Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-10-22
.ALITERARYVETERAN
INTERESTING AND VARIED CAREER
 OF JuNIuS HENRI BROWNE.
Famous War Correspondent and Writer Who Does Not Find His Work PartIc- uIarIy Fascinating and Who Calls Him. self Q Manuscript Maker.
[sreciaI correspondence.l

BrOWne Is one or tnc oldest and most ac- complished and versatile writers in this country. There is not a publication of any prominence in tho United States that he has not at some time written for. There is nothing hardly, from tho most scholarly and thoughtful essay to a story or poen. that they have not printed and paid him for. Some of his manuscripts have brought the highest current prices Not long ago n well known magazine paid him SIOO for 2, 500 words. He is, in fact, ono of tho few American men of letters that can make his pen bring him livelihood with out the important and often indispensable aid of n regular salary.
 His Real Earnings.
 Mir Browne has been reputed to earn fabulous sums. He invariably brands all stories of this kind about him as puro fic- tion. Ho likewise puts similar brand upon such stories about tho fabulous in- comes of other writers. II know from personal experience how they originate" he onco told me. II saw n paragraph written. by friend of mine saying that my income was SEQ, GOO n year. Tho next time I saw him I asked how ne happened to know so much more than did. No mys- tcry,' he replied. You told me the other day that you earned SD much last week. l multiplied that sum by 52 and got SEQ. 900. Do you sec how simple 'tis'f I saw, of course how simple his calculation was, but knowing. as l did, that my income did not average more than ne-fourth of SEQ, ,OOO 1 saw, too, how inaccurate were the data on which hc based his calcula- tion. And to earn even this beggarly sum had to work very hard and steal many hours from rest and sleep.''
 Although Mir. Browne has been jour- nalist for more than 30 years he has had no regular connection with any newspa- per since the war, so whatever money, be it much or little, his pen has put into his purse has been tho fruits of fugitive writ ing Happily, however, heaven has blessed him with an income independent of this prCcarious source, and he is thus enabled to enjoy life in a manner that Is denied the great majority of men in his profcs- sion. He has beautiful apartments on Fifty-sevcnth street Surrounded by books and pictures, he possesses a source of in- spiration and comfort not vouchsafed the | ordinary recipient of Grub street mcrcics cordiality and cntcrtains them with the | rcminisccnccs of a rich, varied and active | life.
 Running the Blockade.
 During tho war Mir. Browne was one of the field correspondents of The Tribune | He was u young man then, not more than 23 or 24, and his courage and ambition | made him invaluable to his paper But | these very qualities soon deprived The | Tribune of his services. When it was pro posed to run the blockade at Nicksburg in the early summer of 1863 and volunteers for the expedition wcrc called for. he was | one of the first to step forward. Among | the other men that offcrUd to accompany | the expedition" he said, relating to mo | the story of this adventure, ''wero my friends Albcrt D. Richardson. another correspondent of Tho Tribune, and Richard | T. Colburn, the correspondent of The | World. Besides the men tho expedition consisted of n tug and two bargcs. Bales of hay had been piled up along the sides | of the bargCs to protect the men from the | shot and shell of the Nicksburg batteries. | Indispensable as they appeared. they were | in rrality the cause of bringing the cXPC- | dition to grief. The bright full moon that | swung in midhcavCn the night of the cx, | petition was also against the success of the undertaking. Nevertheless We were | determined to run by the batteries at all hazards.
 | As soon as the expedition got within | range the terrific ho"ming of the cannon | began. Shut and shell came thick and | fast, striking the hay and water ar cxplOd | ing in the air, but untcrrifcd and un. harmed the expedition moved on. It was l nearly out of range when the disaster that | l had feared took place. X shell dropped into the tug as though directed from | hand above and exploded with terrific l force. The bales of hay, which thought unsafe and had warned the commander | against, caught fire and disabled the Cx petition. For time We remaincd on the bargcs tumhling the halcs into the water
 
 Finally the flrc bccamc so hot that ant n few others who were the last to leave tho hargcs wCrr driven into the water. WC hoped by swimming tO reach the Louisiana shorC and then rVturn to the army at the point from which we had started.
 \ Prrilous Situation.
 Our hopes were not realized, however The bright moon and the flames of thu burning hay made the river as light ai day. The chance nf escape from any boat that might put out from shore was there fore cxccCdingly small. While WIG wcr, floating in the water thinking that thi chance was bigger than il would havo np pcarcd to an observer that would see wha tho Cnnfcde crates were doing we heard thu splash of oars. We let our bodies sink 1T the water, leaving only our noses abov, the surface, but it was of no use. I'm
 moon and burning harGcs enabled tn CunfCdcratcs to find us, and before W, could realize il saw the prow of Q boa
 almost on lHe. standing in n mclodra
 matic attitude in front of the boat was al officer, who shouted, with an oath, We d, get hold of --- - Yankees sometimes! We wcrc dragged into the boats and taker L" prison RichardSuh and I spent tn
 next two years in confinement. Finally | after being inside of six prisons we ps
 raped at Salisbury. N. C., and regainet
 the Union lines in Tennessee, travelling il
 midwintcr a distance of more than 40 miles and relying on the friendly negroe
 that we met along the route for food t
 keep us from starving to death"
 A Manuscript Maker.
 . Cautiously enough, Mir. Browne does no : regard himself as literary man-only , manuscript maker. Great ns has been hi
 success us n writer, easily ns he turns of story or an essay, he has no love for tn
 profession. While it has brought him good deal of money, he docs not find 1t n destinations so irresistible that he coul,
 not abandon 1t upon adequate provocation
 Such proyocation would, I believe, b
 any other work that would Do equally re f muncrative.
 | Besides writing from time to timo fo o The Arena, Tho Forum. Harper's, Con
 tury, Lippincott's, Tho Youths Compan toh ahu otheF "eiA hho"h Puoiications '- Mir. Browne has no occupation and ma add no recreation. Ho has no hobby lil ,, athletics or clubs. As his health Is alwa, excellent, being able to write 10 or ]
 hours day without fatigue, he has I ,, need of exercise. As to clubs, he feels Coloridge did about ghosts. II do not b > lievo in ghosts, said the poet. Eve sec
 too many of them"