Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-10-24
AN AMERICAN PIRATE.
1t was about five years ago that l
saw an advertisement in great literary
snI,,.,,nl LIZ MN fnlln ,..c.

journal. 1t ran as follows:
FICTIoN-wanted.N Novels and Short Stories
suitable for "A high-olass magazine. Thorough
originality is required, aud will be llberally
dealt with. A good serial novel; about 1200O)
words. can be treated fer.-P j.. care OF
Bllifkins. printers, Bouverie Street, e. @.
Thorough originalityw l cried;
"Why. that's my strong point; hang
it. I'm nothing if I'm not original!
Why. can reel it out by the yard
quite comfortably. just rs though had
been literary silk.worm. And so
could. then. Plots? poohl l never
even troubled about plot; 1 just sat
down and began to fire away to Miss
Dashes (Aliss Dashes is my shorthand
writer and amanuensiS) and the plots
came; they came rs a matter of course
Now it's different; they don't come rs
they used TO. I'm ut times even tempted
to read other peoples fiction and St
/ mean adapt" their ideas. wish l
knew Dutch. Nobody knows Dutch.
There must be magnificent field for
pecul- l mean adaptation in Dutch
literature. AT the time l speak of /
was exceedingly original In my set
determination to be original both in
manner and matter. l read nothing but
my own manuscripts, which were many,
and my own proofs. which were few.
Now | read n good deal, with the re-
suit that Pm not nearly so original as
was. OF course I've grown artful;
I've got the measure of certain editorial
feet. Some want climax give 'e4n
climax; others demand pathos-I give
'em pathos. One man likes plenty of
i'll give him plenty of it; another
wants concentrated plot q. c., the plot
of three-voume novel in a column
and quarteD-I give it to him.
There's one man who likes the pleasant
cynical vein, and, though I'm person
ally romantic enthusiast, give him
YOU will see that I'm n very talented
and many-sided person, and hard
worker.
At the sight of that advertisement I
called in Bouverie street. After
good deal of beating about the bush, L
learned that p. j. was the manager of
syndicate. c. he was wholesale
dealer in literature; he was the middle
man. that proverbially Indispensable
middle man, who is so very dear to us
all. After several unsuccessful at
tempts, | succeeded in seeing p. j. in
the flesh. He wore spectacles, he spoke
with drawl, and he was evidently u
man of business.
You send in a sample, Uncle
Dudley" said he, with noble familiar
ity. ''Ef it suits we shall deal at New
York price. which is ten dollars
thousand words. That seems 10 as
tonish YOU" he said; but we act liberal
in the States"
Nothing could be simpler, nothing
could be fairer, nothing could be
uobler.
You jest whack in a short thing as
a sample. We return either the stuR
or the money in a week."
Then he offered me a particularly
good cigar. went straight home. |
despatched thousand-word story to
2. j., and in forty-eight hours got the
following note:
SIR: Your tale is a ring-taied roarer. can
take any amount of similar stuff. | enclose
the equivalent Of ten dollars in u postal ord, r.
Please call at two tomorrow.
Yours faithfully, p. J.
/ could have clasped L. j. to my
breast. Here was an appreciative
mind, a congenial spirit. thought
that the leaden-footed hours till two
the next day never would have passed;
but the time came at length-it struck
two at last by the clock of st. Brides,
and | was shown by one of Bliifkns
the printers people into the presence
of p. j.
The American received me in tho
most genial manner.
You're the boy" he said; "you are
the chap that takes the cake, Mr..
Nibbs." cried p. J. Il am prepared
to run you altogether; it's only
question Of terms, my boy, and our
folks are full-they are absolutely
bursting with dollars. But there's one
thing Mas'r George; is the rest of your
stuff up to sample? That is the point
that and the question of tcrms."
Then he handed me huge cigar. I'VE
pay fifty cents for 'em in the States"
he said.
never met such liberal man as p.
j. before. His people had every con-
fidence in him.; he had "full powers"
How much stuff had / gotp" "Was
ready to deal on the basis of ten
dollars thousand, for all the stuff
had iinished?"
Can a fish swimP Was 1 rcadyp
Aye. that was.
1T amt the actual CASH" remarked
p. j.; tits the reputation. Ourpeople'll
run you in American, and we'll take
you in the lump at ten dollars a
thousand words all round. Els that
good enough? Ef you are satisfied.
shoot tho stulf in."
l agreed-of course I did. re-
turned to my home. / made up huge
parcel of manuscripts. | calculated
the amount Of the check l had to re-
ceive at eight thousand dollars. or two
thousand pounds. for there were eight
hundred thousand words. or there
abOuts; and then waited patiently.
Would p. j. take them all? Would
he take half | waited. say. patiently.
After month received parcel; it
contained my manuscripts and the fol-
lowing note;
DEAR SIR: regret to have 20 return your
MSS. Yours. faithfully, +. j.
Five years elapsed.
/ bad got on-slowly. terribly slow
"; but had got on. had published
over two hundred short stories. four
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