THE BIRTH OF A BOOK.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1132, 20 May 1911, Page 10

THE BIRTH OF A BOOK.

MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD. The actual incident which leads to tho writing of a famous book is always a matter of interest to readers. lii tho current number of "M'Cluro's Magazine" is an interesting article on Mrs. Becher Stowe, written by. her eon and grandson, in which the story of "Undo Tom's Cabin" is told. Mrs. Stowo had for a long time been strongly opposed to the fugitive slave law, hut she was not an abolitionist. Sho had had several experiences of tho ill-treatment of tho slaves, incidents which later wero reproduced in her book, but tho thought of taking up tho cudgels on their behalf had not occurred to her. Then n, sister-in-law, who' felt very 6trongly on tho matter, wrote several letters to her, tellings her of the heart-rending scenes'sho had witnessed. In one letter she wrote: "Now, Hattie, if I could ufc a pen- a3 you can I would write something that would make this whole nation feel what' an accursed thing slavery is." Eer soil' relates how Mrs. Stowc read this letter to tho assembled family, and when sho' came to these words sho rose from her chair, and crushing the letter in her ,haud, exclaimed, with an expression on her face that stamped itself permanently on tho minds of her children, "God helping me, I will write something, I will if I live."

The resolvo was made, but nothing was done towards the book for months, and then one day, as she sat in church, tho whole of the death sccno of Uncle Tom came to her, as if.by tho unfolding of a screen. That afternoon sho locked hcrhelf in her room and wrote the chapter, as it appears in the published edition. As she had not sufficient paper sho wrote a large part of it in pencil on brown paper grocery hags. It seemed to her as if what she wrote 'was blown through her mind; as with the rushing of a mighty wind. In the evening sho gathered her little family about her and read them what sho had written. Her two littlo boys of 10 and 12 burst into tears, sobbing out, "Oh, mamma, slavery is tho most.cruel thing in the world."

This was the beginning of "Uncle. Tom's Cabin." She was not apparently conscious of what she had done, nor did sho; immediately consider making use' of (lie fragment sho had written, but it was put aside, and under tho press of ■ domestic duties was forgotten until found later on by her husband. It was chiefly at his instigation that she eventually .began to write the book, leading up to tho final scene of Uncle Tom's death.

And it was this that developed tho book which was to make the great civil war, and to prove a moral and political force throughout the civilised world. Neither tho author nor her husband had the remotest idea of (he power of Urn story as it was being written, nor did they, dream of pecuniary gain, though Professor Stowo expressed the hope 'that bis wife would make enough money by the book to buy a silk dress. How unconscious they were of its value may bo judged by'the fact that 10,000 conies were sold within n fow days of its publication, and over 300,001) within the year; and eight power presses rmuiinnr dav and night could barely koop pace with the demand.