had curtained the corners and windows. On the door hung the old hat, and on a table a plaster bust of the poet stood sentinel." CURRENT LITERARY TOPICS. After Suggestions for Newspaper Writers. - Some excellent advice for newspaper writers was given by Samuel G. Blythe in an address delivered recently before the third annual convention of the Intercollegiate Press Association. Mr. Blythe said he did not regard newspaper work as a road to wealth, but as a way "to live a big, broad life." saying that it is the duty of every man who contemplates entering journalism to get all the knowledge he can, he continued: "No person, however, can teach a man to write. You can be taught the principles of writing, the grammar, and the rhetoric, and all that, but you must teach yourself to write. The mere facility of writing correct English does n't mean anything. There are scores of persons around newspaper offices who can write correct English. The trouble is they have n't any ideas to anglicize correctly. "The man who goes into journalism and who desires a big success must specialize. After his experience as an all-round reporter on all the assignments, pick out one subject and specialize it. Likewise he should try to make his stuff as different from the stuff of other men on the papers as he can. I found that out early, and when I was a cub reporter I tried to write every item in a way the other reporters would n't think of writing. The results were disastrous in instances, and I had a lot of trouble with city editors and copy readers, but I finally got into the place that whenever there was a story they wanted handled in an unusual way - that did n't start, 'There was a meeting last night,' and so forth - I got it. "It took years, years when I was beaten to a pulp by men who could n't see it as I did, but I won out. And in looking over the ground I determined on my specialty early. I chose people — folks. People want to read about other people. If you will allow me, I will advise you young gentlemen who are interested in journalism to specialize on folks. That is the greatest, the most interesting, the most pliable, the most numerous, the most fascinating, the most unusual, the most satisfying subject in the world-folks. "And if you have anything like a sense of humor, for heaven's sake nurse it. Humor is the scarcest commodity in the United States. It is extinct elsewhere, almost. Don't let the serious-minded persons tell you anything about dignity and all that sort of rot. If you can write funny stuff write it, and you'll be riding in your own automobile when the serious-minded person is writing serious protests to the paper against pay-as-you-enter street cars." Edward Everett Hale's Style. Frank B. Sanborn, commenting upon some of Dr. E. E. Hale's limitations, admits that he had "that incommunicable gift - style." And he proceeds to account for it. "I once remarked to Dr. Hale that I found something French in his manner of writing - a lively clearness, which we instinctively connect with Gallic authors, who seem to have it by nature. I said 'You must have read much French early.' He replied: 'I did.' Being once laid up with a wounded or broken leg, he had the range of the numerous French books in the library of his uncle, Alexander Everett, and so got that familiarity with good French which is one of the best helps in writing English." A blessed broken leg ! Are Letters Copyright? - An interesting legal and literary dispute seems certain to arise over the letters of the late George Meredith. The London solicitors of the Meredith executors have issued a statement calling attention to the fact that the copyright of all letters written by Meredith is now vested in the executors. It will be recalled that there was a dispute over the ownership of the letters written by Charles Lamb, but then the courts decided that the owner of a letter was the proprietor of the paper with the words written on it, and not the proprietor of the composition independent of its inscription. Yet the same court later made the decision, in another case, that the possessor of the letters written by and more struck with the disorder on all sides. My first glance had been one of bewilderment; I now looked with deliberation and amazement at my surroundings. Confusion, dust, and litter- it seemed the accumulation of ages. I afterward learned that for more than two years no books, magazines, or manuscripts had been removed from this, Walt Whitman's peculiar sanctum. "There were no bookcases, large shelves, or writing desk; there was no receptacle for newspapers, and, apart from the two overloaded tables, the floor had received all of them. Upon this his general table the daily papers had been dropped when read; the weeklies had followed, and in their turn the monthly magazines. An immense number of periodicals and pamphlets had been received in the course of two years, and all were still here. Almost everything was yellow with age and soiled with the constant tramping of feet. "The mass, which was nearly solid, was two feet in depth, and had many transverse ridges. Mr. Whitman had never bought stationery; he utilized wrapping papers, old letters, and envelopes, and as he was in the habit of making his poems over and over, afterward tearing up rejected bits. I found, on clearing up, bushels of fine litter, evenly dispersed. 