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Show fl g-y -g r 99 Brut Horto Fnrnisltod S&lOTtiy JCfflG Foundation for Flay. I To Bret Hartc, whoso genius, furnishes fur-nishes the foundation for the plaj',, "Salomy Jnno," America owes much in tlio wa.v of n model for its own distinctive literature, nnd to his clear vision the world must give its credit in return for the host of quaint, natural characters IJiat have lived, worked, loved and died by the virtue of his inspired in-spired pen. In his early days the young Hartc went through the usual vicissitudes of the youth, and when seriousness had come upon him, he gravitated to the task of pedagogues, for ho (juitc carl made up his miud that California was the place for him, and thither ho went to open a school at Sonora. He failed as a teacher, for his inclinations were to lead his pupils to ihc study of nature, the birds, the ilowors, the trees, and tho various manifestations that make lifo worth while to the ono who can soo with his eyes, and there, came, a day when tho hard-headed citizens of the . new countrj- shook those heads and refused to send their children to be taught by a dreamer. The school a failure, Ilarlc found it necessary to earn bread in another . manner, and he gravitated to the only vocation that was at hand. He tried mining. Here again his love for the wonders of the earth took possession of him, and he spent more time in working work-ing out theories to account for the deposits de-posits of alluvial wealth than he did in handling the pick and shovel, tho cradle and tho windlass. The result was ono that might have been predicted, pre-dicted, and he failed here again and turned his attention to the few newspapers news-papers of tho country, publishing sketches of the miners, their life and their ways. This brought him a certain amount of modest fame, for his work was clear as a spring, and held a fascination fasci-nation that gripped because of its truth. It was now workt and by a new man, and as a result it attracted attention to such an extent that he was asked to join tho staff of tho Golden Era. Prior to this ho had been working as a compositor in San Francisco, and writing- his thoughts in the hours of his leisure. More and more attention came to him as a result of his labor, which was finding its way to the East, and in 1SGI he was appointed Secretary of the United Stales mint at San Francisco, Fran-cisco, which position ho held until 1S70. Tho literary light was by this time burning fiercely, and in 1SCS llarle founded and edilod the Overland Mo u Mi ty. .lust prior to this he had written and published some of his famous poems, such as "John Burns of Gettysburg" and "The Society upon the Stanislaus." To the Overland ho contributed such works as "The Outcasts Out-casts of Poker Flat.1' "Migglos," "Tennessee's Partner," "Tho Idyl of lcd Gulch," and "Plain Language from Truthful James" (The Heathen Chinee ). In 1373 his work had found such favor that he was approached by a firm of publishers in New York and offered a salary of $10,000 a year to conic East and wrilo for them exclusively. exclusive-ly. He accepted this offer, and made his home at Plainficld. N. J., where be wrote as the spirit seized him, most of his material appearing first in the Atlantic Monthly, and then being printed in book form by his publishers. In 1S7S he was appointed United States Consul at Crefeld, and in 1SS0 he took the same post at Glasgow, occupying tho position until 1SS5. During this time ho was still writing, but at long intervals; some of his later creations being "Flip," "In the Carquincz Woods." "Snowbound at Eagles," "A Drift from Redwood Camp," "Crcssy." "The Heritage of Dodlow Marsh," "Clarence" and "Salomy Jane." From the time of his consular-ship consular-ship at Glasgow Mr. Hartc became imbued im-bued with tho spirit of Europe, and took up his residence in London, where ho remained until his doath, in 1S99. The story of "Salomy Jauo" has been dramatized, and it will be presented at the Salt Lake Theater the last half of the week, beginning Thursday night. |