The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1905-03-18
AMATEUR WRITING.


must be followed as a means OF suosist-
ence to render its creations worthy
This is distinctly contrary to the BELIEF
hitherto entertained by thlnksrs and
critics whose opinions have beer
deemed worthy Of respect. Did he
mean to convey the idea that the pro-
ducts of those struggles which are nec-
essary to genius in poverty to keep the
wolf from the door, we might agree with
him, because no great achievement is
reached without spur to action, and
there is no greater spur to action tnan
necessity. It is not mental Incidence
entirely, but the activity OF the critical
faculty that prevents execution unless
lashed into action by the eztrsneous IN
fuence OF necessity. But Broker-peet
Stedman believes that there is royal
road. predestined highway, for the
truly elect and that We should distrust
writer's "who came net ia by the straight
gate but clamored over the vatts ef
amateurship," asserts the Memphis
News -Scimitar.
The product of amateurship is always
the best because the energies are all
fresh and active; ambition is aroused.
Subsistence is the great question
mere naked subststepce-an and the best is
sought,
When the days of amateurship pass
by and success comes in response to
amateurish effort, when SNUG conf
dence renders the writer confident and
careless and conscious OF himself, his
creations are never as good as they
were in the days of amateurship, no
matter by what gate ne entered the
field.
When art becomes commercialized
and the dollar is considered as well as
the deed, the creations deteriorate be-
low the product of amateurship when
money was not considered SO long as
the pot was kept boiling. This is
universal fact. When Eugene Field
was obscure and struggling he put forth
his best work. When he attracted at
tention and began to be patronized and
affected by the porkpacking mercena
ries he turned Horace and fawnlngly
REIN mbursed them with fattery to the de-
struction of his art. When George AIDE
was writing "Stories of the Streets of
the Town" for small weekly stipend
and endeavoring to Chamber over the
wall of amateurship, his creations were
better than they have been in later
years which have been touched by the
mildew of success. Pete Dunne's "Mr.
Dooley" articles passed annetioed ui1-
til "Me Dousin George Dooley" sunk
the Spanish fleet in Manila bay ana
gave them fame. They have been great
since, but never equal to what they were
formerly. No more conspicuous illus
tration of this truth can be found than
in the case of Conan Doyle, who wrote
twelve years before finding publisher
and then won fame on his rejected writ
ings. He set the world by the ears on
his Sherlock Holmes stories for sea-
son and killed the detective at an op-
perfume time. In an evil hour ne
brought him back to life, and selecting
the unlucky number of thirteen more
detective stories, foisted them on the
American public in Golfers, where
they fell fiat. Mcclure, Phillips and
company brought out these stories in
book form last month, and they are said
to have an elephant on their hands.
Some of the enterprising daily news
papers are printing them and will for
nine more long weeks, as padding to
put around advertisements, when we
may expect to see them entombed in
that limbo of forgotten things, the pat
tent inside, there to remain deaf to
Gabriel's trumpet through eternity.
For sleazy, spiritless driyel, the impos-
ture of commercialized reputation won
by real and worthy work, they rank
alone They are the wooden nutmegs
and basswood hams of literture. They
compare with the Doetor's earlier writ
ings as sawdust stuffed doll does to a
Phidian statue.
Clamboring over the v;all Of amateur
ship, forsooth! Once the wall is passed,
the work is done. The struggle to reach
the olympian heights calls forth every
element of strength and calls into aetiy-
ity every talent and energy. When the
summit is reached the ruscles become
soft and f1abby in repose, and effort is
impossible. -Hattiesburg Eye.
Roycroft Recipes.