The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-01-16
4 BOOMERANG
VENGEANCE.

This is the story of two men, each Of
whom revenged himself on the other:
the first steai;hily while pretending to
be his friends friend, the second open-
~ as anavowed enemy Of the first t.
turning revenge for revenge. Yet in
both eases the revenge had an effect
exactly contrary TO what the agressor
intended.
Every man living is what We call
genius if he but knew it. ~ themalhe-
| matic&l chances are against the right
man ever meeting the right woman
and marrying her, 50, in q lesser degree
the chances are against thc man find
ing exactly the occupation that i fitted
for him. The round pegs are eternaily
getting into the square holes. When
square peg gets into square hole and
fits, We say in in our blindness that
the peg Is a genius.
Human pe.versily helps the mathe-
:natieal .chance> 10 prevent the pegs
getting into the right places. Tne sue
eessful traeedian invariabie thinks that
mis- forte Is low comedy, and the re-
nowned comedian imaeine- that if he
but had the chanc. h could play Ham
let.
Frederick Trigg wanted to he a sue
cessful novelist, vocation for which
he was utterly unsuited. Writing was
his forte, but not The writing If novels
lie had the critical f.calty strongly de
veloped, and had a style of his own
which ultimately led him, a every
body knows, into the very front rank
al English critics. Bat the cireIm-
stanc :, seemingly adhere At the time,
and the result Of the ineancst treachery
which guided the square Trieg's foot
steps toward the squared hole are no:
- wei known.
Alfred Denton, on the other hand
wa. a born novelist, yet al his hopes
were centered into becoming i great
eiitor-a position for which he was
c)aspicUonsly untitled.
When young Trigg met young Den
ton by chance a; scmi-literary clHb
TO which both belonged, Trigg coagrat-
ulated himself. Denton at thaG time
was tn. inefficient sab-eiiJoY of we'll
known magazine, anj Trigg, whose
Mss. Were invariabie rejected, was con
WINGED that the magazine editors OF
London formed a sort OF Close corpora
ton, whose chief object in life was TO
keep the outsider e;eTnally outside.
Trigg felt certain that il one OF his
stories bat g0t a chance it would be sGre
to succeed and ne felt that his ripening
friendship with Denton would, when
the proper time came, gave him his
chance.
There is no doubt bat that Denton
intuitively disliked Trig from the he
ginning. This, OF course, he had Il per-
feet right 70 do, bat il is questionable if
he was justified in pretending friend
ship ne did not feel, and in leading the
other to coniidc his woes and his Mss.
TO him. Perhaps the dislike arose from
the unfortunate habit Trigg had OF
reading selection from mis- stories 10
anyone who would listen, and there j.
no doubt that in those days Denton
got more than his share.
Any man had right to resent tnis
SORT Of thing, bHt he sholid resent it
openly and boldly, and not revenge
himself III "A sneaay manner.
Denton praised the Mss. highly,
took them TO the magazine Office readi-
IL, and kept them for Il long time.
Then they were returned To the unfoT-
tunate Trigg with note saying thai
the editor, in spite Of the warmest com
mendations on the part OF Denton, had
rejected them.
This was Very disappointing as far as
Trigg was coneeraed, and he conceived
violent hatred of the unknown editor
who barred his way to publicity.
No Elan can live on rejected Mss.
alone, and Trigg, embitterred by lack
OF Success, secured subordinate posi-
ton on the "Acadaneum," great
weekly critical journal. His own try
ing experience had added just the re-
quisite touch of virilence to his pen
which the "Acadaneumn delighted in,
and Trigg speedily rose in the estima-
ton of his superiors on the paper.
Trigg naturally hated successful men.
One night at large literary dinner
h found himself next an old man who
was introduced a. the editor of the ma
gazine of whic. his friend Denton was
the sub Trigg had by this time be
c)me known as rising man in what
may be termed the crlel ofcriticis IN,
and the aged editor was very gracious
to him.
II wish," ne slil AZ las, "tha: You
could find time to write us an article on
any subject that pleased you"
Trigg turned upon the benevolent
old man.
"And | WISH" he replied, ''as did
the scriptural character, that you would
write book
The old man beamed upon him with
surprise.
''The scriptural character" he said,
chopped that his enemy would write 4
book. am certainly not any enemy
of yours
Not now, perhaps" said Trigg bru-
tally. "Yoa are like all the rest. You
give man encouragement when he
doesn't need it. Now that | am get