Part 19

As tutor, express messenger, printer, drug clerk, miner, and editor he spent the three years till 1857, when he settled in San Francisco, where he became a printer in the office of _The Golden Era_. Soon he began to contribute articles to the paper, and was promoted to the editorial room. In 1862 he married Miss Anna Griswold, and in 1864 he was appointed secretary of the California mint. He continued writing, and in the same year was engaged on a weekly, _The Californian_. In 1867 the first collection of his poems was published under the title of "The Lost Galleon and Other Tales." When _The Overland Monthly_ was founded in the next year Bret Harte became its first editor. To its second number he contributed "Luck of Roaring Camp." Though received with much question in California, it met a most enthusiastic reception in the East, the columns of _The Atlantic Monthly_ being thrown open to him. This success he followed six months later by another, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat." His next great success was the poem "Plain Language from Truthful James," which was in the September, 1870, number of the magazine. It made him famous though he attached little importance to it. In this year he was made Professor of Recent Literature in the University of California.

Debt, friction with the new owner of _The Overland_, and a growing lack of sympathy with the late settlers, caused Bret Harte to leave California in 1871. He came East and devoted himself entirely to writing, his work being published for one year altogether in _The Atlantic Monthly_. But his ever recurring financial difficulties becoming acute, he did some lecturing in addition. In 1876 appeared his only novel, "Gabriel Conroy," which was not a success. His money difficulties continuing, his friends came to the rescue and secured his appointment as United States Consul at Crefeld, Germany. Leaving his wife, whom he never saw again, he sailed in 1878. At this post he continued for two years, his life being varied by a lecture tour in England. In 1880 he was transferred to the more lucrative consulship at Glasgow.

In Glasgow he remained for five years, writing, meeting some eminent writers, and visiting different parts of the country. In 1885, a new President having taken office, he was superseded in his consulship. He then settled in London, devoting himself to writing with only an occasional trip away, once as far as Switzerland. In 1901 he died.

REFERENCES

BIOGRAPHY: MERWIN: The Life of Bret Harte. PEMBERTON: Life of Bret Harte.

CRITICISM: WOODBERRY: America in Literature.

NOTES TO "THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT"

This story was first published in _The Overland Monthly_ of San Francisco in 1869.

PAGE 134. POKER FLAT: an actual place in Sierra County, California. The name is typical of a large class of western geographic names bestowed by rough uneducated men when the West was new. MORAL ATMOSPHERE: these western mining towns in 1850 in a region which had just become a part of the United States as a result of the War with Mexico, were largely unorganized and without regularly constituted government. The bad element did as it pleased until the better people got tired. Then a "vigilance committee" would be organized, which would either drive out the undesirables, as in this story, or would execute the entire lot.

135. SLUICE ROBBER: one way of separating gold from the gravel and sand in which it is found is to put the mixture into a slanting trough, called a sluice, through which water is run. As these sluices were sometimes of considerable length, it was not a difficult matter for a man to rob one.

136. PARTHIAN: the Parthians inhabited a part of ancient Persia. It was their custom when retreating to continue to shoot arrows at their enemy.

142. COVENANTER: one of that body of Scotchmen who had bound themselves by a solemn covenant or agreement in the seventeenth century to uphold the Presbyterian faith. This act required force of character, since it was in defiance of King Charles I, and this force was shown in the vigor of their hymns.

144. ILIAD: the ancient Greek epic poem, ascribed to Homer, which tells the story of the war of the Greeks against Troy. ALEXANDER POPE (1688-1744), an English poet, who rather freely translated the poem.

147. DERRINGER: a pistol, so called from the name of the inventor.

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson, the son of a man of some means, was born in Edinburgh, November 30, 1850. The _Louis_ form of his second name was merely a caprice in spelling adopted by the boy, and never altered the pronunciation of the original by his family. An only child, afflicted with poor health, he was an object of solicitude, notably to his nurse, Alison Cunningham, to whose loving devotion the world owes an unpayable debt. Stevenson's appreciation of her faithful ministrations is beautifully voiced in the dedication of his "A Child's Garden of Verses" (1885). After some schooling, made more or less desultory by ill-health, he attended Edinburgh University. The family profession was lighthouse engineering, and though he gave it enough attention to receive a medal for a suggested improvement on a lighthouse lamp, his heart was not in engineering, so he compromised with his father on law. He was called to the Scottish bar and rode on circuit with the court, but, becoming master of his destiny, he abandoned law for literature.

