Washington telegraph., 1911-06-30
new news OF YESTERDAY
NeuroIogiSts Who Became Novel,
lists to Gain Rest.
DR.. William A. Hammond's Story of
How He Turned to Writing of
Fiction, Following Example of
DR.. A. Wier Mitchell.
BY E. ]. EDWARDS.

ny Es j. EpWHh0Ss
The late DR.. William Alexander
Hammond was surCeon-general of the
United States army during a portion
of the time when the Civil war was
being fought, and thereafter until his
death, which occurred in 1900, he
was looked upon generally as one of
the worlds foremost authorities upon
nervous diseases. He was also a
very voluminous writer on medical
subjects.
But, 10 and behold, in the early
eighties, DR.. Hammond blossomed out
as a novelist, and there was no little
astonishment thereat, and good deal
of conjecture as to how he had found
time for such work sier he was be-
ing constantly consulted upon MS spe-
cialty, he was engaged in teaching
in university medical school, and
he was constantly publishing medical
treatises, some Of which were trans
lated and published in France and
other European nations.
| 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,
I 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 en-
deavor.
'I found time because took time"
was the reply "And l took the time
because of an experience of my FRIEND
DR.. A. Wier Mitchell of Philadelphia
Both DR.. Mitchell and myself have
made a speciality of diseases of the
nervous organs. l believe we are
commonly called alienists. DR.. Mitch
ell stands at the very head OF the
specialists 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 in,
ouiry of him. His reply was that he
had discovered that by writing down
what his fancy dictated in the quiet
of his library after hard days work
he found that he soothed his own
nerves, quieted his brain, and, after
an hour or two thus spent, was in
a perfectly normal condition and able
to obtain sound sleep. Quite accl-
dentally he had made the discovery,
in an idle moment picking up his
ren and writing down what his fancy
dictated.
81 was sure that what DR.. Mitchell
had found good treatment for nerve
WEAKNESS / should find equally ad-
vantageous. and l determined to try
the experiment. One night, after o
day OF great labor, | went to my
library, put two or three cigars upon
my library table and as | smoked
them let my fancy have full sway.
Almost instantly I found that the
operation Of the mind which the play
of fancy makes possible served IS q
real brain rest. Moreover, il was q
physical RESI-. So / speedily com
tracted the habit of writing fiction
after my regular days work was
over. Sometimes l write until an
hour or two after midnight. Then
a delicious languor, perfectly normal,
comes to me, ard I GO to bed es GER
tain Of sound sleep as is . lad who
has played out or doors. all day. IN
Just this way have written ny two
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