The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-07-19
ment at Is rubles a month.


spent his money strangely, or. we used
to say. stupidity, distributing it among
employees burdened with large families
and among the poor He also spent a
great deal of money in postage stamps,
for he kept up a vast correspondence
Every day he received letters, no one
knew from where. and every one was
curious about them
In his leisure hours he was always
surrounded by a crowd of workmen.
whom he talked to in an Instructive
N amer, often reading pamphlets to
them on morality, geography, history or
into the things of the world and its
phenomena He scorned to please them.
and they sought him frequently. de-
lighting in his quick. ready speech
Sometimes we, his chiefs. had a chance
to get closer acquaintance with Cor
ky. Reading a novel onse I stumbled
upon a page in which there was a pas
sage about the Freemasons. Ignorant
of their doctrine, I asked for explana-
tons from the station chief as the best
educated man in the .bourgard' dis
trict). He could not satisfy my Curl
osity-he had formerly read things
about Freepasons but without thor
oughly understanding their doctrine By
hazard Gorkey assisted the candidate
for the weighing department Address
ing the chief he said: Allow me, Ivan
Ivanovitch, to explain son ething- But
do you know anything about the Ma
sons? / have read something about
them, and what I remember l will tell
YOU and he gave US a yeritable lecture
on the Masons with such details that
/ still wonder where he learned it all.
As I said. he spoke fascinatingly, and
he interested us SO that We risked for
getting the station chief and the pas
sage of the Enthusiastically there were
none at that moment. Two hours pass
ed thus. When Gorky left us the chief
said:
:. DO you know, Stepan Stepanovitch.
I think this Gorky is a student in exile
or something of the kind, for he is too
intelligent for a baker or cook. and
has read a great deal 1t is to be hoped
no misfortune will befall us through
him.
THE station chief afterwards invited
and he spent his time with US smoking
his cigarette and astonishing US with
his book knowledge until we weyA sure
Gorky was an excluded student His
service at our station only lasted few
months. One fine day he presented
himself at my Office, and, asking for HE
wages said he would no longer continue
with us.
Il paid him and offered him a third
class ticket to whatever station he de-
sired, but he refused the ticket, saying
he would walk. Pulling his hat over
his head and strapping his baggage on
his back he started forth after bidding
all the employees and workmen an anna
bic goodbye The latter FASTENED from
every side to say farewell to the man
who had entertained and instructed
them for many months.
"A little while ago Maxine GOrky' S
books fell into my hands, and some
thing familiar about them struck me.
Then / read a portrait he had drawn of
himself and 1 recognized my old COM
rade-"
idly-he has already passed out of the
fad stage.
Stanley Waterloo is at work editing
the MSS. of a convict who recently died
in western prison At least that is
the announcement of the firm who pro-
pose to bring the work out in book
form 1t is also said that the auto
biography of this criminal will surpass
anything which Hornung has done-not
that Mr.. Hornung is a criminal, but his
Rallies stories have stood for the best
in fiction Of criminal life. Doubtless
too. these publishers claim for the new
work superior quality to anything
done by such realistic writer's as Walter
A. Wyco6 and Josiah F1ynt- The read
ing public has been hoaxed 50 often
with supposed Confessions" so-called
authentic love letters etc. that ver5
likely the autobiography of this p7rtic-
ular criminal will be suspected to be
the work OF Mr. waterloo himself. ii
is the theory of some noyelists that q
cultivated Imagination is all that is re-
quired for successful writing. ard If the
suspicion that Mr. Waterloo is. the resl
author of the autobiography" it mus
be assumed that he drew on his imagi
nation rather than on actual expert
ences of life.
| 1t has always been a puzzle to many
readers of the publishers announce
| ments to understand how editions are
| figured That there is any set numbei
/ of volumes printed for an edition is nc
| longer suspected by even the mos
| credu1ous- Certainly the problem mus
be baf1ing to one who reads, NOW
| Ready. Third Edition: Fourth EditioE
in Press At just what point did th<
publisher decide to stop the third edi-
| tom A first edition may be one hum
dred copies, or it may be 100000 In the
/ case of a popular novel brought out
| last year the first edition was 150.0Ol
copies. One OF the best selling book,
OF the present season has had thus TAI
but one edition. and some 10000 copies
Of that are stf1 stored IN the publish
errs shipping room. The same firm
and the condition is characferistic-ha<