The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-13
THE
LITERARY
OUTLOOK
BY HERBERT BREWSTER.

IC-NdIQ hts
War history and his pamphlet in an
sRer TO the critics on British army
methods. etc, was TO be confidently
expected. No one begrudges DE- Doyle
the honor. He deserved the recognl-
ton which has thus come 10 nlIn- IL
seems a bit strange, however, that so
few OF England's great authors anc
men of letters came in for a snare
o. honors. Gilbert Parker. douotless'
was kuishted because of his fame as
novelist, and Leslie stephens as lit
e-ary critic and editor, but al once
otlNer names come TO mind-klplIns,
Meredith, Hardy, Healey, Anthony
Hope and many others. 1t IS said tnat
Meredith refused knighthood and that
Kipling would have been given a utie
had he not objected Anthony HOPE
probably spoiled his chances by pro-
ducing a causUic play, -Pilkertons
Peerage,' in which titles are created
and conferred in an easy going manner,
which angered the king. At best, the
list of hOnors for the men OF letters
seems incomplete and not at all repre-
sentative of whaS England's authors
have accomplished.
In view of the fact that a life of
Maxine GOrky by E. j. Dillon VIII be
published in England and America ear
" this fall, the following story or the
Russian tramp is OF interest. The story
is told by railroad official for whom
Gorky once worked:
He performed his duties with great
exactitude. Finding that he was well
educated. at the end of two months
we proposed him for the weighing de-
partment at % rubles a month. But
he spent his money strangely, or, as
we used TO say, stupidity, distributing
, it aI>----. employees burdened with large
families and among the poor. He also
spent great deal of money in postage
stamps. for he kept up a vast corre-
spondence. Every day he received let
tiers, no one knew from where. and
everyone was curious about them"
In his leisure hours he was always
surrounded by crowd OF Workmen,
whom he talked to III an instructive
manner, often reading pamphlets to
/ them on morality. geography. history,
or aStronomy-thus initiating his lis
teners into the things of the world and
| its phenomena He scorned to please
| them, and they sought him frequently,
| delighting in his quick, ready speech
| Sometimes we. his chiefs. had chance
! to get closer acquaintance with Cor
ky. Reading a novel once, 1 stumbled
upon a page in which there was a pas
sage about the Free Masons. Ignorant
of their doctrine, I asked for explana-
| lions from the station chief as the best
educated man in the 'bourgade' Idfs-
trict). He could not satisfy by curl
osity-he had formerly read things
about Free Masons-but without thor
oughly understanding their doctrine
/ BY hazard Gorky assisted the candi-
date for the weighing department Ad-
/ dressing the chief, he said: Allow me,
Ivan Iyanovitch, to explain something
But do you know anything about the
| Masons2 l have read something about
| them, and what remember / will tell
YOU and he gave US a veritable lee
ture on the Masons with such details
| that l still wonder where he learned it
all. As said. he spoke fascinatingly,
| and he interested US so that we risked
/ forgetting the station chief and I the
passage of the Enthusiastically there
were none at that moment Two hours
passed thus. When Gerky left US the
chief said:
. Do you know, Stepan Stepanovitch,
I think that this Gorky is a student in
exile or something of the kind, for he
| is too intelligent for a baker or a cook,
and has read great deal. 1t is to be
hoped no misfortune will befail US
! through HIM
I The station chief afterWard invited
| Gorky TO his house like a good friend
| and he spent his time with US smoking
his cigarette and astonishing us with
his book knowledge until we were sure
Gorky was an excluded student. His
service at our station only lasted a few
months. One fine day he presented
himself at my Office, and. asking foI
his wages, said he would no longer
continue with US.
Il paid him and offered him a third
class ticket to whatever station he de
sired, but he refused that ticket, saying
he would walk. Pulling his hat over
his head and strapping his baggage OF
his back, he started forth after bidding
all the employees and WOrkmen an anna
bic goodbye. The latter hasteneC
from every side TO say farewell to tbs
man who had entertained and instruct-
| ed them for many months.
"A little while ago Maxine GOrky'.
books fell into my hands, and some
thing familiar about them struck me
Then read portrait he had drawn o.
himself and 1 recognized my old com
rade.''
The fame of Gorky is growing rap
idly-he has already passed out of ths
fad stage.