66 'On the left of the bed the mass of rubbish had reached a height of at least four feet. On investigation, however, there proved to be a lounge underneath. The tables stood like cows in a meadow with the grass up to their bodies; and the legs of the bed, also, were buried out of sight. The only thing that had gone up with time was the imposing easy chair. This, with its white wolfskin, surmounted the pile like a throne. The wolfskin was sadly moth-eaten, as were the old and poor garments that hung upon the walls. At one of the tables a bent metal drop light held a chipped argand burner at a dangerous angle, and within this dingy glass shone a feeble ray of light, just making visible the pallid face and hoary hair of the dying man. As I stood on the mass and looked down, the sight was beyond description. The owner was only a few inches above his worldly possessions; he seemed a part of them, and the picture would have been incomplete without him. "I began by picking up the newspapers nearest the door, folding them, and stacking them on the landing at the head of the stairs. Little by little I made my way into his room, but it was slow work, and not much could be effected during the first week. "I continued to put things in order, always desisting when my patient showed the least sign of annoyance. I would often go into the room on the pretext of putting wood in the stove, and I soon learned to perceive just how much or how little I could do. The bound volumes, invariably thrown face downward into the mass, I arrayed upon some shelves in the little room. Many were presentation copies - among them one by Longfellow and one by Tennyson. These shelves were already doing double duty, but in this crowded house there always seemed to be room for a little more. "Periodicals I piled outside with the newspapers, and as no shred of writing was to be taken out, all the script was made into a mound in one corner of the room. In this confused pile were rolls of manuscript written on different colored bits of paper; many were pinned together. No wonder some one said that Whitman's manuscripts resembled Joseph's coat! In the litter were innumerable letters; thousands of requests for autographs; poems that had been submitted to his criticism; friendly letters from home and abroad; all his business correspondence; postal cards, notes of congratu lation, invitations, envelopes unnumbered, visiting cards, wrapping papers of all brands and sizes, a variety of string of all lengths, and ranging from the fine colored cord which druggists use to the heaviest and coarsest of twine. There were several pieces of rope, coins, pins galore, countless pictures, and many photographs of himself. Strings were interwoven through the accumulated layers that it would take days to come to the ends of them. Moths flew around the room in perfect security, and industrious spiders SO had curtained the corners and windows. On the door hung the old hat, and on a table a plaster bust of the poet stood sentinel." CURRENT LITERARY TOPICS. After Suggestions for Newspaper Writers. - Some excellent advice for newspaper writers was given by Samuel G. Blythe in an address delivered recently before the third annual convention of the Intercollegiate Press Association. Mr. Blythe said he did not regard newspaper work as a road to wealth, but as a way "to live a big, broad life." saying that it is the duty of every man who contemplates entering journalism to get all the knowledge he can, he continued: “No person, however, can teach a man to write. You can be taught the principles of writing, the grammar, and the rhetoric, and all that, but you must teach yourself to write. The mere facility of writing correct English does n't mean anything. There are scores of persons around newspaper offices who can write correct English. The trouble is they have n't any ideas to anglicize correctly. "The man who goes into journalism and who desires a big success must specialize. After his experience as an all-round reporter on all the assignments, pick out one subject and specialize it. Likewise he should try to make his stuff as different from the stuff of other men on the papers as he can. I found that out early, and when I was a cub reporter I tried to write every item in a way the other reporters would n't think of writing. The results were disastrous in instances, and I had a lot of trouble with city editors and copy readers, but I finally got into the place that whenever there was a story they wanted handled in an unusual way are interested in journalism to specialize on folks. That