St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-08-10
TRASHY STORY WRITER'S
Remarkable ConfessiOn Of . Man Who Ha1
Accumulated Fortune.

Accumulated . Fortune.
Twas talking a few days ago with a
man who has perhaps written more
trashy stories for the cheap weaklies
than any single writer. For twenty.
seven years he has done nothing else.
He is now comfortably of from the re.
turns which his work has brought him.
I asked him how he looked back upon
MS career and work, and his answer
was interesting.
II count my life almost a failure. a"
said he. This trash which have
0ecn writing has brought me returns
upon which l can live comfortably,
but look on the other side! have no
peace of mind when I think Of tho
havoc l have undoubtedly wrought
upon young and innocent minds. l
can point to nothing with any pride Of
authorship. am ashamed OF it
all. Even my children 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 ED
est daughter at the table. Would l
wish her, SO beautiful and pure a girl.
or her sisters. to know? Oh. no! no,
sir! My daily prayer is that I may
never live to see the flush that will
kindle on their beautiful cheeks If ever
they learn the truth. Why. there are
only five persons, l think. that know
of my authorship OF the filth have put
out. No one would certainly suspect
it from my nom de plume. and never
write any thing else for print. SO there
can be no comparison OF style. Those
who know it are. as you are. pledged
to secresy BY their friendship for me.
| am never suspected OF having
more than an ordinary passing
interest in literature OF any sort.
and am careful never to start
books. authors or periodicals as
a topic of conversation. But, il
doesn't pay! Why did l star. IN it?
Because it paid me better to write a
murdcrous story than a clean one. and
once begun, have kept right on. My
first proved SO appctizing to It's read.
ers that the editor offered Inc almost
double the price he paid me for the
first, if would write a second one.
Encouraged. kept right on. unit! now
hate to think of the number have
written. l have published my stories
under fifteen or twenty different names,
male aud female. and if have written
one, suppose have written two hun.
dred of these beastly serial novels.
They're all in the same vein, and there
isn't one which hasn't a lot OF rob-
berries. murders or seductions in them.
How people can read them l can not
tell. II they despised their reading as
do their writing. ! would be poor
man now l suppose. But with me it
is now thing OF the past. 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 iiend-
ish work. My girls will soon marry,
and my two sons are already in busi-
ness. Does my wife know of il? Yes.
the only woman in the world who
does, and God bless her! she has never
chided me for it, although tears Of JOY
stood in her eyes when l dropped The
pen for the last time" am not cX-
aggcrating facts when say that this
gentlemau's total income from his
twenty-seven years work has been
fully $25O.O0O. Yet, what lesson is
contained in his words for many a
young writer Of the present day!-W.
S. Box, in n. Y. Graphic.