The Yale expositor., 1908-06-26

The authors inflammable magma.
ton blazed up at this spark into
vivid fash OF generalization. This I'M
precedented circumstance promptly
translated itself into boundless wealth.
His daily expenses, II paid by checks
not too large In individual amount,
would be eagerly provided for by his
admirers, while his income remained
Intact. IL was a fortunate condition
of things beside which the resources
of Monte Cristo became insignificant.
He applied his nimble pen to this
new task with zeal He worked half
the day only upon his new novel, and
devoted the remainder to the congo
NAL labor of writing checks, equally
imaginative in point of value, that
were never to be paid In a short time
his second book duly appeared, and
its popularity exceeded, If possible,
that of his first. Thus encouraged,
Ticklemore employed an attractive
young woman as an assistant to do
the drudgery of filling in the amounts
and other details of the checks, and
saved his own strength for the labor
of signing them, thus doubling his
daily output.
His wholly unimpaired capital he in
vested in real estate in choice locali-
ties and in good bonds, displaying
considerable shrewdness in both lines
of investment Rut he did not permit
the cares of business to interfere with
the remunerative labor of writing
checks His literary labors suffered
somewhat from these encroachments,
but still he contrived, with the invalu-
able aid of his pretty amanuensis, TO
get out his third novel by the end of
the second year. Upon the day that 1t
was finished, after signing the usual
batch of checks made ready for him
by her careful hand, he signed an ad-
ditional one in blank-a most unwise
thing to do-reQuesting her to make it
out for a specified sum to her own or
der.
Pray accept this, my dear" said he
with an engaging smile, "as a slight
testimonial of my regard and appreci-
alton"
1t may have been due to the fact
that two very striking books by other
authors appeared at about the same
time, or there may really have been,
as the critical press insisted, falling
of in his work from the old standard
which had made him famous; but 1t
is certain that his third novel fell
rather fat, barely reaching second
edition in the first year. This. how
ever, he accepted philosophically, say
ing. Better luck next time" and went
on writing checks with the same reck-
less hand
One day, to his great surprise, he
received a polite notice from the bank
calling his attention to an overdraft
which he was requested to make good.
He went down to see about ii, and
found that six or eight hundred of his
recent checks had been unprecedent-
eddy presented for payment, quite ex-
hausting the comfortable balance
which he had left after his last pur-
chase of bonds. This disconnected
him a little, but he sold a few securi-
ties and made the loss good. At the
end of the month the balance which
he had thus restored was again ex-
hausted by an influx of checks which
made a package so large that they had
to be returned to him by express.
On looking them over the same
evening he discovered with dismay
that among those of recent date were
a good many earlier ones which bore
upon their backs stains of the mucil-
age by means of which they had been
attached to the pages of autograph
albums. Still he did not grasp the full
consequences of his fall from popular
ity, but met what he regarded as a
temporary reverse with the nonchal-
ance of a man of large resources.
He began to notice, however, a
change in the manner of the people at
the bank which disconnected him, and
the notices of overdrafts became at
the same time more frequent and
more peremptory. In response to
these he sold by degrees all his securi-
ties and finally his real estate and per-
sonal belongings, but still the flood Of
checks returned upon and absorbed
the proceeds of his sales.
The crisis came quickly. In answer
to an urgent demand for funds, he
had sold his last remaining assets to
the amount of some $500 and had
intrusted this sum to his typewriter to
deposit It, She had hardly time to
reach the bank when the cashier tele-
phoned for more money.
But have just paid in nearly $780,
O00," gasped Ticklemore.
"All checked out" came over the
unsympathetic phone.
Ticklemore fell back stunned in his
office chair, where his typewriter
found him ten minutes later.
well, Mary" he said feebly, its
all up"
Not on your life," said Mary, who.
though gifted in a practical way, still
lacked the higher culture.
"Ehl" said Ticklemore, sitting up.
was Il a false report, them"
NO" she replied. You're broke,
right enough; but after had banked