is the greatest, the most interesting, the most pliable, the most numerous, the most fascinating, the most unusual, the most satisfying subject in the world - folks. "And if you have anything like a sense of humor, for heaven's sake nurse it. Humor is the scarcest commodity in the United States. It is extinct elsewhere, almost. Don't let the serious-minded persons tell you anything about dignity and all that sort of rot. If you can write funny stuff write it, and you'll be riding in your own automobile when the serious-minded person is writing serious protests to the paper against pay-as-you-enter street cars." Edward Everett Hale's Style. - Frank B. Sanborn, commenting upon some of Dr. E. E. Hale's limitations, admits that he had "that incommunicable gift — style." And he proceeds to account for it. "I once remarked to Dr. Hale that I found something French in his manner of writing — a lively clearness, which we instinctively connect with Gallic authors, who seem to have it by nature. I said: 'You must have read much French early.' He replied: 'I did.' Being once laid up with a wounded or broken leg, he had the range of the numerous French books in the library of his uncle, Alexander Everett, and so got that familiarity with good French which is one of the best helps in writing English." A blessed broken leg! Are Letters Copyright? — An interesting legal and literary dispute seems certain to arise over the letters of the late George Meredith. The London solicitors of the Meredith executors have issued a statement calling attention to the fact that the copyright of all letters written by Meredith is now vested in the executors. It will be recalled that there was a dispute over the ownership of the letters written by Charles Lamb, but then the courts decided that the owner of a letter was the proprietor of the paper with the words written on it, and not the proprietor of the composition independent of its inscription. Yet the same court later made the decision, in another case, that the possessor of the letters written by and more struck with the disorder on all sides. My first glance had been one of bewilderment; I now looked with deliberation and amazement at my surroundings. Confusion, dust, and litter- it seemed the accumulation of ages. I afterward learned that for more than two years no books, magazines, or manuscripts had been removed from this, Walt Whitman's peculiar sanctum. "There were no bookcases, large shelves, or writing desk; there was no receptacle for newspapers, and, apart from the two overloaded tables, the floor had received all of them. Upon this his general table the daily papers had been dropped when read; the weeklies had followed, and in their turn the monthly magazines. An immense number of periodicals and pamphlets had been received in the course of two years, and all were still here. Almost everything was yellow with age and soiled with the constant tramping of feet. 'On the left of the bed the mass of rubbish had reached a height of at least four feet. On investigation, however, there proved to be a lounge underneath. The tables stood like cows in a meadow with the grass up to their bodies; and the legs of the bed, also, were buried out of sight. The only thing that had gone up with time was the imposing easy chair. This, with its white wolfskin, surmounted the pile like a throne. The wolfskin was sadly moth-eaten, as were the old and poor garments that hung upon the walls. "At one of the tables a bent metal drop light held a chipped argand burner at a dangerous angle, and within this dingy glass shone a feeble ray of light, just making visible the pallid face and hoary hair of the dying man. As I stood on the mass and looked down, the sight was beyond description. The owner was only a few inches above his worldly possessions; he seemed a part of them, and the picture would have been incomplete without him. "I began by picking up the newspapers nearest the door, folding them, and stacking them on the landing at the head of the stairs. Little by little I made my way into his room, but it was slow work, and not much could be effected during the first week. "I continued to put things in order, always desisting when my patient showed the least sign of annoyance. I would often go into the room on the pretext of putting wood in the stove, and I soon learned to perceive just how much or how little I could do. The bound volumes, invariably thrown face downward into the mass, I arrayed upon some shelves in the little room. Many were presentation copies - among them one by Longfellow and one by Tennyson. These shelves were already doing double duty, but in this crowded house there always seemed to be room for a little more. "Periodicals I piled outside with the newspapers, and as no shred of writing was to be taken out, all the script was made into a mound in one corner of the room. In this confused pile were rolls of manuscript written on different colored bits of paper; many