Evening journal., 1911-02-04
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The NeurOlOgiStS Who Be-
came NOVeIiStS to Gain Rest
By "Honand."

The late DR. William Alexander
Hammond was surgeon-general of the
United States Army during a portion
of the time when the civil war was be-
ing fought. and thereafter. until his
death, which occurred IN 1900, he was
looked upon generally as one Of the
worlds foremost authorities upon the
nervous diseases. He was also a very
voluminous writer on medical sub
jects.
But, lol and behold, in the early
eighties, Dr. Hammond blossomed out
as novelist, and straightway there
was no little astonishment thereat,
and a good deal of conjecture as to
how he had found time for such work.
For he was being constantly consulted
upon his speciality, he was engaged in
teaching IN a university medical
school, and he was constantly pub
fishing medical treaties. some of
which were translated and published
I'm France and other European ma
tions.
Soon after the publication of his
second novel. "Lal,' which attracted
the most attention Of all his works of
fiction and which gained the common
estimate that in none of his other
books had he come so near the high
water mark as a novelist, | chanced
to meet DR.. Hammond, and asked him
why he had taken up novel writing and
how he had found the time necessary
to engage in such endeavor.
81 found time because ! took time
was the reply. "Aud I took the time be-
cause of an experience of my friend
| Dr.. a. Wier Mitchell, OF Philadelphia
Both DR. Mitchell and myself have
made speciality Of diseases Of the
nervous organs. / believe we arc COM
monty called alienists. Or. Mitchell
stands at the very head of the special
| lists in nervous diseases.
When DR.. Mitchell FIRST blossomed
out as a writer OF fiction ! was curious
to know why he had taken up a line OF
human endeavor so far removed from
his own, and bluntly made inquiry Of
him. His reply was that the had dis
covered that by writing down what his
fancy dictated in the quiet Of his lib
rary after a hard days work he found
that he soothed his own nerves, quiet
ed his brain, and after an hour or two
thus spent was in a perfectly normal
! tOHulAlon dNu duit W ObAdin cOuuu
sleep Quite accidentally he had made
the discovery, IN an idle moment
picking up his pen and writing down
what his fancy dictated.
Il was sure that what Or. Mitchell
had found good treatment for nerve
weariness I could find equally advan-
tageous, and I determined to try the
experiment. One night. after a day of
great labor, | went TO my library, put
two or three cigars upon my library
table and as I smoked them let my
fancy have full sway. Almost in
stantly, I found that the operation OF
the mind which the play Of fancy
makes possible served as a real brain
rest Moreover. II was a physical rest
So ] speedily contracted the habit oI
writing fiction after my regular days
work was over. Sometimes, write
until an hour or two after midnight
Then a delicious languor, perfectl.
normal, comes TO me. and / go 20 beC
as certain OF sound sleep as is a Lao
who has played out Of doors all day
In just this way / have written my
two novels, and l hope to write other:
In the same way" Which he did.
Copyright. 1911, by f. J. Edwards. AL
rights reserved)
On Monday Mr.. Edwards will tel
"a Story OF Two and 0ne.Legged Sen
ofarc -