Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-08-09
FLEMING'S CLEVER WIFE
by LUKE SHARP.

and thus harrow up the readers feel
ing, as we 90 along with the recital Of
the curious game Of cross-purposes AT
which Minnie Fleming and her hus-
band PLAYED, | will state the facts of
the case plainly at the beginning 50
that everyone may understand the
situation.
Minnie Fleming was subdued,
quiet little woman with something
like ten times the amount of brains her
husband possessed, but she was not
aware of it and would have been very
indignant if anyone had ventured TO
suggest such a thing, for she looked up
10 her husband with love, admiration
and respect
Knowing Jim Fleming we'll it al
ways seemed 70 me that his wifes
alteration for him was entirely mis-
placed. This may be professional
jealousy, for | have 70 admit that /
never could read with patience any
thing Fleming ever wrote. His work
seemed 20 me, not To put il too plainly,
cuff of the slushiest sort, and there Is
too much of that kind of writing in the
world now. jim Fleming is big,
gruff, somewhat good-natured person
with thorough belief in his own
abilities. which, as | have minated,
most of Us do not think justitiable by
facts He is the editor of "Pot-Shots,"
"a London weekly that used TO have
large circulation which Is now gener-
ally understood 10 have fallen OIL on
account of the tremendous competition
there is in the journalistic business
1t is a paper that offers two thousand
pounds sterling insurance money To the
heirs of man who l. killed by falling
ont of a balloon. if at the time of the
disaster he happens 70 have copy OF
"Pot-Shots' in his pocket.
Now it happened that Mrs Minnie
Fleming had literary ideas that were
promptly crushed 10y her big husband.
She possessed, as have said. an amaz-
ing respect for his literary judgment,
and with fear and trembling she had
on several occasions submitted little
stories 10 him, hoping that they might
merit a place between the covers OF
"Pot-Shots but Sm ridiculed the
stupidity of these yarns SO severely
that Mrs. Fleming, after quiet little
CRY all bv herself, showed him no more
of these efforts at fiction. Neverthe-
less. She thought her stories, II not
good enough for ''POt-Sho's might be
palmed off on other less well edited
Journals, 50 she took 70 sending her
stories round 20 one after another OF
the London publications, getting them
back as a general rule, but having one
taken now and then-just enough sue
l. h..
be sure that She took good care not TO
let her husband know anything OF
these excursions into the fields OF ut
erature, but She hoped TO be able 70
earn something with her pen, with the
humble desire of helping Jim out II
ever he wanted little additional
money
At last she received a very nice let
ter from the editor of The Family
Bouncer. He said ne had been watch
ing her little stories with interest for
some time past, and that he felt GER
tain she could write a serial If she set
her mind TO it, Without making any
definite promises he wrote that he
hoped she would try, and that she
would let him see the results. This
Minnie with JOY, and she set herself to
work TO write the long story.
Mrs. Fleping wrote under the name
Of "Ililda Markham" aud the result OF
the appearance of her first long story
was that Greig & Co., the literary
agents, wrote 10 her and offered 10
place any stories she cared to write at
as advantageous prices as the market
would afford, for a commission of ten
per cent This offer she accepted, and
the results were extremely gratifying
to her, whatever they may have been
20 the editors who had TO pay the in
creased prices.
And this brings us TO the point where
this story really begins. One editor
generally knows pretty well which of
his contemporaries, esteemed or other
wise, has the largest circulation, and
which has not, and Jim Fleming saw
with dismay that the circulation of his
own paper was falling rapidly, and
that il was evident that his penny pub
lie was drifting over TO The Family
Bouncer. In investigating the rea-
sons for this he quickly came upon the
bald fact that the increase in his rival
was largely due TO the stories of the
new writer, Hilda Markham. So he
resolved 70 get a story from that lady
at all hazards, and thus save his own
circulation, which was coming down
like man falling from a balloon,
eager 70 bestow the insurance money
on his surviving relatives.
1t was one OF Jims theories that
women have no heads for business, and
that of all women in the world his
own wife had the least capacity in that
direction. He made up his mind that
he would go as far as one hundred
and fifty pounds sterling for story
by Hilda Markham, and he wrote
letter TO her agents opening negotia-
tions for a serial. As it happened, two
other editors wrote with a similar OBJ
ject that same day, and the agents
were ian the delightful financial posi-
ton of suddenly finding the demand
greater than the supply. So they re-
piled 10 each of the editors that
Mice Marly Vaxf story tup,t1d In