Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-10-14
been married the month before.

| been married the month before.
Even Joe Matthewson, who had
| himself been writing for ten yaers or
more, and connected editorially with
the big newspapers, even Joe did not
realize that magazine may carry
unpublished manuscripts in it's safe
for period of quarter of century.
He had read jokes about such things,
but these he had considered as eXag-
gerations. Probably some of the
things he had read were exaggerated,
but during his first day as assistant
after all, the comic papers had en-
larged less than he supposed.
In a great safe he found bundles
of dusty MSS. some of them very old.
When he ventured to mention the
matter to his chief the latter laughed.
Accommodations of ages" he said.
"Most of them good probably once,
but held up for one reason or other
until they were out of date or didn't
suit some new policy of the magazine,
or maybe we got something better in
the same line. There might be some
among the old ones that we could use
now, though-old things are good
every seven years, you know. When
you want a little recreation look them
over
The managing editor had intended
the last remark half in jest, but Joe
being the new. broom" in the office
was determined to 'sweep clean"
and look them over he did.
1t took a long while, for their were
more of them than he had calculated
upon. The Oldest one had been there
since the first month of the maya
zines publications. misfit from the
start, and bought probably in the fear
that enough good fits would not be
easily obtained. These things made
Joe sad for he had tender heart,
and being a writer himself he knew
that the mere money return is only
small part Of the writer's reward.
He could close his eyes and imagine
the ambitious young authors waiting
month after month for the appearance
of their work, finally giving UP in de-
spair for profession in which the re-
wards were either purely material or
at least not so long deferred.
But the managing editor, who had
grown hardened with time, feigned
Indifference.
$50 much the BETTER" he laughed.
''The fellows that wrote some of those
things and quit, are most likely presi-
dents of railroads or life insurance
companies by this time, with salaries
of fifty thousand year. II they'd
kept on writing they'd been poorer
now than when they'd started"
Joe came to the end of the great
pile one afternoon. The last MSS.
bore the date of twentysix years be-
fore, and was written in a queer
schoolgirl sort of a hand. The paper
was yellow and ink-faded, but the lit
tie story of a country life it told was
as fresh and tender and life-breathing
today as when the imaginative, warm
blooded girl had been made glad by
it's acceptance, and, lying in the tall
grass and looking up at the blue sky
and calling herself an author, found
the world good, because she believed
/ that somewhere in it was high place
which she might one day hope to win.
Perhaps psychologically something
of all this came to Joe as he sat star
ing out on the crowded square, that
was NO longer crowded square, but
green fields and sunlit river of the
little forgotten tale.
"What's the matter, Matthewson?"
asked the managing editor when Joe
came in and laid the yellow MSS. on
his desk. "You don't look WE'LL"
"I'm not I'm heartsick at the
thought of the girl who could write
that story waiting and growing old
without seeing it printed. We haven't
better thing in the safe, and never
will have"
The managing editor saddened lit
tie, too.
"Oh, we'll we are all growing old
together" he said; then he picked up
the story and ran his eyes down the
first page.
"Why, yes, I remember this" he
continued 81 thought this charm
ing piece of work at the time and
wrote to the author for more. She
never sent anything else, and for that
reason I hesitated about using this.
feared it might not be original. The
handwriting is rather girlish, you see,
and I was rather young then, and
couldn't afford to get caught. Then
by-and-by forgot it. No doubt itswas
all right. And I wish we could get
stories like that today. ] suppose the
author died, or married, or some
thing"
Perhaps" said Joe, "but I'd stake
my life on it being her own work.
Suppose we try to find out what be-
u