The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-05
THE PROFITS OF LITERATURE.
They Are Satisfactory Enough II You
Happen TO Write the Kind Of Ii tsrature
That peOplo Want to Bay.

They Are Satisfactory Enoush II fou
Happen to Write the Kind Of Literature
That People Want to Bay.
From the Globe Democrat.
The familiar picture Of the literary
worker. handed down through success
sive ages, IL that Of man living from
hand to mouth. and performing val
liable service without getting decent
pay for 1t. There have been numerous
instances OF cruel and pathetic misfor-
tune In this respect. and II may be said
OF writers as a class that the world has
generally failed to reward then as they
deserved. 1t Is hardly possible to sep
arate the Idea OF poverty from the pur-
suit Of authorship. SO closely have they
been associated in history: and 1t has
even been contended that the disci-
pline Of want and suffering was essen
tial to the production of certain great
literary results. The fact that Milton
received only SIS for paradise Lost"
may have tended to stimulate his gen.
ius. but 1t was a gross wrong. neverthe-
less, and We can more easily believe
that a fair return for his labor would
have been equally invigorating and in
spring. He had to take what he could
get. instead Of being allowed to name
his own price. because the wares that
he offered for sale were not such as
found popular demand waiting for
them. 1t has been so to a large extent
always, and thus the picture OF the
average author in shabby clothes and
with an expression OF hunger Is justi-
fled by the records Of actual experience.
Many Of the books that we highly prize
did not yield their authors so much as
the wages OF an ordinary day laborer;
and civilization Is surely In some meas
ure to blame for such a mockery Of
personal justice.
The Brighter Side.
There Is something to be said on the
other side, however. Not all of the truly
worthy authors Of past times have been
condemned to penury and vagabondage.
Some Of them, on the contrary, have
acquired fortunes by reason of the lib
eral compensation they received for
their work. Scott was paid for one Of
his novels at the rate of $3.50 per day for
the time employed In writing 1t, and
his total literary earnings aggregated
$l.50O0OO. Byron got $4,000 for "Childe
Harold" and $4,000 for "Don Juan"
Moore sold "Lalla Rookh" for sl5,75O,
and his Irish Melodies" brought him
$i5, 900. Gray received only 5000 for his
poems. and not a cent for the immortal
"Elegy," out of which the publisher
made $4,000; but that was because he
had an eccentric prejudice against TAX
Ing money for writing. Tennyson had
an annual income Of from $4,000 to $780,
900 for many years. though in the early
part Of his career, when he wrote
Maud" and "In Memoriam" he real
lied next to nothing Longfellow sold
his first poems. including some OF his
best ones. at very low figures. but he
lived to receive $4,000. or $50 a line, for
the Hanging of the Crane" and when
he died he wac worth $35O,O00. Whit
tier left an estate Of 500, 900; and sew
eral Of the leading American prose
writers have done quite as we'll. These
are exceptions, 1t is true. but they serve
to modify the general rule. and to show
that In cases Of superior merit, litera-
ture ha' proved to be notably profit
able.
Some Woll.paid Pens.
1t Is safe to say that the present rates
of pay for literary work Of good quah-
ty are higher than those OF any pre-
ceding time, and that the number Of
persons who are earning respectable
incomes in that way Is larger than was
ever before known. The late Robert
Louis Stevenson made $3.50, 900 in twelve
years; Rudyard Kipling has prospered
In a similar degree; and Dobson, Wey-
man. Crockett. Barrie and others are
well-to-do and getting big prices for
their writings There are authors Of
OtSer kinds, also. whose books are
bringing them handsome returns. The
number Of readers Of all sorts of lit
erature Is constantly increasing, and
the lot Of those who write for a living
Is being correspondingly improved. It
Is no longer true that manuscripts of
real merit go begging for the chance
Of publication. or that books which
should succeed encounter failure for
want Of public appreciation. An author
who has anything Of interest or value
to say, and knows how to say 1t in an
entertaining way, can readily secure an
audience. and obtain a reasonable rate
Of remuneration. Great writers are Ia
mo n a hlv cca roo N no u,,ro b,,< A.