Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-04-07
AUTHOR OF GREAT DRAMA
The Career of General Lew Wallace
 Who Wrote 'Ben Hur."

General Lew Wallace is an Ameri- can of whom his native state, Indiana, is justly proud In the army and in diplomatic service he has an honor able record: as an author, one of his books has been with the single excep- tion of Mrs Stowe's Uncle Toms Cabin," the most popular romance written in the United States. Ben Hur' is a striking, known and enjoyed work far beyond the limits of General Wallace's own land. and 1t has quail ties sure to commend it to all who like fiction that with "a historical setting is dramatic and picturesque,
 Lew Wallace is the son of David Wallace, a distinguished Indiana law yer, who was once governor of the state and twice lieutenant governor. Lewis was born in Brookyille, on April 10. 1S47. The family home stead is at Charlottesville, where Gen eral Wallace now resides His family has fighting blood i'll it. several of his kin having been soldiers. Lew Wal ace-he has taken the fore familiar form of the Christian name-studied law and practiced it until the break ing out of the civil war in 1861, when he was made adjutant general of the governors staff. organizing the 11th Indiana, and was made it's colonel. Good service at Fort Donelson, Shiloh and other notable engagements brought his promotion in turn to the rank of brlgadier general. He is member of the commission appointed to try Lincoln's assassins; was given a diplomatic commission to Mexico in 1866, and made governor of New Mex ico in 1SS0 From 1881 to 1885 he was United States minister to Turkey.
 It is Interesting to note that Ben Hur'' was written before General Wal lace went to that country, the yeri- similitude being produced by careful study and the exercise of sympathetic imagination It will be seen from these biographical details that his life has been one of varied activity such as to furnish writer with excellent romantic. material. His work shows what good use he has made of 1t. General Wallace's stories are vivid in foreign color, brisk with action, and exhibit the instinct for broadly etfec- tive scenes and strongly marked char acters Few fictionists offer so many episodes and situations that stand by themselves and lend themselves to quotation as readily. His first work was "The Fair God" i'll 1873, a story of the conquest of Mexico-a story in which. as in the case Of ''Ben Hur," he made a novel before he came to live in the land in which his scenes were laid.
 Some years later came what is un- occasionally his masterpiece, Ben Hur," which at once became and re- mained a very great favorite. The
 book was sold by the hundred thou sand. As the subtitle indicates. it is tale of the Christ The Israelite
 hero of the romance is a well-con- ceived figure; his life is eventful, both in love and adventure. and his rela- | ton to the Saviour affords the author the opportunity to delineate graph1- cally the incoming religion, in contrast with the faiths that came before 1t. The oriental panorama moves before the reader with vivid reality. Gen eral Wallace deserves praise for this | reproduction of the historic past and his avoidance of the pitfall of mere archaeological detail i'll which the writers like to German Ebers so often fall
 ] The only other work to be compared
 with Ben Hur'' is '"The Prince of In
 dia" dS93l another historical novel on
 a large scale, dealing with the capture
 of Constantinople by the Turks, a
 theme finely adapted to the uses of TO-
 mantle fiction. The story has vigorous
 character creation and some stirring 1 scenes. while it is perhaps less sue
 cessful in it's construction as n whole
 The Prince of India. whose career is
 a variant on the Wandering Jew mo-