The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-30
.LAFCADIO LEARN
 RESTAURANI'EUR
Famous Writer Made Failure Of Venture In
 New Orleans

Lafcadio Hearn is an indissolubly associated with New Orleans as with Japan. It is less widely known that his activities in the old French city in- cluded running a Scent restaurant and writing verses to advertise it, writes Edward Larocque Tinker in the New York Times.
 Hearn arrived in New Orleans on a Mississippi steamboat in November, 1877, and for seven months led hand to-mouth existence, unable to find a job by reason of yellow fever epi- demic.
 Finally he got a position as as sistant editor of the Item.
 In his first hard seven months in New Orleans, Hearn had met in cheap restaurants, on park benches, and in erimy lodging houses all sorts of down. and-out sharpers. One of these had suggested that money could be made by opening a cheap eating joint. The idea fascinated Hcarn and he wrote his friend, MT. Watkin, the old English printer in Cincinnati, there were some businesses that would pay in New Or leans, "a cheap restaurant, cheap swimming bath or a cheap laundry ;" f.nd later that money can be made out of the poor. People are so poor here nothing pays except that which appeals to poverty Now one can make thirty biscuits for five cents and eight cups of coffee for five ccnts."
 Lived on $2 a Week.
 Hearn took a dingy, shabby room in the northern end of the French Quar- ter and there, by doing his own cook ing, he was able to cut his expenditure for food to $2 week and save three fourths of his salary, which at that time was $20. By these grim economies he amassed $10O. This accomplished, he wrote his friend, Krehbiel. twill start little business for myself next week. have an excellent paitner-a north crn man-and we expect by spring to clear enough ready money to start for South America"
 Afternoons after his work at the office was finished Hearn used to meet his "pard" and they combed the city for a suitable location for the new venture.
 They finally decided upon a tumble down disreputable one-storied brick house in a sordid back street with a misleading name-160 Dryades. To- gether they soon exhausted the $100 buying thick clumsy chinaware, cheap table utensils and paint. 'Pard" at- tended to cleaning up the place and rainting while Hearn inaugurated a publicity campaign by having yellow hand bills printed which read:
 The Five Cent Restaurant.
 16O Dryades.
 This is the cheapest eating house
 in the south. It is neat, orderly
 and respectable as any other in
 New Orleans. You can get good
 meal for a couple of nickels. All
 dishes cents. Everything half
 the price of the markets.
 When he actually saw the finished dodger, however, the name 6-cent Res taurant did not appeal to him. It was decided to rechristen the experiment the Hard Times-an ominOus name whose evil portent was perfectly realized later.
 March 2, 1879, the Hard Times was opened for business. On that same day q laconic little advertisement in the item averred that The Hard Times, 16O Dryades, satisfies hunger for one nickel"
 As An Advertiser.
 His impatience for returns would not Ter Hearn look idly on, but forced him to take personal hand i'll the running of the place. He described his own activities in q letter to Krehblel
 have become a restaurant pro-
 prietor, doling out coffee and hot
 uo1ls boafefaok and SOun. cold
 tongue and stew. It is the cheap