The record-union., 1896-02-29
THE VINDICATION.
A Story of Reputed PIagiarlst.

A Story of Reputed PIagiarist.
For seven years the name of Arson
Burkhold has been tarnished, as every
one knows, with the stain Of plagiar-
ism. It is at last within my power to
prove to the world that the disgrace
which I have heretofore been COM
PEELED to suffer in silence was unde-
served, and to that end the following
detailed statement of the case is in
tended. 1t may seem long and tedious
to some, but seven years of unmerited
public contempt have been long and
tedious to me, and it is only as matter
Of strict justice that I ask a hearing.
Eight years ago / was employed in
the book-review department of an East
ern newspaper. I had occasionally tried
my hand at original work, and with a
measure of success which fired me with
an ambition to win fame as a novelist.
With time at my command, I felt that
I could do something worthy of note;
but the prospect for the necessary time
was not encouraging. My review work
was exacting, and I was not in a finan-
eiaI condition to resign and intrust my
self to the fortunes Of the career which
/ had in mind.
At last. however, the longed-for op-
portunity came; my employer, in the
Kindness of his heart, gave me a six
months vacation, with salary continued
as a reward for the high esteem into
which the review work of his paper had
grown under my direction.
Filled with joyful hope, packed my
trunk and betook myself to a quiet re-
sort among the mountains Of Eastern
Tennessee, intending, of course, to de-
vote myself without remission to the
great novel which 1 firmly believed it
in my power to construct. My father
had been ordered to these mountains
for his health (Which, alas, he did not
find) when I was boy of II, and I had
spent three summers with him there,
gaining what I considered a very fair
knowledge of the life of the mountain
GERS with whom l mingled. From that
life, therefore, / concluded to draw the
theme of my story. My heroine was to
be rosy-cheeked mountain lass of 16,
who had performed feats of strength
and daring almost superhuman to save
from the clutches of the revenue officers
her disabled lover, whose ankle had
been broken in a wild dash for escape
from a secret distillery which these Of
fciaIs had raided.
But the power of composition seemed
to have deserted me; day after day, as
] sat down at my desk with pen and
paper before me, the fitting words in
which I longed to clothe my thought re-
fused to come. / left my hotel, went far
up into the mountains and passed a
week with an aged mountaineer who
was thoroughly acquainted with the
facts lying at the basis of my plot, to
see whether / might not thus bring my
self into the proper mood for satisfact-
ory expression. But it did no good: no
sccner was I at my desk again than l
found myself utterly incapable of put
ting any portion of the tale into literary
form.
Ny vacation was rapidly passing,
and was almost ready to give up in
despair, when one day, as 1 sat by my
window, there came into my mind
dimly at first, but with increasing
clearness-a plot Of love and adventure
on the Southern sea. 1 had read much
of life on the ocean, and the various
natural features Of the Southern hem
fsphere were fairly familiar to me. There
seemed to be no insuperable obstacle
in the way of writing upon the subject
which had so suddenly entered my mind
and I grasped my pen and began.
A fitting title presented itself
Hearts and Hands on the Southern
Sea''-and an Introductory paragraph
followed without noticeable effect. BY
the time this was finished all thought
of conscious striving for words, or ideas
either. had vanished ] was rushing
along in a glow of enthusiasm, swift
as nv hand could move the pen, and
when the bell rang for tea 1 could
scarcely believe my own eyes as
straightened out the sheets carelessly
tossed aside as written and counted
&airteen well-filled pages.
ITpon returning to my desk the next
aav after the first sound nights sleep
wbich had had since my inability to
urife had begun to weigh upon my
~,snd. the experience of the preceding
efternoon was repeated. All day long
the fIow Of thought and language moved
swiftly on in even current, and only
v,o,,Sed when the muscles of my arm
ealle5 imperatively for rest. For ten
S,1,,rs T sat at my desk. but I slept well
80 following night, and morning again
End me as bright and enthusiastic as
,,arore We'll. to be short with it. this
Leasing facility lasted for twenty-three
l+ so--s when the denouement Of my story
was reached.
afv wears of experience as critic had
ss.en me sufficient insight into the
s,,,lar taste to know that had story
p.ss, p.l.s,, would find a ready market, and
N'.lst oxt train for the North found me
t'l9 u-av to New York to negotiate for
on - ,.|,,blfcation- Thanks to the ac-
1ls ponea which my newspaper work
qoaiAll;rn s;ven me, the FIRST publisher ap-
ndu Sed met me in a favorable mood
Floss, ,,,,oraised that my manuscript