the americanization of edward bok-第26部分

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e　author　would　tell　which　he　had　had　in　mind；　the　lady　or　the　tiger。

〃Produce　the　room；〃　answered　Stockton。

The　man　did。　Stockton　paid　for　it；　and　then　said：　〃To　tell　you　the　truth；　my　friend；　I　don't　know。〃

And　that　was　the　truth；　as　Mr。　Stockton　confessed　to　his　friends。　The　idea　of　the　story　had　fascinated　him；　when　he　began　it　he　purposed　to　give　it　a　definite　ending。　But　when　he　reached　the　end　he　didn't　know　himself　which　to　produce　out　of　the　open　door；　the　lady　or　the　tiger；　〃and　so；〃　he　used　to　explain；　〃I　made　up　my　mind　to　leave　it　hanging　in　the　air。〃

To　the　present　generation　of　readers；　all　this　reference　to　Stockton's　story　may　sound　strange；　but　for　months　it　was　the　most　talked…of　story　of　the　time；　and　sold　into　large　numbers。

One　day　while　Mr。　Stockton　was　in　Bok's　office；　A。　B。　Frost；　the　illustrator；　came　in。　Frost　had　become　a　full…fledged　farmer　with　one　hundred　and　twenty　acres　of　Jersey　land；　and　Stockton　had　a　large　farm　in　the　South　which　was　a　financial　burden　to　him。

〃Well；　Stockton；〃　said　Frost；　〃I　have　found　a　way　at　last　to　make　a　farm　stop　eating　up　money。　Perhaps　it　will　help　you。〃

Stockton　was　busy　writing；　but　at　this　bit　of　hopeful　news　he　looked　up；　his　eyes　kindled；　he　dropped　his　pen；　and　eagerly　said：

〃Tell　me。〃

And　looking　behind　him　to　see　that　the　way　was　clear；　Frost　answered：

〃Pave　it　solid；　old　man。〃

When　the　stories　of　Dr。　Jekyll　and　Mr。　Hyde　and　Little　Lord　Fauntleroy　were　made　into　plays；　Bok　was　given　an　opportunity　for　an　entirely　different　kind　of　publicity。　Both　plays　were　highly　successful；　they　ran　for　weeks　in　succession；　and　each　evening　Bok　had　circulars　of　the　books　in　every　seat　of　the　theatre；　he　had　a　table　filled　with　the　books　in　the　foyer　of　each　theatre；　and　he　bombarded　the　newspapers　with　stories　of　Mr。　Mansfield's　method　of　making　the　quick　change　from　one　character　to　the　other　in　the　dual　role　of　the　Stevenson　play；　and　with　anecdotes　about　the　boy　Tommy　Russell　in　Mrs。　Burnett's　play。　The　sale　of　the　books　went　merrily　on；　and　kept　pace　with　the　success　of　the　plays。　And　it　all　sharpened　the　initiative　of　the　young　advertiser　and　developed　his　sense　for　publicity。

One　day　while　waiting　in　the　anteroom　of　a　publishing　house　to　see　a　member　of　the　firm；　he　picked　up　a　book　and　began　to　read　it。　Since　he　had　to　wait　for　nearly　an　hour；　he　had　read　a　large　part　of　the　volume　when　he　was　at　last　admitted　to　the　private　office。　When　his　business　was　finished；　Bok　asked　the　publisher　why　this　book　was　not　selling。

〃I　don't　know；〃　replied　the　publisher。　〃We　had　great　hopes　for　it；　but　somehow　or　other　the　public　has　not　responded　to　it。〃

〃Are　you　sure　you　are　telling　the　public　about　it　in　the　right　way？〃　ventured　Bok。

The　Scribner　advertising　had　by　this　time　attracted　the　attention　of　the　publishing　world；　and　this　publisher　was　entirely　ready　to　listen　to　a　suggestion　from　his　youthful　caller。

〃I　wish　we　published　it；〃　said　Bok。　〃I　think　I　could　make　it　a　go。　It's　all　in　the　book。〃

〃How　would　you　advertise　it？〃　asked　the　publisher。

Bok　promised　the　publisher　he　would　let　him　know。　He　carried　with　him　a　copy　of　the　book；　wrote　some　advertisements　for　it；　prepared　an　attractive　〃broadside〃　of　extracts；　to　which　the　book　easily　lent　itself；　wrote　some　literary　notes　about　it；　and　sent　the　whole　collection　to　the　publisher。　Every　particle　of　〃copy〃　which　Bok　had　prepared　was　used；　the　book　began　to　sell；　and　within　three　months　it　was　the　most　discussed　book　of　the　day。

