The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1894-04-05
STORY OF A STORY.
A Lost Manuscript and How It
Was Reproduced.

great magazine soon gets to be as joy
less as that of a "taster" for a 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 "a 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
reached the point where the conven-
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 flinging every story of certain
popular type into the fire.
Here was a tale, however, completely
and decidedly SUI generis. 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 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 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 imaEinings. What comfort
can it be to q man, who has fallen and
broken his leg, to have series of snap
shot photographs of the curve be de-
scribsd in falling2 Yet people always
try to !assuage their feelings in this
way, when they hava experienced q dis
aster. Payson Dewey did, He spent
the whole evening speculating, with
his wife Iand his niece, Vida, how that
Manuscript eoui d haze gei.Yx Sut 9f
hs,ERae! bis Roeeet bSrhss' ". PPs.ts Ptsd -
weht through9tno. tn. :, nd n =;
there was no hole in the pocket, and
manasSfsts, masseiv OVER sos.t line, qs$ s
Qf space. Tho conclusion of ihe E' e
matter was, after all. tha. t.. ~. =
script was lost
When payson Dewey Went back to
the Midland Office In the morning, he
had to tell the editor in chief that he
had lost the manuscript of the story,
"All in a Nutshell" Of course, the
editor looked grave and vexed. There
are just two things to be done, Dewey"
he said, land l 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 a reward for it's 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 rough draft, and then offer
provided the story is not found within
a week-to stand the expense of hav-
ing another copy made for us"
None Of the advertisements brought
the lost manuscript, which was a 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 10 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 to do about it?'
What do | 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