New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-09


tex hole on en- like urr folks an when
you gifts m yO' can n always hole 'a,n
Msrse Chan. Tale OF Old Virginia
Thomas Nelson Page was the GUEST q,
honor at dinner of the Lotos Club las,
night. Two hundred members and gues,s
of the club were present to greet him He
did not speak on votes for women 40
the above quotation from one of his best
dialect stories might suggest, but was
pleasantly reminiscent OF his early strug-
giles in the literary world. and enter
tanned his Lotos Club friends with so,n.
short stories" in this same inimitabI.
dialect.
Frank r. Lawrence, president OF the
Lotos Club, in introducing the Southern
author, declared that every one would ac-
knowledge the great debt Of American
literature to Mr. Page.
What Cooper did for the Northwest
and the Indians said Mr.. Lawrence,
what Irving did for the early Dutch in
New York. what Bret Harte did for the
early Calfornians and what Mark Twain
did for the Mississippi, Mr.. Page has done
for the old South-the South as 1t used
to be-
His Start Came Hard.
Mr.. Page arose to say that nc was very
much embarrassed in having TO speak IN
public He said his inclination was rather
to slip under the table. In speaking OF
what some Of the critics did TO his early
dialect stories he referred to one, In par
ticular, who wrote that they were quite
| Ia nal
To decipher them. The critic referred TO
them az a series of inverted commas"
The author reverted 10 his early days
in writing for The Richmond sun lie
said he finally began 10 write poems and
other things. and tried 20 get them pub
ished. He finally got some Of his poems
| published in The sun he SAID. When
he first came TO New York he wrote
poem and sent IL 10 magazine, and 1t
was accepted. That gave him great cour-
| age. and he wrote another ana sent It 10
| the same magazine.
But the second poem came back. he
/ said They said il was vecy good, but
! that they were simply SO overwhelmed
with poems they could not use IT, Later
! they took it. 1t might have oten a better
/ business deal if they had taken II ia the
/ first instance Later On 1 had made quite
/ some reputation down an Virginia IN the
/ town where / lived. Tor was The on.y
/ man vino had written anything Ike d
I book down there
Blamed for Uncle Toms Cabin"
| "One day an old friend came 70 me end
said he had heard | mad been writing
some books. / told him / had, and he
said he had for a long time wanted 20
get hold OF one of the books | had
written. | asked him which one 10 was
and he began to humble about Uncle
something. and finally remembered ana
said. Uncle Toms Cabin.
An is well with art and with Nieia-
ture." said Mr.. PAGE. referring 10 Presi-
dent Wilson. "and when Tor the FIRST time
a literary man from Virginia, Who was
later resident of Trenton, has been
elected President. and so long a he IS IN
stigated BY the deeds and virtues of that
other great Virginian who stands IN
simple majesty in front Of the Suo-Ireas-
ury Building in this city. 50 long a. he :
guided by the old standards under wnlch
! vice is punished and virtue rewarded ans
we'll with the republic
The other speakers were kooe'
Bridges. editor OF "Scribner So: Walter H.
Page editor of Worlds Work. Edward
| J. Wheeler. editor of Current Opinion
the Rev. DR.. y. MCGEE Waters. of Brook
| lvn; Andre de Fouquieres. OF Paris; Gen
eral Horace Porter, Augustus IhomaS
and w. Bourke Cochran.
Among those who were az the dinner
were Chester :. Lord. Charles Scrione'
Edwin Iefevre. Charles ". Price Joi'"
Harsen Rhoades, +. Cunliffe owen James
Creelman. John Elderkin, ex-senator W.
A. Clark. r. A c. Smith, l. y. Beths"
&. G.. Du Bots. W. O. Jones Conde nam
lin. +. r. Davis. +. 4. Duneha' l.. W
Riggs. Or. w. W. Walker. Charles lmhop
Walter f. Frew, ]. A. Harris, Colin Ar"I'
strong, Willard l.. Candee' Charies %
| Perry. Colonel Ezra de Forest, Geo's'
4 Rarr McCutcheon, Filth Reumert. Cienien'
| G Gaines. Walter +. Phillips, LOUIS " h's'
David III. TAYLOR, Il. \. HeSeman' IT, -
w. Dumont. Fred w Dodge. q. W. sweet
William II. Libby. e. Il. Chaplin H. 10
Rridgman, John Kellogg. Or. ~ h. wv"
Fred w. SHIRLEY. Henry CleNs' JAM
Spcver. william r. Evans. y. j. VIII !"
". Cook. Ely snow. Charles :. Lee Juuss
II. A. Steele, f.. II. Bales and IA %