Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-12-30
A LITERARY CRANK.
A Gotham Genius who Loves to be
Seen Of Men.
Wooing the Muse at Restaurant Window
What Sells the Magazines-Ama-
teur Scrbblers-Terse
Stage Topics.
Ne,o York Correspondence.

by the penurious millionaires of the
metropolis in aid of the Bartholdi Statue
of Liberty fund, now in full blast, there
is poet and novelist of no small re-
nown who is in the habit of making
an exhibition OF himself, much to the
disgust of sensible persons who come in
contact with him, although the per-
fOrmance appears to give him un-
bounded satisfaction. will not name
him, though l do not suppose that by
putting him on view in print would
displease him, judging by the
peculiar public disposal of his person.
Nearly every day he takes seat at a
table in one of the largest Of our res
taurants, usually by Broadway win
dow, and leisurely eats a very late
breakfast. Then he has the plates and
remnants removed and coffee and
brandy brought on. Laying out pen,
ink and paper, he sets to work at COM
position. For two or three hours he
slowly
Absorbs Drink and Expends Ink,
presumably turning both into reading
matter. OF course, he is gazed at by
the frequenters of the establishment
and the thrOug passing outside. The
general conclusion OF the spectators is
that vanity leads him to make this odd
display of his vocation, but | am not
sure that he is guilty of the charge OF
pedantry. He writes verses that are
good enough for ephemeral Use in the
magazines, and bad enough to be
promptly forgotten by the readers. His
prose takes the form of fiction, some
of which has attracted more than pass
ing notice. Thus it cannot be said that
he is mere pretender. However, he
is not the genius that he thinks he is,
and therefore his ecccntrcities are sim
ply accepted rs ridiculous.
| asked man who is conspicuOu5ly
concerned in the publication depart
ment of 3 leading magazine, why the
average of merit in magazine literature
was so low.
"There are several reasons" he re-
piled. 1.-THE foremost is the dominant
relation of the pictures to the letter
press. The tremendous success of the
Century ami Harper's Monthly is
almost altogether due to the wonderful
Excellence of the Wood cuts
which are put into them. These PIC
lures cost a great deal of money. \
,hOusaud dollars is sometimes eXpend-
ed in the production OF a single page Of
picture. The original may be 4 paint
ing or a pen-and-ink drawing by some
famous artists, and the engraving il eX-
&C edingly expensive. Now these Illus
iratiOns are what sell the magazine. 1t
is their high quality that circulates these
two American periodicals in England
to the extent of over sc, 900 copies eacn.
1t naturally follows that the articles
which such pictures illustrated are sub
sidary. Theatrical folks relate Of TOOle,
the manager Of Niblo's Garden, that
be ordered drama with the sole direc-
ton that it should have a mOOn-lit
scene in it. He had found in the estab-
tishment a most perfect moon apparatus
and be proposed to utilize it. That's
about the way with the magazine con-
ductOrs. They first buy II handsome
picture, and secondly have something
written 10 put it into. That makes
mediocre text nearly a certainty. An
other chief reason for poor magazine
matter is that the writers are nearly ali
amateurs. Each magazine usually
keeps good seriael running, ami o.
casiOrally gets verses from recognized
poet, but the bulk of the matter is from
lie rensof
Men who Write for Glory
rather than living. The ablest writers
are employed on the daily newspapers,
and 50 fully aud prOlitabiy that they
raunot afford to devote time to work
tEat must take its chances for remum-
Grafton. Take copy of any New YORK
journal of q wide circulation aud you
will hardly fail to find several editorial
articles, and as many descriptive ones.
dat are immeasurably superior to the
stuff that we see in magazines. l could
count you up a hundred men who,
without any proprietary or sinecure adj
vantageS, get incomes of 800 70 5000
week 10y writing for newspapers in this
CITY, but there are no ten contributors
in the whole country without as much
~ the smaller sum from the magazine.
Nearly the same reasons cause the
badness Of most of the plays presented
in the theaters. Ii is not worth while
FOR busily employed literary man to
write drama on the remOteprObability
that it will be acted, and that, being
produced, il will make success. BE.
sides, there are usually actors who think
they can write at hand TO quickly see
4nu seize the opportunities for
Marketing a Piece.
We have an Illustration this week.
T lou OPP IA House is gorgeOusly rebuilt.
II is reopened for light musical purposes.
The "Orphee aux Enters" OF OtlenOach
is the piece. Max Freeman, good
enough actor and stage manager, has
been allowed to turn the French into
English, and the manner ia which he
has done the work would insure his in
slant discharge from the humblest
newspaper employment. Plays quite as
good have been ridiculed into ruin on
the very night Of their production. But
i'm this instance the suffering OF the
auditors finds a compensation in the
music, and as spectators they are enter
tanned by the most novel show of wo-
men that ever was disclosed. There is
a Juno 6 feet high and about 8 feet
wide; there is a Cupid scarcely more
than half that height or thickness |;
there is a variety of intermediate beauty,
and, altogether, the exhloltlon Is
Physically Remarkably.
The prima donna, too, is inordinary.
Her name is Vanoni. She used to be a
tight-rope walker. Next, she was a
singer and dancer in variety shows.
Two years ago she concluded she had
voice enough for opera. There was no
time TO lose, for she was no longer
,1oung and had never been beautiful
and she studied music with haste I'M
precedented, She has made hit. Her
vocalism is about as good as we get in
opera boufte, her vivacity is remarkable,
and all her requirements in former ath-
ietics come into appropriate use. Her
wriggling, skipping, posing, and general
answer the new SSs purpose fPEsss
from across the ocean. But there are
a few who know her. One of the atti-
tudes, with hands uphead as though
grasping balance pole. and foot ele-
waited in front, was wildly that of q