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Show METSTAftOUS AS A POET Nixon Waterman, Writer of Beautiful Sor)gs Tho poetic writings of Nixon Water-i Water-i man have already stamped him n one of the great poets of tbo closing century. cen-tury. He Is yet a compara'vely young j man, anil therefore has much of till future beforo him. If this may be i gauged by laurels already won lit place In hlstorj may confidently b staled as already fixed Mr Waterman Water-man was born In Kendall County. Illinois, Illi-nois, n little more than thirty years ngo, and when qulto young moved with his parents to Crouton, loWa Here, whllo working In the business department of a country dally hit talent for versifying was first discovered, discov-ered, orcu to himself The paper on which ho was employed becamo en- gaged In n controversy with Its com- petltor, which controversy was carried by tho latter Into the realm ot dog-! dog-! .gorel. An answer along tho new lino I of attack was Imperative. Without I knowing Jils power, for at that time I ho had never written a verae Water- man undertook tho reply. Ills first f tfort proved a euccss, and gave him . a local reputation that subsequent writing has carried Into nearly every It household of this country. Most ot his I, life has been spent In the mid-west, , where ho has passed through all tho j' experiences and adventures of an am- , bltlous newspaper man ' It has been well Known to his most intimate friends for some time that ' Mr. Wntcrmun has In contemplation '; and perhaps well under construction, f a moro serious work than has yet been published from his pen. With moro l relief from tho grind of everydsy ' work, and with thoroughly congenial al surroundings such us his present po- sltlon nflords-the completion of this 1 or somo other solid piece may be ox- pected Hut If this promlso Is novor ,j rcalltcd, tho namo of Nixon Waterman 'j will llvo as the writer of beautiful I; songs songs that touch tho heart, songs that appeal to our best sontl- I ments, songs that tho whole people lovo, songs that will live. He has al- ' ready published two distinct volumes of his poems, tho latest entitled "A Book of Venus," being Just from the press. Mr. Waterman's high regard for absolute ab-solute veracity has never been serl- ?, ously questioned, yet It Is asserted by V thoso who know him best that ho will, !I when circumstances appear to war- 5 rant It, "stretch tho truth" to a severe t limit In order that ho may put a pleav 5 ant faco on the otherwlio sorry feat- ? tires of the world's happenings. Nono v f e vlclsslludes of fortune and did ;. ever a writer ot erso attain success H without meeting many of them? are f , ever carried Into his ho.no life. Over j the doorway of his pleasant homo It ', might bo truly written "All caro aban- !i Uou ye who enter here." This optlm- m istlo trend Is shown In many of his Oh homelier Jingles, designed for tho K membora of his household rather than KJ for tho eyes ot the world, such as the H following lines, which one permitted M to glanco through his library will find m written In n copy of "Grimm's Fairy H Talos:" "Thoso 'Fairy Tales,' by Orlmm, which H now I giro to thee, dear wife, Can't match tho grimmer 'fairy tales I've told thee during life. I Through nil the years to mako thy H path a pleasant ono I'vs tried, And where I've found tho truth would H bo too harsh and rougb I've lied. "Affectionately, "The Lyrist" H It goes wlthotf. oaylng that Mr. Wa- terman has not attained his present position In the literary field without moro or less ot a battle. As hs him-H him-H sell says his life has been made up of -verses and reverses. Ono of the great-H great-H eat sources of Inspiration ho has been able to open up to joting and nsplrlng, jet often disappointed writers, Is to bow them a large slock ot thow kindly worded printed notes whlc editors ed-itors rnchue with manuscripts that are "returned with (hanks " In (bo earlier years of his career, so ho honestly hon-estly admits, he- received many moro of theso nates than he did ot checks, and Im now cherishes tbem ns happy proof of tho fact that the receipt ot tuch things need not be accepted ns conclusive ovldcnce thnl success will not come later A number ot years ngo, after he hid created somewhat of a demand for his contributions, ho accepted n position with n nisgnxlne, und a stipulation of his contract was that he should not contribute to other publications. On receiving a number ot requests for articles ar-ticles from editors ot sot oral maga- I I NIXON WATCHMAN. sines It occurred to Mr. Waterman that It was then an excellent tlmo for tho worm to turn. And so a scoro ot requests for manuscripts were answered an-swered by sending printed slips worded ns follows; "Your kind letter or Inquiry asking It It will be convenient for me to contribute con-tribute tho article requested, for your publication. Is at hand. In thanking you for the samo I must express my regret that I am unnble to avail myself my-self ot jour oiler, at this tlmo, as I shall be occupied for soveral months In preparing manuscripts already promised. "In declining to furnish tho contribution contribu-tion you request, I trust the motives prompting my action will not be misconstrued. mis-construed. No reflection, whatever, upon tho merit or character of your publication Is Intended. My non-acceptance ot our offer may result from ono or moro ot many causes, nono of which relates to tho desirability of jour publication as a means of placing my work beforo tho public. "A publisher, on having a request for manuscript rejected, should not Infer, necessarily, that his offer lacks tho qualities that would Insuro Its acceptance accept-ance by other writers of credltablo standing. A request for mauuscrlpt which ono writer may refuse another may gladly consider. Again thanking you for your pleasant communication, I am, very sincerely, "Nixon Waterman." This very clever paraphrase ot the wording employed In tho usual note of declination sent by editors to disappointed disap-pointed contributors but served to make nn article from his pen still more dcslrnblo. |
