Los Angeles herald., 1891-09-04
HIS STORIES STILL SELLING.
sylvanus Cobb and His Famous Tale,
"The Gunmaker of Moscow
fC,~-sot 0,~rasr,oDdanca


Especial Correspondence.l
NEW YORK, Aug. 17.-Happening into
one of the largest miscellaneous book
stores in New York city few days since,
the writer saw upon the counter quite
large pile of paper bound books, on the top
Of which was a novel entitled, "The Gun
maker of Moscow" The proprietor was
asked whether there was any sale for this
work, and with a smile he replied that it
was selling as we'll as any Of the cheap
novels that he handled, and that the entire
pile, in which there was no other than this
novel, would probably be disposed of in
less than a month. The sale has been
quite steady for several years past, and If
the old rule which declares that the merit
of story is only tested by its enduring
popularity is correct then "The Gunmaker
of Moscow" must be esteemed one of the
most meritorious of stories written by an
American author.
The author of "The Gunm aker of Mos
COW" was Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., writer at
whom the critics have been disposed to
cast the darts of humorous contempt and
whose name has been made synonymous
in some quarters with absurd sensational
and ephemeral literature. Yet Mr.. Cobb
seems to have written one book at least
which is selling today with something like
paying popularity, and it has outlived a
hundred ambitious works which at the
time of their publication were praised by
the critics and regarded as most meritori-
Gus productions.
Mr.. Cobb has been dead two or three
years, and since his death the sons of Rob
ert Bonner have found a demand for his
works great enough to justify them in
publishing some of them, and they intend
to publish others. 1t looks little like
better posthumous fame for this singular
author than he possessed in his lifetime.
Mr.. Cobb came of literary family. His
father was said to have been clergyman
and he was related to James G. Blaine by
marriage. He was of kin with Mrs. Blaine.
Young Cobb began early to write, and he
wrote after the model which was the fash
| ion of his day. His stories were all plot,
! romantic, unreal, without much literary
skill, and with no attempt whatever at
analyzing or depicting character. But,
with all his faults, Cobb had a story al
ways to tell, and he had the highest gift
which the weaver of romances can possess,
and that is skill in creating an exciting
! plot, full of incidents which held the at
tention and interest in suspense until the
| climax was reached at the end of the story.
Robert Bonner years ago discovered in
| Cobb's writing those qualities which he
| deemed desirable for a story teller, and he
! engaged him at what was then regarded as
an enormous salary-said to be S., 900 a year
to write exclusively for Bonner's weekly
paper, The Ledger. Cobb's fertile imag
ination and his remarkable fuency enabled
| him to furnish Mr.. Bonner three or four
stories averaging a hundred thousand
words apiece every year. He lived practi-
| cally in retirement in the suburbs of Bos-
ton. He had no expensive tastes, and
while not exactly recluse, seemed to care
but little for social pleasures. The writing
of stories was as much a recreation for him
as the indulging in sports would have
| been for some other men. Some thirty
years ago The Ledger began the publica-
ton of the story which was called "The
Gunmaker of Moscow" 1t proved one of
the most phenomenal of the many great
successes which characterized Mr.. Bonner's
| management of that paper. People await
| ed their mails with almost feverish anx-
| iety to get the next installment of this
story, and at the newsstands throughout
the country on the day of the arrival of
The Ledger eager crowds gathered to buy
a copy and thus satisfy their craving
The interest in this story was not con-
| fined to that class which is supposed to be
satisfied with nothing but extreme sensa-
ton, but the writer has heard college pro-
fessors, a minister or two and at least one
distinguished lawyer assert that the read
ing of sThe Gunmaker Of Moscow" gave
them the most intense pleasure, and one
literateur declared if it was not heresy he
would assert that "The Gunmaker" was
one of the greatest stories, so far as subtle
ty of plot and exciting interest were con-
cerned, in modern literature.
Perhaps in the revived interest in this
story there may be discovered something
of reaction from the extreme tendency to
realism which has been the habit for the
past two or three years. The charm of
romance is evidently as old as the human
race, and until this latter part of the Nine
teenth century those who have contributed
to the innate delight which human nature
takes in an exciting tale have been regarded
as the masters Mr.. Cobb's business was
| to cater to this harmless and Unborn dis
| position of men and women. He had no
| thought nor care for distinction as great
literary artist, but he served stories as the
| playwright served plays-that he might
amuse or entertain, and out of this en-
deavor he got his living
e. J. EDWARDS.