St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1893-08-31
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A LESSON IN REALISM.

The Whlte-nalreu hoIeHel ieoheu
T.. head on his soft wrinkled hand
ID y canned the manuscript before
aia, A handsome young man,
aa .ln, in the height of fashion, sat
u unt Of the circle Of light from the
o ad shaded lamp on the old mans
l loh,e The roar and rumble of Fifth
n lae came through the windows.
T Tbe old man put his finger on line
d -" looked at his visitor kindly.
al ~ see a marked improvement,
,rtbur" he said slowly. Indeed.
~ "ou write graphically and with con-
Siderable dramatic power. You
z Inow my hobby is realistic writing.
Nv want to see nothing in your work
4 that savors of the impossible"
81 have tried very hard to avoid
that error" said the young man,
I bIushing slightly
Here, went on the novelist, lay
Il mo the sheets to one side-"here, for
Example, you have young soldier
who is found on the battlefield after
Z ,be fight, crying, Water waterp
+ Now, understand me. do not say
! that he might not have used those
words, but still l can see how it
4 would have been more natural for
4 him to have said something else, If
he spoke at all. | should have
avoided the use Of that expression if
4 (or no other reason than that it has
been used so much that it has be-
come commonplace"
Thank you, understand" said
the youth humbly. II don't believe
shall ever write acceptably."
Tut, tut" and the old man fold
ed up the manuscript and snapped a
rubber band around it, smiling
knowingly. you are in love, my
boy, desperately in love. You ought
4 TO be the happiest fellow in the
world. You have a fortune; you
are counted by the wealth and fash
ion of New York; you are engaged
to a charming woman, beautiful,
intellectual-in short, all that the
heart of any man could desire"
The young man flushed. That's
true, sir, and it is on her account
that | want to accomplish some
thing in the world Of letters. can't
bear to be simply a fgure-head that
is recognized in society merely be-
cause he has inherited a fortune.
She deserves a better man than
that
Good" and the novelist rose and
grasped his friends hand warmly.
~ admire that sort of spirit. Now,
take this story and lay it away, but
come to me in a week or so with
another either on paper or in your
head. Try to keep Miss Montrose
out of your mind, at least while you
are at work, and make your story
as true to life as possible. Pause at
every paragraph and think well
whether you are faithfully portray
ing life exactly as it is, and leave the
stage lights and the thousand and
one literary tricks to those who
write for the delectation Of GRAND
,oys."
Three weeks went by. The novel
st sat at his desk writing.
u have not seen Arthur in long
time, he unused. II wonder what
could have become of him. Thought
be would have shown more graft
tude than to treat me so. James, "
to the servant who was noiselessly
busting high case of books near a
window, "Mr. Leecraft has not
called lately, has he ?"
NO, sir, but | see i'm pass just
this minute, sir; l never saw i'm
look so bad, sir; he looks like he has
been sick"
go quick and, if you can catch up
with him, tell him | wish to see him. y
In few minutes there was a
sound of footstepsin the hall. James
opened the door and announced:
Mr., Leecraft, sir"
As the old man rose he motioned
the servant to retire. He looked
anxiously into hisIfriend's pale face
as he took his hand. But Leecraft
avoided his eyes and sank clumsily
into a chair.
Glad to see you, Arthur" and the
old mans tone was constrained.
he went back to his desk and pre-
tended to be busy arranging the
sheets Of his manuscript. II have
been looking for you for several
days, Your visits are pleasure to
me- have always felt sort of pa
ternal interest in YOU"
Thank you, sir; but l have not
1een feeling well for the last few
days"
Il was afraid So" and the sharp
Old eyes surveyed the young mans
atust'covered shoes, wrinkled cloth
ing, unkempt hair, and the dent in
the once faultless derby hat. A
postman's whistle sounded outside
ana James brought in a bundle OF
Etters. The novelist took them and
'ald them to one side.
That will do, James, you may
go" and the master thrummed ner-
vo,uuSly on the edge of his desk. II
wi m'll 60 you are busy" Leecraft rose
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