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Show BB t What i'ueta Itarii. It is popularly supposed that poetry docs not pay. As a mattor of fact tho supply c' verso is groatly In excess of tho demand, ind In very many cases poetry is no. paid for nt all. ' Thoro nro, of course a fow successful pools who mako tolerably largo Incomes by tholr pen, but tho number of minor poots whose books kro brought out (. a loss Is considerable Even Tennyson hnd to wait ton ' years beforo tho publlo demanded a ' second edition of his first volume nnd ' It was mnny yenrs boforo tho publlo , took to Robert Browning's books, tho author having, in tho meantime to bring them out nt his own expense Wordsworth declared that for nearly twenty years his poems had not paid for his shoestrings, and Mrs. Browning, Brown-ing, after long cxperlonco, wrote, "In England no ono lives by verso that lives." Far and away tho most successful poot, in a pecuniary sense is Lord Tennyson, who is said to dorlvo between be-tween 6, 000 and 7. 000 a year from his works. From Messrs. Moxon & Co., his first publishers, ho rocolved, on an average 1,600 a year in royal-tics. royal-tics. Later, Messrs. Strahn & Co. paid him 5,000 for his works already In print, which wero to bo published on commission; and during tho flvo years of the contract they paid him over 31,000. Ills next publishers wero Messrs. King & Co., whoso engagement en-gagement was to pay 4,000 a year, with a soparato account for now works. Now tho laurcata is In tho hands of Messrs. MacMUlnn & Co., who aro reported re-ported to havo paid him 700 for his Jublleo Ode" London Tlt-BIts. |