were pinned together. No wonder some one said that Whitman's manuscripts resembled Joseph's coat! In the litter were innumerable letters; thousands of requests for autographs; poems that had been submitted to his criticism; friendly letters from home and abroad; all his business correspondence; postal cards, notes of congratu lation, invitations, envelopes unnumbered, visiting cards, wrapping papers of all brands and sizes, a variety of string of all lengths, and ranging from the fine colored cord which druggists use to the heaviest and coarsest of twine. There were several pieces of rope, coins, pins galore, countless pictures, and many photographs of himself. Strings were interwoven through the accumulated layers that it would take days to come to the ends of them. Moths flew around the room in perfect security, and industrious spiders SO had curtained the corners and windows. On the door hung the old hat, and on a table a plaster bust of the poet stood sentinel." CURRENT LITERARY TOPICS. After Suggestions for Newspaper Writers. Some excellent advice for newspaper writers was given by Samuel G. Blythe in an address delivered recently before the third annual convention of the Intercollegiate Press Association. Mr. Blythe said he did not regard newspaper work as a road to wealth, but as a way "to live a big, broad life." saying that it is the duty of every man who contemplates entering journalism to get all the knowledge he can, he continued: "No person, however, can teach a man to write. You can be taught the principles of writing, the grammar, and the rhetoric, and all that, but you must teach yourself to write. The mere facility of writing correct English does n't mean anything. There are scores of persons around newspaper offices who can write correct English. The trouble is they have n't any ideas to anglicize correctly. "The man who goes into journalism and who desires a big success must specialize. After his experience as an all-round reporter on all the assignments, pick out one subject and specialize it. Likewise he should try to make his stuff as different from the stuff of other men on the papers as he can. I found that out early, and when I was a cub reporter I tried to write every item in a way the other reporters would n't think of writing. The results were disastrous in instances, and I had a lot of trouble with city editors and copy readers, but I finally got into the place that whenever there was a story they wanted handled in an unusual way - that did n't start, 'There was a meeting last night,' and so forth - I got it. "It took years, years when I was beaten to a pulp by men who could n't see it as I did, but I won out. And in looking over the ground I determined on my specialty early. I chose people — folks. People want to read about other people. If you will allow me, I will advise you young gentlemen who are interested in journalism to specialize on folks. That is the greatest, the most interesting, the most pliable, the most numerous, the most fascinating, the most unusual, the most satisfying subject in the world - folks. "And if you have anything like a sense of humor, for heaven's sake nurse it. Humor is the scarcest commodity in the United States. It is extinct elsewhere, almost. Don't let the serious-minded persons tell you anything about dignity and all that sort of rot. If you can write funny stuff write it, and you'll be riding in your own automobile when the serious-minded person is writing serious protests to the paper against pay-as-you-enter street cars." Edward Everett Hale's Style. - Frank B. Sanborn, commenting upon some of Dr. E. E. Hale's limitations, admits that he had that incommunicable gift - style." And he proceeds to account for it. "I once remarked to Dr. Hale that I found something French in his manner of writing a lively clearness, which we instinctively connect with Gallic authors, who seem to have it by nature. I said: 'You must have read much French early.' He replied: 'I did.' Being once laid up with a wounded or broken leg, he had the range of the numerous French books in the library of his uncle, Alexander Everett, and so got that familiarity with good French which is one of the best helps in writing English." A blessed broken leg! Are Letters Copyright? — An interesting legal and literary dispute seems certain to arise over the letters of the late George Meredith. The London solicitors of the Meredith executors have issued a statement calling attention to the fact that the copyright of all letters written by Meredith is now vested in the executors. It will be recalled that there was a dispute over the ownership of the letters written by Charles Lamb, but then the courts decided that the owner of a letter was the proprietor of the paper with the words written on it, and not the proprietor of the composition independent of its inscription. Yet the same court later made the decision, in another case, that the possessor of the letters written by |