Evening star., 1916-08-13
INSUSPECTED Revealed New Civil Pensions Which the
~ Famous Authors and
Means Support
Surprise n the Tramp pPoet"

mother having been a sister of James
Anthony Froude. the historian. His
father was a clergyman of the Estab-
lished Church. His career at ':xford
was brilliant all through and he lin
ishcd by winning the Newdegate pr.zc
Intended originally for diplomacy, he
never adopted airy definite profession.
hut has ira -elei widely. His first
book was The New Republic" his
second. rs Life Worth Living?' and
his third. The New Paul and Vr-
ginia." These have been followed by
many others, including Religion as a
Credible Doctrine" Labor and Popu-
lar Welfare" and "Aristocracy and
Evolution"
And now he is awarded a pension Of
$3.50 a year "in consideration of his
distinguished literary work and his
straitened circumstances" The public
announcement must have been calling
enough to his pride and he must have
inquired of himself once more and
with some bitterness. rs Life Worth
Living?" He is still writing, having.
in fact, just finished work dealing
with the principles Of democracy. upon
which he has been working for nearly
three years. Articles from his pen
also appear in the serious reviews
from time to time, but 1t may well be
that the war has narrowed his market,
as II has that OF SO many writer's over
here. For the past few months, 1t
seems. he has been living in Cam
bridge.
who receives civil list pension of
1900 "in consideration Of his services
to art, literature and the drama, and
of his straitened circumstances. is
another. whom it is strange to find in
this gallery. Now sixty-nine. he is one
of the best known of British play
wrights and is renowned. too, both as
an art critic and as witty raconteur
and after dinner speaker. Sir Henry
Irving appeared with success in his
play, King Arthur" and he was the
author of the version of "Oliver
Twist" which Sir Herbert Tree used
here and that later was produced in
the United States. as well as Trees
he was art critic of the Pail Mall Ca
zette and after that manager of the
Comedy Theater. London.
When Irving's theater. the Lyceum.
was made into a limited liability. Carr
became its managing director. 1t was
he. too, who made the English version
of Sardou's Madame Sans Gene" For
many years he has been one of the
lights OF the famous Garrick Club, and
his son, Philip Carr, is well known as
a critic, dramatic author and Shakespeare
theater enthusiast.
Unquestionably the most striking fig
ure. however. among this years re
cipients of civil list pensions is W. H.
Davies. the so-called tramp poet"
Davies is a real poet. competent critics
having ranked him with Blake, Crabbe
and other famous EliZabethan masters
of verse. and he Is a real hobo. too. or
rather was one. most of his year's-long
experience of life ION the road" having
been gained in the United States. The
poems contained in the first volume he
published. THE Souls Destroyer"
were written in a cheap lodging house
in Southwark. one of London's grimiest
districts, and he got the money with
which to bring It out at his own ex-
pense by selling pins. boot 1aces and
similar small wares throughout the
country districts.
Now. at forty-six. he is acknowledged
as one of the most gifted writer's of
English verse. When he published his
life story. THE Autobiography of a
Super-tramp." it had an introduction
written by George Bernard Shaw.
When Elizabeth Asquith. the prime
ministers daughter. persuaded a lot of
England's leading versifiers to read
from their own works at Baroness