Literature was the serious purpose of his life and to it he gave an ardor of industry which is amazing. He worked at the mastery of its technique for years, till he gained that felicity of expression which has made his writings classical. His earliest publications were essays, often inspired by his trips abroad in search of health. On one of these in France in 1876 he met his future wife, Mrs. Osbourne, an American. Other such trips are recorded in "An Inland Voyage" (1878) and in "Travels with a Donkey" (1879). In 1879 he came to America, travelling in a rough way to California, an experience made use of in his book "An Amateur Emigrant." As a consequence of this trip, he fell desperately ill in San Francisco, where he was nursed by Mrs. Osbourne, whom he married in 1880. His convalescence in an abandoned mining camp is recorded in "The Silverado Squatters" (1883). Returning to Scotland, they found the climate impossible for his weak lungs, consequently they tried various places on the Continent. Throughout his ill-health he heroically kept at work, publishing from time to time books of essays and short-stories, such as "Virginibus Puerisque" (1881) and "New Arabian Nights" (1882), parts of which had already appeared in magazines, and in 1883 his first popular success, "Treasure Island."

In 1887 his father died and in the next year he came again to America, sojourning at various places, among them Saranac Lake, and then voyaging in a sailing vessel, _The Casco_, in the Pacific. It was not his ill-health alone that kept him on the move, but an adventurous spirit as well. Finally the family settled at Apia, Samoa, the climate of which he found remarkably salubrious. There he could work even physically without the long spells of illness to which he had been accustomed all his life. He was able to take an intense interest in the unhappy politics of the islands, endeavoring to alleviate the unfortunate condition of the natives, who passionately returned his interest. They built for him to his house a road to which they gave the significant name of "The Road of the Loving Heart," and they celebrated his story-telling gift by the name "Tusitala," the teller of tales. His efforts for Samoa resulted in a book entitled "A Foot Note to History" (1893), which showed the troubled condition of the islands. In this place, ruling over a large retinue of servants like a Scottish chieftain over his clan, he lived for three years, turning out much work and producing half of that most wonderful novel, "Weir of Hermiston," which bid fair to be his greatest achievement. Death came suddenly in 1894 from the bursting of a blood vessel in the brain, thus cheating his lifelong enemy, tuberculosis. Besides "Weir," he left almost completed another novel, "St. Ives," which was concluded by Quiller-Couch and published in 1898.

On a high peak of Vaea he lies beneath a stone bearing the epitaph written by himself:

"Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: _Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill_."

REFERENCES

BIOGRAPHY: BALFOUR: Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. RALEIGH: R. L. Stevenson.

CRITICISM: GENUNG: Stevenson's Attitude toward Life. PHELPS: Modern Novelists.

NOTES ON "THE SIRE DE MALETROIT'S DOOR"

This story of dramatic interest, which contains, moreover, much psychologic interest, was first published in _Temple Bar_, January, 1878, and reprinted in the volume "New Arabian Nights" in 1882.

PAGE 148. SIRE: obsolete French for sir. BURGUNDY: a section of eastern France bordering on the river Rhone. The Count of Burgundy by a treaty with the English recognized the claim of the English king, Henry VI, to the throne of France. Their troops at the time of the story were endeavoring to establish this claim by force of arms. Joan of Arc figures in this war. SAFE-CONDUCT: a passport. As Denis had one, he must have come from the French forces and consequently was among enemies.

149. CHATEAU LANDON: an ancient town southeast of Paris.

150. BOURGES: a city in the Department of Cher, west of Burgundy.

154. RUSHES: In those days the floors of rooms were covered with rushes into which people were accustomed to throw refuse. Cleaning was done by removing the old rushes and putting a fresh supply in their place.

155. LEONARDO: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), a famous Italian painter who did much portraiture, particularly of women. One of his best-known works is the "Mona Lisa."

156. DAMOISEAU: obsolete French word denoting rank.

163. SALLE: (French) _hall_.

164. CHARLEMAGNE: the French form of _Charles the Great_ (742-814), a great king of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans.

169. HERCULES: a great personage in Greek mythology, famous for his strength. SOLOMON: king of Israel, 993-953 B.C., noted for his wisdom.

NOTES ON "MARKHEIM"

This psychological study was written in 1884 and published in _Unwin's Annual_ for 1885.

PAGE 179. "TIME WAS THAT WHEN THE BRAINS WERE OUT": a misquotation from Shakespeare's "Macbeth," Act III, scene iv, lines 78-79. In full this most apposite reference runs:

"The times have been, That, when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end; but now they rise again, With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, And push us from our stools: this is more strange Than such a murder is."

180. BOHEMIAN GOBLETS: drinking glasses of glass made in Bohemia, the most northern portion of the Empire of Austria-Hungary. Its glassware is famous.

182. BROWNRIGG: Elizabeth Brownrigg, a notorious English murderess of the eighteenth century. Pictures of such persons were common at country fairs. MANNINGS: other murderers, man and wife. THURTELL: another murderer and his victim.

