sy enough to foresee that a great illustrated weekly, with
actually one young man, and generally no more, to do all the literary
work could not last long. And yet the _New York Times_, or some such
journal, said that the work was very well done, and that the paper did
well until I left. Heaven knows that I worked hard enough on it, and,
what was a great deal to boast of in those days, never profited one
farthing beyond free tickets to plays, which I had little time to use.
And yet my pay was simply despicably small. I had great temptations to
write up certain speculative enterprises, and never accepted one. Our
circulation sometimes reached 150,000. And if the publishers (excepting
Barnum) had ever shown me anything like thanks or kindness for gratuitous
zeal and interest which I took, I could have greatly aided them. One
day, for instance, I was asked to write a description of a new ferry. I
went there, and the proprietor intimated that he would pay a large sum
for an article which would point out the advantage or profit which would
accrue from investing in his lots. I told him that if it were really
true that such was the case, I would do it for nothing, but that I never
made money behind my salary. I began to weary of the small Yankee greed
and griping and "thanklessness" which I experienced. There were editors
in New York who, for less work, earned ten times the salary which I
received. I was not sorry when I heard that some utterly inexperienced
New England clergyman had been engaged to take my place. So I returned
to Philadelphia. The paper very soon came to grief. I believe that with
Barnum alone I could have made it a great success. We had Frank Leslie
for chief engraver, and he was very clever and ambitious. I had a
knowledge of art, literature, and foreign life and affairs, which could
have been turned, with Leslie's co-operation, to great advantage. I
needed an office with a few books for reference, at least three or four
literary aids, and other ordinary absolutely necessary facilities for
work. All that I literally had was a space half-portioned off from the
engine-room, where a dozen blackguard boys swore and yelled as it were at
my elbow, a desk, a chair, and a pair of scissors, ink, and paste. This
wretched scrimping prevailed through the whole business, and thus it was
expected to establish a great first-class American illustrated newspaper.
It is sometimes forgotten in the United States