The Captains Toll-Gate | Page 4

the kitchen in a very disjointed fashion,
which was at first amusing, and then irritating. We never knew her real
name, nor did the people at the orphanage. She had three or four very
romantic ones she had borrowed from novels while she was with us, for
she was very sentimental.
Mr. Stockton bestowed upon her the name of Pomona, which is now a
household word in myriads of homes. This extraordinary girl, and some
household experiences, induced Mr. Stockton to write a paper for
Scribner's Monthly which he called Rudder Grange. This one paper
was all he intended to write, but it attracted immediate attention, was
extensively noticed, and much talked about. The editor of the magazine
received so many letters asking for another paper that Mr. Stockton
wrote the second one; and as there was still a clamor for more, he, after
a little time, wrote others of the series. Some time later they were

collected in a book. For those interested in Pomona I will add, that
while the girl was an actual personage, with all the characteristics given
to her by her chronicler, the woman Pomona was a development in Mr.
Stockton's mind of the girl as he imagined she would become, for the
original passed out of our lives while still a girl.
Rudder Grange was Mr. Stockton's first book for adult readers, and a
good deal of comment has been made upon the fact that he had reached
middle life when it was published. His biographers and critics assume
that he was utterly unknown at that time, and that he suddenly jumped
into favor, and they naturally draw the inference that he had until then
vainly attempted to get before the public. This is all a misapprehension
of the facts. It will be seen from what I have previously stated, that at
this time he was already well known as a juvenile writer, and not only
had no difficulty in getting his articles printed, but editors and
publishers were asking him for stories. He had made but few slight
attempts to obtain a larger audience. That he confined himself for so
long a time to juvenile literature can be easily accounted for. For one
thing, it grew out of his regular work of constantly catering for the
young, and thinking of them. Then, again, editorial work makes urgent
demands upon time and strength, and until freed from it he had not the
leisure or inclination to fashion stories for more exacting and critical
readers. Perhaps, too, he was slow in recognizing his possibilities.
Certain it is that the public were not slow to recognize him. He did,
however, experience difficulties in getting the collected papers of
Rudder Grange published in book form. I will quote his own account,
which is interesting as showing how slow he was to appreciate the fact
that the public would gladly accept the writings of a humorist:
"The discovery that humorous compositions could be used in journals
other than those termed comic marked a new era in my work.
Periodicals especially devoted to wit and humor were very scarce in
those days, and as this sort of writing came naturally to me, it was
difficult, until the advent of Puck, to find a medium of publication for
writings of this nature. I contributed a good deal to this paper, but it
was only partly satisfactory, for articles which make up a comic paper
must be terse and short, and I wanted to write humorous tales which
should be as long as ordinary magazine stories. I had good reason for
my opinion of the gravity of the situation, for the editor of a prominent

magazine declined a humorous story (afterward very popular) which I
had sent him, on the ground that the traditions of magazines forbade the
publication of stories strictly humorous. Therefore, when I found an
editor at last who actually wished me to write humorous stories, I was
truly rejoiced. My first venture in this line was Rudder Grange. And,
after all, I had difficulty in getting the series published in book form.
Two publishers would have nothing to do with them, assuring me that
although the papers were well enough for a magazine, a thing of
ephemeral nature, the book-reading public would not care for them.
The third publisher to whom I applied issued the work, and found the
venture satisfactory."
The book-reading public cared so much for this book that it would not
remain satisfied with it alone. Again and again it demanded of the
author more about Pomona, Euphemia, and Jonas. Hence The Rudder
Grangers Abroad and Pomona's Travels.
The most famous of Mr. Stockton's stories, The Lady or the Tiger?,
was written to be read before a literary society of which he was a
member. It