The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-05-31
An Authors Letter-BaS.

pleasant reading. that warm the heart, and which do not at the end chill their sympathetic contents by a request for an autograph. For quite a while I kept ur a correspondence with a dear old lady in another State. whose heart won with a religious poem published many years ago. She first wrote me thanking me for the good she said my poem had done her, and since then she has continued to write to me, telling me of her life, of her family, of the books she reads and never once asking me for any favor. In one of her last letters she told me that she never would forget me. A few days ago got letter from young lady in wash- ington, a four page letter praising my work. and requesting full list of all my publications. Every year at Christmas get letter from man in London, say ing that he has kept up with my work. and hoping that may follow it success fully for the coming year.
 You have no idea how comforting these letters are, for one soon learns to dis tinguish the praise from the fiattery; and to receive 8 letter from some person at distance, whom you have never seen and whom you can never expect to see, Is in itself hattering thing. But these letters are few compared with the oth- CTS. the kind. for instance, that informs you that a three volume novel has just been mailed for you for an immediate opinion of merit. If it is not a novel. it is short story or a poem, and you are placed in the delicate position of not wishs ing to be rude and stating exactly what you think of the effort, or else deliberately lying and giving praise to . stupid piece of work. have done the latter-Heaven forgive me!-and have seen my few words of commendation printed on the publish ers' announcement of some new authors book! have done the other. and re- ceived ten pages of abuse for my pains.
 T also receive requests that involve some responsibility. Very often some rare edition of book comes to me for an autograph, or a quotation from my work. put the matter of. as I do great deal of this promiscuous mail, and before know 1t the book, with several other val. uable autographs. it had been going the rounds), Is lost. I have spent a consid- erable sum of money in replacing unso. licited valuable editions, and have been abused somewhat for having lost the au. tographs which the volume contained So now. when book of that kind comes to me. I make haste to return it.
 Some of my mail Is of . critical ma ture. and not only brings me suggestions for short stories. plots for novels and ideas for verse. but criticizes my efforts and makes suggestions for their improve ment. A great deal of this unsought ad- vice is puerils or worse. and 1t takes either the form of insipid praise. or goes to the other extreme and is lnsultinaly personal. You would be surprised. how ever, at the intelligence of some of these criticisms. and the really helpful sug- gestions it has to offer. have long since learned that not all the literary discern ment is possessed by the critics and pro- fessional writers; 1t very often comes surprisingly fresh and clean from some unknown soul in village. believe. too, that the most appreciative reading and the best reading. is done away from crowded cities"