, 1872-12-15
fine clothes, and, above all, his propensity for,

fne clothes, and, above al, his propensity for
gambling
Coming to the nineteenth century, wo find
Sir Walter Scott, who, IS batrister, would
probably never hare been heard ot outside OF
Scotland, earning 3 worldwide fame, fabulous
eu1ns OF money, and title, as an author. Had
lie trusted to 1itarnture only, instead Of dreaang
its precariousnas5 and becoming publisher, Id
might have died worth hundred thousand
pounds. and realized his lifelong dream OF q
landed aid titled family. Again, look at Words
worth and Southey. The former WAS never rich,
but some adn,rer Of his genius, or oiice-holder
became always conveniently deiunct at every
crisis in his finances, leaving him money or a.
place, and he lived 81 eminently digniaed End
happy life. The latter, man OF aecond-ra:e
genius, but Of colossal industry, won comfort.
If not afluencs, By his pen, and when disposed
to grurnble at his enforced drudgery at literary
ephemera. used to e1claim: 'Pationce!-it is,:
after all, better than pleading in stink.
ing court ofe1Aw, or being called up st
midnight to patient. 1t Is bet
ter than being soldier or
sailor, better than calculating profit and loss on,
counter-better, in short, than anything but
independence" Would Campbell, who spoke so
spitefully OF publishers have lived In the same
style, moved in the same circles, and BEEN pet
ted as he WAS, had he been poor teacher on
preacher2 Yet to one Of the latter ca1lings he
seemed destined when, g poor, f1iend}ess youth
| at a Scottish University, he had not yet by his
first poem won friends and fame. jeffrey.
mainly through his literary celebrity, became
| rich and = Judge. The author Of Lalla Rookh
got large income from his writings, beaides d
| pension Of $500; Byron received prince9
] SUMS from Mr. Murray, coming even his m1s~
anthropy and f'blne devils into guineas; and
| il Co1eridse WAS always stepped IN poverty, it
IVES because he Vas morally as well as physically
! out at the elbows, and SO wayward and capri
cious, so utterly untrustworthy, that he could
| never have kept his head above water IN any
| calling.
! Eas any profession "pzid" better than the
1ltt7k-;, 81 things considered during the 1ast
! fifty years? Look at the large suns which
! Macaulay received, besides coveted tit1e and a
seat in Parliament Think of tho enormoua
| receipts and the worldwide fame OF Dickens,
| originally poor md obscure newspaper re-
| porter! Think OF the fortune acquired by Fem
| nimore Cooper. Consider the price psid to
| Tennyson for eingle poem. or to Disraelf
for q single noyel-the large earnings
| Of Miss Evans, OF Lewes, Tzollope.
| Dumas, Miss Braddon, Froude, and host Of
ether authors in England, whom we have not
space to nane! Think, too, OF the generous
| sums paid in our own country to Irving, Cooper,
Mrs. Stowe, Motey, Prescott, Emerson. Long,
fellow, and hundreds of minor literary magnatez4
many Of whom have swelled their income by
| lectures, not few Of whom have baen Ambna~
eadors, Consuls, ETC., etc., and all Of whom nave
held position in society which no amount Of
mere wealth would have secured to them In
view Of these facts, is it just to whine about tho
| beggarly rewards OF literature, and the doom OF
| indigence and starvation which are so often sai6
| to hang oyer those who give themselves to pen
and ink? Will it be said that the examples OF
literary SUCCESS, which we have cited, ara
brilliant exceptions, and that ne have omitted
| ell mention Of the innumerahle scribbIers wh1
have stranded on the sands Of popular neglect
| Well, if the cases cited exceptions, they a-a
pretty numerous-almoat numerous enough t0
nullify the supposed ru1e. But We have SPUN
out too long an article already, and must reply
to objections and explain Why so many literary
men are always fighting the wolf, in anot5es
paper