The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-10-12
THE FLOOD OF BOOKS AND
THE MAKERS OF BOOKS
Dr. Henry Van Dyke or the Literary Life. Its Rea
Value in the Quality of the Ideas that
Possess the Author.

! a change even since the days when Low
! ell wrote Il cannot come Ito New York;
without any money, and leave my wife
! with 521R cents, such being the budget
! brought in by my Secretary of the Treas
ury this week; and when Hawthornes
friends had to make up purse and send
/ it 20 him anonymously to relieve the pen
! Try caused by the loss of his position in
the Gust ON House at Salem. Nowadays
people who certainly do not write any
better than Lowell and Hawthorne. find
life very much easier. They travel freely
they live in a comfortable house-some
of them have tWo--With plenty of books
and pictures. The man who would be-
grudge this Improvement in the condition
OF literary workers must have, as DR..
Johnson would say, "a disposition little
to be enVied." 1t is no more than the
world has done for the doctors and the
lawyers. Have not the profits Of book
making, even on the material and COM
mercial side, advanced yet more rapid
/ ly? The wages of printers and paper
makers and bookbinders are larger The
fortunes of successful publishers are in
creased. Why should not the author
have a share in the general prosperity?
Besides, it should be remembered that
while there has been a certain enlarge
ment in the pay of literary workers, il
has not yet resulted in the creation OF
opulcnce among men of letters as class.
/ The principal gain has been along the line
of enlarged opportunities and better re-
muneration for magazine, newspaper.
and editorial work. Setting these aside,
the number of people who mako good
living by literature alone is still very
small. / will not even attempt to guess
how many there arc; it might precipitatc
a Ions correspondence But it is safe to
say that there are not two score. in
America What a slight burden is tho
support of thirty five authors among
70O00,000 people, Your share in the
burden is just one-half OF one millicnth
part of an author What is that COM
pared With the pleasure that you get
cut Of the new books. even though you
are one of those severe people who pro-
fcss to read none but old ones?
When ! hear that the brilliant creator
of 'Tne Mountain of Derision' has just
built a mansion at Laxelo, or that tbs
author of The Turning Point" is driving
a fourth hand through the White Noun
tains it does not cause nc single pang
Of discomfort. Ny contribution to that
mansion, according TO the present rate
of royalty was about 40 cents, and to
the support of the equipagc / have given
perhaps 30 cents. III each case | rccciv-
ed good value for my money-pleasant
end, / trust no Improbable hours. This
expense inks me far less than the extra
SO or IS Ton chat l shall probably have
to pay for coal this winter.
But l wouIG not be understood as
agreeing to the general proposition that
the poss ession of four in hands and the
like is necessary, or even favorable, to
the production of good literature. or
course If man has extraordinary luck.
he may find some competent person to
take care of his luXurics for him. while
he gives himself to the enjoyment of his
work and lives almost as comfortably
as if he had never bought them. But. as
. rule, it may be taken for granted that
plain living is congcnial to high think
ing. n writer in one Of the English Pc
riodicalS a couple Of years ago put forth
tho theory that the increase OF pGssimsm
among authors was due to the eating OF
too much and too rich food Among
ether illustrations he said that Ibscn waJ
! lnordibGtelY given to the pleasures Of the
table. However, that may be, it is Ger
tain that the literary life, at it's best,
is one that demands a clear and steady
mind, free spirit, and great c0ncentra-
ton 81 effort The cares OF a splendid
establishment and the distractions OF
complicated social life are not likely. in
the majority Of cases, to make ii easier
TO do the best work. Most of the great
books, ] suppose. have been written in
rather small rooms.
The spirit of happiness also seems to
have Partially for quiet and simple
lodgings. I'VE have a little room in this
thrd story, tback)" wrote Lowell IN
1915 just after his marriage. with
white curtains trimmed with evcrgreens.
and are as happy as two moTtals can be-"
There il the highest authority for he
= Loving that mans life. even though
1 he be an author, consists not in tho
abundance of things that he possesses.
! Rather is its real value to be sought in
] the quality OF the ideas and feelings that
+ possess him. and i'm tic effort TO cmbody
them in his work The works the thing
The delight OF clear and steady thought,
/ Of free and vivid imagination, of pure
and strong emotisn the fascination OF
fishing for the right words. which somn-
/ times come i'm shoals like herring. 50
that the net can hardly contain them,
and at other times are more shy and
fugaciOus than the wary trout which re
fuse to be lured from their hiding
places the pleasure Of putting the lit
phrase I'M the proper place, OF making
conception stand out plain and firm with
no more and no less than is needed for
/ it's expression Of doing justice to an
/ imaginary character so that 1T shall have
/ its own life and significance in the world
Of fiction, or working plot or an argu
mont clean through to it's inevitable
closc-these inward and unpurchasable
joys are the best wages Of the men aud
women who write And beyond doubt
in spite OF cynic's sneer. these rewards
have already come TO many Of the an
thors who have been busy this summer
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