The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-01-04

ham. England. when his daughter was
quite young.
The father of Mrs. Ward had given him
self up to religious doubt, and. when his
daughter was about Is years old. he aban-
J doned the Anglican Church and became a
Roman Catholic, attaching himself to Card
inal College connected with the
Catholic Oratory at Birmingham.
Thence he went to Dublin and became a
professor and Fellow of the University of
Dublin. He fell away from the Catholic
faith. and finally went to live at Oxford.
Subsequently he returned TO the Catholic
fold.
Naturally. the terrible religious doubt
! ings undergone by her father exerted a
! great influence upon his daughter. and it
is a picture of this state of mind that
she draws in her famous work. Robert
| Elsmere.'
Few persons know the inner history Of
This book; hut it is really the outgrowth Of
the religious questionings brought into ex-
fstence by her fathers misgivings-
INFLUENCED BY DOCTOR HENRY
GREEN'S TEACHINGS.
While living at Oxford Mrs. Wards mind
was greatly influenced by the teaching and
instruction of the late Doctor Henry Hall
Green, professor of moral philosophy at Ok
ford. to whom. indeed. Robert Elsmere' is
dedicated.
At the age of q Miss Mary Augusta Ar
mold fell desperately in love with a univer-
sity don, T. Humphry Ward, a brilliant
young author of % years. On April 6. 1872.
Miss Arnold became Mrs. T. Humphrey
Ward.
Shortly after their marriage Mr.. and Mrs.
Ward decided to go to London in order to
be more closely in touch with things liter
airy.
Mr.. Ward was editing a series of books on
the English poets. 1t is in connection with
this work of her husband that Mrs. Ward
first had her attention directed toward lit
erary matters.
She wrote several of the articles in the
books edited by her husband, and also be-
gan contributing articles of a serious char
acter to MacMillan's magazine, the Diction-
airy OF Christian Biography and other works
of a like nature.
Her work was of a rather heavy. deeply
thoughtful character, and would not have
found a publisher except those interested in
magazines of a very ponderous character.
At the age of 30 Mrs. Ward wrote her
first novel, "Milly and oily" being a study
of two children living in the country. 1t
was rather a .wishy-washy.' unpromislng
work. from the publishers standpoint.
Though more or less successful. 'Milly
and Oily gave no inkling of the authors
ability.
For five years after producing this book
Mrs. Ward busted herself with the transla-
ton from Spanish into English of AmieI's
Journal.
Her work at this time would have won
her fame had it not been Tor her contribu-
tons to the serious magazines.
In 1856. at the age of So, she published
Miss Bretherton," which won a distinct
success.
Her husband was now the art critic for
the Times. and it is in this book that Mrs.
Ward shows her intimate knowledge of the
artists life of the day.
Miss Bretherton." by the way. is sup
posed to be by Our Own Mary" Anderson,
though Mrs. Ward has denied this.
When Robert Elsmere' came out, in 1883,
two years after Miss Bretherton," the
ti1eologians were given something to talk
aeout-and they have been talking ever
since.
This hook sold by the hundred thousand
copies. and no less than seven editions OF it
were published during the first three years
OF Its production. 1t has been translated
into nearly every modern language.
ROBERT ELSMERE" WIDELY
READ IN AMERICA.
More copies were sold in the United States
than else-the figures approaching
nearly a million copies OF a one-yolume edi-
ton. Robert Elsmere" was first submitted
10 various reviews. but diligently declined.
None of her subsequent works-"David
Grieve," "Marcella.'' ''Sir George Tressa-
day" "Helbeck of Annisdale' or Eleanor
mas had anything like the run of Robert
Elsmere.''
This book has had a very marked effect
on many English conditions. As a direct
outgrowth OF the work, Mrs Ward founded
q University Settlement in London, near
russell square, where the book was written.
The object of this settlement was the ;ncul-
cation of Christian Socialism"
Under the system of this institution GER
tain Weil-educated persons, twelve or fifteen.
LOOK up their residence among the poorer
class or people and organized various clubs.
Mrs. Ward is the honorable secretary of
the institute, and 1t is here only that she
ever appears in public or lectures.
Several times a year she visits the settle |
ment. writes reports on its work and invites |
people belonging to the settlement, even
many poor families. to come and spend days
in the country at her home.