Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-24

was at his home on West North avenue
In Baltimore, that 1 called upon him. His
| house is three-story red brick, which is
covered with vines and looks out upon
one of the widest streets of the city.
The living rooms of the family are on the
second floor, and it was in the parlor fur
nished with antique pieces, that 1 met Mr..
Johnston. He is not SO rich today as he
was before the war, when he owned a plan
tation in the south and possessed the luXu-
rious surroundings Of well-to-do planter
of his time. He lives very comfortably,
however. and his income from his writings
Is enough to support well himself and his
family. 1t is not generally known to the
public that Richard Malcolm Johnston is
one of the best educators of the United
States. He was professor in the Uni
versity of Georgia at the time the war be-
gan, and when it closed, leaving himself
and all his friends poor, he opened board
ing school for boys at his home, near Spar
| ia, in Georgia, and made here for wears
$2OOOO and upward annually by teaching
he had about fifty boys. who paid him tut
llon lees OF 5000 year, and the most IA
nous families of the south sent their chill
| dren to him. Very few teachers in the
| United States today can make as much as
SZo'oco year, and the story of how Mr.
johnston gave up his school and devoted
| hihSel1 10 writing for an income about one
| tentn this size is an interesting one He
| tolu IL TO me in response to my questions.
How He Became Author.
oaid ne: Il like the profession OF teaching
very much, and l looked upon it as my life
work. 1 never thought of making money
by writing for pay, and it was not until
came to Baltimore that L realized that
could write anything which had a real
money value. l left Georgia on account of
the death of my daughter. we loved her
dearly, and l could not endure life amid
the old associations without her. 1 gave up
my School and moved to this city and be-
gan teaching here. About forty of nv boys
came from the south to Baltimore to enter
my schooi, and had l not changed my re-
lislon would probably be teaching today.
IN the meantime l had written some short
stories. which were published in q southern
magazine which was then printed here in
baltimore they attracted attention but [
meyer meyer .hought or their having any money
Vaiue until one day Mr.. Alden, the editor
OF Harpers Magazine, asked me what 1
had received for them He was SURPRISED
when l told him that had written them
l0r hothing, and he said that he would be
gao TO have me do some writing for Har-
per s. and that if 1 could give him stories
IKE those he would pay for them. 1 then
wrote some stories for Harpers They
We're published and paid for, and 1 have
Deen writing from that time to this NV
hrst story was published after 1 was NIFTY
years of age"
His Characters Real Men and Women.
AS Richard Malcolm Johnston said this,
looked into his bright blue ewes and
| could not realize that he was more than
/ seventy years of age 1t is true that his
! hair and mustache are frosted silver but
/ MS cheeks are rosy with health and his
voice has the silvery ring of youth He is
tall, straight, fine looking man, and he
is full of enthusiasm and life He is mod
est In the extreme concerning himself and
/ his work, and he told me that it was n
| continual surprise to him that his stories
were accepted by the magazines ct s,,n
pose" said he. lit is because they are Ia a
| large extent of historical value. They pic
ture a people and a time which is ia st pass
ing away. They are true to life and they
/ are merely my remembrances of the peoDle
/ of my boyhood. The dialect which / use
is the language of the people among whom
/ L was raised. and my characters are real
! characters, with their names changed In
! no place in the world will you find more in
d1Viduaity than among the middle ella SIS
| or hill people of Georgia, and my stories
/ represent these people they existed about
I fifty years ago. They are not crackers or
/ poor white trash, but are the ordinary
| well-to-do middle class, types of which ven
may still find in some of the rural districts
| of my state. / love them, and ihey know
| it,"
How He Writes.
I asked Mr.. Johnston something as to his
habits of work.
He replied that he wrote all of his stories
with his own hands. Said he: Il COMPOSE
very slowly, and revise a great deal 1 do
. not see how an author can do good work by
Gictation. AS for me, l compose nv
stories with my pen in hand. l start them
and let them shape themselves. l take up
! a character or an incident of my expert
I'd hyrr yfri
it this way and that il finally comes into
the finished shape in which it goes to the
printer. l am very particular as to the
names of my characters, and l think that
name should fit the character, just as a
glove fits the hand In writing / take the
+ first name that comes to me. 1t does not
perhaps suit, but / go on with the rest of
/ the story, changing the names and rechang-
/ ing them as | revise it, until the names at
/ last seem to me to tit the characters 1t is
a surprise to me that the people like my
writings. / am not satisfied with them
myself. and 1 am always difident about
| reading them in public. / never read them
/ to myself, and / don't like to read them
/ to others Still 1 do it, but until l find
! that my audience shows some interest in
them 1 am bashful and backward. 1 feel
very foolish when l begin reading on the
platform. and this feeling does not dis
appear until there is some decided interest
manifested by the audience"
| Fun Amid Gloom.
| ''Your stories are full of fun, Mr.. John
ston," said 1. Il have laughed a great deal
! over them"
Indeed" was the reply. well, do you
know that / seldom laugh when l am writ
| ing them, and some of my best work and
that which is said by the people to be the
most full of fun has been done under the
saddest of circumstances. 1 am naturally
of a melancholy temperament. l must
| have society, and / want to get away orom
myself. One of my funniest stories was
composed shortly after l came here from
! Georgia. l was distracted at the time with
| grief over the death of my daughter l
/ feared to the result of my change of
| residence, and it is wonder to me now
! that l was able to write at all at the time. &"
| do you think ii a mistake that you did
not begin writing at younger age?" said 1.
| Il don't know" was the reply. Il doubt
whether / would have written any better
If / had begun sooner. I feel intellectually
! as strong today l ever did. and l write
| as easily. All of my writing has, you
| know, been done within the past twenty
years, and during that time l have written
seventy-five short stories and several
| books
| How Story Writing Pays.
| How about the profits of literature?"
| There is not a great deal of money in
my writing for me-" replied Mr.. Johnston
| Il mean l don't make from $1,000 to $40
600 a year by my reading and writing, as
| Bill Nye or James Whtcomb Riley are said