New-York tribune., 1890-08-08
REWARDS OF AUTHORSHIP.
COLONEL T. w. HIGGINSON DISCUSSES
LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION
ADDRESS AT CHAUTAUoUA-THE COLLEGE
sERvIcE-A CONFERENCE ON INsTRuC-
TIoN BY CORRESPONDENCE.
-rsx rKLrcnArH TO rHr TRIBUNE,

tw TELEGRAPH TO rHr rRsUSE'
ChautauQua, Aug. 7.-snce the opening oi the
seventeenth annual assembly on Tuesday night there
has been q great influx Of visitors The hotels and
boarding houscs are crowded, and many persons are
forced TO seek accommodation without the grounds
AT the performance by the Ben Hur Tableau Company
last night the benches and aiscs were packed LATE
,omer~ found themselves together on the outer edsc
Of the amphitheatre and mounted chairs, tables ahd
stepiadders to get view of the stage. Many eager
sightseers climbed trees The Assembly managers are
already considering plans for enlargng the au0'o
rum. 1t can now seat 5000 people.
Literature as a Profession the attractive
title OF Colonel Thomas W. Higginsons second lecture
this morning.
"My friend, George William Curtis" he said, was
some years ago selected as delegate 10 the New YORK
Constitutional Convention and overheard dis
cussoi among the other members concerning hiMseii
one said: Curtis is an intelligent man.. a very
intelligent man. was the reply for literary man.
Now we didn't to hear it said that Abraham
Lincoln was very intelligent for rail splitter or
General Grant very intelligent for tanner. Iho
liteIry man is also man and brother, ana WHY
shoua = be surprising that ha like other American
citizens shoud show intelligence. In the earlier
days OF the Republic literature cOnld not be suppoSeu
to have any footing. The conditions were TOO stern
President John Adams rejolced that there were no
artists in America, because he thought arus's anu
literary Represented the degradation OF Govern
mcnt. Fisher Ames made a speech Ill WHICH
he said that literature would come when American
,bsrtv was ovcrthrown Ten years after that
American literature born. In 1915 "Thc North
American Review was started In 1917 Bryant
wrote .Thanatopss'; in 1918 Irving's sketch Book
was published and Coopcr's spy appeared i'll 1879.
The principal drawback at present In this country
10 literature is that there is stil enormous amount
of work to be done. There is a fearful absorption
of this and the coming generation in such work.
The q
built If you put the abest young men into machine
shops and railroad Offices you can't have them IN the
library Yet in spite Of all that, we see the spread OF
education the growth Of colleges and librares and
fhautauoua circles Here, as nowhere else, the
author stands and dignlcd in his profession with
no class above him. How does literary man stand
today in England' so long as he is not raised TO
the pccrage, he takes rank below the meanest man
who has been: and if, like Tennyson, he consents
10 join it, he has the extreme felicity OF being fol
lowed in that body by a prosperous London brewer
The separation Of from set makes its mark iii all
the literature of England Why Is it that the American
magazines have marched in solid column into England
and displaced the English magazines II Is because
the American magazine is a magazine. II Is place
of comprehension. 1t brings people together 1T
Is ChsutauQua institute among magazines.
The disadvantage of literature, it IS said,
IN this country, is that it is not paid well A man
cannot make his living out of it, and is tempted 10
other occupations Wei. / have lived by literature
for thirty years, and know the thing can be done
It's money rewards not 50 great as those OF otheT
occupations Neither those Of the law, meilcino
nor the pulpit. The lawyer who makes 100000
wear is not TO be found, am told lin New York. The
physician who makes $50 900 year is rarely found
anywhere some American authors, dare say, for
several years have made 100000 year. | doubt
whether there are any who nave ina1e more "n,n n
$4,000 year for Ten years together. But, thc
profsssIon OF literature is safe There are always
new wspapers there are always reports ana mllNefs'
and there Is the personal society column which doeS
its numbering In a ingenious way The literary
man risks little. his expenses are little, MS posi-
billties are great lie has friends to look fOiwa 10
everywhere and his influence reaches VIDE ana Iar
into the future 49, , - ordrc,od ~,
Professor F. j. Miller, of Worcester, Mass. Mlss
Elnor b. Hooper played the violin, ana the 5chuDert
Quartet Of Chicago sang, at concert TINS aIterHooi
The quartet Is composed Of : t. Battle y r. ssohe;
e r. 'Fylcy and J. II. lott. Dr. Henry liancneu "i
New York, lcctuued on " Tho Unconscious Man. 49,,
Another conference Of In trucon by correspondence
was held nj the college, and at an afternoon ROund
Table q list OF useful books" was maze up from 'e
experience of those present ,o
The Ben lIur Company gave anolhcT pcrior'iifh.o
this evening The company is assisted by a. y
staeg Miss Minnie Roberts, Miss Anna u. BISHOP
Mrs T. A. Sherwood, L. Hcncdict, Miss May G' iier
rick George Kent, John Thatcher, Dr. HancheN, o.
push Miss Austen J. T. Gcwathcry, MISS Nn'uhs'
Miss Wait W. CranKshaw and Ralph Herrck
a tennis tournament will begin here next MohuaS'
70 last during the week - ,,on ad wife of
The arrivals include J. B. lleamater ana WIG W pI
NeadviIIe Penn Frank G. Wade of Cleveland a. f.
Gardiner New orleans: NJ. G. Kennedy ana H. a.
Plnmmcr, Of Philadelphia.