The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-02-03
A BEST
SELLER
By MARY c. ATWOOD

,
and tell me the story"
, 1T was this way: Comstock trie,
! scribbling at home, but made ns sue
cess. Whether he wrote over tn,
heads OF the people, or under them,
don't know. His stories didn't sell
But Comstock had talent, and all h'
wanted was something to start him
One of his friends told him to e
abroad All Americans who succeed
in literature make their living abroad
his friend said, and II Comstock was
going TO succeed he'd have TO go too
There's a literary atmosphere there
that doesn't exist here. Besides, the
crowned heads take an interest In
literary work, and king may make
an author If he chooses.
"Comstock was persuaded and went
abroad. He picked up a living for
awhile in London writing for the Eng
fish magazine papers, then went on to
the continent He finally drifted to
! Constantinople, where he liked 1t so
well that he stayed there long while
and learned the language perfectly.
"All this while fame refused to perch
on his banner, but poverty did. When
he was pretty near starved In Con-
stantlnople he got job TO write a
serial novel for daily newspaper
there. He was to fill two columns O
day, no more and no less. The price
he was paid for his work was just
enough to keep him alive.
1T happened that he struck vein
that was natural to him, and a good
one too. He became absorbed in his
work and was glad to be absorbed, be-
cause ii made him forget his troubles
But having only enough writing to do
each day to occupy three or four hours,
he spent the rest of his time planning
ahead. He would lay out impossible
situations just to keep himself busy
solving them. AS for his general plan,
that was so intricate that no one
would ever suppose it possible to ex-
tricate his hero from tie ENHANCEMENT
into which an adverse fate had cast |
him
"One day while he was at work on
his story he was astonished to see two |
policemen enter his den. Without a /
word of explanation he was ordered TO
follow them and bring with him his
manuscript. 1t occurred to him that
something he had written in his novel
about the government might have
caused his arrest, but this could not
be, for on his arrival be was not only
permitted TO keep what he had writ
ten, but was commanded to finish his
work. That he might be well situated
to do SO, he was given Pheasant quar-
tiers and plenty to eat and drink At
first he was SO frightened that he could
not write, whereupon member of the
government sent him word that he
was in no danger. This gave him
courage, and he pursued his task.
IF he. was anxious to kill time be-
fore his arrest he was now doubly so,
He invented new complications and
them. The situation grew
more involved the nearer he approach
ed the end, just as a stone revolved
about a stick moves more rapidly as \
The string is shortened He devoted
every minute of his time and every
lber of his brain to his work and at
he end Of few weeks after his i'm
lrisonment wrote the concluding chap.
er.
when his story was finished he
lreaded the long hours of confinement
Turing which he would be free to
rood upon his situation He had not 4
eceived the slightest information as il
o his offense. But he had not long to 3
ret. AS soon as his work was fin. n
shed his prison doors were thrown II
pen and he was permitted TO so out "a
ag of gold. q
"As soon as he was released he made "A
lquiries of officials high in the serv- y
,e Of the government as to why he
ad been arrested and thrown into :
rison and whence came the money. IT
"And what do you suppose was the
eason given? The sultan had one day \
licked up a copy of the newspaper In
'hich his story was running and be-
anne interested in it. Too impatient
, wait for II to come out from day TO
ay in small quantities. he had taken
course TO hasten the denouement II
"Comstock was Just tlckled to Death II
e sent in a request through one OF II
e sultan's household asking If the II
Titan would give him a pun to print
ith the publication of his novel in
merica He was told that the sultan II
uldn't come down to that, but Com. II
ock hit on the expedient of writing II
It a brief account Of the matter FOR
e newspapers. This he translated
to English and got It started in
nerican Journals
We'll. he published his novel. OF II
urse, Just as these notices about his II
ing imprisoned because the sultan Of III
irkey couldn't wait to see how 1t was
ming out were being copied from pa
r 10 paper. and everybody was crazy
read the book. One edition after
other was run out by the presses so
st that the printers got dizzy. but
lldn't supply the demand Comstock
de twenty or thirty thousand dol \
: out Of the story and publishers are On
itlng for him when he gets up in
, morning to secure a contract for
next"
What was fha NAME % tbfs T,nrl-fst,