In the early 19th century, a young man in London aspired to be a writer. But
everything seemed to be against him. He had never been able to attend school
more than four years. His father had been thrown in jail because he couldn't pay
his debts, and this young man often knew the pangs of hunger. Finally he got a
job pasting labels on bottles in a rat-infested warehouse, and he slept at night
in a dismal attic room with two other boys - guttersnipes from the slums of
London. He had so little confidence in his ability to write that he sneaked out
and mailed his first manuscript in the dead of night so nobody would laugh at
him. Story after story was refused. Finally the great day came when one was
accepted. True, he wasn't paid for it, but one editor had praised him. One
editor had given him recognition. He was so thrilled that he wandered aimlessly
around the streets with tears rolling down his cheeks.
The praise, the recognition that he received through getting one story in print
changed his whole life. If it hadn't been for that encouragement, he might have
spent his entire life working in rat-infested factories. You may have heard of
that boy. His name is Charles Dickens.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Thanks to WITandWISDOM(tm) - March 23, 2001
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