Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-02-20
Habits Of German Authers.

me German knows, as no one else,
how to subsidize others into his SER
vice, thereby saving vast amount of
time and purely mechanical labor.
Almost invariably he has an amenu-
ensis, and frequently more than one,
to whom he dictates or gives in pretty
full outline what he proposes to en-
balm in print. Dunsen-who, despite
his long residence in England and his
Identification with English life, never
forgot his German method of author
ship used to have half a : dozen
secretaries at work for him. All he
did was to give them the general di-
rections, and they thus multiplied his
years. Moreover, he had scholars at
work for him, who lived in various
parts of the country. He told them
what points he wanted to fortify, what
theses they must elaborate, and they
did it gladly-for, poor, half-starved
fellows, they knew that Bunsen could
pay them well for their toll. Many
of the more solid works in German
literature are produced by the profess
ors in the universities. These men,
almost to unit, have the ervices of
promising student (or two) of lite
rary taste, who spends his spare hours
in searching up authorities, conduct
ing correspondence, getting the mas
ters' own heiroglyphics into shape for
the printer, and examining Libraries
far and near for information to pack
into the volume in hand. While the
real author is responsible for every
word that goes out under his name,
and can justly claim the parentage of
the whole idea and plan and scope of
the work, be is spared much of the
drudgery incident to all book-making,
which is not the immediate fruit of
imagination. Where history is to be
ransacked, facts to be grouped and
matters of pure detail to be CLEANED
from various sources, often another
could do better service than the au-
thor. The real writer is the Powers
who furnishes the model, and yet
never himself uses the chisel on the
block of MARBLE but takes good care to
have the merely muscular part of the
execution done by others. His eye
goes over all carefully, but he saves
his own physical energies from ex-
haustion.
The German author takes care to
have social refreshment. Without
this he would soon fall amid the gil
gantic literary plans. He cultivates
clupable qualities and has his circle of
friends, with whom he spends eve-
nings and the afternoons of festive
days. He seldom works with his pen
at night, and generally not after din
ner. He crowds his labors into the
morning hours, and where he leaves
anything for the afternoon it is gener-
ally light matter--the trimming up
of the grand trunk, he had felled be-
fore noon. Reading, comparing au-
thorities, and such easy parts of his
labor, he can do without weariness
after his after-dinner smoke. But for
dlctation, downright authorship, he
commonly takes the forenoon; and
urgent must be your demand if you
get welcome from him then. He
often has placard on his door at this
time exhorting all trespassers on his
time not to enter unless their business
is very important, and they are will
ling to leave very soon again. His
rule is to spend all his afternoons and
evenings with his family or literary
friends. He is grand dinner-out;
knows how to occupy two hours at the
| table and four or six hours in digest
ing what he finds on it. He plays all
manner of games with his children,
and serves as donkey and what-not for
them; goes to the reading room and
drops asleep over the EertcLahrsseh-
rift; makes a foot excursion with his
wife and children to neighboring
village, and wakes up next morning
with fifty brand new pages at his
tongues end. Thus he goes through
his volume, half playing and half
working, but always absorbing; and
when he has finished it he does not
need a journey to another continentto to
bring him elasticity, nor does he
shiver like slave beneath the critics
lash. His nerves are strengths blood
far from torpid, his spirits high, his
brain ready for anything. He would
begin cyclopedia on the shortest no.
tice, and fulfill his publishers best
hopes. .-Hursts Life in the Father
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