The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1904-09-21
TIE FATE or
a DREA1ER


Emery Melvin was ue.er uo Ven
a friend or his once said 10 him. EN-
cry you're . dreamer, and the worst
Kind Of . one.'' That made the young
fellow sick ut heart. but he loved a
girl who comforted him By saying;
ssSeyer mind. Emery. II you were
made n dreamer the worst kind OF
one means that you are very much OF
d dreamer, and its better TO be good
deal OF one thing than listle1of every
thing
However. Emery gave up dreaming
Tor awhile-at least he thought he did
went to work ct the trade he had learn
ed. carpentry. and married. Hope Clark,
the girl Who had comforted him. But
it was not long before lie TELL to dream
Inc, again. lie worked daily at his
trade. but made very poor success al
it. His mind was not on his work. bit
on fanciful pictures that We're constant
" coming up before him. A troop Of
actors coming to the town where he
lived. he went to sec them. The neXs
day while he was saving boards and
driving nails he was constructing a
play. For several years he continued
to coniure up characters. making them
move. puppet fashion, before his brain
in various combinations. Then he
gradually developed plan. He knew
nothing about playwritinS. but nat
uraI instinct told him that he must IN
vent the things that his puppets would
do before writing out what they would
saw. So he took some checkers and
marked them with the names Of his
characters and moved them on and off
his supposed stage, which was the
checkerboard. and in this way they
performed for him.
Meanwhile his wife stood by him
She wished he was not a dreamer, but
II he had not been she would not have
loved him so Wen. She took good care
of what little money he earned ana
made it go a great way. But children
were coming on rapidly, and the poor
woman was worked nearly TO death
sone dry when Emery was out OF
Job he concluded to go to the city and
srlBmit his play to an expert. He did
so. and the expert handed the play
back TO him with the verdict that It
was rubbish. Emery was not used 70
stagecraft, lie said, and had lot OF i'm
possible situations. Emery, very much
discouraged, went back home with his
manuscript. but his wife, whose name
was well chosen, bid him not despair,
but send it around to theatrical man
suspicious that the manuscript was not
being read. Before sending II out again
he stuck together several of the pages
in different parts, and when the manu-
script came back to him these pages
had not been separated. showing that
his suspicious We're correct. Then he
put his plny in closet, where Il lay foi
several years, she dust gradually thick
eninG upon it.
One day he saw in newspaper that
a certain manager who had been
bounded by dramatic authors because
he produced such poor plays ana de
clined their very good ones had decided
10 offer prize of SOC for play The
Judges were not TO be the regular Ora
y.aaic readers. but representative lat.
erary men and women. Emery bundled
up his play and sent it to the address
given.
IT was three months after this and
the whereabouts of the play We're al,
most forgotten when one day Emery
received notice that his play had won
the prize A check for $500 was IN
closed, syith a blank receipt and u note
sratins. that within two months the
pIay ,yculL be put on the stage.
The coming of the play did not seem
&c make. much of q STIR in dramatic cir
,.tes. Hope saw an item in "A newspa'
per sneerlngIy referring to the mans
ayers prize plan as an advertising
dodge that would not pay. but she
burned the paper before her husband
saw il. At first Emery had great eN-
pectations for his play, but his VIE
fearing that he would be disappointed
told him that she doubted II more thhn
the $500 received would come Of IT.