Mr. Howells's writings are not without "international" touches. In _A Foregone Conclusion_ and the _Lady of the Aroostook_, and others of his novels, the contrasted points of view in American and European life are introduced, and especially those variations in feeling, custom, dialect, etc., which make the modern Englishman and the modern American such objects of curiosity to each other, and which have been dwelt upon of late even unto satiety. But in general he finds his subjects at home, and if he does not know his own countrymen and countrywomen more intimately than Mr. James, at least he loves them better. There is a warmer sentiment in his fictions, too; his men are better fellows and his women are more lovable. Howells was born in Ohio. His early life was that of a western country editor. In 1860 he published, jointly with his friend Piatt, a book of verse--_Poems of Two Friends_. In 1861 he was sent as consul to Venice, and the literary results of his sojourn there appeared in his sketches, _Venetian Life_, 1865, and _Italian Journeys_, 1867. In 1871 he became editor of the _Atlantic Monthly_, and in the same year published his _Suburban Sketches_. All of these early volumes showed a quick eye for the picturesque, an unusual power of description, and humor of the most delicate quality; but as yet there was little approach to narrative. _Their Wedding Journey_ was a revelation to the public of the interest that may lie in an ordinary bridal trip across the State of New York, when a close and sympathetic observation is brought to bear upon the characteristics of American life as it appears at railway stations and hotels, on steam-boats and in the streets of very commonplace towns. _A Chance Acquaintance_, 1873, was Howells's first novel, though even yet the story was set against a background of travel-pictures. A holiday trip on the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay, with descriptions of Quebec and the Falls of Montmorenci, etc., rather predominated over the narrative. Thus, gradually and by a natural process, complete characters and realistic novels, such as _A Modern Instance_, 1882, and _Indian Summer_, evolved themselves from truthful sketches of places and persons seen by the way.