Evening star., 1903-08-01
FOR AND AGAINST IT

zone Ia liable to run the gamut of good
first book is published" remarked candid
writer who lives in Washington. It's
singular. for example. how furtfve and sort
Of sneaky fellow viii become in follow
ing and looking up his first book around
the shops. I was alternately down in the
deeps and then in the seventh heaven after
these visits that made to the book shops
after my first book was published. One of
the first experiences had of this sort made
a deep dent in my self-appreciation. I
strolled carelessly to the book department
OF q big New York establishment where
they sell everything from a paper Of pea
nuts to cemetery lot. large number
OF copies of that magnus opus of mine
were heaped up on one Of the book tables
l picked up one Of the copies and riffied
the pages IN an Idle sort of way
Ah-er-how IS this thing Of Blank s
goingT I inquired Of the pompadoured
upon me-and this underhand way Of men
tiening my own name and my own piece
OF work in that idiotic incognito fashion
gave mo queer sensation OF meanness
and crookedness.
oh. THAR remarked the pompadoured
young thing. sticking her lead pencil into
her back hair. It's selling pretty well.
but goodness gracious sakes alive. I
U
think it's rotten-
"Amiable criticism. that for a rising
young author to've listened to. wasn't IT?
And my soreness wasn't in the least as
suased. either. when reflected that had
brought the criticism upon myself I had
all could do to prevent myself from glar-
Ing upon that young woman with all Of the
glarey awfulness of which l am capable
sometimes-but I didn't. I felt that there
was another and better way Of squnch-
ing her.
q" That so? said 1. with sort Of naughty
cheerfulness that 1 sometimes assume
when l want to be very crushing indeed
I've heard that It's the best thing Of the
sort that's been done for several years
you may wrap me up two copies. II you
please. and produced S bill and handed
1t to her and got my 81 change back. feel
Ing that had come pretty close to making
that forward baggage with the pompadour
mop feel cheap
Had I?
We'll. as I was walking dignffiedly out
with my two books under my arm heard
the young woman whom had supposedly
but only upposedly-macerated to pulp.
saying In hoarse whisper to another
saleswoman:
"Tn bet anything that conceited feller
writ that book hisself-that's the way they
always act!'
Il felt pretty gloomy as I crept in a
hang-dog way from the neighborhood OF
that store. but I was soon to be In a more
y
regular book store Broadway-this Of
course was in New York-unabie to with
stand the temptation to get another view
as to my book. even II 1t should prove to
be depressing one 1 found only few
OF what had apparently been quite a stack
Of copies left. and I picked one OF them
up in my usual Indifferent fashion and
asked the salesman a man this time. II
Blanks book was proving to be a seller.
They're eatin' it up was the enthusi-
0SttC salesman.
don't blame 'em-it's hot stuff and no mis-
takev
"And so. between widely diverging opin-
ions OF this character-and ran into many
widely diverging opinions1 elected, of
course, to always choose the one best suited
to my natural egotism. l found it more
soothing.
II was also given the opportunity to lis
ten to many unbiased opinions OF my book
from the great general public. The book
was extensively advertised by posters which
were pasted all over the elevated railway
tations In New York. and I am bound to
admit that spent great deal of my roy
alties just riding up and down town In the
elevated cars for the purpose OF overhear-
ing the chance criticisms of persons who
caught glimpses OF the advertising posters
and felt impelled to express themselves
with regard to the book just to make con-
versation with their companions. I was
constantly oscillatfng between happiness
and dismalness while thus occupied, how
OF me say to the friend next to him. Say.
that book they're advertising SO much along
this lfIie-boOk written by some new fellow
named Blanks all rightly ought to read
1t. picked 1t up last night-found it kick
ing around the flat-and say. I couldn't let
go of it till I'd finished it at ; o'clock this
morning. I'd feel like grabbing hold Of
that man and conveying him down the,
stairs at the next station and buying him
nice new hat. Then I'd hear another of the
elevated car critics say: isn't it the dick
ems how these publishers try to crowd such
stuff as that book Of Blanks down peoples
throats? | picked up a copy Of 1t the other
evenfng-my wife blew in one of my hard
earned kopecks, or dollar and half
forget which, to buy 1T the other day-and
say. of all the imbecile rubbisf-why saw
q publisher that 'ud fetch out such siush as
that and then have the gall to expect peo-
pie to pay real money for it ought to get
thirty days in jail for false pretenses I'd
feel like inviting this fellow to step off the
knock his head of. but, Of course I could
only grind my teeth in impotent rage-'im-
potent rage l must use some time again,
by the way-and make inward comments
upon the fellows stupid and brutalized la elk
OF appreciation of good thing.
And then I had whole lot Of tremen-
dously different sensations over the way
that first book of mine was exhibited in the
book store windows. There was one book
store window on 9Th avenue in New York
before which l positively think | used to
stand by the half hour. just purring with
Joy over the way that book of mine showed
up. BY some special arrangement with the
publishers the book store people had stack
ed up about forty copies of my book in this
window with big poster on top calling
attention to the exalted merit of the work
And right in the same window were stacks
Of the copies OF the writings of Robert Louis
Stevenson and BalZac and George FL OF
and Daudet and Sir Walter Scott and such
other mighty literary fgures-my oh. my
how l used to swell up as I stood before
that partcula window, and say to myself
old chap. you never expected to break
into such company that. did you?' and
gurgle nwardly with delight and self-ap-
preciat:on! of course I'd say to myself
after the first burst of ecstaay over the ex-
hibtion my stuff isn't anything like up to
the work of those other fellowS-'course not
I never claimed that for it-but by
George. books a book, all right. no mat
ter what's in it-and ii these book store
people didn't think it was worth exhibiting
alongs de the works of these other fellows
why. 1t wouldn't be there. would IT.? and
I'd be happy all over again with that
thought. Finally l overplayed myself by
standing In front Of that particular book
store window often and so long. sus-
picfous-look ng salesman came out one day
and looked me over scrutinizingly as if he
had formed the opinion that I was looking
for a possible opportunity to burgIarize
the plant