New-York tribune., 1908-01-19
dom as their colleagues have perml'1eo 'neii -
EDvUyD CLARENCE STEDMAN.


The career of Edmund Clarence Stedman EN-
braced years of profound importance 10 A,lAeI
ican literature and in much that made them
important he bore a fruitful part ne De5ah
life with the aspirations of 4 poet lie was
noet To the end But also from hrst 10 ia"1
ba had what we have needed even more IMAM
the grace of poetry-the gifts OF lne y! u '4
minded man of letters. 1t IS perhaps uliiicu,'
for the writers or the readers OF to-od9 u Ie"
iza the conditions under which Stedihah anu
his comrades in literary Journalism HuIeheu
their early ventures. Stahcards Vi Lao'o "N4
high. in some respects higher than they are
now but there no Such defnaiu IoI u7
work of young writers as charac'eriHe" lls
present hour The machinery OF magazine anu
hook making was limited III scope, ana 10 cu1il-
yate the muse a man needed courage anu
patfence Stcdman had both, ana ne S'a't
upon Il literary career not only WIN h nieh
ideal but with n resolution TO WORN a'uu ~
work hard He would sing his songs put ne
would be Il competent craftsman faftlhui ~
the spirit of bis time and thoughtiul OF ltS
noeds He would be a good writer, and III
making himself one he rendered solid SERVICE
10 American letters.
Stad,nan wrote well because he knew not only
books but life. Journalism in New YORK anu Tue
exnerience Of correspondent on the pa''ie
folds of the Civil War developed his Skill en-
larced his SymnathieS and deepened ms eIuo
tions IT is impossible to read certain oi MS
nono,s such as Brown of OssaWatohhe'
without feeling that the man who wrote those
stirring lines had brought the fire for them
out of the depths of passionate feeling we
have had no maker of poetry or prose whose
work has been more strengthened than was
Stedmans by the springs Of genuine hulial
svmna+hv Knowledge of mankind and love
of country quite as much as any purely literary
ambition went to The making of bis books. linus
it was not altogether unkind fate WHICH leu
/ him into business paths. The dlsclpihe WAS
hard for one who longed to iv" in his library
but all the time Stedman was increasing MS
store of that experience Of the world which
WAS tbe best spur to his genius. II he did not
nraciseiy learn in suffering what he taught III
song his work as writer was IN man! wa! ,
enriched by his contact with men ana ''ll"ls ;, "
He wrote out of full mind. His poetry, fuil
of IMAGINATION of tenderness. OF all that narhs
the true lyrist. bore always the stamp ol Il
nature formed i'll the battle Of life HIS prose-
in which wide reading and Jealous scholarship
are so clearly reflected. was invariably sighlh-
cant Of a sane and liberal outlook Criticism
fo. hin, meant no aookish detachment from the
daily interests of men, no ingenious making or
Thrases He knew that if it is the critics buSl-
ness 70 deal in the best thought OF the world, II
is likewise his duty TO illuminate his theme, 10
pnliindIe his reader with sense of things rlght
and fine In other words, he was vivid ana
moving Interpreter one who spoke face TO race
with his public went straight to the point, ana
kent literature in his pages. living and
beautiful thing This he did throughout long
career. stimulating and aiding unnumoered stu-
dents of books and of life
What he did IN the fmpcrsonal laDors OIL Il
writer he did as a man in private life. lie was
an old Tribune man and in these pages any
tribute to his character would inevitably possess
the note Of peculiar understanding and appre-
ciation But we have reason to know that an
extraordinary number of men and women
I everywhere must share in the gratitude and the
grief felt by bis intimate comrades He had
! genius for helping others, genius which per-
sisted even when he was welngh oyerborne by
his own burdens and sorrows. Admiration Tor
! Stedman's brilliant powers and his noble use OF
/ them follows him 10 the grave, nnd with II the
! love which is only yielded to a man as rlch Ill
/ Qualities of heart as in intellectual force