advertisements, circulars, paragraphs and verses. Her first great success came in 1885 in the publication of "Jan Vedder's Wife." Three other books followed: "Scottish Sketches," "Cluny MacPherson," and "Pawl and Christina," but none equalled "Jan Vedder's Wife." "The Bow of Orange Ribbon" is a delightful picture of New York in provincial days, as is "The Maid of Maiden Lane." One of her later books, "The Lion's Whelp," a story of Cromwell's time, is considered one of her strongest books.
MARY E. WILKINS FREEMAN.
Was born in Randolph, Massachusetts, in 1862. Her father was a native of Salem, and was a descendant of Bray Wilkins of good old Puritan stock. Her mother was a Holbrook, one of the old families of Massachusetts. The family early removed to Brattleboro, Vermont, and with Mr. J. E. Chamberland she wrote "The Long Arm" for which they received a two thousand dollar prize offered by a newspaper. Like many other writers she was largely influenced by the people about her and associated with her early life and that of her family. Barnabas, one of the characters in her story, "Pembroke," was drawn from Randolph. Losing her father and mother and sister, she returned to Randolph and took up her residence. Her story "A Humble Romance" was considered by Phillips Brooks the best short story ever written. In 1893, she wrote a play, "Giles Corey, Yeoman" a drama of the early Puritan days. "The Heart's Highway" is another of her stories of Colonial times, and "The Portion of Labor." In 1902 she married Dr. Charles Manning Freeman, of Metuchen, New Jersey, where she now resides.
ALICE FRENCH.
"Octave Thanet."
Miss French took a nom de plume to hide her identity, there being an unmistakably masculine tinge in many of her writings. Her real name is Alice French, she was born in Andover, Massachusetts, March 19, 1850. Her father was George Henry French, a man of important business connections and comfortable means. The family were descended from Sir William French who settled in Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, and one of his descendants took part in the Revolutionary War, receiving the name of the "Fighting Parson of Andover." Miss French's grandfather on her mother's side was Governor Marcus Morton, and some of her ancestors were numbered among those who came to this country in the Mayflower. Miss French is a graduate of Vassar College. Her first story was printed in Godey's Magazine. Her story entitled "The Bishop's Vagabond," published in the Atlantic Monthly, in 1884, was the beginning of her substantial literary fame. Her story "Expiation" is considered very strong, as is "Knitters in the Sun "
KATE DOUGLASS WIGGIN (MRS. RIGGS.)
Her family were people of prominence in church and politics and at the New England Bar. She was born in Philadelphia and educated in New England,
