The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1912-06-28
NEW NEWS c. YESTERDAY
How the World Lost a Great Eng
lish Novelist.
Samuel Warren, Author Of "Ten Thou-
sand a Year." Would Not QUIT
Practice of Law to Write
Stories.

Ask any we'll read man II he knows
Samuel Warren's Ten Thousand
Year." and it's likely that he will re-
ply, why, certainly. 1t is one of the
English classics" And perhaps he
will add, refectvely. and, by the
way, 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 mad
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. CHANGED to glance at his
library table and saw thereon copy
of Ten Thousand a Year" Instantly
the thought popped into my head that
the reverend doctor before me was
son OF Samuel Warren. After he had
smillngly acknowledged that this was
the case, and we had talked a little
about the book said:
Doctor, 1t has always puzzled me
why your father never followed up the
great success he achieved with Ten
Thousand 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 very good rea-
son." the son replied. but l don't
know that 1t has ever been told. al
though 1t may have been in my child
hood, at the time my fathers books
were published.
my father. as you probably know,
was first physician and then law
yer and was very fond Of each profess
sion. 1t may be that you have heard
the anecdote, which tells how 1t hap
pened that he wrote his first story
Passages from the Dairy of Late
Physician II you have, then you Will
remember 1t was said that my father
at a dinner where a popular novelist
was under discussion. declared tina
anyone could write story, II he would
base 1t upon his personal experience
and that he was sure he could writ
as good a story as any that had beer
published Some one challenged hin
to do It, and his Diary' was the re
suit.
when the book was published, m,
father awoke to find himself besieget
by publishers who begged him for new
manuscript At last, after severa
years. he yielded to the temptation
and wrote Ten Thousand Year
| can Just remember what an extraor
binary vogue the story had. and thai
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
tons. For some time father was II
cOUblueTdDit uleHlti uiotui pahSo' iA'
| did not know whether or not he ough
to accept these offers. or any of them
| But at last he said to himself: 'Yo'
have been educated as a physician
and as lawyer and are now engaged
In the latter profession: there Ia you
! life work, there your real career lies
IL now you are tempted to write an
other story, and II should be success
full, then you will be again tempted
to write. and so gradually. but surel,
you win divorce yourself from you
profession. The question for you t
decide is this: WIN you exclusively
devote yourself to your professional
work as a lawyer. or will you allow
yourself to be diverted by story writ
ing?'
so my father reasoned to himself
and came to the conclusion that II HI
was to be a successful lawyer, devoted
to his profession, he must quit stor,
writing. And having once made VI
his mind in this way. he could not b.
moved from his purpose. although fo
a number of years he received from
| time to time most tempting Offer
from publishers for new story. X
them his invariable answer was: No
hereafter am lawyer and nothing
else My story writing days ar
| ended.
Copyright 1909. by E. J. Edwards)