Bisbee daily review., 1903-02-20
Making a Chump
 Of a Hero
GOriginaLl

llldt ll MOulu DS ulCe TOT us 10 Ludhe story tOgetherY'
 We were sitting in the library in easy chairs, before log fire. Story writing ! was a part of my work, and did 1t for pay. Therefore 1 discouraged Ju- ha's plan.
 There's too much shop about it for n ," l said.
 But I'm curious to know how these things are done. Come; yield to me for once. How do you beginF'
 ''The first thing to determine upon is a plan. To tell the truth, one seldom strikes an original subject for a story, but if one is handy at the business he may take an old theme and serve it up daintily, so as to give it the flavor of originality. In all or nearly all stories there are a male lover and a female lover, a viP'-
 You mean a man who has given his heart to a woman who responds to his passion
 'Yes; that's it when we get it on pa per, but before that we say first-Io take a common subject-here's the man lover, here's the woman loycr-or loveress, if you prefer it. And now for the complications. Experience teaches us to avoid details that are very com mon. Don't make the lover and lover ess''-
 'I wish you'd find other names for them"
 spoon in the conservatory"
 Its delightful place for lovemak ing"
 That's the reason story makers al- ways use it. Then don't make the lover rescue the-the girl from a fire The firemen are the ones to do that fl 1t must be done at all.'
 Never mind the don'ts. Get on with the story"
 Well, first we'll give them names The lover is Charles. Perhaps wed better make him young lawyer: the loveress-l mean the loved One-iS Lucy, and the villain is an officer of the United States army who distin- guished himself in the Spanish war"
 What funny kind of villainr' cried Julia, suddenly looking up at me "Wherein does his villainy consistE"
 Tn loving the heroine"
 But Captain"- She stopped and coloFed
 Captain Pebbles, to give him a name is really not so much to blame as Lucy. who fails to see Charles advantages and insists on giving her heart to the captain. You see, the villainy is in the military trappings that have induced so many girls to lead garrison lives who might otherwise have had comfortable homes"
 II see" said Julia, wagging her toe on a foot rest, but I don't think that has anything to do with it if she loves him"
 Well, to go on with the story. Lucy gives Charles the grand bounce. mean she dismisses him as a lover. though she retains him as friend You see, Charles has loved her a ions while and she was always very nice tO him till the captain came along, when she changed like a weather vane"-
 Nothing of the kind. l mean yOu can't make a heroine of a girl as ficklC as that"
 That is what Charles thinks about it, so after bearing Lucy's acceptance of the captains attentions for seme time he just buttons up his coat, puts on his hat with a slap on the crown. crams his hands into his trousers pOck, cts and goes of by himself, perfectly indifferent"
 Wouldn't it be nice complication to have him suddenly struck with an. other girl?" asked Julia, gfancing at me sidewise. And then he finds out when it is too late that Lucy's acceptance of the captains attentions were simply the result of pique."
 "H'm. It seems that we are going all wrong. The lover and lOveress lex cuse the word; can't find another) ap- pear 10 be very commonplace people. easily made jealous without cause, es- pecially the girP'-
 J"YOu mean the man."
 Well. never mind which is to blame. The villain turns out to be the only sen sible one of the lot, and q real hero in military way if not as d lover"
 Lets have it t2,at the captain is en- gagged to another girl all the while"
 "WhatT'
 Yes; the captain is engaged and has made Lucy his confdant."
 That won't do.'
 Why notY'
 Because it will make the hero of the story appear like an overjealous chump. Besides, the heroine has no business to have secrets from her real lover"
 Do heroines go about revealing con fidences:"
 scratched my head thoughtfully. Ead set out to make my principal man ! hero. Julia had shaped him gander ''I'H tell you what we'll do." I said at last ''Thackeray made a hero in Van ity Fair of Major DObbin, who started in as a chump. Suppose we reverse the process and make chump of the hero" We don't need te do that The hero has made a chump of himself" I turned and met a merry pair Of eyes and smile.