Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-10-21
GEORGE sABBERLY.

House.
GEORGE sABBERLY.
The Unappreciated Trials of an EXtraOrdi-
nary Literary Gentleman-He Now
Tries the S%cribners.
ArkQnsds TrGreler.
Mr.. George Sabberly of Dry Fork, Ark,
a hterarly gentleman of whom a readers
have heard, recently wrote as follows to
Charles Scribner x Sons:
"GENTLEMEN-I hear that you are 90
ing to start a magazine, and | thought
that | would send my congratulations,
along with something more substantial,
viz, a batch of news from my neighbor-
hood. think that it is high time that
the people of this great and united coun-
try have a magazine that can be depended
on. The great fault with the magazines
is that they don't pay enough attention to
the farmer. They scOrn the items that he
sends in: and, gentlemen, they surely can
not, or rather shOuldn not hope to be upheld
by the bone and sinew of the land. Let
me give you a short but interesting history
of my connection with the so-called litera-
~ stOrehOuSe of our country. Knowing
the items from our community would be of
interest to the general reader, l prepared a
batch and sent them to the editor of the
North American Review, telling the editor
that, as | was hard pressed for money
owing at that time Parks Bradley for a
yoke of as fine stterS as ever you handled
in your life-IwOuld let him have the lit
erature cheap for cash. | expected to get
a good round sum, especially as | had seen
it said that he had paid a fellow $4,000 for
an article, and, to tell you the truth, /
thought that what / sent him was worth
about $500. Do you know how l was
treated? With silent contempt. 1t is a
fact, gentlemen, if | ever told the truth in
my life. l had taken great pains with the
communication, had neglected to fix my
fence and patch up the spring house to keep
the dogs from our milk and butter, in order
to ride around the neighbOrhOOd, and see if
there were n evidences of black tongue
among the deer-went farther, gentlemen,
and made q calculation of how many sheep
had died OF dry rot in our neighbOrhOod. |
put all this in good shape, not forgetting to
say that a wet spell had set in after q pro-
longed draught, but, gentlemen, | was
treated with contempt. Knowing then
that the editor of that pamphlet was not
on the lookout for talent, | turned my at
tention to Harpers' Magazine. The editor
was a stranger to me, yet | spoke to him
in the kindeSt manner. l told him a great
deal about my affairs, how much milk the
red cow gave and how well the hens were
laying. | agreed to write cheap, for cash
not desiring to take anything out in pro-
duce-and that | would get him some sub
,,r,har, IN M m ,p,prn MT -. hrt arantlnpNnp
be not only threw my valuable matter
aside, but disdained to answer my kind
and confidential letter. This was hard to
bear, but |, acting upon the advice Of my
wife, who is u very even tempered woman,
held my peace.
Still believeing that somebody must
want talent and experience turned to the
Century. l had heard that the editor of
that pamphlet wanted articles about fights
so | wrote up an affair that took place at
AadersOn's mill between the Prior boys
and the two Spencers. One of the SpenCers
was killed and the other was struck by Il
ha~nd-spike and badly hurt. | told him all
about this. and more, tOO-tOld him how
Nat Grear, the deputy constable, shot old
Mat Mayheel because he refused to give up
a feather-bed that he had taken from u
widow who had bought the feathers from
my wife, paying part cash and part in
buckle fax and as fine 4 rooster rs ever
hoped up OH a fence. BY the way, we
had the rooster for dinner last Sunday.
How l wished you had been here, for
think the time has come when there should
be closer relationship existing between
publisher and contributor. How do You
suppose that editor treated me? Shabbily.
I dropped him then and there and turned
my attention to n pamphlet called the
| Atlantic Monthly. | made the editor 4
generous proposition, sending him an inter
eSting batch Of notes together with y hall
column Of State news that had clipped
from our county paper. | sent the State
news Us 4 compliment. OfcOurSe, but did
expect pay for the notes. but the editor
never sent me the scratch of a pen. Now
I can stand a great deal, as my wife can
testify, but l can't stand everything, so l
wrote that editor Il letter that I'll bet took
the bark of every lick.
"NOw, gentlemen, having had so much
valuable experimental | have heard that
experience is the Likelihood of literature-l
offer my services to you. ! will promise to
write witha quill pen, knowing that strict
ly first-claSs pamphlets demandl 1t, and Will
send you everything of interest. lnclosed
Won will find some interesting notes which
nobody but l could get, and which you
may print in the first issue Of your maya
zine at regular rates. expect you'd bet
ter print five or six extra copies, as your
magazine containing what write will sell
like hSt cakes in our neighborhood.