The Forrest City times., 1905-02-24
THEIR LIVES ANDLETTERS
By HENRY GALLUP PAINE
Copyright by Daily Story Pub. Col


 Ivl That is, she wrote verses and sen; ,aem to the magazines; but the regu- larity with which they came back to her declined with thanks" was beginning to cause some doubt on the subject e arise in her mind.
 One day, however she received a de iightfully appreciative letter from the office of the Weekly Symposium. sug- gesting two or three minor changes in sonnet she had submitted. and stat ing that if these met her approval. the poem would be accepted. The letter was signed Marion Fiske, Assistant Edi- tor"
 Here at last" thought Maynard. lis girl who sympathiZes with struggling genius" and she promptly wrote an equally appreeiative letter in reply. ac- cepting the editorial recommendations and inclosing another poem.
 She had noticed with some amuse- ment that the letter from the Symposi- um had been addressed to MT Maynard Barlow" and she decided not to disil- fusion the editor She did not wish to do anything that might cause Miss Fiske to take less interest in the papers new contributor
 "Confound my sponsors," said the young assistant editor of the Symposi- um the meet day, as he lighted cigar cite and ran over the morning mail. Heres another communication ad- dressed to Miss Marion Fiske, Hello. it's from that clever young chap. Bar low. He's not so slow either" unused Fiske, with a smile, as he laid down the letter. Trying to make an impression on the young lady editor eh, Well, the young lady editor will give him d run for sis money"
 Two or three days later. Maynard re- ceived quite long letter from fiske. ac- cepting the second poem, and encourag- ing her to try her hand at prose "There is not much demand for verse" wrote the assistant editor. "even for verse which is as nearly poetry as yours, - Maynard winced little at this-"but a man"-Maynard forgot the slight shock to her pride in the success of her lit- erary mpersonation-"wh can write as brilliant letter as yours should find a ready market for short stories and ar ticles Why not try your hand at some of our Filthy Paragraphs by Casual Con- tributors?'
 Then in fulfllment of his promise tc himself, he added a few shrewd obserya. tions on the literary life, leavened witt just enough of the personal equation t( draw forth characteristic, reply iron My dear Mir Barlow"
 This was the beginning of a spirited interchange of ideas and reflections which in spite of. or perhaps because of the misapprehension on which it wa: founded. ripened into a strong literar! friendship. The young editor especial ly. who fretted at the necessity whicl compelled him to slave at a desk and tc subordinate his own ideas to those O an unsympathetic chief. found vent ir his letters for many keen observation! on men and manners that he could no have printed even in the Symposium! "Pithy Paragraphs" and that wout have ieopardized his position if pub lished elseW here.
 ''I had at first some serupies in writins to you wrote Maynard to Fiske in tht early stages of their correspondence. "a, your ever welcome answers always con tained many fine marketabl ideas tha; hated to see wasted on a single unre munerative. if appreciative reader.
 ''i sa,d to myself as read them ove. a woman who can write letters lik. those is bound to have a career. ant then came a check from your house fo my latest poem, and l was sure Cf it
 'It then occurred to me that when yol became famous would come demand for your Life and Letters anG that i l encouraged you now Icould supply th, demand then. It is for this reason that my letters have of late assumed tone and character so closely resemb ling your own inimitable epistles. Tn, result has exceeded my expectations Your recent letters have been fine They are really literary productions.
 'I have thought it best. however, tC inform you of what I am doing, in ordel that you may not allow yourself to fai below the high standard you have set yourself, and so to injure your reputa. tion when the letters are eventually pub lished besides incidentally hurting the sale of the book