The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1906-02-10
SEleft Storp.
A Legal Tender Valentine.

Ing novelist and had responded brilliantly
to trite sentiment His was, beyond
comparison, the speech of the evening,
and nobody applauded it more enthusiast
eallv than Mr.. Barton, the banker. Later
in the evening Mr. Barton sought an IN
PRODUCTION and led Edgar to the reading
room, where he might have him all to
himself.
Winslow, mellowed by more wine than
it was his custom to drink and tempted by
the great bankers fattering interest, told
much of his personal history aud more Of
his ambition. He had really accomplished
little as vet, he said-some short stories
and few verses in the magazines were
the sum Of his achievement-but he had
long cherished the central idea Of novel
which when written would, he hoped. 1t
was profoundly impressive the way he
modestly refrained from saying what he
hoped.
Mr.. Barton was more than ever under
the spell Of the Young man : delightful
usiasm-anl the wine. Why was the
great novel unwri,ten? The banker had
his suspicious He asked shrewd queS
,ions. adroitly invited condolences and at
last convinced himself. Then, having fixed
a date when Edgar should dine with him
and his family, he reluctantly let the III
teresting guest rejoin the general company.
An hour or So later the banker. hat in
hand. babe Winslow good night, handing
him a sealed envelope with the request
that he ''lOok over this manuscript when
he reached home
Ia his little hall bedroom late that night
Edgar opened the envelope and found $500
in currency. accompanied by friendly
note which begged thousand rardous
protested that the paltry loan vas made in
the interest of literature, expressed the
hope that IL would enable the author 10
wriie the great novel Al uuce and assured
him that Mr. Barton was hi ardent al
nircr. Mr.. Barton and, j, might have
added to some extent the vine
To the credit Of his good sense be IL
said. Edgar did D., deem himself insulted.
Ifhc fclr touch of modification It vas
because be had invited this aid By talking
,oo freely Of his private Affairs But the
question was. could he afford in the CIR
cumsiauc,= 10 Accept the loan? He was
shamcfuily IN arrears 20 his kindly old
lAndlady and knew that shc needed money.
There we're other debts. ,oo,--a feS small
amounts advanced by friends who could Ill
afford such generosity And then the
chance TO wriie the novel He ended the
controversy in his mind By resolving to send
: prumisScry note to Mr.. Barton, due on
the 18th Of the following February.
This seemed bu.inessliSe and, as he hs
urcd il. would give him time to write and
dispose Of the novel. for hope. you know,
springs eternal in the literary breast, fact
which, By the way, Is great thing for
literature
Mr.. Barton vas little ashamed pf
himself next morning. To be- sure, the
$500 was a mere yess pocket amount, but
the principle Of the thing was the same.
He had let his emotions se, the better Of
him in 4 matter Of money. aud ,hA, vas
not business Moreover, he bad invited
an inpecunious young fellow to dine At his
house. and there Wa no telling to what
annoysnce- that indlscrc,iou NIGH, lead.
If the banker was a bit cool in bis wcl
oume when Edgar came 20 the dinner tho
Young man did not notice IL. His attcn-
,ion was too much absorbed by the sruk-
ing beauty Of the daughter who stood be
side her father The meeting Of their
eyes was Ike the touch Of two electrified
wires. In that instant a spark was struck
which time was TO fan into raging fame
Mrs Barton, too, soon yielded 10 the spell
of Edgars win>ome ways and. despite the
mild cautioninss Of her husband, opened
the door Of her home to the charming
young author.
As usual in such cases, the head OF the
house was the foot of the class in point Of
knowledge as 10 what vas going on It
was only when Mr. Barton consent vas
asked as a sort of formal ratification that
he learned how far matters had progressed
Then he put his foot down. Young Win
Slow was well enough in way-a yerv
pleasant fellow, in fact, for once in awhile
but--oh, well, be was not to be considered
in any other light
But be was considered, and amid cop
ious tears a, that,
why, my child, the banker said,
softening under his daughter grief he
hash dollar to his name He can t
even manage for one, to say nothing OF
two. He Is living at this moment on Dor
rowed capital, with no reasonable hope Of
being able to pay it back.
"Oh, yes, he has Alviva answered
confidently. Il know all about that $500,
and you were dear, good papa to let him
have it. He'll pay it back, you'll see,
and with good interest. just wait till his
novel comes out. Oh, papa, if you only
knew how grateful he is to you'
Grateful or ungrateful, my dear, said
Mr.. Barton. Il don't believe he viii
ever pay it. How many Of the novels
written ever see daylight? Not one in a
thousand And of those that are pub
lished not one in a hundred yields anything
for the author"
but Edgar is different, the daughter
persisted II am sure it will succeed
Oh, wish YOU could hear him read it
You would say SO yourself "
She RECALLED her father with portions Of
it that she had learned by heart, literally
by heart. And her beautiful trust in the
conquering power Of the man she loved
warmed M Barton even more than the
wine at the club dinner had done. To
avoid being led to do something sentimen-
tally foolish again he went away TO think
alone And the wise result of his medita-
tions was that he must convince his daugh-
ter rather than rule her against her con-
victions.
Winslow note would be due in less than
a month, and the banker knew enough of
the situation to believe that it would not
be paid at maturity. If it were not, then
Alviva herself might see the matter in a
more reasonable light At any rate, she
would be likely to accept the compromise
of postponement. And there was hope in
even that.
1t was St. Valentines day, but Edgar
Wiaslow, standing in the morning by his
hall bedroom window, was thinking of
something more important than paper
hearts. For weeks he had waited In paiu-