The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-02-19
v,cissitudes in the Life Of a writer.

was standing in front of Haver-
ly's Theater the other evening, watch
ing disappointed people come up to and
leave the box office, after vain applica-
ton TO obtain seats in the overcrowded
houses. Presently BARLEY Campbell,
who is the manager of the company
now playing at Haverly's, as wen as
the author of the really admirable play,
"The Galley Slave" now on its fourth
! successful week there, came up His
tail figure, his SLOUGH hat, rather di-
sheveled hair, twelve-corner mustache,
Prince Albert coat and disordered neck
tie looked just as they did when first
saw their owner, some years ago, when
his luck was way down. The state
ment of the nights receipts was brought
/ while he stood there, and his share was
a few dollars more than $780, "House
not as good as last night" he said,
"within couple of dollars. Fact is,
the business, although good, has not
been what it might "Why, BARLEY,
you don't quarrel about a couple of dol
lars, now you are in the height of sue
cessP What is your income from plays,
anyway" "Idon't growl about few
dollars; but now is the time : seep
When you can growl about them,
do it. Well, am getting on
an average 1880 a week, now"
/" You'll soon be rich, Barley" ''Wel,
1 am so accustomed to bad luck, per-
haps may meet some-seeP" BARLEY
Campbell always says "see" in an in
terrogative way without much or any
desire for an answer. In rambling
conversation about his varied career that
followed, the drift of the talk got Christ
mas and poverty mixed, and BARLEY
told this story of his early struggles: &c /
had gone to New Orleans with my wife,
arriving there just when a newspaper
had suspended, and twelve writers were,
like myself, seeking journalistic work
only, unlike myself, they had acquaint-
ances and friends; neither, nor money,
except five cents-see? The row was
hard one. After various shifts One
of which was starting the Southern
Magazine, which was brought out-we
found ourselves, just before Christmas
time, without any thing of Importance
excepting grocery bill-seeP wrote
poem about Eddystone Light, and sent
it to the Nineteenth Century, then pub
lished in Charleston, S. c., by Felix de
Fontaine & Co. 1t was the small be-
ginning of which the present Nineteenth
Century is the great result.
"Well, 1 marked on the MS.-price
S15. Commercial poetry-seeP We
confidently expected that money before
Christmas. Why, we took it as mat
ter of course that the money must come.
If it didn't-well, that was view of
things we couldn't take for moment
seeP Well, the day before Christmas
came, but the money did not. visited
the Post-office again and again that day,
but no letter. The situation was gloomy,
then, and in the evening | said to my
wife, Il guess I'll have to go to the
grocery, any way Il wouldn't go,
Bart she said; Il am afraid he'll say
something about the account Il can't
help it am going anyhow l an
swered, and grabbed the basket and
rushed out, for fear that my wife tears
would deter me from going at all-seeP
He didn't say any thing about the ac-
count, and ordered sparingly. When
he got the things all in the basket he
slipped in with them a nice bottle of
liquor, and he said: 'Now, Mr.. Camp
bell, this is Christmas Eve.' l went |
home, and drank some of the liquor,
and when we went to bed things looked |
little brighter. l got up in the |
morning, and they were gloomy
again-seep | started down to the
Post-offiee, my wife saying it was
fruitlesS errand, and got there just
before the Christmas rule of closing at
10 a. m. shut down the delivery window.
The clerk ran through every letter, and
when he got to the last one, and as l
turned to leave, he threw me down a
letter which bore the date mark
Charleston | opened it, and there
was check for SIS. My legs couldn't
carry me home fast enough. L got
there, and my wife met me, her face all
aglow. well, Bart, she said. WELL
/ said, and felt she had heard the news
that some one had told her my check
had come, for to me it was the biggest
piece of news ever was, and that it
should be common talk was perfectly
BARLEY, have got &c. she
cried. and have got S15,' yelled;
and she, not noticing it, went on, Il
sold the war book about women that
nobody would buy before, to some PEG
pie who wanted it. Now, don't be ex-
BARLEY, please But was
We had bottle of cham
payne that day, and presently got the
position of official reporter of the Legis-
lature at SIG day; and Christmas slime
never comes but l do not wonder if l
will have as merry and happy time as
the one we celebrated in New Orleans
just after the War. y Chicago Cor. Phil