The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-04-27
STORY OF A STORY.
a. Lost Manuscript and How 1t
Was Reproduced.


The lot of manuscript reader for a
great magazine soon gets to be as joy
less as that of ''taster" for tea-im-
porting house. He loses all zest for
literature, while at the same time an
almost painfully acute sensitiveness to
literary flavor possesses him. He can
not help detecting the most exquisite
fragrances and aromas of the authors
art, but it is too often with the feeling
of the victim of rose-fever who is COM
PEELED to pass through garden in full
bloom.
1t was somewhat remarkable, there
fore, that Payson Dewey, reader for
the Midland Magazine, should have
slipped into his pocket the manuscript
of story he had been reading, with
the intention of taking it home and
sharing his enjoyment of it with his
! wife and niece. If it had not been a
unique as well as delightful story, Mr..
Dewey would certainly not have thus
departed from his usual custom of leav-
ing the shop behind him when his work
for the day was done. For he had
IcdCilcO UliO DOluU WhcTC UlC COuFcu-
tional story, no matter how cleverly
DONE only nauseated him. OF course he
could pronounce upon it, as profess
sional critic without the least personal
bias; but for himself he would have en-
joyed fiinging every story of certain
popular type into the fire.
Here was tale, however, completely
and decidedly SUI ge'aeris 1t was told
without dialect, and, what is still mo~e
remarkable, without dialogue. The
| characters did not jump up, bow,
squeak and retire as their strings were
pulled. Indeed. there were but two
characters in the story and these were
never allowed to appear, either singly
or together, without the personal chap
eronage of the author. Their story
was told for them in the sweetest, SIM
plest, quaintest way; and finally they
were sent away, hand in hand, as un-
affectedly happy as two Arcadian low
ers Then the author bowed to the
reader, presented him with u tail-piece,
and retired without even giving his full
name. But the initials were those of u
young and very popular story-writer,
and Payson Dewey, from his interior
relations with the sanctum, knew that
the story was written by this man.
On the way from the magazine office
to Mr.. Dewey's home, the manuscript
| was lost.
1t was useless to speculate how it
happened. Looking, at the stain of
| split milk fills nobody's thimble. There
&c 1iff1n iofa iy,
retroactive imaginings. What comfort
can it be to man, who has fallen and
broken his leg, to have a series of snap
shot photographs of the curve he de-
scribcd in falling? Yet people always
try to assuage their feelings in this
way, when they have experienced dis
aster Payson Dewey did. He spent
the whole evening speculating, with
| his wife and his niece, Vida, how that
manuscript could have gotten out of
his pocket, Perhaps it was pulled out?
Perhaps it slipped out? Perhaps it
went through?-no, that could not be-;
there was no hole in the pocket, and
manuscripts, presumably, have attained
no mastery over the fourth dimension
of space. The conclusion of the whole
matter was, after all, that the manu-
script was lost.
When Payson Dewey went back to
TIE Midland Office in the morning, he
had to tell the editor in chief that he
had lost the manuscript of the story,
"All in Nutshell" OF course the
editor looked grave and vexed. There
are just two things TO be done, Dewey"
he said, land 1 will leave you to do
them both. First, advertise in all the
evening papers, and again tomorrow
morning lit ought to have been done
this morning), for the story. Offer as
tempting reward for its return as
AS you care to pay. The other thing
is to write to the author. Tell him
frankly that you have lost his manu-
script. Ask him if he has another
copy, or Il rough draft, and then offer
provided the story is not found within
a weel1-to stand the expense of hav.
ing another copy made for us"
None of the advertisements brought
the lost manuscript, which was pity,
for they cost Payson Dewey six hard
earned dollars. In two days decided
ly wrathy letter came from the author:
"MR PAYsoN DEWEY, Dear Sir: must be
permitted to say that your carelessness is mex
cusable, and seems likely to cost me the utter
loss Of one of my best productions. should
have rough draft of the story somewhere, but
cannot find it. You, or the Midland Magazine,
must bear the responsibility. What do you
propose 10 do about it?''
What do l propose to do, Jane?'
asked Mr.. Dewey of his wife, pathet-
ically.
Pay him what the Midland would
have given for the story" replied Mrs.
Dewey, promptly, "and let that end
the matter. You can wear Your old
suit all summer to offset the loss and /
will make over my dresses and bonnet,
and none of us will go to the seaside,
as we proposed"
Mr.. Dewey sighed from the bottom
of his waistcoat, but he wrote letter,
nevertheless, offering to pay for The
story at the Midland's special rates.
or terms for solicited matter of high
grade. This would be about two hun.
dred dollars, In due time came the
reply:
money is the least satisfactory equivalent
you could offer. / really cannot afford to lose
this unique story. You must either find 1t OF
reproduce H."
Mrs. Dewey's eyes flashed when her
husband read to her this petulant and
unreasonable note. Very weIil' she
cried. ''We will reproduce it-at least,
l will And it will not be the first
story | have written,s either. Now,
Payson, l want you to give me, as
| ftal1 l1xr. nd IL al els fal