"A NATIVE AUTHOR CALLED ROE"

An Autobiography


Two or three years ago the editor of "Lippincott's Magazine" asked
me, with many others, to take part in the very interesting
"experience meeting" begun in the pages of that enterprising
periodical. I gave my consent without much thought of the effort
involved, but as time passed, felt slight inclination to comply
with the request. There seemed little to say of interest to the
general public, and I was distinctly conscious of a certain sense
of awkwardness in writing about myself at all. The question, Why
should I? always confronted me.

When this request was again repeated early in the current year, I
resolved at least to keep my promise. This is done with less
reluctance now, for the reason that floating through the press I
meet with paragraphs concerning myself that are incorrect, and
often absurdly untrue. These literary and personal notes, together
with many questioning letters, indicate a certain amount of public
interest, and I have concluded that it may be well to give the
facts to those who care to know them.

It has been made more clear to me that there are many who honestly
do care. One of the most prized rewards of my literary work is the