The　book　was　Edward　Bellamy's　〃Looking　Backward〃。



XI。　The　Chances　for　Success

Edward　Bok　does　not　now　remember　whether　the　mental　picture　had　been　given　him；　or　whether　he　had　conjured　it　up　for　himself；　but　he　certainly　was　possessed　of　the　idea；　as　are　so　many　young　men　entering　business；　that　the　path　which　led　to　success　was　very　difficult：　that　it　was　overfilled　with　a　jostling；　bustling；　panting　crowd；　each　eager　to　reach　the　goal；　and　all　ready　to　dispute　every　step　that　a　young　man　should　take；　and　that　favoritism　only　could　bring　one　to　the　top。

After　Bok　had　been　in　the　world　of　affairs；　he　wondered　where　were　these　choked　avenues；　these　struggling　masses；　these　competitors　for　every　inch　of　vantage。　Then　he　gradually　discovered　that　they　did　not　exist。

In　the　first　place；　he　found　every　avenue　leading　to　success　wide　open　and　certainly　not　over…peopled。　He　was　surprised　how　few　there　were　who　really　stood　in　a　young　man's　way。　He　found　that　favoritism　was　not　the　factor　that　he　had　been　led　to　suppose。　He　realized　it　existed　in　a　few　isolated　cases；　but　to　these　every　one　had　pointed　and　about　these　every　one　had　talked　until；　in　the　public　mind；　they　had　multiplied　in　number　and　assumed　a　proportion　that　the　facts　did　not　bear　out。

Here　and　there　a　relative　〃played　a　favorite；〃　but　even　with　the　push　and　influence　behind　him　〃the　lucky　one；〃　as　he　was　termed；　did　not　seem　to　make　progress；　unless　he　had　merit。　It　was　not　long　before　Bok　discovered　that　the　possession　of　sheer　merit　was　the　only　real　factor　that　actually　counted　in　any　of　the　places　where　he　had　been　employed　or　in　others　which　he　had　watched；　that　business　was　so　constructed　and　conducted　that　nothing　else；　in　the　face　of　competition；　could　act　as　current　coin。　And　the　amazing　part　of　it　all　to　Bok　was　how　little　merit　there　was。　Nothing　astonished　him　more　than　the　low　average　ability　of　those　with　whom　he　worked　or　came　into　contact。

He　looked　at　the　top；　and　instead　of　finding　it　overcrowded；　he　was　surprised　at　the　few　who　had　reached　there；　the　top　fairly　begged　for　more　to　climb　its　heights。

For　every　young　man；　earnest；　eager　to　serve；　willing　to　do　more　than　he　was　paid　for；　he　found　ten　trying　to　solve　the　problem　of　how　little　they　could　actually　do　for　the　pay　received。

It　interested　Bok　to　listen　to　the　talk　of　his　fellow…workers　during　luncheon　hours　and　at　all　other　times　outside　of　office　hours。　When　the　talk　did　turn　on　the　business　with　which　they　were　concerned；　it　consisted　almost　entirely　of　wages；　and　he　soon　found　that；　with　scarcely　an　exception；　every　young　man　was　terribly　underpaid；　and　that　his　employer　absolutely　failed　to　appreciate　his　work。　It　was　interesting；　later；　when　Bok　happened　to　get　the　angle　of　the　employer；　to　discover　that；　invariably；　these　same　lamenting　young　men　were　those　who；　from　the　employer's　point　of　view；　were　either　greatly　overpaid　or　so　entirely　worthless　as　to　be　marked　for　early　decapitation。

Bok　felt　that　this　constant　thought　of　the　wages　earned　or　deserved　was　putting　the　cart　before　the　horse；　he　had　schooled　himself　into　the　belief　that　if　he　did　his　work　well；　and　accomplished　more　than　was　expected　of　him；　the　question　of　wages　would　take　care　of　itself。　But；　according　to　the　talk　on　every　side；　it　was　he　who　had　the　cart　before　the　horse。　Bok　had　not　only　tried　always　to　fill　the　particular　job　set　for　him　but　had　made　it　a　rule　at　the　same　time　to　study　the　position　just　ahead；　to　see　what　it　was　like；　what　it　demanded；　and　then；　as　the　opportunity　presented　itself；　do　a　part　of　that　job　in　addition　to　his　own。　As　a　stenographer；　he　tried　always　to　clear　off　the　day's　wo