Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-13
COWARD LETTER WRITER'S
And Nuisances Who Beg Favors OF Those
Who Have Even q Little Fame.


From the New York Sun.
Celebrity an author has q side TO il which
few suspect. and which fewer still would en-
JOY" The man who spoke was a well-known
writer who was opening his mail at his club.
and was evidently prompted to speak as he did
by a letter which he read, tore up. and threw
angrily in q waste basket. at is generally
agreed that a man who will write an anony-
nous letter, abusing and insulting the person
to whom it is addressed, is a coward, yet there
are plenty Of such writers. 1t seldom happens
that an article or book is published with nv
name attached to it that do not at once begin
to receive such letters. l am called the foulest
names by readers Of the mos. respectable
magazines and reviews such are supposed
only to circulate among ladies' and gentlemen
For stating, upon the authority of several Swedes
| and Norwegians. that those least intelligent
Scandinavians who drink spirituous liquors are
fond OF drinking alcohol. received a score of
anonymous letters referring 10 my 'rum-rotted
BRAIN. calling me the offspring of dog and
expressing desire to send me hastily to the
very warm place to which the writers fancy me
destined. For offering an explanation of the
WORD rustler, which has come to mean a cattle
thlel, WAS anonymously informed that was
an ignorant ass Words are never minced by
anonymous writers and nv mail has often
brought me messages that reek OF the gutter
and the lowest kind of bar room.
The most remarkable thing about the
ANONYMOUS letter writer, l know him, is
that he usually appears to be a cultivated man.
MY assailants write grammatically, as a rule
and display good handwriting | am some
thing OF a judge of all that can safely be in
terred from the character of handwriting and
1t shocks me to think. as l hold n four-page
mass OF cowardly abuse and strong and vulgar
language in my hand. that in all probability it
emanated from some respectable home or
office and was written by a man of mat ure age
and high degree of intelligence. l find that
for every ten anonymous letters / receive nv
publishers get at least one. Why those gentle
men should send them to me / cannot under
stand. but they do. If received such letters
about them l would burn them up. but il seems
to be rule with American publishers to send
these cruel and scurrilous epistles to the poor
devil who has provoked them. | cannot believe
that any publisher pays any more serious atten-
ton than that to such missives. but if thew do.
II Is possible that the career and standing of
young writer might be bighted. or at least in
terrupted. by the act of some sneak who NAV
have written such a letter merely from love OF
seeing his own skill at composition. think
that many anonymous letters are written solely
to crafty that form of vanity. Such meddling
cyclists are the men who write to find fault with
an authors style or use of words. | cannot ac-
count for the wretches who write to say that
never saw the places 1 describe. that have
n
quenter of disreputable resorts. that am a
secret agent of the pope-and all the rest that
has been declared of me by persons who dare
not sign their names to what they write.
1T would be imagined in so Just a world as
this that, ANNOYING as such letters are thew
are over"eighted by pleasant and compliment
tary missives. l never yet received a COM
phmentary anonymous letter. OF agreeable
communications from strangers do not think
have received any more than have got from
sneaking assailants The complimentary let
tiers are assuredly very pleasant. In nv case
the sweet taste of one friendly greeting from
stranger outlasts the gall of a dozen attacks
l have had some very pretty presents some that
were quite costly. from absolute strangers who
have admired nv work, and am bound to saw
that my publishers have been addressed by adj
mrers who were strangers to both them and
me. But such letters, in any single case
were anonymous. The strangest present l
ever received from a stranger was q great lump
of gold quartz. though perhaps a sample Of
New Jersey pottery in the form of butter dish
was quite as peculiar gift. But an artist who
once illustrated magazine article of mine so
pleased a New York merchant that his admlrer
sent him a box of tea
Bad as the anonymous letter writer's are,
they are not so annoying as the cheeky young
sters and women who correspond with those
whose names they see in print. All the literary
folk have been driven to adopt single course
with these nuisances. That course is to refuse
their requests promptly and bluntly. A favor
lite request is that the more or less famous
writer will "Please glance at this poem and tell
me If have talent" Next in point of num-
bers come those steel-cheeked fools who send
long manuscript with a request that il be read.
edited and accompanied on its return bv n sug-
gestion rs to where it had better be sent for
publication / have actually had an expre- s
package Of SO pages Of type-written foolscap
"a novel-sent to me by a .woman who has
been merely introduced to me at a reception.
but who cost me 35 cents express charges on
getting the package, and asked me to take
few evenings and read the manuscript" SO that
l might tell her what to do with it, lam &C.
casionallv asked by perfect strangers to receive
their manuscripts and get them published in
this newspaper or hat magazine. / have even
been requested to ask the publishers to send the
work back to me if it does not suit. SO that
NAV send it all around the circle OF New York
publishing houses.
"1know that these are common experiences
with writer's. most Of whom have all they can
manage to market their own work 1t is a rule
with most writer's to reply to these bores in
about these words: My Dear -: long ago
made 1t a rule never to read any per son 3
manuscript. do not accuse you of being like
the rest. but most persons. when they ask for
candid opinion of their work. really want
only praise and are offended if they receive
anything else. As for marketing YOUR matter
with the publishers 1 beg to assure YOU that
it is far too d, siicult to market nv own writing
for me cheerfullv to undertake such a task for
others. Yours very truly, 49, Some persons
who ask favors Of well-known writer's are
merely hopeful of getting their autographs,
but nine in ten of the autograph fiends are
very frank IN their methods, and usually get
what they ask for. 1t fatters the vanity OF
most men and women to be called upon to
stand and deliver an autograph"