Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1894-03-30
STORY OF A STORY.
A Lost Manuscript and How 1t
Was Reproduced.

The lot of "a manuscript reader for a
great magazine soon gets to be as joy
less as that of faster for a i'm
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
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
reached the point where the cOnven-
| tional story, no matter how cleverly
done, only nauseated him, OF course he
could pronounce upon it, as a profess
sional critic, without the least personal
| bias; but for himself he would have en-
joyed tiinging every story of a certain
popular type into the fire.
Here was a tale, however, completely
and decidedly SUI geaeriS. 1t was told
without dialect, and, what is still more
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 We're
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 tail-piece,
| and retired without even giving his full
name. But the initials were those of a
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
is precious little satisfaction in these
retroactive imaginings, What comfort
can it be to man, who mas fallen and
broken his leg to have a series of snap
shot photographs of the curve he de.
! scrit2d in falling? Yet people always
| try to assuage their feelings in this
way, when they have experienced a dis
aster Payson Dewey did. He spent
the whole evening specializing, witt
his wife and his niece, Vida, how thai
manuscript could have gotten out o.
his pocket. Perhaps twas pulled out
Perhaps it slipped out? Perhaps i
went through?-no, that could not be
there was no hole in the pocket, an(
manuscripts, presumably, have ATTAINED
no mastery over the fourth dimension
of space. The conclusion of the who'll,
matter was, after all, that the manu-
) script was lost.
When Payson Dewey went back t,
J Tie Midland Office in the morning n
had to tell the editor in chief that h
had lost the manuscript of the story
''All in a Nutshell" of course tn
editor looked grave and veXed. Their
are lust two things to be done, Dewey,
he said, 'and ! will leave you to
them both. First, advertise in all tn
evening papers, and again to-morroN
morning lit ought to have been don
this morning), for the story. Offer a
tempting a reward for its return a
as you care to pay. The other thin
is to write to the author. Tell hir
frankly that You have lost his manu-
script Ask him if he has anothe
copy, or rough draft, and then offer
provided the story is not found with
I week-to stand the expense of hay
3. ing another copy made for us.
None of the advertisements brougl
=, ! the lost manuscript, which was pit,
, for they cost Paysou Dewey six hare
earned dollars In two days a decdeC
a ly wrathy letter came from the autho
- MIR PAYsoN DEWEY Dear Sir: [ must /
permitted 10 say that your carelcssncSS is inc
= cuSablo ard seems likely to cost me the uttt
/ loss OF one OF my best productions. l shou
c have rough draft of the story somewhere, br
n cannot lind il You, or the Midland Maga2in
must bear the responsibility What do yC
propose to do about it,
70 "What do propose to DO. Jane.
4 asked Mr. Dewey of his wife, pathe
+ icallv.
=. Pay him what the Midland woul
have given for the story" replied Mr.
q Dewey, promptly, and let that Ell
e the matter You can wear your o.
! suit all summer to offset the loss and
viii make over my dresses and bonnie
y, and none of Us win go to the sags!d
4 as we proposed
~, Mn Dewey sighed from the botto
Is ag his wal, oat, but he wrote a lettc
n nevertheless, offering to pay for u
,, story at th, Nidland's "specjal rate,
or trrr7 .ur solicited matter OF his
grade. This would bn about two hu
i. drcd a. lars I'm due time came u
n reply:
4, .Muur, is .nu least satisfactory oQuyalc
IN You could cIer } "raiy cannot afford 10 10
Jhi- unique Story. Nou must cithc' hud IL