The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-05-11
A CAUTIOUS CRITIC.
An Authors Strange Adventure
with a Maniac.

am not a great novelist, albeit a
fairly popular one. 1t is far better to
be popular than great, and makes all
the difference to ones material COM
fort. A great author is rarely appre-
ciated, at least until he is dead; where
as the popular one winters in the
Riviera, and has portraits of his draw
ing-room furniture in the Strang Mag
azine. Anyway, my work is in good
demand; commissions are plentiful, so
plentiful last summer that / rather
overdid the thing, the natural conse-
quence being nervous irritability and a
tendency to lie awake O. nights; and,
as greater writer than myself says:
THAT way madness lies"
What You want" remarked my doc
tor-who is one of those charming
practitioners who always prescribe ex-
actly what the patient most longs for
lis thorough change. Give up
work altogether for a month; go to
some quiet breezy spot on the coast,
and simply live out of DOORS"
j had no difficulty in summoning up
enough will power to follow out this
request. Solitude has no terrors for
me. packed up my bag, and took the
first train to Barnstaple, whence
drifted to place called Morthoe; and
there pitched my tent-if the express
sion may be allowed-in a comfortable
farmhouse, where the welcome was all
that could possibly be expected for the
money.
did not tell anyone what my pro-
fession was, and consequently passed
for an ordinary individual. After a
time, l naturally made acquaintance
the parson and the squire, and that
kind of thing. There was nobody with
whom to talk shop, which was draw
back. But that comes in time. found
my .fdus Achates one morning on the
sands, where had gone in search of
bath. He was tall, rather melan-
Being anything but bold swimmer,
and the coast being dangerous, was
naturally indisposed to try the briny
deep, and my new acquaintance oblig-
ingly pointed out a perfect natural
bath wherein could disport myself.
almost as if it were made on pur-
pose" he remarked. II always come
here myself. I've got house behind
the sandhills there. shall be pleased
to see you any evening that you care
to drop in"
thanked the speaker, and for the
time being we parted. subsequently
inquiry elected the fact that my
friends name was Walter Wanless, and
that he was stranger, who had taken
n furnished house there for year.
Usually, was informed, he preserved
n reserved attitude. He was inclined
to be eccentric; and all his homework,
cooking, ETC., was done for him by a
solitary man servant, who, so the Cos
sips limited, was employed more in the
capacity of keeper than anything
else.
As novelist, this suggestion merely
served to pique my curiosity. A writer
looks unconsciously for copy, even in
moments of leisure. But I am bound
to confess that l saw nothing peculiar
in the behavior of Wanless when one
day / lunched with him. The sole was
done to the turn; subsequent dish of
curry left nothing TO be desired; the
sherry was really dry, and not merely
acid; and the lusty servitor waited in
a manner which would have done
credit to professional. Yet at the
same time / could not help seeing
that Wanless was very much afraid
of his man Bellamy. For instance,
when he attempted to help himself to
a third glass of sherry, Bellamy calmly
removed the glass, and placed the de-
canter at my end of the table. The
thing was done SO coolly that could
hardly restrain my establishment.
r For moment l saw lurid light
flash into the peculiar dark eyes of my
host; his hand clenched, then he
.Srghed pleasantly ''Bellamy pre-
sumes, as all old servants do Wan
less said. But he is right, all the
same; am a wretched drinker.n
Bellamy said nothing; he did not
even smile, He handed round box of
cigars, from which Wanless selected
one; and then he locked mp the box and
put the key in his pocket.
You don't want to sit here all dav,
sir" he said, respectfully but firmly.
"You had better go for a walk, /
think
Wanless rose obediently, and / fol-
lowed. As we passed through. the
hall, caught a glimpse of small but
complete-looking library which was
lined with, books With the fascina-
ton that volumes of any kind possess
for me, / was about to enter, when
closed the door and locked it.
Sir" be said TO his employer, ''you
ere wasting the afternoon
Well, it wasn't for me to interfere, II
yVspless was disposed to put up with