185. OTHER MURDERERS: compare the agonies of Bill Sykes in "Oliver Twist."

186. SHERATON SIDEBOARD: Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806) was a well-known English furniture maker. JACOBEANTOMBS: graves of the times of the English kings named James of the seventeenth century.

187. A FACE WAS THRUST INTO THE APERTURE: This was not a real person but one born of Markheim's troubled mind. The conversation shows the dual nature of man, containing both good and bad, and how a man excuses his wickedness. The subject was used again by Stevenson in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

RUDYARD KIPLING

Rudyard Kipling is the son of John Lockwood Kipling, successively Professor in the Bombay School of Art and Curator of the Government Museum at Lahore, India, and of Alice Macdonald, the daughter of a Wesleyan minister. He was born at Bombay, December 30, 1865. His given name commemorates the meeting-place of his parents, a small lake in Staffordshire.

In accordance with the custom dictated by the needs of health and of education in the case of white children born in India, he was taken in 1871 to England, where he stayed with a relative at Southsea, near Portsmouth. The experiences of such little exiles from the home circle are feelingly shown in "Baa, Baa, Black-sheep" and in the beginning of "The Light that Failed." When thirteen he entered The United Services College, Westward Ho, Bideford, North Devon. Here he stayed from 1878 to 1882, taking part in some at least of the happenings so well narrated in "Stalky and Co." (1899).

On leaving college in 1882 he went to Lahore, India, where he became sub-editor of _The Civil and Military Gazette_. In 1887 he joined the editorial staff of _The Allahabad Pioneer_. To these papers he contributed many of the poems and short-stories soon collected in the volumes named "Departmental Ditties" (1886) and "Plain Tales from the Hills" (1888). All of these writings come near to actual occurrences, and give a fascinating glimpse of conditions in India. In the same year of 1888 he published in India six other volumes of tales.

Leaving India in 1889, he returned to Europe via China, Japan, and the United States, sending back to the two papers travel sketches which have since been collected under the title of "From Sea to Sea" (1899).

On reaching England he found himself a celebrated man. There he met in 1891 Wolcott Balestier, an American, to whom he dedicated "Barrack Room Ballads" (1892) in an introductory poem filled with glowing tribute. In the same year he made further journeys to South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

He married Caroline Balestier in 1892, the year of publication of "The Naulahka," which had been written in collaboration with her brother. The travelling continued till they settled in Brattleboro, Vermont, where their unique house was named appropriately "The Naulahka." The fruit of his American sojourn was, among other writings, "Captains Courageous" (1897), a story of the Atlantic fishing banks, full of American atmosphere and characters. In the meantime, in various periodicals had appeared short-stories and poems, which were quickly put into books. One of the stories is "A Walking Delegate," which is so wonderfully accurate in the local color of Vermont as to be worthy of special mention. It forms one of "The Day's Work" group (1898). In it is seen Kipling's power of observation, which he possesses to such a remarkable degree. To this period belong those famous collections, "The Jungle Book" (1894) and "The Second Jungle Book" (1895), containing the beast stories which seem so plausible, and a book of poems, "The Seven Seas" (1896).

In 1896 the Kiplings returned to England, taking a house at Rottingdean. While England has remained his permanent home, he has continued to take journeys. During a trip in 1899 he was seriously ill in New York with pneumonia. While ill, his condition was a constant source of anxiety to all classes of people. He recovered, but his little daughter Josephine died of the same disease. One cannot fail to note the intimate touches reminiscent of her in "They," published in "Traffics and Discoveries" (1904). Another trip, in 1900, was to South Africa, while the Boer War was in progress. The results are to be found in many poems and stories about the struggle.

In late years honors have come to him. The Nobel Prize of Literature and an honorary degree from Oxford were both awarded him in 1907. He has taken some part in politics, but he continues to write, though not so prolifically as before. His more recent books are: "Kim" (1902), a vivid panorama of India; "Puck of Pook's Hill" (1906), and "Rewards and Fairies" (1910), realistic reconstructions of English history; "Actions and Reactions" (1909), a series of stories, among them "An Habitation Enforced," a rare story of the charm of English country life; and "The Fringes of the Fleet" (1916), relating to the European War. His son John has had the misfortune to be captured in the present war.

One book, "The Day's Work," deserves particular mention, as it contains some of his best stories, such as "The Brushwood Boy," and exhibits especially the three cardinal points of his philosophy of life--"Work," "Don't whine," and "Don't be afraid."

REFERENCES

BIOGRAPHY: CLEMENS: A Ken of Kipling. KNOWLES: A Kipling Primer.

CRITICISM: LE GALLIENNE: Rudyard Kipling, A Criticism. FALLS: Rudyard Kipling, A Critical Study. HOOKER: The Later Work of Rudyard Kipling, North American Review, May, 1911.

