The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-30
ADORE people who observe even so
slight an incident as the little COM

II
slight an incident as the little COM
1 edles and tragedies that are enacted
before ones eyes at the crossing of the
streets and who suggest that this and
that would make a good STORY 1t IS
positively fascinating to have some one
say, II saw q little thing today that made
me think of you, because it would be
clever story or to have one say do
you want something to write about today
for, If you do, know a story at once
beautiful and pathetic"
Only yesteday some one remarked that
there was a STORY" just outside this
office. an homogeneous story of woman
in rags and tatters begging for bread,
and the homogeneous part of 1t was that
in striking contrast to her faded ana
wretched attire was the appearance OF
little colored boy who seemed to have
been in her employ. He was attlred SINH
larly to the employees in the hotels known
as buttons" and there was no indiea-
ton that he was at all familiar with
the phase of Hopeless poverty so indelf-
bly, stamped upon the woman's face.
The December winds swept along the
avenue and the crossings of the streets
were busy places, and the woman In her
RAGS and faded sunbonnet might have
been carried against the grey stone. And
vet the woman might have been dreaming
of the flesh pots of Egypt for all her
annearance of abject poverty. There
was something that indicated luxury
loving past, something that suggested
the memory of other Christmas tides
when perhaps, a little messenger boy
had brought her roses, or double Vloieta.
oh" 1 said, don't let us write about
her. | simply cannot today. Some DAY we
will write a book and put her In It, but
she is too real for a story. Ana theh
we should have an illustrator TO make
drawing, a grey day full of rnlsts and
the street crossing, the woman with the
faded gown and whose one luxury is the
little buttons who beg for her.
"Then there should be a Towering win
dow in the background with masses of
mink roses and violets and"-
"Oh." said, 81 cannot bear to think
she ever had violets sent to her because
It would make things so doubly hard for
her now"
And we fell to watching the people who
passed her without even glancing in her
direction.
at know a little romance" said wom-
an yesterday, slipping tea, that really
ought to get in the papers and am GO
ing to tell you about it, but you must
not call any names. 1t is a story that had
n SEQUEL in the Philippines and began
lust at the beginning of the Cuban cam
paign."
Then she told the romance in her pretty
way. of the girl whose sweetheart went
70 the front and of her accidental and
interesting meeting with her former
sweetheart and his wife who were spend
ing their honeymoon on the southern
coast. of all the gossip connected with
the affair and of the recent marriage of
the girl.
TT would make a 'storyette' like the
magazines are printing" 1 suggested,
"You could change the situations some
what and stll loose none of the interest"
"But 1t is to be your storyettes,'" she
insisted land if I were you I would send
1t to a magazine"
1--WE will collaborate," I told her, and
we discussed our storyette very much as
we some times do the proper ingredients
for salad.
LET us call the girl Miss Dithmar,'
she said. II have always fancied that
name"
we decided to call Miss Dithmars
sweetheart Kelley. and the incident of
Miss Dithmars chance meeting with her
former sweetheart whom we named
Mattherson occurred at Old Point Com
fort, at the time that Commodore
Schley's squadron received orders from
the war department to sail southwark.
we made Mattherson one of the num-
berless young southerners who had join
ed the newspaper colony in New York
and who now with young Mrs. Matther-
son was passing the time very happily
along the coast. 1t was the life they
wanted, and Mattherson familiar with
the southern coast line selected. or rather
we did for him, Old Point Comfort for
a quiet week in May
We made Kelley a young naval officer
aboard battleship anchored off Old
Point Comfort and Miss Dithmar, proper
ly chaperoned, was staying at one of the
hotels when the Matthersons suddenly
made their appearances.