She has been a kind of discoverer of thoughts and things in the by-paths of literature.  She also understands “the art of putting things.”  But vastly more than the thought, style, and utterance is the striking personality of the writer herself.  It is not enough to read the writings of Miss Sanborn, though you cannot help doing this.  She must be heard, if one would know the secret of her power—­subtle, magnetic, impossible of transfer to books.  The “personal equation” is everything—­the strong, gifted woman putting her whole soul into the interpretation and transmission of her thought so that it may inspire the hearts of those who listen; the power of self-radiation.  It is not surprising that Miss Sanborn is everywhere greeted with enthusiasm when she speaks.—­ARTHUR LITTLE.

Miss Kate Sanborn is one of the best qualified women in this country to lecture on literary themes.  The daughter of a Dartmouth professor, she was cradled in literature, and has made it in a certain way the work of her life.  There is nothing, however, of the pedantic about her.  She is the embodiment of a woman’s wit and humour; but her forte is a certain crisp and lively condensation of persons and qualities which carry a large amount of information under a captivating cloak of vivacious and confidential talk with her audience, rather than didactic statement.

J.C.  CROLY, “Jenny June.”

One of the friends I miss most at the farm is Sam Walter Foss.  He was the poet, philosopher, lecturer and “friend of man.”  His folk songs touched every heart and even the sombre vein lightened with pictures of hope and cheer.  He was humorous and even funny, but in every line there is a dignity not often reached by writers of witty verse or prose.  Mr. Foss was born in Candia, N.H., in June, 1858.  Through his ancestor, Stephen Batcheller, he had kinship with Daniel Webster, John Greenleaf Whittier, and William Pitt Fessenden.

Mr. Foss secured an interest in the Lynn Union, and it was while engaged in publishing that newspaper that he made the discovery that he could be a “funny man.”  The man having charge of the funny column left suddenly, and Mr. Foss decided to see what he could do in the way of writing something humorous to fill the column.  He had never done anything of this kind before, and was surprised and pleased to have some of his readers congratulate him on his new “funny man.”  He continued to write for this column and for a long time his identity was unknown, he being referred to simply as the “Lynn Union funny man.”  His ability finally attracted the attention of Wolcott Balestier, the editor of Tit-Bits, who secured Mr. Foss’s services for that paper.  Before long he became connected with Puck, Judge, and several other New York periodicals, including the New York Sun.

Mr. Foss’s first book was published in 1894, and was entitled Back Country Poems and has passed through several editions. Whiffs from Wild Meadows issued in 1896 has been fully as successful.  Later books are Dreams in Homespun, Songs of War and Peace, Songs of the Average Man.