Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-10-02

an advertisement in q great literary
journal. 1t ran as follows:
FICTION-wanted, Novels and short
Stories, suitable for q high-oiass magazine.
Thorough originality is required, and will be
hberally dealt with. A good serial novel,
about 40 900 words, can be treated for.--P.
&c. VI "'' piH ' '''''
Thorough originality cried;
why, that's my strong point; hang
it, I'm nothing II I'm not orlginall
Why, l can reel ii out by the yard
quite comfortably, just as though l
had been a literary silk worm And
30 1 could, then,. Plots? poohl !
never even troubled about plot; |
Just sat down and began to FIRE away
to Miss Dashes Miss Dashes is my
shorthand writer and amanuensis) and
the plots came; they came as matter
of course. Now it's different; they
don't come as they used to. I'm at
times even tempted 10 read other peo-
ple's fiction and St. mean adapt
their ideas. wish / knew Dutch.
Nobody knows Dutch. There must be
q magnificent field for pecul-I 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 mat
ter, I read nothing bat my own man
uscripts, which were many, and my
own proofs, which were few. Now l
read good deal, with the result that
I'm not nearly SO original as / was.
Of course Pve grown artful; I've got
the measure of certain editorial feet
Some want climax give 'em climax
others demand pathos. One man likes
plenty of 1t; another wants concen-
trated plot ii. e., the plot Of three
volume novel in q column and 8
quarterly give it to him. There,
one man who likes a pleasant cynical
vein, and, though Pm personally q
romantic enthusiast, give him whal
his soul sighs for. By all this you
will see that I'm very talented and
many sided person, and hard work
or. aj @ 37'i"
At the sight of that advertisement !
called in Bouverie street. After q
good deal of beating about the bush,
/ learned that P. J. was the manager
Of q syndicate. e., he was q whole
sale dealer in literature; he was the
middle man, that provsrbially indis-
pensable middle man, who is so very
dear to us all. After several unsuc.
cessful attempts, I succeeded in seeing
P. ]. in the flesh. He wore spectacles,
he spoke with drawl, and he evident,
ly was q man of business.
'You send in a sample, Uncle Dud-
ley said he, with a noble familiarity.
'Ef it suits we shall deal at New York
price, which is ten dollars thousand
words. That seems to astonish you,
he said; 'but we act liberal in the
States.
Nothing could be simpler, nothing
could be fairer, nothing could be
nobler.
:Yo jest whack in q short thing as q
sample. We return either the stuff or
the money in a week
Then he offered me q particularly
good cigar. ! went straight home, l
dispatched a thousand word story to
P. J., and in forty-eight hours l got
the following note:
SIR: Your tale is a ring-tailed roarer. I
can take any amount of similar stuif. I en-
close the equivalent of ten dollars in q postal
order. Please call at two tomorrow.
Yours faithfully, P.J.
could have clasped P. ]. to my
breast. Here was an appreciative
mind, congenial spirit. thought
that the laden footed hours till two
the next day never would have passed !;
but the time cane at length--lt struck
two at last by the clock of St. Brides,
and I was shown by one of Bliffkins
the printers people into the presence
of P.sJ.
The American received me in the
most genial manner.
Your the boy he said; you are
the chap that takes the cake, Mr..
Nibbs, cried P. J. 4 am prepared to
run you altogether; it's only ques-
tion of terms, my boy, and our folks
are ful-they are absolutely bursting
with dollars. But there's one thing,
Mas'r George; is the rest of your stuff
up to sampler That is the point
that and the question of terms Then
he handed me huge cigar. 'We pay
fifty cents for EN- in the States he
aid.
never met such liberal man as
P. ]. before. His people had every
confidence in him; he had full pow
ers.' How much stuff had got3'
'Was | ready to deal on the basis Of
ten dollars thousand, for all the
stuff I had finished?'
Can fish swim2 Was I ready?
Aye, that was.
1T amt the actual cash, remarked
2. j.; its the reputation. Our peo-
ple'll run you in America, and we'll
take you in the lump at ten dollars q
thousand words oil around. Els tha.
good enough? Ef you are satisfied,
shoot the stuff in