Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-25

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I. For the man who has passed the me-
ridian OF life without realizing his youthful
dreams of fame and fortune the story Of
Palmer Cox and his brownies should afford
profound encouragement. 1t was not until
he was forty years old that Mr.. Cox dis
covered himself. Not until he had failed in
many vocations did he. find his true one.
And not until he had drudged along for
many year in even his rightful possession
did he hit on the idea which has since
brought him riches and made: his name a
household word.
His Childhood Friends.
1t was in his earliest childhood that Mr..
Cox learned of the brownies, little dreaming
then Of the all-important part they were to
play later in his career. He was born In
1843 in CRANKY, Quebec, Scotch settlement
lying within sight of the mountains OF
Vermont. To this, little colony had been
transplanted much OF the folk lore or .ne
itants emigrated. The old women of Gran
by were wont to tell their little ones the
same fairy tales as did their ancestors In
ancient Caledonia.
Of Ali the creatures that figured in these
Scottish legends the brownies had the great
est charm for the future artist They were
always described as such jolly, kindly TEL
lows Though bit mischievous, they were
in no way spiteful, and never were they
known to bring evil dreams or sour the milk
or twist the yarn into impossible knots.
as their cousins, the COLLINS, were charged
with doing.
Loved for Their Mischief.
Instead the brownies were said to be
busy, helpful sprites, who loved to tighten
the work Of tired housewives. At night they
Travelled about singly, each choosing some
farm house whose mistress was noted either
for her beauty or her good temper. And
after all within the house were asleep the
brownie would silently enter and toll there
till Notwithstanding, weaving, sweeping
and scrubbing the floors. The brownie was
always welcome, and the superst1tious IN
certain regions of Scotland and Canada are
still known to leave a bite or sup on a
table placed close to a window to induce
this Industrious elf to abide in the house
over night.
Shirked Study to Draw.
AS boy Palmer Cox was fond Of draw
ing pictures, and many a seoIding did he re-
ceive at school for spending the study hour
drawing fantastic fairylike figures on the
fyleaves OF his books, instead Of porting
over the printed pages. Deep In his heart
he aspred to be an artist. In simple, prae-
teal harQWQrklOg 0TdliDy, uOWcScI, tulo
ambition remained only latent and when he
struck out from home at the age Of seven
teen he came to the United States with the
determinations succeeding as man OF
business.
That it was wealth rather than fame
which had the most attraction for Mr.. Cox
in the earlier years of his life is shown by
his quitting the eastern states not long
after he had come there from his Canadian
home and striking out for the wiids of Cal
ifornia..
Seeks Wealth In Land Of Gold.
Though many years had gone by since 1t
| first became known to the world for its
gold, California still was spoken Of as
land of riches AS 1t was before the days
of the transcontinental railroad, the young
man went to the Golden Gate by way OF
| the isthmus, his trip being considerably
enliyened when a confederate cruiser sight
ed the ship on which he sailed and chased
| it for three days out of it's course In Cali
fornia the fortune seeker went into the
railroad business. only to find himself lily
adapted to this vocation. The yearnings
to develop the artistic side Of his nature
manifested themselves more and more
strongly. and at the same time his dreams
of sudden wealth began to vanish.
The conviction that he was only wasting
his energies in a business career was still
further strengthened at this time by his
investment of several thousand dollars in
friend. Every dollar was lost.
Battles Against Odds.
The energy and enthusiasm with which
Palmer Cox turned to what has since
proved his true vocation should be an in
spiration to every youth. who has artistic
aspirations. but who believes himself un-
able to attain to them. Not having money
enough to devote his entire time to the
study of art he took up newspaper work
for a living and devoted his spare hours to
home and wrote for the Gold Era, the Alta
Californian and tie San Francisco Exam
liner. At the same time he became men,
Der of that famous sketching club, the
Graphic, Off which Benoni Irwin, the
marine painter, was instructor and critic.
Among other members of the club at that
time were Marriott. the. French painter;
Thomas Ill., made famous in later years
ford, later known for his arctic scenes, and
williams afterward a teacher in the Bos-
| ton Art School. From Lennoux Francis, a
Belgian artist, Mr.. Cox also studied char
| coal and pen and ink drawing.
illustrates His Own Articles.
| AS his knowledge of art grew the news
paper writer devoted more and more of his
! time to illustrating his articles, until finally
| his writing became, subordinated to his
drawing. 1t was then that he decided that
San Francisco did not offer as great finan-
cial inducements to the artist as New York.
and accordingly he turned his face toward
| the east and made his home in the great
metropolis. This was in 1873 when he wss
Ethirty-1ve years old.
I Although the Brownies lived in his mind
| as of old, he had not yet recognized their
| possibilities. In the various lines of sketch
work which he essayed after his coming to
L f,to1x