Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1899-04-14
PRICE OF SUCCESS.

''WeIl. old fellow. you ought to be
happy" said l.
''WhyH" queried Holden laconically.
"why, indeedY" exclaimed "Aftcr
ten years of hard, patient toll you have,
in the graceful language of the Gauls,
arrived. or, in plain. %colloquial Amer
lean. you have got there with both
feet. Your first production Is a big
success; royalties are rolling in man
ayers whom c you pursued in vain
are now pursuing you. anxious to Sc
cure at your own terms the very plays
that thoy formerly refused without
reading. And l know you have plenty
of them. According to my calculations.
mp Il the time / went abroad two years
ago. you must have at least a barrel
full Of plays Of all kinds-poetical. COM
ical. tragical-calculatcd to suit all
tastes. Consequently all you have to do
Is to dip down into that barrel, bring
up an old piece. place it and then sit
back and draw your royalties. Why,
my boy, you are retired and pensioned
at 85, with fame and money at COM
mand and life practically before you
Why should you not be happyf"
''You forget the price of success"
said Holden bitterly.
''Oh. Of course, you have worked
hard for all you now enjoy. but that's
all over now, and you have tho aatisfac-
ton of knowing that it's paid for.
YES. said Holden almost sadly,
''but you do not realize how dearly /
have paid for it."
"Well. possibly not" said l half
alphabetically. ''You know 1 was far
away while you werc putting in your
last and probably your hardest ticks,
and | did not hear from you until the
news of the phenomenal success of a
new American playwright was cabled
across the water. Why, you're interna-
tionally famous, my boy. and you ought
to be proud of it..
81 am. " said Holden. ''but with my
pride is mingled a pang Of regret that ]
shall never outgrow. however / may inn
prove upon and make permanent, my
present good fortune. AS some one has
said:
advancement limps on steps OF pain;
Success is not in flight elntc;
We have to suffer iust to gain
The misery Of being great.
al do not know who wrote those lines,
but whoever he was he brought that
pearl of truth from the depths of bitter
experience maybe something like
mine"
''Tell me about 1t, old fellow" said
alphabetically, for l saw that some
real sorrow underlay his words.
''Well, l will. " said Holden. at Is a
subject l seldom refer to, for l hate
public condolences. But you are an old
friend who knew me when my light
was hidden under a bushel and are not
like those tickle, hattering moths who
hutter about the latest flame. The meta
phor is poor. for l am not a shining light
even now, but already l have had
enough Of sycophancy, and-well, you
know what l mean. old man
when you left the country. / had
Just about settled down TO the dreary
routine life of an editor. whom some
journalistic wit has described as IA re-
porter with his legs worn out. / had
despaired Of ever getting my plays nc
cepted and could foresce nothing but On
endless round Of grinding out cut and
dried opinions for other men until
myself became as dry as they and was
Kicked out to make room for fresheT
material / had married, and of course
we lived up to my salary-what news
p man does mott Then the baby
came, and for a time we lived even a
little beyond IL. As a consequence / was
forced to put my nose even closer to tho
grindstone and turn my spare hand to
hack work in order to help out.
81 didn't mind the hard work. The
only regret was that IL led to nothing
and kept me away from my chosen
work. The human mind can do only
about as much as the body, and when
all its time is expended upon routine
there is no energy left for original
work. The fact that / gradually crawled
out Of debt and even laid by a few dol
lars was small compensation for the
smashing Of my dreams and the realiza-
ton that at such a gait ! could never
succeed in the line l most desired
"Well. that was about the situation
! was in when opportunity knocked at
my door. The seasons production OF a
successful star proved a failure too com
pIeto to be ~carpentered into even a
semisuccess The play had been relied
upon to I'LL out the season. and no had
nothing definite in reserve. As it hap
pened. / had outlined to him a plot
which impressed him. and he sent me
word that if ! would submit the COM
pleted play as soon as possible he would
consider it. IL wa the vaguest possibil-
ity that he might accept 1t If nothing
better offered. yet l felt that it was my
first and in all probability my last
chance
II could not possibly write the play
In time and still retain my editorial