The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-04-17

viewed seemed to act as though they were
seeking notoriety. She begged me to make
the Ego in any thing l might quote from
her as small as possible and she spoke very
mOdestly concerning herself and her work.
She said she considered her power to write
very largely matter of gift. sit is no
credit TO me-" said she, ''that l have it for
did not acquire it by hard work. One man
you know may be born with a voice
for singing, another may be so strong that
he can lift great weights and thid may
have wonderful faculty for mathematics.
Writing has always been easy for me and
l like it and take pleasure in it. 1t has
always been a surprise to me that my
books have always been so successful, but
l suppose it is the result of a story telling
talent which is given TO some people.
you are, Mrs. Burnett" said l, lust at
the beginning of your prime. l suppose you
viii continue to write"
II hope sou was the reply 81 should
feel badly to think otherwise. want to
write as long as | can, and I feel that l
ought to be able to do better work as 1
grow older''
when did you first begin to write?"
said l.
Il can't remember when did not
write, replied Mrs. Burnett. 81 have al
ways been writing. AT the age of seven l
remember writing a poem. l can't say
INV EOO0 II WGSs UQI DIObdOly AOb NSA
good. My family had gone to church and
was alone at home. L heard the bells
ringing, and in some way or other | wrote
this little verse about the bells. 1t was
torn up, and don't suppose the world lost
much in its destruction Still it is curious
as showing an evidence of my desire to
write l remember when l was q little
girl at school that [ had already, in my
childish way, gotten an idea that l was to
be an authoress aud when we children
would speak together and cav what we
would be when we grew up, [ used to say
l proposed to be an autboress and write
books"
won't you please tell me the story of
your first published manuscript" l asked.
1.-The story is an old one and l don't De-
lieve it will bear retelling, but there are
some things about it that are rather inter
esring. My first story was Miss Car
ruther's EngagemenG' and | sent il away
because l wanted to make some money.
mad begun the story several years before,
but had not finished it and when l got this
desire for money for some purpose or
other, l wondered if I could not make some
out OF my writing. ] sent it 10 BdUOu'S
Magdztne and sent a note along with it, In
short time got note from Mr.. Ballou
saying that the article was good snd they
would like TO publish 1t but that they
could not afford to pay for it.
was only twelve years old at the time and
/ wonder now at the good sense l showed
then. l had decided idea that If the ar
ticle was good enough to publish it was
good enough TO be paid for, and l at once
sent back letter which l can remem Der
almost as well to-day as when / wrote it.
! 1t read something like this:
''Mr Editor:
"DEAR SIR-If my story is not good
enough TO pay for, it is not good enough to
publish, and if you cannot pay for it,
wish you would return it. My object is
remuneration"
This letter was signed with a fictitious
name, as was also the letter accompanying
the manuscript. In response to it the
story was sent back and l sent it L
Godey's Lady Book. Their readers
doubted its originality, and Mr.. Cooley
wrote me that he liked the story, and if
could prove that it was original he would
pay me $40 for it aud that might set about
writing another at once. l wrote in reply
showing them that the story was undoubt-
edly my own, aud to prove it sent then
another, called Hearts and Diamonds,
and for the two l got s35.''
"Do you remember your sensations or
seeing your first story in print?" asked
eyes, CAM replied Mrs. Burnett, witt
a laugh. II know | read the story ovel
and over again, and it seemed much more
Interesting and better than it did in the
original manuscript. The money l 60
seemed 10 be great deal, and felt tina
my vocation in life was fixed, and indeed
have been writing from that day to this''
The conversation here drifted to Mrs
Burnett's characters, and l asked hel
whether she invented her characters ant