…rapidly, for the pent-up flood of material, long prepared, was ready.
No one who knows what success in the literary world means has any doubt of what happened now. Success meant fortune. Seton was not without good business instincts. He took care of the plentiful returns, so that at middle life he was able to retire, and live in an ideal home, with the things he dreams of about him.
One of the first men of eminence to recognize him was Theodore Roosevelt. In 1898, he wrote to Seton on the appearance of Wild Animals I Have Known: “Your book is one of the most delightful I have read. … I earnestly hope it will not be long before you have a companion volume.”
When Seton’s Life Histories came out, Roosevelt wrote: “I have read through your two volumes and I cannot speak too highly of them. … Heartily complimenting you upon your notable achievement.”
Their friendship continued to the end.
While in Paris in 1894, he met Grace Gallatin, daughter of Albert Gallatin of Sacramento, California. In 1896, they were married. She was admirably equipped to be his helpmate. A woman of broad culture, a writer and outdoor woman, as well as a social leader of brilliant gifts, she has contributed not a little to his success. Their only child Ann is now a tall, handsome young woman, not a naturalist, but devoted to science in other fields.
