Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1908 — THE RETIRED LITERARY MAN. [ARTICLE]

THE RETIRED LITERARY MAN.

Noise as Related to Literature—Delusions of the Quiet of Home. "Some writers'.” said the retired literary man, “can do their best work in a sawmill, some can produce their best results in a boiler factory; and, again, I have known men whose fancy rose to its finest and fullest fruition when drawn upon in a rushing, roaring railroad train. “But while some men thus could do their best work in the midst of what would commonly be considered as thi noisiest of surroundings, I nave never, yet known any men who could de good 1 work in the socalled quiet of home; and the reason for this is veiy simple.

“You see, in the noisy places suer as I have described the noises are uniform and rhythmic and to some men they may even be tuneful and soothing. There are many men, indeed including some not writefs, to whom the droning hum of the buzz saw is music, as to them tne scent of the freshly sawed lumber might be a fragrant and stimulating perfume. “To some men the continuous banging in a boiler factory may be the very reverse of disturbing it may be. rather, stirring and invigorating; and there are men who love the constant roar of the railroad train. But bear in mind that, as I nave said, all these no ses are uniform and rhythmic, while the sounds of home are likely to be intermittent and uesultory and thaFso even sounds comparatlvely light may here, in an a mospnert normally quiet, seem positively explosive. “And it is those sounds of an explosive character that are likeiy to prove most disturbing; though there may be other home sounds not so loud, that will, nevertheless, almost as effectually disrupt a train of thought. “ Why, I have known a literary man working in his study at home to be quite thrown out of balance by the sudden dropping of a flatiron on the floor of the kitchen below; to be so completely unbalanced, in fact, tha: he couldn’t do any more work lor hah a day. And the sudden or continuee wailing of an infant in tne house might exercise an equally disquieting effect upon his nerves, and so upo. his flow of thought; as might, indeea the boisterous play of elder children with the oversetting of chairs an bureaus and things of that sort; whlc last, however, I suppose might mon property be classed with the explosiv. sounds, though their explosive eft'ec is likely to be merged somewhat wit,, the preceding uproar.