The San Francisco call., 1904-02-14
Paragraphs From
the Gossip Ab0ut
Popular UriterS

H fornian whose book. "The Land
of Little RAIN" met with such
a hearty reception all through the East
last fall. believes that the, novel which
Will be her best is that which she hopes
to write about San Francisco life In
the near future During a recent
short visit to this city Mrs. Austin ex-
pressed to the editor Of these columns
her views upon the literary possibilities
which lie open to the writer here in
San Francisco.
There is no city in the United
States" said she, wherein one can
find such a wealth Of local color and
such a fund of tradition as right here
in this cosmopolitan city by the Golden
Gate. We have types of every people
under the sun. we have the remnants
of the past days Of gold. we have life
which is distinct in itself. I hope to
do my best work right here"
Mrs. Austins home is at Inde-
pendence, Inyo County-upon the very
edge Of the desert Of which she writes
so charmingly.
THE Lounger." who furnishes the
delightful column Of literary chit-chat
for The Critic, has cleared a mystery
Of a nom de plume. He says: Less
than year ago the readers OF pop
ular magazines began to be startled
and delighted by certain fantastic and
ingenious tales. mainly dealing with
Western life and bearing the strange
device %. Henry as a signature. In a
short time people began to talk TO
each other about the stories, and very
soon they began to ask who the author
was. 1t was then that new problem
fell upon this Over-puzzled age-Who
10 II Jor7~ II, "a
the authors real name, and immedi-
ately vague and weird rumors began
to be ahoat and the nom de plume
was soon invested with as much Curl
ostty as surrounds an author after his
decease- But, like most mysteries.
when it was probed there was no mys-
terry about 1t. %. Henry's' real name is
Sydney Porter. a gentleman from
Texas, who, having seen a great deal
of the world with the naked eye. hap
pened to find himself IN New York
about two years ago, and there dis
covered a market where people would
buy stories Of his experiences.
The editor Of the New York Times
Saturday review Of books comments
editorially upon the recent sale OF Mil
ton MSS. In London. Says he: Some
body has been learning something in
London about the danger. OF overrattng
literary rartttes. simply as such. He
had what we may assume to have been
automatically proved to have been part
of the original printers copy Of ''Par-
adise Lost" and he thought T. was
worth a good deal Of money. Doubt
less it was worth money. AS to a
good DEAL that depends on what you
call good deal. His arbitrary notion
was that S25.000 was about the at
tainable maximum and be liked his
price accordingly. But he fell short
Of realizing it by $3.50, the highest
bid being S23,750. and that bid, there
Is reason to suspect, being collusive.
H. B. Marriott-W atson, literary
critic for the London Mail. has SINE
thing to say about Thomas Hardy's
THE DYnasts." He thinks that the
only dramatic comparison with Har-
dy's play, The Dynasts," with its
nineteen acts. must be sought In "Ce-
lestiar' literature. II do not mean the
literature Of the spirits and phantoms.
of which the author writes" says the
critic, but Of the Chinese. A Chi
nese play will ramble on for n week.
and clearly Hardy's oanoI ANA might
be taken In that way. Ha>dy'9 dsyo-
tion to poetry IN his later years -
touching. Like Meredith, he began
his career by writing verse. but he
confesses that he destroyed those early
efforts. No doubt the reception given
to Jude the Obscure q remarkable
novel. discouraged him greatly. and
that Is possibly the reason he turned
his back on fiction and Is wooing his
first love-"
Henry c. Rowland. tho author OF
Sea Scamps," has consorted with a
great many people Of varied moral
stripes during life OF ad-
venture that has carried him
all over the Gulf Of Mexico and
the Philippines. But few people would
dare to 60, as he did, on hunting trip
into the swamps OF Florida. with bad
man and acknowledged murderer. In
1894, he wanted a guide to take him
hunting on the west coast Of Florida
He found one and after being out with
that he was alone IN the wflds with
the prize criminal OF tho country. Most
men would probably have made tracks
Immediately for home, but Rowland
continued his hunting for several
months and declared that Mr. Muir
r-Thief-and- Burglar was quite an
agreeable companion when you could
get 1t out Of your mind that he might
kill you IN your sleep.
The central figure MARIA Dolores Of
Zelt-Newminster) Of Henry Harland's
new, novel, My Friend Prospero."
which Mcclure, Phillips a Co. are is
suing, is said to have been drawn.
with her permission. from the Prin-
cess Christina Of Lain and Dyck, whe
resides at Schloss Wischenau. In Ba-
varia. II is stated that in her youth
she was just such a sprightly, witty.
and unconventional person as Mr..
Harland has depicted IN his book. She
Is noted for her beauty. The frontiS-
piece portrait In the book Is said very
much to resemble Princess Christina.