Polly Olivers Problem | Page 4

several short
stories full of the very breath and air of New England. They are studies
of humble life, interesting oddities and local customs, and are written in
her usual bright vein.
It was not long after her removal to the Atlantic coast that Mrs. Wiggin,
now a widow and separated much of the year from her special work in
California, threw herself eagerly into the kindergarten movement in
New York, and it was in this interest that she was drawn into the

semi-public reading of her own stories. Her interpretation of them is
full of exquisite taste and feeling, but she has declared most
characteristically that she would rather write a story for the love of
doing it, than be paid by the public for reading it; hence her readings
have always been given purely for philanthropic purposes, especially
for the introduction of kindergartens, a cause which she warmly
advocates, and with which she has most generously identified herself.
I may say that there is an old meeting-house in Hollis in which she has
been interested since her childhood. Each succeeding summer the
whole countryside within a radius of many miles gathers there to hear
her bright, sympathetic readings of her manuscript stories, sometimes
before even her publishers have a peep at them. These occasions are
rare events that are much talked over and planned for, as I learned soon
after reaching that neighborhood. During the summer of 1895 she read
one of her manuscript stories--The Ride of the Midnight Cry (now
published in The Village Watch Tower)--to a group of elderly ladies in
the neighborhood of Quillcote, who are deeply interested in all she
writes. The story takes its title from an ancient stage-coach well known
throughout that region in its day, and known only by the suggestive if
not euphonious name of "The Midnight Cry."
Mrs. Wiggin possesses rare musical taste and ability, and
enthusiastically loves music as an art. It is simply a recreation and
delight to her to compose and adapt whatever pleases her fancy to her
own flow of harmony. She is the possessor of some very rare and
interesting foreign instruments; among this collection is a Hawaiian
guitar, the tiniest of stringed instruments, and also one of curious
Portuguese workmanship.
In the early months of 1895 she was married to George C. Riggs, of
New York, but she prefers to retain in literature the name with which
she first won distinction. I will speak of her New York winter home
only to say that it is the gathering-place of some of the most eminent
authors and artists in the country. She goes abroad yearly, and Maine
levies a heavy claim on her by right of home ties and affection, for the
'Pine Tree State' is proud to claim this gifted daughter, not only for her

genius but her beauty of character and true womanliness.
Mrs. Wiggin's work is characterized by a delicious flow of humor,
depth of pathos, and a delicate play of fancy. Her greatest charm as a
writer is simplicity of style. It enables us to come in perfect touch with
her characterizations, which are so full of human nature that, as some
one has said, "we feel them made of good flesh and blood like
ourselves, with whom we have something, be it ever so little, that keeps
us from being alien one to another." Her keen but sympathetic
penetration attains some of the happiest results in the wholesome
realism of her child characters; her children become real to us, creep
into our hearts, and we love them, and in sympathy with this sentiment
springs up a spontaneous reawakening of interest in the child-world
about us.
EMMA SHERMAN ECHOLS.

POLLY OLIVER'S PROBLEM
A STORY FOR GIRLS

"What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius,
power, and magic in it."
GOETHE.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE II. FORECASTING THE
FUTURE III. THE DOCTOR GIVES POLLY A PRESCRIPTION IV.

THE BOARDERS STAY, AND THE OLIVERS GO V. TOLD IN
LETTERS VI. POLLY TRIES A LITTLE MISSIONARY WORK VII.
"WHERE IGNORANCE IS BLISS" VIII. TWO FIRESIDE CHATS
IX. HARD TIMES X. EDGAR GOES TO CONFESSION XI. THE
LADY IN BLACK XII. THE GREAT SILENCE XIII. A GARDEN
FLOWER, OR A BANIAN-TREE XIV. EDGAR DISCOURSES OF
SCARLET RUNNERS XV. LIFE IN THE BIRDS' NEST XVI. THE
CANDLE CALLED PATIENCE XVII. POLLY LAUNCHES HER
SHIPS XVIII. THE CHILDREN'S HOUR: REPORTED IN A
LETTER BY AN EYE-WITNESS

ILLUSTRATIONS
PORTRAIT OF MRS. WIGGIN . . . . . . . . . Frontispiece
MRS. OLIVER AND POLLY
"IT IS SOME OF THE STUDENTS"
"SHE OPENED THE BOOK AND READ"
[Transcriber's note: The second illustration was missing from the
original book.]

POLLY OLIVER'S PROBLEM.
"Pretty Polly Oliver, my hope