The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-08
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
Defends Lafcadlo Hearn,
le Editor of The Age-Herald:

Will you kindly permit me to offer a correction of your review of Dr. G. M. Goulds book Concerning Lafcad;o Hearn,' which appeared in your issue of May 25? You may recall that through out the book there is constant iteration and reiteration by pr. Gould that Hearn was totally without what we call char acter; and as one who knew Hearn and loved him and admired him for the last 15 years of his life, I protest against the impression so convincingly set forth by the plausible doctor as wickedly and ma lciously false
 I should be the last one to claim that Hearns life, during all the years that did not know him, was free from all sorts of blemishes. But concerning the last 15 years of his life, from 1889 when he left pr. Gould, hating him, fearing him as he did no one else, unwilling ever to have anything to with him again, l can speak with authority. In this am supported by Professor Basil, hall chamberlain of the Imperial university Tt Tokio; Capt. Mitchell Mcdonald, United States navy, and others who were his
 
 his home in Japan.
 Now the facts about his life in Japan are these: That he was very happily married to a lady of noble birth some B years before he died. Dr. Gould's slurs upon this marriage are unwarranted and false. His wife bore him four children to whom he was deeply attached assure you, and I know whereof I speak that through suffering and constant faith fitness to artistic ideals and through love and fatherhood he finally achieved a great beauty and sweetness of life. His proposed return to America for a time shortly before his death, was in order to provide an occidental education for his eldest son, who already shows a consid- erable literary talent. That was the req son that he gave, and why not believe nim? But this is the way Dr. Gould describes it: His cries of disillusion ever the Japanese were largely the anger of the semi-berbaric wanderer held by family ties, paternity" etc. That is very fancy writing, but it is not true In the authoritative Life and Letters" it IS clearly set forth in his own words why ne wanted to come
 Here is another of Dr. GouId's bIos- sons: Almost every hour of his life ad been lived in physical or mental anguish, denied desire, crushed yearn- ings or unguded waywardness." That cort of stuff makes the book interesting but the facts are that he lived a quiet gentle life with his family, was frequent y visited by the few friends he admit ed to his intimacy and died in his 55th year, greatly beloved and widely honored.
 The whole book is full of allusions of this sort. It was written during the time that very acrimonious corre- spondence was in process between Dr. Gould and Hearns literary executor in which the estate endeavored to secure the return of Heapns library, manu- scripts and scrap-books left with pr. Gould as pledge for a loan of s6O. They are now the subject of law suit be- tween the estate and Dr. Gould Letters pr. Gould were published in the New York Times on May 14 and Gould's core spondence with his literary executor was published in the same paper on the 22d ultimo
 You observe how full of praise the book IS of Hesrns literary ability and how Cefamatory it is every time it refers 10 him as a man. The reason is not far to seek Of course 1t makes the book more interesting to describe how such genius proceeded from a miserable human waif from an empty shell without character or any sense of responsibility. Moreover Dr. Gould is singly and alone on the de- sensive in regard to Hearn, despite his efforts to range himself with other some time friends who had done him no evil and who took his whimsical fy-away na- ture silently and philosophically. He would get a "grouch' on the slightest prehensible provocation at all and write abusive letters-afterwards feel sorry for t and try to make amends, and again 1t must be said of him, he sometimes did not make amends at all But he felt that Dr.. Gould had injured him, had got his property away from him, and he did rot write of any one else as he wrote of he author of this book. So it is profit able to Dr. Gould to discredit Hearn.
 He strives to do him just what Gris- wold did to the memory of that other great southern author, Edgar Allen Poe to blight his reputation for all time
 Should your readers desire authorita- tive information I would advise that the life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn," :" edited by Elizabeth Bisland and pup iished by Houghton, Mifflin & Co.,. while not giving his life in complete detail is unspeakably more correct than the Gould book Moreover in reading 1t you learn from the letters the nature of the man himself, whereas the Gould book really onsy teaches you many things about pr. Gould it tells very little truth about afcadio ELLWOOD HENDRICK. ,ss East Fortieth street, New York, June 4, 1908.
 Let Dixie Alone.