Martin Eden Ch28 p279

Paul Stought

Jul 2

He discovered in himself, at this period, a passion for perfection, under the sway of which he rewrote and polished "The Jostling Street," "The Wine of Life," "Joy," the "Sea Lyrics," and others of his earlier work. As of old, nineteen hours of labor a day was all too little to suit him. He wrote prodigiously, and he read prodigiously, forgetting in his toil the pangs caused by giving up his tobacco. Ruth's promised cure for the habit, flamboyantly labelled, he stowed away in the most inaccessible corner of his bureau. Especially during his stretches of famine he suffered from lack of the weed; but no matter how often he mastered the craving, it remained with him as strong as ever. He regarded it as the biggest thing he had ever achieved. Ruth's point of view was that he was doing no more than was right. She brought him the anti-tobacco remedy, purchased out of her glove money, and in a few days forgot all about it.	Hy diskuvurd in himself, at dhis piryud, u pashun faur purfekshun, undur dhu swae uv which hy ryroet and polishd "Dhu Josuling Stryt," "Dhu Wien uv Lief," "Joi," dhu "Sy Liriks," and udhurz uv hiz urlyur wurk. As uv oeld, nientyn ourz uv laebur u dae wuz aul too litul too soot him. Hy roet prudijusly, and hy red prudijusly, faurgeting in hiz toil dhu pangz kauzd bie giving up hiz tubakoe. Rooth's promusd kywr faur dhu habut, flamboi.untly laebuld, hy stoed uwae in dhu moest inaksesubul kaurnur uv hiz bywroe. Espeshuly dwring hiz strechuz uv famun hy sufurd frum lak uv dhu wyd; but noe matur hou ofun hy masturd dhu kraeving, it rimaend with him az strong az evur. Hy rigordud it az dhu bigust thing hy had evur uchyvd. Rooth's point uv vue wuz dhat hy wuz doo.ing noe maur dhan wuz riet. Shy braut him dhy antie-tubakoe remudy, purchusd out uv hur gluv muny, and in u fue daez faurgot aul ubout it.
His machine-made storiettes, though he hated them and derided them, were successful. By means of them he redeemed all his pledges, paid most of his bills, and bought a new set of tires for his wheel. The storiettes at least kept the pot a-boiling and gave him time for ambitious work; while the one thing that upheld him was the forty dollars he had received from The White Mouse. He anchored his faith to that, and was confident that the really first-class magazines would pay an unknown writer at least an equal rate, if not a better one. But the thing was, how to get into the first-class magazines. His best stories, essays, and poems went begging among them, and yet, each month, he read reams of dull, prosy, inartistic stuff between all their various covers. If only one editor, he sometimes thought, would descend from his high seat of pride to write me one cheering line! No matter if my work is unusual, no matter if it is unfit, for prudential reasons, for their pages, surely there must be some sparks in it, somewhere, a few, to warm them to some sort of appreciation. And thereupon he would get out one or another of his manuscripts, such as "Adventure," and read it	Hiz mushyn-maed stauryets, dhoe hy haetud dhem and diriedud dhem, wur suksesful. Bie mynz uv dhem hy ridymd aul hiz plejuz, paed moest uv hiz bilz, and baut u noo set uv tierz faur hiz whyl. Dhu stauryets at lyst kept dhu pot u-boiling and gaev him tiem faur ambishus wurk; whiel dhu wun thing dhat upheld him wuz dhu faurty dolurz hy had risyvd frum Dhu Whiet Mous. Hy ankurd hiz faeth too dhat, and wuz konfudunt dhat dhu ryly furst-klas maguzynz wwd pae an unnoen rietur at lyst an ykwul raet, if not u betur wun. But dhu thing wuz, hou too get intoo dhu furst-klas maguzynz. Hiz best stauryz, esaez, and po.umz went beging umung dhem, and yet ych munth, hy red rymz uv dul, proezy, inortistik stuf bitwyn aul dher veryus kuvurz. If oenly wun edutur, hy sumtiemz thaut, wwd disend frum hiz hie syt uv pried too riet my wun chiring lien! Noe matur if mie wurk iz unuezuul, noe matur if it iz unfit, faur proodenchul ryzunz, faur dher paejuz, shwrly dher must by sum sporks in it, sumwher, u fue, too waurm dhem too sum saurt uv upryshyaeshun. And dherupon hy wwd get out wun aur unudhur uv hiz manyuskripts, such az "Udvenchur," and ryd it
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Martin Eden Martin Eden Intro