The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-05-18

Five Of the best known authors or
America have recently died.
1t is like calling over that sacred ron
of one's departed personal friends TO
count them of. There are the noveilsts'
Maurice Thompson and Pau Leicester
Ford the humorists, Frank f. STOCKTON
and Bret Harte, and the historian, John
Fiske. All of them are known IKE d. o.
as by the reading people OF America.
r. is remarkable true that all but enc
died suddenly. Fiske, the first to go, was
not sick a day, and never was SICK
day in his life. Harte died OF neart-iali-
lre Stocktons was brain trouble ana
he went off before anyone thought ne
was seriously i'll. And the terriole
ira gedy in which Ford went out d. lew
days ago is fresh in the minds OF all.
Hn was buried Just a. little more than
week ago. Only Maurice Thompson, one
NJ the eentlest and most lovable sous
that ever lived, fingered before the enc
came.
Fiske was one of the most remarkable
rcen that ever lived. He was reading
virgil at eight He knew history BY the
yard at thirteen. He had graduated al
fifteen, He was of enormous statue. re
could eat and digest anything tnat
rCat or ostrich could. He ate the
nile RIGHT in bed and sleep like log
for ten hours without waking. He could
work several days at a. time and not 1eel
tired He was a volunlinous writer ana
his works on history are known all over
the English speaking world he ana Ut;
w. r. l.. Smith, pastor OF the oecoilu
Raptist church, this city, were PERSONA
friends One of his most arosn. Az
,,,rers as historian and writer OF cassie
English is AIR. FRANK Z. bie'' =
city. a,,o
,u.t Now from the fact that the state
Board of Education has just cut ms
history from the list to be useo IN ne ~
free schools of the State because .ie
Board holds that the historian Is nnla "a,
TO the South in his narrative u ene
war between the States.
va MEMORY EVER GREEN.
Thompson's memory will remain gIeel
in the minds of many for the pretty story
that is told OF HIM e.o+ 1nd;.n,
he e1g was fraii and could not stand the long ag
and severe winters of that latitude 30
each fall when the wild g geese neW c ais
n n1s their huare wav South Thompson would
pack up and follow them to Florida; re
did this every year. Then, IN ms pea ~
tiful home IN F rnhns g sdh for their
t MEat north. again he would pack up and
follow i them back to Indiana IND INA. pnt f,u
before last he decided to risk s. a winter IT.,
low the geese on their southwark trip
hut waved them good by. In Decem-
her he contracted a, deep cold which &c,
yeioped into pneum onia. OF this he dled
in the following February before even II
was t's If shs E9o! sTo 6 1s5ssn
| 1vho has not laughed over the inge-
Nous stories of Stockton?
There is no picture Of homelite IN eX-
,stence sweeter than that drawn In Rud-
ana ova5e 0aa s
ever ever conceived. Then the whole world
has guessed who came out OF that door,
the "Lady or the Tiger:
Stockton could get his characters into
more curious and intricate situati tons and
get them out more gracefully than any
man who ever lived.
at Claybrook. near Charlestown. Viva.
which was formerly owned by 4Bushrod
wa shington. He was a delicate man. AT
home he went out but little and spent the
summer long in work and the winter in
rest, reversing the custom OF every enc
| else as one would naturally expect. I! g
was very small of statue and his wife IS
said to be /. lady Of more than usual size.
He did most of writing by debating to a
stenographer. His wife was his first
eee GAILANT COL. sTARBoTTLE,.
Bert Harte was much older man than
any OF this group save Ffske. HIS latest
literary work was for the maj gaines. He
wrote mostly the stories in which the
brave and chivalrous Colonel starhottle
| figured. q
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