bsent from my convenience.

"It needed no instruction in the canons of art, however, to teach me
that to do a good thing, one must work hard for it. So I gave the best
part of a month to the study of the Pemberton Mill tragedy, driving to
Lawrence, and investigating every possible avenue of information left
at that too long remove of time which might give the data. I visited
the rebuilt mills, and studied the machinery. I consulted engineers
and officials and physicians, newspaper men, and persons who had been
in the mill at the time of its fall. I scoured the files of old local
papers, and from these I took certain portions of names, actually
involved in the catastrophe, though, of course, fictitiously used.
When there was nothing left for me to learn on the subject, I came
home and wrote a little story called "The Tenth of January,' and sent
it to the _Atlantic Monthly_, where it appeared in due time.

"This story is of more interest to its author than it can possibly be
now to any reader, because it distinctly marked for me the first
recognition which I received from literary people."

LXVII

SIDNEY LANIER

Next to Poe, Sidney Lanier ranks as the foremost of the poets of the
South. In character Lanier is one of the rarest and purest of souls.
His life was so chaste, his ideals so high, his devotion to his art so
unselfish that he has been called "the Sir Galahad among American
poets." Dr. Gilman, who in his capacity as president of Johns Hopkins
University had frequent opportunities to observe Lanier, who was an
instructor in this institution, has made the following comment,--"The
appearance of Lanier was striking. There was nothing eccentric or odd
about him, but his words, manners, ways of speech, were distinguished.
I have heard a lady say that if he took his place in a crowded
horse-car, an exhilarating atmosphere seemed to be introduced by his
breezy ways."

He was born in Georgia in 1842. After graduation from a small college
in his native state and then serving as tutor for a short time, he
entered the Confederate army. During his war experiences, whether in
the field or in prison, he studied poetry and played the flute. These
two arts were his passions for life. While yet in his college days he
had acquired a fine reputation as a flute-player. At eighteen he was
said to be the best flute-player in Georgia. One of his college
friends at the time made record of his admiration in writing,--"Tutor