The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-05-23
The Remarkable Confession Ofa Writ
er of Trashy stories, Wherein there
is n Lesson for Many a young Writer
of Today.

The Remarkable Confession Ofa Writ
er of Trashy stories, Wherein there
IL n Lesson for Many a young Writer
OF Today.
] was talking few days ago with
man who has, perhaps, written more
trashy stories for cheap weeklies than
any single writer. For twenty-seven
years he has done nothing else. He is
now comfortable off from the returns
which his work has brought him. |
al ked him how he looked back upon his
career and work, and his answer was in
teresting:
II count my life almost failure"
said he. "This trash which have been
writing has brought me returns upon
which l can live comfortable, but look
on the other side l have no peace of
mind when think of the havoc l have
undoubtedly wrought upon the young
and innocent minds. . l can point to
nothing with any pride of authorship.
| am ashamed of it all. Even my child.
rem would hang their heads in shame
did they know their father was the
author of this trashy stuff. Do they
know it? Bless your soul, no and God
forbid they ever discover it-at least
during my lifetime, You saw my eldest
daughter at the table. Would | wish
her, 80 beautiful and pure a girl, or her
sisters to know Oh, no no, sir My
daily payer is that | may never liye to
see the flush that will kindle on their
beautiful cheeks if they ever learn the
truth. Why, they are only five persons,
think, that know of my authorship of
the stuff have put out. No one woul d
certainly suspect it from my monde
plume, and l have never written any
thing else for print, so there can be no
comparison of style. Those who know
it are, as you are, pledged to secrecy by
their friendship for me. | am never
suspected of having more than an ordi-
nary passing interest in literature of any
sort, and am careful never to start books,
authors or periodicals as a topic of con-
versation. But, it doesn't pay! Why
did | start in il? Because it paid me better
to write a murderous story than clean
one, and once begun l have kept right
on, My first proved so appetizing to its
readers that the editor offered me almost
double the price he paid me for the first
il | would write a second one, Encour-
aged, | kept right on, until now hate
to think of the number l have written,
| have published my stories under fifteen
or twenty different names, male and fe-
male, and if have written one | sup
pose have written 200 of these beastly
serial novels. They're all in the same
vein, and there isn't one which hasn't a
lot of robberies or murders IN il. How
people can read them | cannot tell. If
they despised their reading as do their
writings, | would be poor man now l
suppose. But with me, 1t is now a thing
of the past. l have written my last
story, l have laid aside enough to keep
my family in comfort and there is no
longer any necessity for me to keep up
my fiendish work. My girls will soon
marry and my two sons are alread in
business, Does my wife know of it!
Yes, the only woman in the world who
does, and God bless her! she has never
chded me for it, althogh tears of joy
stood in her eyes when l dropped the
pen for the last time" am not exag.
gerating facts when l say that this gen
tleman's total income from his q years
work has been fully $3.50 900, Yet what
a lesson is contained in his words for
many young writer of the present day
I-Special Correspondence Of the Boston
Journal.