The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-01-06

YOU up, but since you honored me with
that visit the other day in my dingy
sanctum. shedding a brief light upon
my dreary toil-er-so to speak
How strange it is" said the girl.
that literary people always speak OF
their work as if it were terribly dis
tressing! Really, it must require
strong sense Of duty to keep them at
It."
"Do you not find it so yourself" Alb
bolt asked.
Goodness exclaimed the girl. "You
don't suppose that regard myself as
literary persona"
Il surely think that you have the
right" responded Abbott. "And that
brings me to my only excuse for this
intrusion. l have been thinking of
your story, and 1 have been quite dis
satisfied with what said about it the
other day. Upon more mature re1ec-
ton l have become convinced that,
with Il few trifling alterations, it will
be acceptable for the magazine"
please don't let's talk about il" pro-
tested the girl. I'VE have talked of it
SO much here that
Surely you have not lost confidence"
exclaimed Abbott. But Of course that
is natural The way of every artistic
calling lies largely through the valley
of the shadow. AS to this particular
bit of work, however, assure you that
it is very creditable, and you will do
yourself a wrong if you permit dis
Encouragement to destroy your faith
Miss Leigh laughed nervously: and
glanced at Hilyard.
Neither my faith nor my discourage
ment is of much importance" she said.
.'And my opinion about the story is, of
course. worth nothing at all in such
presence as this. But Mr. Hilyard has
read it.
"Indeedr' said Abbott, squirting
! through his glasses at the author. His
criticism should be, of value. Mr.. Hill
yard has written a great many stories,
and some of them have been really ex-
cellent. We have printed one now and
them
when I've been at club stag or
! bachelor dinner" said Hilyard, land
wake up the next morning with that
sad view of the dreariness and empti-
ness of life which comes to a fellow at
such times l always sit down and
write a story for your magazine"
''There is no limit to the eccentricities
of genius" said Miss Leigh.
Undoubtedly" said Hilyard. But
really, Abbott. l think you've made a
mistake about In the Light of the
Moon 1t is very clever story"
| Abbott put the ends of his fingers
carefully together and gazed thought
fully down at them. Then he looked
| up.
Il have been giving the subject d
studious attention. he said. "and the
result is that have become convinced
that the matter Of the resemblance be-
tween the two sisters may be entirely
eliminated without detriment to the
story; indeed with positive benefit"
81 thought that the whole plot turn
| ed on it," said Miss Leigh timidly.
Abbott assumed the air of a gentle
and patient schoolmaster.
''It is true" he said, that a certain
number of the incidents must be modi-
fed, perhaps even excised, but the plot
is quite secondary matter in such a
delightful bit of writing. There will
be enough action. assure you, and we
shall be rid of the jarring improba-
bility involved in your herO's mistaking
one of the sisters for the other 1t is
distinctly humorous. of course. l smil-
ed repeatedly while reading it. And
! yet the fact remains that in real life
we never find similar state of af-
fairs"
"My dear Mr.. Abbott" said Hilyard.
''in house where boarded for two
! years there were twin brothers upward
of forty years old who from their infancy
| had reSembled each other so closely that
only their nearest intimates pretended to
| be able to distinguish one from the other
| They were called Uncle Billy and Uncle
! Willie in that house, though neither of
them was really named William. Night
| after night l saw them sitting side by
| side at the dinner table, but l never knew
which was which, for the one who came
to the table first always took the chair
| uPoH luS IiSHl, Though L SnOulU never
| have known ii if the landlady hadn't told
me. They dressed precisely alike, they
were growing gray in exactly the same
degree and bald in precisely similar areas.
and it was said that not even their den
fist knew Uncle Billy from Uncle Willie"
oh say, Hilyard!' exclaimed Abbott.
you are so terribly-er-imagin ative!'
II am telling you the frozen TRUTH" re-
| sponded Hilyard. Moreover these BROTH
ers excited my interest in the subject to
such an extent that l investigated several
cases of resemblance which they them
selves happened to know of, and / found
among other curiositieS three sisters who
were as much alike as three impressions
from the same page of type, and an uncle
and nephew who We're not only the pre-
else images of each other, but wrote ex-
actly the same hand. This is a very triv-
ial matter, Brother Abbott, but it con-
| tains lesson for you. There are more
things in this world that you won't be-
lieve than would fill your ma gazine with
good stuff for a hundred years. Go out
side your office and find some of them"
I'm afraid that l lack your enthusi-
asm, said Abbott. you go out and see
what you wish to see, while 1 see only
what is real and tangible But about this
story, Miss Leigh