NOTES TO "WEE WILLIE WINKIE"

PAGE 196. WEE WILLIE WINKIE: the name is taken from the Scotch poem of William Miller (1810-1872). Below is given Whittier's familiar version of the poem:

Wee Willie Winkie Runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs, In his nightgown! Tapping at the window, Crying at the lock, "Are the weans in their bed, For it's now ten o'clock?"

"Hey, Willie Winkie, Are you coming then? The cat's singing purrie To the sleeping hen; The dog is lying on the floor And doesn't even peep; But here's a wakeful laddie That will not fall asleep."

Anything but sleep, you rogue! Glowering like the moon; Rattling in an iron jug With an iron spoon; Rumbling, tumbling all about, Crowing like a cock, Screaming like I don't know what, Waking sleeping folk.

"Hey, Willie Winkie, Can't you keep him still? Wriggling off a body's knee Like a very eel; Pulling at the cat's ear, As she drowsy hums; Heigh, Willie Winkie! See! there he comes!"

Wearied is the mother That has a restless wean, A wee stumpy bairnie, Heard whene'er he's seen-- That has a battle aye with sleep Before he'll close his e'e; But a kiss from off his rosy lips Gives strength anew to me.

"AN OFFICER, etc.": this quotation refers to the time when the holders of military rank also held social position. AYAH: Anglo-Indian for "nurse." BABA: Oriental title of respect. SUBALTERN: a commissioned officer of lower rank than captain, _i.e._ lieutenant. COMPOUND: an enclosure, in the East, for a residence.

197. COMMISSIONER: a civilian official having charge of a department. STATION: a military post. MESS: a group of officers who eat together, hence the officers. RANK AND FILE: the non-commissioned officers and privates.

198. AFGHAN AND EGYPTIAN MEDALS: it is customary for medals to be struck off in commemoration of campaigns and for them to be called after the places in which the campaigns occurred.

199. HUT JAO: native expression equivalent to "go away at once."

200. BELL, BUTCHA: dogs' names. _Butcha_ = butcher.

201. OLD ADAM: it is a religious belief that Adam, supposedly the first man, committed sin, the tendency to which he handed down to all men as his descendants. Hence when one does wrong it is said that the Old Adam comes out. QUARTERS: house or rooms of an officer.

202. BAD MEN: childish name for hostile natives. BROKE HIS ARREST: an officer under arrest is his own keeper. SAHIB: a term of respect, equivalent to Mister, used by East Indians toward Europeans.

203. TWELVE-TWO: the unit of measurement of the height of a horse is called a hand, which is equal to four inches. Hence twelve-two means twelve hands and two inches. WALER: a horse from New South Wales.

205. PUSHTO: sometimes _Pushtu_, the language of the Afghans.

206. SAHIB BAHADUR: Sahib = Mister. _Bahadur_, title of respect equivalent to "gallant officer."

207. SPOIL-FIVE: a game of cards. COLOR SERGEANT: in the British army, he is a non-commissioned officer who ranks higher and receives better pay than an ordinary sergeant, and, in addition to discharging the usual duties of a sergeant, attends the colors (the flag) in the field or near headquarters. PATHANS: (pronounced Pay-tan) an Afghan race settled in Hindustan and in eastern Afghanistan. DOUBLE: to increase the pace to twice the ordinary; double-quick.

208. CANTONMENT: (in India pronounced can-tone-ment) part of a town assigned to soldiers. PULTON: native expression equivalent to "troops."

209. PUKKA: native expression meaning "real," "thorough."

The Academy Classics

The works selected for this series are such as have gained a conspicuous and enduring place in literature; nothing is admitted either trivial in character or ephemeral in interest. Each volume is edited by a teacher of reputation, whose name is a guaranty of sound and judicious annotation. It is the aim of the notes to furnish assistance only where it is absolutely needed, and, in general, to permit the author to be his own interpreter.

All the essays and speeches in the series (excepting Webster's Reply to Hayne) are printed without abridgment. The plays of Shakespeare are expurgated only where necessary for school use.

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ADDISON. De Coverley Papers. Edited by Samuel Thurber. Cloth, 35 cents. This volume contains thirty-seven papers of which twenty have Sir Roger as the main theme, and seventeen mention him in such a way as to throw further light on his character.

ARNOLD. Essays in Criticism. Edited by Susan S. Sheridan. Cloth, 25 cents. The essays are those on The Study of Poetry, on Keats, and on Wordsworth.

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BYRON. The Prisoner of Chillon. Edited by L. D. Syle. (In _Four English Poems_. Cloth, 25 cents.)

CARLYLE. Essay on Burns. Edited by H. W. Boynton. Cloth, 25 cents.

Essay on Boswell's Johnson. Edited by H. W. Boynton. _Out of print._

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