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an atmosp}Jere of truth and bring · This fmnk Indictment was folhis characters to lite. To Illustrate lowed by equally hearty commenhis point, he recounted a fascinatdation of the way history Is being ing story of technique developed in taught at Exeter Academy. connection with certain event., in "I can pull down from library one of his recent books. From some shelves hundreds of histories retreat, instantly reached, he drew crammed with th e grossest Inacforth a ten-page letter and drawcuracies and half-truths. Untll reings of some size, which, he excently such Inaccuracies were takplained, were made by an American en e.s gospel Ip our school histories. naval officer to convince him that But It is Impossible to tea.ch the he was wrong In certain descriptrue from the false, and Exeter ts tions of the Battle of Valcour Isdoing it." land. "How about source material?" was asked, the writer having In "The fact I& that this ex-naval ofmind a r eason given by Hugh Penficer had not worked hard enough dexter, the Norway author of histo obtain his Information. He had torical novels of the West and taken it from histories, and most Middle West, as to why he had not histories are wrong. To get correct chosen Me.lne for a background for information for 'Rabble' I dug It his work. He had said that he had from the Canadian archives and not contracted adequate source the British Admiralty, but since I materla!, and intimated that It am a novellst and not an historian seemed limited. I find It rather difficult, not to say "At first I had many difficulembarrassing, to convince some ties," said Mr. Roberts. "I had to people that I am as good as I'd like learn how to find th ese sources. to have them belleve." Now I know. All you have to do !~ Here Mr. Roberts cited the mysto enlist the h elp of the Congrestery of General Burgoyne's missional library, the Maine State 11· tress, the woman whose charma brary, a couple of ·senators, three delayed Burgoyne's retreat from or four rare book-dealers in LonSaratoga so long that disaster overdon, a score of the b est rare-book took his army. Historians were condealers In Boston, Albany, Porttent to state that the woman was land, New York and Philadelphia, wife of a commissary. Their posie.nd employ research workers and tion was based on the say-so of Baroness Riedesel, whose writings I photostatters to tlnd and photobecame their authority. Mr. Robgraph long-lost manuscripts In erts, however, had to know who she England's public record office. was, since she promised, a.t one "Once you know the ropes it is slmpllcity itself-tho It would be t~e, ~ecome ;_ character In easier If days were -48 hours long, 'Rabble in Arms'. Instead of 24," he added with vigor. "I asked Milton Lord, director of "What are you writing now?" the Boston public library, who best came the farewell query, no small could help me In this research. He 11mount of the author's precious referred me to Zoltan Haraszty, morning work-period having been head of the rare manuscripts deconsumed. partment of the Boston public 1!There was no vestige ot Inertia, brary, Mr. Haraszty aug out the list as Mr. Roberts turned back to hie of the seven ·commissaries attached desk, preparatory to finishing the to the British army, By the cleversentence he had been writing two est of literary detective work, he hours previous. His energy and found out the one commissary to ~est seem unlimited. , whose wife Burgoyne could have "I have been working on a long had access. The only que6tlon then novel in a New England setting, to to be decided was whether or not cover a period from 17°69 to 1780. the Baroness had lied. Historical Much of the action Is laid in Kitresearch, you see, Is very simple, tery and Portsmouth, tho it moves once you know how to do lt!" to England, the Great Lakes reAnother factor esse.ntlal to truth gion, and perhaps to Algiers beIn writing historical novels, he fore it is done. pointed out, Is appllcation of data "Will It be finished t!hls year?" to what ts known from one's own was rather an over-anxious queslite experience. To illustrate this tion, speaking tor admirers of his point, Mr. Roberts referred to the productions. universally aceepted statement, "No," he replled. "I've worked a _ made l,.y Genera.I St. Clair In his year on It already, and It w!ll take another year, at lea.st." courtmartial, that there was a Mr. Roberts said that on all his br~ht moon during the retreat of books he has had the advice and the American army from Ticonderassistance of Booth Tarkington, a oga In 1777. neighbor at Kennebunk. Mr. Rob"When I appUed this statement erts considers him the greatest litto my own experiences," said he. erary craftsman writing in the "I knew that If the moon was full English language today. the retreating Americans would "A lot of so-caUed great writers have been seen and attacked by the have been turned up In the past British. They were not, however. decade," he said, "but by compariWhy not? Either the British were son with Tarkington they are crazy, or St. Clair was mistaken jokes." ...bout the moon. I got a calendar It was interesting to find that tor 1777 and found that on the date Mr. Roberts insists that novels In. question there was a new moon. about people of New England are A Dew moon sets before darkness as untrue as they are dull, if the shuts down. Therefore there had characters are grim, sour and ausnot been a moon that night. after tere. au. St. Clair unconsciously lied. But historians have accepted the lie ever since. Most blstorians have mistaken their caW,ng! They should have been nO\'ellsts or plumbers!"

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"I've gunned with Maine people and fished with Malne people and lived among Maine people aJI my life. They are w'!tty and they are i amusing. One can't leave out the I humor of our people and be true to llfe, tho some authors have done It and have been acclaimed for It. The humor of our New Englander• Is as good as any humor In the world!" he concluded. In the hot sun outside fountain waters were dancing, and roses and pansies were dellcately fragrant. From the house, modestly set among densely shading trees just across the narrow roadway, emerged Mrs. Roberts and a guest. ready for their ocean bath; and with a quick change of mind M:r. Roberts suddenly joined them. I One leaves such a place reluctantly-there are so many things of Interest from far corners of the world. But the Roberts' family seem entrenched In Maine. They'll be here on the coast year after · year, contlnu!ngly hopeful that the beauty to which they were born and for which they .have such a profound regard will be enhanc~d by wiser methods of conservation a.nd development. So ma:v it be!

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