipping his column rom uay to uhy, ehN A|ooAo' 'as great national censor and satir- ist." It has been the same way with George Ade's Fables in Slang and frank l.. Stanton's Dixie Verses" One of the latest writers to profit by the ex- change editors shears Is MT. Phiiander Chase Johnson, who for so many years has been writing a daily quarter Of . column of miscellaneous verse and humor and sarcasm for the Washington Evening Star. MT Johnson. who Is fine-looking young fellow, is native of Wheeling w. Va. and is not yet 35 years old. A took of Mr. Johnson's verses, "Nowaday Poems," has just appeared.
 PAUL PRY.
 For a beautifully illustrated deck of playine cards write B. w. Wrenn, Pas-