Evening star., 1905-08-20
CITY DI%OVERER
MEETS AN AUTHOR

what learned and distin gushcd looking
individual the City Discoverer remarked
the other afternoon when in The course Of
one of his long and favorite rambes
through Rock Creek Park he came upon a
tall. slender and Immediately dressed
stranger sitting on a bench by the roadside.
II am sure he must be an extremely inter
esting convcrSationalist. I'll speak to him
And the City Discoverer advanced. hat in
hand his mild blue eyes beaming with
rricndiness behind his goid-rimmed glasses.
"Good-day SIR" sad the City Dscoverer-
"A beautiful day. is II not?''
The stranger bowed. Good afternoon.
he replied pleasantly. Yes. il is indeed
beautiful day, rather / should say de-
lightful, or perhaps even charming would
b. the better word to Indicate the thought
tense of my then mood although the mood.
as 1t were. is not actually dependent upon
the momentary flash of the brain lens by
which the mental Cameras fortuitous
preston that-receivcs and retains uncon-
sciously until developed the suspended i'm
preston"
The City Discoverer turned his fascinated
gaze away from the learned looking strang-
and rubbed his head with fat palm.
I'm afraid" he began ruefully. that
l.
The whole question. continued the
stranger. toying negligently with his eye
glass. ''or perhaps l should restrict myself
to a mention OF that portion OF the whole
which l have touched upon rather indi-
Gated. but at any rate the subject. to be
general and not too closely bound TO the
text OF atmospheric phenomena related
or subjunctiveIy co-Joined it were. To
u.s. more clarified analogy, IL something
IL which the ordinary. or even the average.
denizen or this or that OF any other cline
gives but too little OF his or even her mo-
mentS of profound and sustained mental
activity"
The City Dscoverer swayed dizzily and
clutched at the bench for support. Real
ly. he said as lie stared at the stranger
with open mouth, Il haven't an idea
That" continued the stranger. tapping
his eyeglass against his chin and smiling
slightly at the Discoverer. rs statement.
an authorized personal utterance. l may
say, which in the ordinary course OF con-
versation. or even in the maze OF arSumen-
tat.ve dlsputation, would well be termed
characterized is perhaps the better word,
in the nature of a hyperbohc fantasy.
utt ered, or IN way unconsciouSiy set
forth. IN a moment OF overquick colloquial
coEuivlng and not imbued, SO FAR as is dis
celnioie, from a brief retrospection Of the
lncidentals. with the essentials OF original
accuracy
Tne CITY Discoverer mopped his brow and
bT he'd heavily.
Sir he biurted out hastily. i don't
know what you are taking about
The learned-looking stranger permitted
himself TO smile.
Even in casual conversation he said
musiugly, Il am Invincibiy uniRtelligibie.
You certainly are" said the Discoveier
shortly.
BE not offended" said the stranger gent
iy, If you have not been able to follow
agsAtlt itlItI I'M wv
me lame and fortune and IN d way IT has
become second nature. or rather. 1 should
say, ii has in a measure raised itself to De-
In u way
Please" said the Discoverer desperately.
stick 10 short sentences and words OF one
syllable.
The stranger waved an assent with his
eyeglass ~ hen l was a young man., he
said Il determined to become an author.
| wrote and wrote and wrote. My stories
were marvels of clearness: my sentences
We're short and straightforward and power
tui; my plots unfOloed on approved lines
But l met with, poor success. Ihen my
knowledge Of human nature came to my
aid. Win the aid of an unabridged die
tonary l completed a manuscript that had
neither beginning nor end 1t was al mid
die and ali muddle. No one reading that
wonderful production Of mine could possi-
bly, discover what had happened. was hap
pening or about to happen. oldn
know myself But II was accepted ana
published and was immensely successful
Gracious" said the City Discoverer.
quite So" continued the stranger. That
was my opinion al the time After that
first success all was easy. My reputation
has been steadily growing and with the
passing years. each story l write Is less
irtelligible than the one Immediately pre-
ceGing. Formerly my shortest sentences
contained not less than eighty-five words.
By careful work, aided by experience, l
have increased that limit until now my
shortest sentences contain not less than
one hundred and sixty-three words. L have
gone high as four hundred and fifty and
have gained additions unintellig1bly there
by. ! am now at work on short story
Of three thousand words. which shall con-
tain but one sentence. 1t will be more
unintelligible than anything l have yet
done, and will, I fancy. be correspOndingly
successful. Those persons who have sufs
ficent mentality to form and express a
dispa raging opinion of the alleged litera>
ture for which 1 am responsible buy my
books and obtain considerable mental re.
taxation trying TO find out what I'm trying
to say. Those who not in this class
buy my books and read them because it's
quite the proper thing Altogether my lot
is a happy l growing more and
more unintelligible all the time and my
fame is likewise growing apace. Royalties.
too, are not to be forgotten
The City Discoverer rose from the bench
and prepared to depart The latter por-
ton of this conversation" he said pleas
antly, has been quite instructive. l should
very much like to know who you are. But
quite briefly he added in alarm, the
stranger began TO play negligently with
his eyeglasS.
"As you will replied the stranger with
trace of irritation in his tones. My
name Is Henry James"
Goodness, said the City Discoverer as
he wandered homeward In a pensive mood
who would have thought it?'