The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-10-14
A POPULAR AUTHOR.

again to the pavement. He sat there glar-
ing at me.
''Interferencer' he exclaimed bitterly.
at have saved your life, - observed.
without the least knowledge of the
circumstances, he retOrted savagely.
'Impertinencel Bad tasteP'
''Get up and don't make a fool of your
self
AS he rose and stood in the lamplight
brushing the dust from his clothes recog-
nized him. had never met him before,
but knew his face from a hundred por-
traits, his tastes and habits from thou
sand interviews.
'It cannot be- - 1 said astonished.
He saw that he was recognized
"But it isl he said.
1.-THE popular authorP''
''The same. "
"Look here" said. "Perhaps I was
too hasty just now. If had known that
you were an author, 1 should not have in
terrupted you. The profession is terribly
Overcrowded- Pray resume your suicide
at once. -
81 won It, y he replied you've spoiled
my whole pleasure in it. You've given
the thing the air of a fiasco."
81 am indeed sorry. One gets so into
the habit of saving peoples lives withous
making any previous inquiry. Now thas
1 appreciate your motive-your generous
desire to get out of the way and make
room for the younger generation that is
knocking at the
''It was not that. 1t was not that at
ALL
''Then what was it?''
81 will tell you" We walked on togeth-
er. "You called me a popular author just
now. I accepted the designation, but you
were wrong
81 wish could think so, but I fear that
your hold on the public is too strong.
Your popularity is unfortunately still an
undeniable fact"
1.-The popularity is all right, but am
no longer an author because 1 do not
auth. -
81 am delighted to hear it. When did
you first find that you were exhausted
had used up all your ideas?''
q didn't. I haven't. I am a mass Of
congested ideas and plots and stories, and
they all good, but I shall never use
them-never any more-never, neverl My
popularity has killed my authorship. Tell
me, did you ever read an interview with
me?"
81 spend my life in lodging the differ.
ent interviews with you in the different
periodicals. 1 may have glanced at the
first four or five, but 1 always skip you
now"
"Quite right. You don't hate those in
terviews more than 1 do
$50 you always say in the interview,
but you go on being interviewed. -
''HOw can I help it? The advertisements
Is useful ana nave a WIG ana family 10
support Besides, my good nature makes
me weak. The interviewer has an editor
who knows man who knows me, and
that is how it happens. All mutual friends
ought to be abolished. All the same, DO
honestly hate these interviews. They take
from me time, thought, energy, ideas that
might have been given to authorship. Be
sides, for three days after every interview
I am so FRUSTRATED by shame and self dis
gust that cannot write a single line. "
''But in the Internationally don't you
write then? After ALL there must be an
occasional week when you are not inter-
viewed in spite of your popularity"
Interviews are not the only curse. 3" He
pulled letter from his pocket. ''Read
that
Standing under the lamp read it. 1t
was from the editor of The Home Blither-
er. The editor was anxious to get the
opinion of a number of eminent and rep
resentative men what he believed to be
an important domestic questiOn-Should
women use face powder? He would be ex-
ceedingly grateful if the popular author
would forward his views on this subject,
in which case three complimentary copies
of the number containing the symposium
would be forwarded to him.
''That' s all right, - I said. eff I were
ever to get a communication of that kind,
1 should drop it into the waste paper basket
and get on with my work"
very easy to think you would when you're
not popular enough to be assailed in this
way, but you would find it very different
in practice. The Home Blitherer gets into
more middle class families than any other
periodical, and the middle class families
buy books, and if they get my name put
before them sufficiently they will buy my
books. With the responsibilities of a wife
and family upon me- can't afford to neg
lect an advertisement like that, but it will
take me days of work. I've never thought
about face powder before, and now I've
got to think about it. What is more, 1
have to be wise and witty about it. My
remarks on face powder stand, you see, in
a position of a free tasting sample. The
only thing is that 1.-THE accursed result
of popularity-takes the time and energy
which might have been given to author
ship
land is that all?'' 'By no means.
There are invitations which never got in
my unpopular days, and one cannot re
fuse all of them. Besides, it is a distinct
advertisement to have ones name in the
daily papers in the list of notable people
who have attended function, but it tires
one-and it takes time. See that bill on
the boarding. I read it aloud: "Garleys
Household Glue. 1t Sticks For Evermore. -
"Weu," he continued ''if Garley had
spent SO much money on advertising his
beastly glue that he had no money left
VIII WnlCn " man ulesC oiloO s5iuS5 ITO
would be exactly in the position of pop
ular author. For three months I have
written Misunderstanding except answers
to invitations and gratis contributions to
symposia' I'm sorry 1 interfered, -
said, 'but there's a grocer's at the end OF
the street, and they II sell you carbolic acid
and ask no Questions. CarbOlic is a poi
son.
He thanked me warmly I left him at
the door of the shop and am not without
hope that there will be an interesting
,,aT.-s ton, in tho r,a1,ars tomorrow morn