The Osceola times., 1876-11-18
MARCIA.

the mail brought me n roll of MS. with
one stamp too many, as IL to bribe the
post to care for so precious u thing and
a letter. Every publisher, editor, or
even the obscurest of writers receives
such packages 80 often as to know them
mt glance. Half dozen poems and
"a story-a blur of sunsets, duchesses,
violets, bad French and worse English !,
not q solid grain of common sense, not a
hint Of reality or even of possibility, in
the whole of II. The letter-truth in
every word; formal, hard, practical, and
the meaning Of il woman's cry for
bread for her Lungry children. Each
woman who writes such n letter fancies
she is the first, that its pathos will move
hsrd-hearted editors, and that the ex-
tent of her need will supply the want of
wit, wisdom, or even grammar in her
verses or story. Such appeals pour in
literally by the thousand every year to
's every publishing office. The sickly
daughter of a family; the wife of a
s2nken husband; widow; children
! that must be ted and clothed. What
! was the critics honest opinion of her
!. work? How much would it bring in
i. dollars and centsY etc, etc.
did not open the letter that day,
When we reach middle age we have
learned, through rough experiences, how
many tragedies there are in our street or
under our own roof which will be none
the better for our handling, and are apt,
s'lfishly, to try to escape the hearing of
them.
The letter, however, when ] opened il
next morning, proved to be not of a trag.
ical sort. The writer was "not depend
ent on her pen for support" she had
vowed herself TO literature;" she "was
resolved to assist in the progress of hu-
manly" Scarcely had | laid down the
letter when was told that she waited
below to see me. The card she sent up
was a bit of the fly leaf of a book, cut OBJ
long with the scissors, and the name
Miss Barr-written in imitation OF en-
4 gIaving. Her back was toward me when
IcRmc down, and had time to read the
be sham stylishness written all over
thin little person. The sleazy black
was looped in the prevailing fashion,
Feeping white plume dreoped from
IL CHEAP hat, and on her hands were
hed cotton gloves.
instead of the wizened features of the
I ead beat" which | expected, she
lfned on me a child's face an ugly
>ce, | believe other women called it,
nt one of the most innocent and honest
the world, Her brown eyes met yours
agerly, full ofa joyous good-fcllowship
pr everything and everybody alive
be poured out her story, too, in light
earted way, and in the lowest, friend
EST voice. To see the girl was to be
|RsIler ally. "Peoplc will do anything for
me but publish my manuscripts" she
said.
She came from Mississippi; had been
the only white child on a'poor plantation
on the banks of the Yazoo 81 have
only had such teaching as my mother
could give; she had but two years with
governess. We had no books nor news
papers, except an occasional copy of Il
magazine sent 10 us by friends in the
morrill, Her mother was the cse central
Smitlre in the world to her then. In our
ue >, sr intercourse she talked of her con-
Va 'hually. "She is little woman
the.ss than l. but she has one OF the
ri finest minds in the world" she would
cry. "The sight of anything beauti-
full or the sound of music sways her as
the wind does reed. But she was never
twenty miles from the plantation she
has read nothing, knows nothing. Ny
hther thinks women are like mares-0nly
useful to bring forth children. Ny
mothers children all died in babyhood
but me. There she has lived all her life.
With swamp on one side and the forest
olive oak on the other nothing TO do. |
nthing TO think of Oh, it was fright |
al, With mind like hers, any woman
sould go mad, with that eternal forest
ASsd swamp, and the graves of her dead
babies Just in sight She rubbed snuff a
GOOD deal To quiet herself, but of late
yesrs abe has taken opium"
"And you ?"
al left her. l hoped to do something
for us both. My mind is not of as high
order AS hers, but il is very different
from that Of most women. | shall sue
coed some day." in the most matter-cf.
fac, zones. dAs soon as knew that |
wa. a poet determined to come 10 Phil
adelphia and go straight to real publish
ers and editors. In my country no one
had ever seen a man who had written a
bnk. Ever since came here find how
isrd Il : 70 6nd any thing about the bus.
- q aqshcsship. Medicine, or Law,
q ~ - .