Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1877-04-21
What ii Costs 10 Write Well.


Excellence is not matured in day,
and the cost of it is an old story. The
beginning of Plato's "Republic," it
is said was found in an old tablet
written all over in variety Of ways
Addison, we are told wore out the
patience Of his printer; frequently,
when nearly whole impression of
the Spectator was worked off, he
would stop the press tp insert some
new proposition. LambN most spirit
ed essays were the result of most in
tense brain labor; he used to spend
week at time in celebrating single
humorous letter to friend. Tenny-
son is reported to have written Come
into the garden, Maud" more than
fifty times over before it pleased him;
and "Locksley Hall, the first draught
of which was written in two days, he
spent the better part of six weeks, for
eight hours a day in altering and
polishing. Dickens, when he intend
ed to write Christmas story, he shut
himself up for six weeks, living the
life oil a hermit, and came ont as hag-
gard as a murderer. Balzac, after he
had thought out thoroughly one of
his philosophical romances, and amas-
sed his materials in most laborous
manner, retired to his study, and from
that time until his book went to press
society saw him no more. When he
appeared among his friends he looked,
said his publisher, in the popular
phrase like his own ghost. The man
uscript was afterward altered and
copied when it passed into the hands
of the printer, from whose slips the
book was rewritten the third time.
Again it went into the hands of the
printer-two, three and sometimes
four separate proofs being required
before the authors leave could be got.
to send the perpetually rewritten
book to press at last to have it done.
He was literally the terror Of all
printers and editors.
Moore thought it quick work if be
wrote seventy of "Lalla Rookh' in a
week. Kinglakes "Eothen," we are
told, was rewritten five or six times,
and was kept in the authors writing
desk almost as long as Wooiswortn
kept Jhe "White Doe Of Ryisoue, and
kept like that, to be taken out for re-
view and correction almost every day.
Button 8 STORY of Nature cost him
fifty years OF labor before he sent it to
the printer. He composed it in a
singular manner, writing on large,
sized paper, in which as in a ledger,
five distinct columns were ruled In
the first column he wrote down the
first thoughts, in the second he cor
rected, enlarged and pruned it, and so
on until he reached the fifth column,
within which he finally wrote the re-
suits of his labor. But even after this
he would compose sentence twenty
times, and once devoted fourteen
hours to finding the proper word to
round off a period John Foster Of
ten spent hours on single sentence.
Ten years elapsed between Goldsmith's S |
"Traveller' and its completion. La
Rochelaucauld spent fifteen years in
preparing his little book of maxims
altering some of them, Segaris says,
nearly thir4y times. We all know
how Sheridan polished his wit and .
finished his joke, the same things be-
ing found on different hits of paper,
differently expires ed. Rogers showed |
Crabbe Robinson note to his "Italy,'
which he said took him two weeks to
write. 1t consists of a YER, few linae |