Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-01-08
SOME TALES


Among weird fiction there ara Tow
novels 10 compete with 1.-THE strange
story OF Dr.. Jckyll aud Mr.. Hyde"
and the story Of tn Inception In almost
a. strange M the work Itself. says thu
~. Louis Globe Democrat.
Stevenson. II appears. had dealings
with u man named Samuel CreGgan
aud did not like him. He's Z man
who trades on the Samuel" averrei
the novelist, "He receives you with
oanusl's nnfile on his face. but every
now and then you catch q glimpse OF
the Creggan peeping ont like 4 white
ferret, Cregyan's the rsal man; sam;
uSl's only superficial"
This was what gave Stevenson the
trSt tiea Tor the dual personality Of
Jekyll and Hyde, but ~ dld net begin
One, niahS. however. Ma .stsysasoa.
.awak1ned W cries Of horror from her
htabAIi, aud thinking that 10 had .
Nightmare, aroused hlm. lie was quite
augry. I
why nd you wake NOR h. satsd.
II was drsaualhg q 6ns bogy tale"
Ne ut % at oMcs and hpotn writing
In Z soet Of feves. Hla biographse. Mr..
Osbeagns, says that IL y douhtfvl
wAs(hsr, ~ Arst dsatt tsda Mn O.
leag @ thres days. !.
7~'@rrsasase Island." by the saneAu 10
~. had 1 b~sSipning almsst equally
One day Robert Louis Stevenson waa
playing with 4. boz 0f water colorl
bslonsins to his 'stepson. and idly drew
and coOred a map Of an imaginary
island To quote his own words:
1T was deliberately and. I thought
beautifully colored: the shape Of Il
took my fancy beyond expression: 4
contafned harbors that pleased me like
sonpetp. and, with the unconsciousnesa
Of the predestined. I tIcketed II Treas
ure Island The next thing I knew
hAA some paper before m and wa.
writing out = list Of chapters"
The, upshot was that for the next
afteep days Stevenson wrote lIka ON
possessed. turning out q chapter q day
Then ne lost hold. and It was weeks
before the inspiMtion came again. bu'
when 1t did Treasure island" nowet
from him like small talk" and Ri
serially. In = chlidren's paper.
Is II. back 4 good many years
storiess attach to almost every Q o.
CharleS Dickens novels.
Door. After the "Pickwick Papers,
had 4haife their smaslng sucqesa
\ EtckSds happened to visit the studji
Loo Oe0ege Cruikshank. and there VA
SI6wns edms drawings. Of the career .
! Lcndsa MIA.
\. Anank these was I sketch Of Fagin'
dan and ! picture Of Bin Skies
Dickens WI at tle,tilnt engaged upoI
'1tbi5idsal " y Sstk1ip1ue 1tury. 4sadsth
fesult Of this chance visit was ''Oilvs
Txlst." as It was sooif afterward pull
liAlfed. ssss sfss 1s*-y 4 s. -fss s*s'
As for nicholas Nickleby." Their
does not seem much doubt that til
great novelist conceived the idea o
Dotheboys Hall from the advertise
ment Of Mr.. simpsons. acatiemy
Wooden Croft lodge, Yorkshire. whicI
be saw In an old copy Of the Times.
The famous Captain Kettle. the mos
popular creation OF Cutclife Hyne
was originally a character In a com
paratiyely little known story by tn
tall Yorkshireman.
Mr.. Hyne, who at the time had hard
~ got his foot on the ladder Of fame
took the story to = well known LondoI
editor and publisher. After criticism,
the yarp In rather merciless fasAion
i the editor said:
IAN the same. The little - Ssptaia i
yotr best character. ana youaptgbt d
r. able To- do scusthiag With hin. @vhc
.aot make him tie harO q I segsss .
short storles?"
Fergus Hume has told the STORY D
bow he came to write .'The. Mystery 0
aSH1nsom' CabH He was in Melb0nrn
, at tie time. aud In nnAnciai straits. 10
-1he had entirely failed to- dispose "
play to which be had Stysn much time
q He thought be might Do bsttsr Wit
Z book. but Tue question: wlss t'wha
sort Of bookY" After some considerl
tion he went to the teading Melbourn
j librarian and Gsked s$kias question
esvvysSA A->Asee