Woman of the Century/Cora Linn Daniels

DANIELS, Mrs. Cora Linn, author, born in Lowell, Mass., 17th March, 1852. She is descended from the Morrisons, hereditary judges in the Hebrides Islands since 1613, on her father's side. The family motto being translated, reads: "Long-headedness is better than riches." She is descended from the Ponds, on her mother's side, upon whom a coat-of-arms with the motto, "Fide et Amore," was conferred by Henry VIII, in 1509. Her grandfather, General Lucas Pond, was for many years a member of the Massachusetts Senate. Her great-uncle, Enoch Pond, D. D., was president of the Theological College in Bangor, Me. She was educated in the grammar school of Malden, Mass. A private tutor took charge of her for two years. She was sent to Delacove Institute, near Philadelphia, and finished her studies in Dean Academy, Franklin Mass. At nineteen she became the wife of Joseph H. Daniels, of Franklin, a member of one of the historic families of the neighborhood. She has had no children. Her travels in her own country have been extensive. She has spent twenty winters in New York City, varied by trips to Washington, Bermuda and the West. Her literary life began with a poem published in the "Independent" in 1874. When William H. H. Murray conceived the idea of publishing the "Golden Rule," in Boston, he invited her to contribute a series of articles descriptive of prominent race-horses. That she did under the pen-name " Australia." The articles were attributed to Mr. Murray himself and were so successful that they immediately CORA LINN DANIELS. led to an engagement, and she became literary editor, remaining on the staff three years. She contributed much poetry to the paper under the pen-name "Lucrece," but afterwards signed her own name, both to prose and poetry. Her poems were widely copied and sometimes translated into other languages, returning to this country by being retranslated for "Littell's Living Age." Becoming New York correspondent for the Hartford "Daily Times," her letters appeared regularly therein for ten years, touching upon every possible subject, but more particularly devoted to dramatic criticism, art and reviews of notable books. Among the reviews was a notice of Elihu Vedders' "Omar-Khayyám," which was reproduced in a pamphlet, which, being sent to Rome, was pronounced by Mr. Vedder the most comprehensive and excellent review that had been produced. Constantly contributing to a number of publications, her first novel, "Sardia" (Boston, 1891), was successful, and in future she will devote considerable time to fiction. The best work of her life, which she values beyond any possible novel, is a work treating of what might be designated "The Science of the Hereafter," or "The Philosophy of After Death," soon to be published. Despite travel and the life of cities, her existence has been one of mental solitude. She has never found companionship of thought and labor. She has collected a library of a thousand volumes during twenty years, but they have been packed in boxes for seventeen out of the twenty. What she has done has been done alone, without books at hand, and usual incentives to new thought gained through literary intercourse.