Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-02-14
STRUGGLES OF TALENT.
HOW IT LIVES, IAMENTS AND SUF-
FERS IN NEW YORK.

Musical Students who Live Like Anchor
ites-Unknown GenIuses, Whose Hearts
Are Devoured by Anxiety-The Vast
Army That Talent Drags in Its Train.
Special Corresponienee.I
New YORK. Feb 10-New York Is iu-
tested wi talent II turks on every corner
dwslls in garrets near the sky. and touches
elbows with one constantly, indoors and out
II isn't always prosperous talent Much of
1t Is In its incipiency, some in its decline,
and nearly all IN the struggling stage.
Talent is an admirable possession, but II
has way Of talking about itself that rather
wears upon one The more undeveloped It
Is the more does 1t expend Itself in words
In the struggling stage it weares every body
with its wailings and lamentations and
alasi strugglers are all too plenty here. They
come from every village, town. hillside and
plain TO find an outlet for their talent to
try their wings Frequently they cherish
the belief that there isn't much else In life
worth paying attention to but their talent
The dismal experience of finding an oppor-
tunity, an opening even a foothoid, involves
an exercise Of ali ths qualities that belong to
heroes Courage, patience, perseverance,
seif-con6dence and eternal vigilance must
prop up the greatest talent ever bestowed
upon mortais if it achieves anything.
Heaven help the talented strugglers in
New York, for they fight with the dragon Of
adversely hand to hand; they earn success a
thousand times though they may rever
reach It They pay for every foot Of
ground gained with their hearts best blood
Truly, heaven does help them often There
is no other way Of accounting for their
miraculous extrication from desperate
straits sometimes
The strugglers are creatures OF a single
idea. One thought consumes them, and
that Is how to advances themselves In their
profession, whatever it may BE- The worst
Of IL is they refuse to understand that others
are not equally interested in their hopes and
fears
To be sure they rarely reach the dizzy
heights they set out for, but they accumu-
late q stock OF vision by no means TO be
despised. They adopt a definition for the
word success quite different from the one
that dazGled them before they tried their
wings. A famous editor said to m, once,
II consider any ones life a success who has
kept out Of the poorhouss.n The talented
strugglers agree to this after they have once
mixed with action" Experience teaches
them humility. Nothing else can 10 be
sure they never persuade themselves that
they were intended for the paths of medioc-
rity. but they decide to walk in said paths
uncomplainingly, and even gratefully.
It's pitiful, too, to sea them yield to the
inevitable, one by one. falling far short of
their dreams. yet heroically setting their
faces to the blast and pushing on to the end
Queer commodity this thing we call success.
1t has way of coming to loiterers and
dodgins workers that Is perfectly incom-
prehensible A writer Of much ability and
great industry said recently: Il began q
literary life determined 70 reach the heights;
but here / am, 90. and still IN the valley"
Here Is the young lady Wao is ready
to be launched in ths musical wos'd Ths
seal Of some renowned Italian teacher's ap-
proval has been set upon her. Sh- comes ~
New York, the Mecca of the aspiring, brim-
full Of pride and confidence 10 seek an en-
gagement The foot OF the ladder is not for
her. Oh, mol Nobody dare, to hint about
climbing in her presence. She has any
amount of courage until managers hew is
away with brutal rebuffs
She sings for managers again and again
and hears nothing from than, in spite of all
tACh PaouAsSs oLA PA oAoecA AAAACbJ caS
her heart out and necessities devour her
purse. The story Of her struggles is told
over and over to her friends till their minds
are saturated with her burdens ami ysarE-
ings They worry over her, push her, in
troduce her, praise her and regularly carry
her. But time flies and she accomplishes
nothing At last she reaches the end Of her
financial string. and then either begins at
the despised foot of the ladder and climbs
slowly 10 the middle, possibly TO the top. or
else she goes back to her home IN the prov
inces disappointed and embittered woman.
who will be a stranger to every form OK
happiness during the remainder of her life.
This luckless person frequently owes her
failure TO too much praise before she has
really accomplished anything. Wel-mean-
ing, but injudicious friends give her such Q
hattering opinion Of herself that she scorns
the day Of small beginnings, wants to jump
Immediately to the top, can't do it and so
misses her opportunities and sinks into per-
manent obscurity A famous woman said
in nv presence: 81 regard Theodore
Tilton and Anna Dickinson as the two most
conspicuous examples of the evil results Of
too much praise at the outset Of one career.
Nothing makes men or women so well
able TO stand on their feet In public work a.
q few knock downs as first, with the privi-
lege Of getting up without help. 1t keeps
them humble.
The musical student not vet ready to
launch, Is another strugZler She is here, in
great numbers invariably loaded with
poverty and talent wearing sh abby gowns
and invalid shoes, and literally living on .
crust in fireless rooms Her money goes for
lessons, and she practices herself and her
neighbors fairly into the grave. Sometimes
her courage vanishes and she weePs and
moans at the hardness of her fate, the hope
lessness of her immediate future Ali these
g., 81 I'D ,nsIvr
must listen to. for the talented strugglers
crave sympathy when clouds hang low.
That unfortunate somebody must lend himself or
herself to the work of putting backbone into the
sfruggier thanklss- tas which mu st be done over
again the next day or next week perhaps
Any one who doc! MT live in complete seclusion In
New York goes around nlled with the woes which
the struggers have poured into him Theatrical and
would be theatrical people, arm in arm with pow
erty, confront at every turn They fairiy reek
with stories OF theif struggles-how managers have
He'd TO them and rivals injured them The ragged
edge Of anxiety Is their couch and discomfort their
closest chum The tales OF cruelty and brutality
some of the women strugsers tell would de ter any
save the most courageous from putting them
selves in the way OF similar experiences
cue persevering girl up the struggle after two
years Of ftful stage experience in g humble way.
~Ons should be q Lorse not a woman" she said TO
20 through the Rseways OF the theatrical profession
lam not q horse. cannot endure what Il put upon
me. So give it mp"
Some Of these Impoverished cherishers OF talent
cruwl 70 respectable place in their profession,
point where they can earn decent livelihood Even
then they sure of nothing Some perish Afew,
very few reach the top Others. discouraged. drop
into various little snares by the way such disas-
trozs marriages or crazy enterprises that come TO
grief stin others yield TO the Inevitable pressure
Of poverty and ali the demons thar bae the striving
and 20 down down into dark days OF doom
Writing talent does Its full share Of struggling also
Unhappiiy with q few exceptions it never gets out
Of M struggles TIN the pale horseman releases IT, Set
down its credit however that i talks less about
itsef and it's aspirations than dramatic talent The
people Of the pen learn early that work, not talk 10
the thing Incipient poetasters prone to mech
tongue wagging to their own glorincation but pro-
fessional writers too busy TO prste much about
their bafred hopes. IL takes the unfiedged soaren
10 do that thoroughly.
The BohsmIans Of the pen wax communicative as