Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-01-23
DAVID MASON.

Four Great English Novelists Wore
His Pupils IN Literature.
The man who taught English lltcra-
lure to four great English writer's, Rob
ert Louis Stevenson, J NJ. Barrie, S r.
Crockett and DR.. John Watson dan
Maclaren,. has just died in Scotland.
HIS name was David Mason. and o
writer in the Milwaukee Sentinel gives
a short history of Professor Masson's
life and comments upon the four IA
nous pupils. TO quote:
All these noyelists studied at Edin-
burgh university. where Professor
Mason occupied the chair of English
literature from 1863 to 1898. Steven
son and Barrie were members Of his
classes in the early seventies, while
among other pupils were William Arch
er, the dramatic critic. aud Lord Rose
be.v.
Or all these. however perhaps the
one who bears the deepest testimony
to Masson's influence is i NJ Barrie.
who once declared that he made M his
mind TO go in for literature one day
when he saw the professor rummaging
over secondhand bookstall with ST.
900 in bank notes bulging out of his
pockets
whimsical thumb nail sketch" of
his old pedagOcue by Barrie IS worth
quoting. 1t comes in a series Of recol
lections Of the novelist's college days,
the Edinburgh Eleven" and Is as fol
lows Mason always comes to my
mem"Y first, knocking nails into his
desk or trying to tear the gas bracket
from It's socket. He said that the Danes
scattered over England. taking such a
hold as n nail takes when 1t is driven
into wood. For the moment he saw his
desk turned into England; he whirled
an Invisible hammer In the air. and
down 1t came on the desk with
crash No one who has sat under Mas
son can forget how the Danes nailed
themselves upon England. 1t was
when his mind CROPPED for an image
that he clutched the bracket. He seem
ed to tear his good things out Of it.
Silence overcame the class; some were
fascinated by the man. Others trem-
bled for the bracket. 1t shook, groan-
ed and yielded. Mason said another
of the things that made his lectures
literature. The crisis had passed, and
everybody breathed again"
1t was In 1895 that this rugged, pic
turesque literary veteran, so long a
familiar figure in Edinburgh streets,
resigned his chair to live out his days
in retirement. He had been called to
the university thirty years before to
succeed the famous ballad scholar,
Professor Aytoun, and twelve years be.
fore L.. he had taken the vacant
place Of the poet Clough as professor
Of English at University college, Lon
don. At nineteen he was editor Of
religious magazine in Aberdeen, his
birthplace. and at twenty-five, when he
went down to London, he was one of
the best Known magazine writers in
Scotland Before he became a pro.
fessor he was the FIRST editor of Mac
millans Magazine which. curiously
enough, has issued It's last number
and has died with It's irst great
editor.
It was In these days that Carlyle.
one Of his intimate friends, warned
him not to fritter away his talents on
little things. but 10 concentrate them
on something big. The result of tll5
was his mastery Life and Tilaes Of
Milton" in six volumes, he great
work o. his life. which orcu led all
rpe IeIsuic III tUvury'..iIr Ac1i7S. more
brilliant is The smaller Life Of chat
terton" and the fourteen volume edl-
ton of De Quincey's works, the out
come of long and intimate friendship
with the famous opium eater. whose
life he contributed TO the English men
Of letters series. There are many peo-
pie in Great Britain today who feel
that in "Davie. a real kindly Scot
Edinburgh has lost her most distln-
guished citizen.