Evening journal., 1910-01-24
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
How the World Lost a Great
English Novelist
BY "Holland."
BY "Hollsnd."

Ask any well read man IL he knows
Samuel Warren's "Ten Thousand a
Year" and it's likely that he will re-
ply. why. certainly, it is one Of the
English classics And perhaps he
will add, renectively, And, by the
way, l have often wondered why its
author failed TO follow up his great
literary success"
Many persons have had the same
wonder, and / among them until the
day. long years after the book had
been written, | went to interview the
Rev. E. Walpole Warren, who had late.
ly came from England to be rector
of an important Protestant Episcopal
church, which was then being pros
ecuted land later was convicted) I'M
der the federal contract labor law for
importing contract labor.
While DR.. Warren was discussing
the litigation in which he was the CEN
trail figure. I ohanced to glance at his
library table and saw thereon a copy
of "Ten Thousand a Year" Instantly
the thought popped into my head that
the reverend doctor before me was a
son of Samuel Warren. After he had
smilingly acknowledged that this was
the case, and we had talked a little
about the book ] said:
Doctor, It has always puzzled me
why your father never followed up the
great success he achieved with Ten
Thousand a Year Was there any
special reason why he should have so
suddenly stopped the writing of sto-
ries when, apparently, he was on the
threshold OF a great literary career"
Yes, there was a very good rea-
son." the son replied. but I don't
know that it has ever been told, al
though It may have been in my child
hood, at the time my fathers books
we're published.
my father. as you probably know,
was first a physician and then law
yer and was very fond Of each profess
sion. Il may be that you have heard
the anecdote, which tells how it hap
pened that he wrote his first story,
Passages from the Dairy of a Late
Physician If you have, then you will
remember It was said that my father.
at a dinner where a popular novelist
was under discussion, declared that
anyone could write a story, II he would
base 1t upon his personal experience,
and that he was sure he could 4write
es good a story as any that had been
published. Some one challenged him
TO do IL, and his 'Biary' was the re-
suit
when the book was published, my
father awoke to find himself besieged
by publishers who begged him for new
manuscript At last, after several
years, he yielded to the temptation,
and wrote Ten Thousand a Year
I can just remember what an extraor-
binary vogue the story had, and that
everybody was talking about my IA
Their
''The book was so phenomenally sue
cessful that he received many offers
from publishers, all of them promising
most satisfactory pecuniary considera-
tions. For some time father was In
considerable mental disturbance. He
did not know whether or not he ought
to accept these offers. or any Of them.
But at last he said to himself: You
have been educated as a physician
and as a lawyer and are now engaged
in the latter profession; there is your
life work, there your real career lies
II now you are tempted to write an
other story, and it should be success
full, then you will be again tempted
10 write, and so gradually, but surely
you will divorce yourself from your
profession. The question for you to
decide is this: VIII you exclusively
devote yourself to your professional
work as a lawyer, or will you allow
yourself to be diverted by story writ
ingT
80 my father reasoned to himself,
and came to the conclusion that If he
was to be a successful lawyer, devoted
TO his profession. he must quit story
writing. And having once made up
his mind in this way, he could not be
moved from his purpose, although for
a number OF years he received from
time to time moat tempting offers
from publishers for a new story. To
them his invariable answer was No;
hereafter ] am a lawyer and nothing
else. My story writing days are
ended"
Copyright. 1909. by r. ]. Edwards)