New-York daily tribune., 1859-08-05
HowBiLzACDlD HIS LITERARYLABOR.

When he had made up bis mind to produce new
book Bazscs first proceeding WAS to think II oat
thoroughly before he put pen 10 paper he was IoS
satisfied With possess himself of the man itea ooy;
he followed il mentally into its minutest ramncsnoas,
devotng TO the process just that amount OF pstlent
hard labor and sesaoIihce which no inferior writer
ever has the common sense or courage 70 oesso~ on
bis work. With his note. book ready 10 hand, BtIsc
stuffed bis and characters straight tom HE.
General koo .ledge OF what he wanted " describe was
Dot enough for this determined rsais'. III he ionnd
himself In the least fault, he w0ad no, hesitSe 20
take long ourney merely IA iDsure truth TO nainrs IN
descybpg the street # country towo, or In painting
sme II NOR peculiarly Of rustic character la fari5
be was pepeiually sboa the streets, perpetuAy pen
etratipg rto all classes Of society," TO study the nunso
nature about him in It's minltest varieties Day oy
day and week by week his no.s book and hts 0rains
were hard AT wok together before he thought OF st-
,irg down 10 bis dosk TO begin. When ne bad hnaly
ANA sed hi- materials in this laborions msnrer he a.
last retired to his study; and from tina, tune, al MS
book had gone 10 press society saw him no more.
The bouse door xa- low closedto every body except
the pnbishtr and the pfinef; aud bis costume was
charged ,o loose white robe, OF the sort when -
worn BY the Dominican monks. Tais singular writing
d,ess was ssen.d the waist by schain OF Nene-
tian gold which hung little pliers and scissors OF tue
same precious metal. White Turkish tro.sers, sui red
morocco slippers embroidered with gold, covered hs
legs and On the day hs sat down to his desk t1e
light If heaven was shut out, and he WORKED oy ths
light of candles in superb silver sconces Even letters
were not allo we'd reach him. They were ali throsa,
A. they csme into japan vase, and not opened, I'D
after how important they might De- tln MS ~ofk WAS
all over. He rose to begin writing al two In the
morning, continued with extraordinary rap'dty tl o
then took hi. BATH and stopped in it, thinking, for
hour two.
At o'clock bis servant brought him up a cup Of
coffee. Before his publisher was admitted TO carry
away What he had done. From al. n0o0 he wrote on
agaiu, slways at the top OF his speed. At noon he
brs tasted eggs with glass Of water and second
cup Of coff-e. F,om clock TO D he returned -
work At 8 he dined lightly, only allowing himself
.,Iaa .f xip krnm z In he
lsber agaio and at s O'Clock he went to bed. Tlls
bfe he led while he writing his books, for two
months together without iDtermissoo. lts effect on
bs health WAS such that, when he appeared once
more among bis friends, he looked in the popular
pbrase, like his ghost. Chance acquain.ances
could hardly have known him again.
l. must rot be supposed that this hfe Of resou.e Sc
cu.ion and fierce hard toll ended with the completion
Of the first draft of his msnuscrpt. Al the point
where in the iGstsoces of most men, the serlo1s par
Of the work would have come TO az end, il had only
begun for Bazsc. In spite Of all the preliminary
study and tbukiDg when his pen had scrambled its
way straight through 10 the end Of the book, the
leaves all turned back again. and the first manu-
script altered into second with inconceivable pa
tieuce ard care. InnumeTabe corrections and inter-
linngs to begin WITH lad in The end 10 trsn-positions
and expab-0hs xHich meamor phOsed the entire work.
Happy thoughts picked out of the beginning Of
the manuscript, and inserted where they nigh. hsve
better stect at the end.
Other. a. the eud would be moved to the beginning,
or the middle In one place, chapters wond be- sx-
pAnded 70 three four times ther original length in
another abridged TO few paragraphs; in e third,
taken ont altogether shifted 10 positions. With
al this msss of alterations in every page, the manu-
SCRIPT at lat resdy for the printer Even 10 the
sharp, experienced eyes in the printing office Il
ali but ieeble. The deciphering il, and setting
up IN moderately correct form, cost an amount OF
patience and paDs which wesrej on. all the best
the Office sitter toe other before the fire. series
| of proofs could be submitted to the authors eve.
When these were at last complete, they sent in
on large ships, and the indefatgsbe Ba'Zsc inmedi-
stey ret Ia work to re-wri'e the whole book for the
/ third time
lie covered with fresh corrections fresh stera-
tons, fresh expansions Of this passage, and fresh
abiidgements OF that, not only the margins Of the
proofs all round, bnt the little intervals of white
space between the paragraphs. Lines crossing each
other nd-scIibab confusion supposed to show
the bewdered printer the various places at which tbs
multitude Of new Insertions were 20 be placed %.
Ileglble ar B.lzecs Wigi1al manuscripts we're, his
corrected proofs were more hopele-sy puzzling sill.
The picked in the office 10 whom alone they c)ud
be Itrnated, sbuddered at the very name of Bslzsc
ana relieved each other intervals Of hour beyond
which time 10 printer could be 90, cou,inle a.
work on the universally execrated ani universally
! intellgibDe proofs.
The rev-es'-thst is 10 ssy the proof. emhojying
the ne ahera'ious-sere next pue b pieces 10 their
turD Two, three aud sometimes four separate sets Of
them required before the an'ho. leave cond be
got 10 seId tue perpeualyre- written book TO press az
last ard have with it. He literally the terror
OF al pnner AID editors; and he himself descr 1ed his
process OF work misfortune, 10 BE- the more deplor-
ed became in his case Intellectual nsoersy.
toll sixteen hours out of the twenty our, he said,
over the elaboration Of my unhappy style; and am
never Satisfied myself when eli is done"
GAA The Yeer Bound.
c. IN - s,a