The Washington herald., 1907-01-20

luncheon, to the man who, having lived
the life, could write about the cowboy
who
II he flourish true Brunmei Of the plain his
leggngs viii be fronted from instcp to belt with
The thick pelt hair outside Of a Newfoundland
deg. These chaDps meant to protect the
cowboy from rain and cold. well az plum bushes
wire fences. and other obstacles mimical and
against which he may iunge when riding headiong in
the dark The hair of the Newfoundland. thick and
long and laid the right way dehes the rains; and
your cowboy loathes water.
Through such environment has Henry
Alfred Lewis come on his march toward
his goal-to become a millionaire. There
is certain rugged force about the man
that picks him out from among his fel-
lows. Fear. m0ral or physical, does not
abide in men who are broad between the
eyes. as he is. or whose jaws are 50
firmly set. What he wants 10 do, this he
does; II he has aught 10 say, he says il.
whether TO priest or publisher or high
Official a man that could be Of iDcal-
culable service 90 his country did he
choose to serve. but there is no money
in it," he declares. and turns again 10
the profitable typewriter
Not man easy to understand this, and
yet although he delights In smashing
false gods. In uttering heresies, literary
and otherwise: although his viewpoint Is
rugged and apparently self-centered. there
are those who can tell OF occasions in
which he has violated his own theories
and has stopped marching millionaire
ward long enough to do many kindly
actions both Of purse and influence
He has written much. and pretty nearly
always with equal enthusiasm. whether II
is about Andrew Jackson or Paul Jones,
Peggy ONeal. or "FlOrry'' Sullivan, the
ward boss on the BOwery, for whom he
processes great admiration. "Florry" is
man who has done things with his
hands as well as his head; working for
his own hand mostly, he has yet ac-
complished much good. and could ac-
complish much more were his ideals
higher-that is, If he has any ideas. OF
course such q character would appeal TO
Mr. Lewis, and he Is likely TO do more
with that type some day.
He has two books on the stocks now.
One Is the new volume OF Wolfville
stories; the other is 20 be called Scarcely
OF Sirgle Alley" the story of a waif OF
Cherry Hill, a dock rat and sort OF youth
ful pirate who liz IS alone with his mother
and has to fight his own way In life IL
is the sort Of a tale Of human interest
that Lewis should handle admirably
What are the tastes in literature in such
a cosmopolitan as this2
Read he says: Il don't have time to
read, and the books they make nowadays
are mostly no good. II ] want TO read AZ
all l take W Dickens or Scott OF some Of
he old fellows I know are all right:
writer's who have been sifted through the
nf Inn VEL Ha har
They're worth while Biography too,
like, especially autobiography-tha
find Interesting. Now, l couldn't read one
Of Anthony Troilopes novels 10 save my
life. but his autobiography Is full Of good
stun. The reason is that his novels were
artificial things; his story OF his cwn life
is real"
For himself everything interests him as
a possible subject 70 write upon. At first
he wrote. Of course. solely out Of his own
experiences. the tales he had lived. and
those he had listened 20 by the camp
fires: thus grew the "WOlfville" books and
"SandbuTrs' and Episodes Of Cowboy
LIE. Then came novel, BLACK Lion
Inn" Peggy O'NeaI." an essay on John
ID. Rockefeller. jr.; What VIII He Do
with His Fortune;" The Modern Robin
Hood" The Boss, and How lie Came to
Rule New York." THE Lesson Of Platt."
The President" 'Inez Of the 'Dobe
Walls. The Throwback." A Trust in
Agricultural Implements lit has all been
fish that has come 10 his net It's not
college stuff. he writes, but it's real and
IL goes. sOmeway, toward boisteTing up
the theory expressed by Col Sterett.
Them temples Of learnin'." says the
colonel, lis "a heap ornate; but they don't
make good"