The San Francisco call., 1905-08-29
AID FOR FAMILY
OF BRET HARTE
Fund Being Raised to Help
Daughter of Distinguished
Author of California Fame
DEBTS OF OSCAR WILDE
Efforts Being Made by His
Friends to Pay Claims
of the French Creditors
Special Dispatch to The Cali.

LONDON, Aug. 2S.-The fund for the
assistance of Miss Bret Harte has begun
well, and It Is hoped by George Meredith.
Anthony Hope, Sir Gilbert Parker, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, Hall Caine and the
others supporting the appeal. that 1t will
meet with kindly attention In the United
States also. Any subscriptions sent to
London will be acknowledged by DIR. L.
c. Alexander, the honorary secretary OF
the fund. Whitelaw Reid, the American
ambassador, has just sent In twenty
guineas with a personal letter that was
highly appreciated Madame Albani has
spontaneously offered to give her ser.
vices for benefit performance, and 1t
is suggested that the many American
women living IN London should take
part in organizing the benefit.
DR.. Alexander says that the idea now
Is to establish Miss Bret Harte as the
head of typewriting bureau, and he
would like to have 1t suggested that
three or four of the principal American
typewriting companies could not get bet
ter advertisement than by contributing
a machine each to the cause.
Bret Harte's last years in London were
marked by much illness and he left prac-
tically nothing for his family, who have
since been dogged by the sort of hard
luck for which only luck Is responsible.
A son. on whom the family depended.
became almost totally blind recently, and
Miss Bret Harte. who was making some
progress in theatrical and concert work,
also broke down in health.
WILDE,S WISHES RESPECTED.
So many stories have been published
to the effect that Oscar Wilde is still
alive that his friend Robert Ross, who
edited DE Profundis,'' has been moved
to write the following conclusive and
convincing letter to Clement Shorter:
Since the absurd report OF Mr.. Wilde being
still alive appeared in the papers have received
31s letters from different sources asking me
IL the report were true. Perhaps you Will
make known to those interested in the subject
the following facts:
At the time Of his death Mr. Wide owed q
considerable OF money to Paris trades
people. who, out OF regard for fallen and
distinguished man CONTRARY to all French in
stincts). had given him considerable credit
When nursing him during his last Illness he
asked me- of his most Intimate friends,
that in the event Of his Geath should en-.
deavor to see that those who had been kind
TO him were paid Instead Of raising difficult
ties as they might easily have done. the French
creditors directly he was dead accepted with
out any demur my personal promise that they
would DE paid In course Of time. For for
eiener to die In Paris when he is registered at
the hotel under an assumed name Is one OF
the most expensive luxuries In the world. and
Wilde's body was very nearly taken TO the
Morgue.
friends and there was really no money to buy
suitable plat OF ground for his grave II
also occurred. to me and to the friend who was
with him at the last that 1, would be IN bad
taste to spend large sum OF money on his
grave and funeral expenses until the French
creditors who had shown more than human
charity were fully compensated /, therefore.
hired plat OF ground at Bayneux and placed
a simple stone over the place, and pay a rent
TO the French Government for the use Of a
concession tenlporafre
II shocks great many visitors to Bayneux
to learn that the grave - only a temporary
one. But two-thirds of the French creditors
have been satisfied and by next year Wilde's
last wishes win have been carried out l snah
ing place at Pere Ia Chaise and suitable
monument viii be erected over them re-
ceive numerous letters expressing establishment
at the nature of the grav- at Bayneux and
the fact that 1t is only a. temporary one, but
have given you the reason L venture TO think
that no one who knows the circumstances will
think that should have followed any other
course
PLANS OF PHILLPoTTs.
Although the. fact has not been men
toned hitherto. 1T can be said here that
Eden Phillpott's new novel, on which he
has already begun work, although 1t will
not be completed for nearly a year. is to
be called THE Whiriwind.' Like 1.-The
Secret Woman" and Children OF the
MIST it is to be a Dartmoor story. Mr..
Phillpotts said to the writer recently:
81 want to make Dartmoor hereafter
my life work. covering 1t with my novels
almost rood by rood. L have finished
with lighter work. and do not intend to
write anything hereafter except in the
vein of The Secret Woman"
Mr. PhilIpotts said he had received a
good many offers to go over and lecture
in the United States. but had never found
time to consider them
BOOK BY SCIENTIST BURKE.
That all matter is electricity, and elec-
tricity matter, and that life itself may be
a kind of motion, are two of the theories
of that brilliant young Cambridge scten-
IL q rxrh0se diacnr-aria a