The herald., 1896-03-22
"JUST Tile KIND WE WANT"

"That's good stuff you've been send
ing u.s." said the editor. II had to cut
the last little"
Eyes, noticed it," said the literary
aspirant. Her tone WAS full Of sup
pressed feeling.
ut was rather too long, go cut out
| about hundred words in the middle
said the editor.
pirant. II just thought--that is,
wish that the two parts had connected
little better. Cutting that out made
it read:
"When you know I love you,' she
| said with clRtter of spirited
II was afraid people might wonder a
little"
"Oh. that would be all right" said the
editor, easily. "Nobody reads news
| paper fiction very closely, you know"
Il suppose not" said the literary
aspirant reeretfully.
| II made q few changes in the one
that's in print now," said the editor.
"For one thing. l gave your man a
title. Sir Gerald comes much nearer
| to the heart of the masses than plain
Mr."
"But he was an American" protested
the authoress, land 30 much of ths
story hinged on his nationality. When
he saves the flag"
| "That won't matter" said the editor.
| "His father might have emigrated to
America, you know, and succeeded to
the title later, when he had grown too
! much attached to the land of the Stars
and Stripes to 60 back"
"But 1 dwell so on his American
characteristics, his shrewdness and en-
erRy. and especially his sense of hu-
NOR" said the literary aspirant.
"We can suppose he had Yankee
mother. That fixes it," said the editor.
"Um," said the literary sspirant.
"1hen make a change in the end"
the editor went on. II killed off the
woman's husband in a railway acci-
dent, and let Sir Gerald marry her.
Those artistic endings that don't
leave you anywhere in particular won't
go down in a newspaper. You must
always finish up with something def
mite. like a funeral or wedding
march,"
"But he had a wife already" cried
the authoress.
"By jove! Had he? hadn't noticed
that, said the eQltOr.
The authoress looked hysterical.
at tells about her in the very first.
Don't you remember?" she exclaimed.
''She lost her mind from an illness and
took violent dislike to him, so that
he could never go near her, though he
could not get a divorce"
II ought to have had her killed in
that same accident-found lying be-
- Lo hn
editor thoughtfully. ITS too late now.
death. didn't have time to think of
details"
The literary aspirant stared defect
edly at the waste basket, and did not
speak.
"Now. about this story I'm going to
run next week." the editor went on. 1
want you to make few changes in it."
"Yes, let me do them myself" said
the literary aspirant eagerly.
"You want to do the pathetic little
heavier" said the editor. Here is
child has seriouJ illness and you dis
pose of the fact in three lines. That's
wasting an opportunity"
"But he gets we'll. and it isn't very
important to the story" said the au-
thoress.
"Never mind; take him up to deaths
door, personally conducted" said the
editor. dwell on the wasted little
hands and the feeble voice that Was
once SO rosy, have climax and then
the turn for the better, and general joy
and Thanksgiving"
"But it will make the story too long,"
objected the literary hack.
Gut that character study part, then,"
said the editor. 'It's clever, but the
story will go just as we'll without it.
And be sure you work in mother-love
and Valley Of the Shadow. They al
ways take. You want to use the
mother more"
"But, you know, she wasn't fond of
the child" explained the authoress.
"She was hard and cold, and he was in
convenient. The story all depends on
her being that kind OF woman"
"It won't do," said the editor, decid-
edly. "She's got to adore that kid
sooner or later, or the story won't go
at all. Bring them together in that ILL.,
nese. There's good chance for you
awakening Of dormant affection and
all that"
II don't see how I'll manage the end,