The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-10-29
kioudikes In pen aud lax.


If the names of poor Oliver Gold.
smith and his fellow pauperS in litera
ture could come back To this mundane
sphere, how they would open their eyes
overthe mighty revolution that has tax.
en- place in traditional Grub street."
In those days the poor devil Of n genius
who adopted literature as n calling
went supperless TO his comfortless bed
on many a cold night and spent many
a weary hour lodging his creditors
But prestol What a change The
denizens of Grub street are no longer
lean and hungry and clad in shabby at.
tire, but are sleek and well fed, and
clad in purple and fine linen nor is the
possession of pre- -emincnt genius by the
present day follower of the profession
of literature in any sense II sine qua o
to the rtaping Of considerable profits
from the welding of the pen just or.
binary talent isenongh capital to ensure
tidy returns, the woods are even full OF
we'll paid writers of no talent al all
The Pail Mall Gazette has collected
from authentic sources some figures
showing fortunes made by modern
writers, which would canse poor Gold.
smith and his companions in literary
poverty to fall over in a tit from sheer
shock.
Even Dickens and Bulwer. who de
parted this life before the present boom
struck the literary world, got handsome
returns from their writings. The for.
mer left a fortune of half million dol
lars and the latterono Of 800, 600, while
even lesser lights missed the poverty Of
the former time by neat sums, Mrs,
Wood left $3.50, 900 and Mrs. Clnik $S5,.
600, their own earnings Victor Hugo,
Mt the time Of his denth, owned about
half a million dollars worth Of property
in England alone.
But these sums, which would appear
so princely to former denizons of Grub
street. arc but Il pittance to the earnings
OF living writers of the day, Mrs,
Humphrey Ward, forinstance. received
$40, 600 for "Marcella" alone. Although
she has written but few books, they
have Melted her some $500, 900. Ian
Maclaren's profits on two books, Tho
Bonnie Brior Bush and Aud Lang
Syne," amounted to $40, 00O. Daudct
broke the record, probably. when he
receiced goo, 0o0 for 'Happho" alone.
As for Rndyard kipling he simply
coins money, both by his prose and
verse, The editor Of the Pan Mall Ga.
"etto confesscs to have paid him $500
apiece for his "Barrack Room Ballads;
while he averages n half dollar IL word
for his short stories, This means that
kipling gets over 5000 for story which
would fill one column in the Scimitar.
Even writer's Of legs lepute renp hand
some profits. Miss Braddon gets six or
eight thousand dollars apiece for her
stories, which she seems to he able to
reel off at the rate of about onea week.
As for poetry, II firm paid Tenny, |
son $50, 600 n year income from his pub.
lished poems the last few years of his
life. "The Holy Grail" alone brought
him $50, 600.
But novelists and poets do not get all
the profits. Iinskin's income from his
published books Is at least SEQ, 0G0 n
year Mr. Gladstone used to earn mt
odd moments by his pen $751; n year,
while Symonds left u fortune approx
mating 800, 600.
These are but n few of the fortunes
made in literature, but they are more
than sufficient to emphasize the contrast
between the state of iinpecuneous gent
MS in the olden days and the comforta.
bic berth which falls to the lot Of the
modern wielder of the pen, even when
endowed with nothing more than me.
diocre talent Memphis Scimitar.