The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-01-03

along but slowly and with mucn effort
Before they started on that long, por-
tentous journey of two hours, Fielding had
received his final instructions in the pri-
waite office of the head doctor. internal
ly.' said the little great man, carefully
weighing each word, "he is as well as you
OF The may outlive either or both OIL us.
You understand it is just as If you had
smashed the case of a beautiful watch,
hui the works had been left unimpaired.
/ think he had the best frame and the best
constitution | have ever met with in a
Icing practice-of course 1t was these that
pulled him through. What he will need
low, and you must try very hard to help
him to it, is courage-always courage.
Courage to look into a mirro1-courage to
forget. And, above all, try to keep up his
interest in things and make him work,
york continuously-the more the better"
Il understand, DOCTOR, said Fielding,
land I'll try very hard" Then he found
his friend and together they started on
their journey.
The stars were out and a young silver
11oon hung over them when they reached
the little town of Pleasant Harbor John
Ferguson, the old Scotchman who was to
be Kerrigans servant, met them at the
station and drove them in closed car
liage to the home that Fielding had pre-
Pared. During the past summer kerrigan
and Fielding had driven from the hotel in
the village over the road many times,
and on just such nights as this, sometimes
alone, when they always planned to buy
the white farmhouse for their old age;
and more often they had driven with
young girls, who laughed and sang with
them, just from the animal happiness Of
health and the sheer joy of living
They found Mary Ferguson, the wife of
John Ferguson, the Scotchman, standing
in the doorway, her broad, buxom frame
s:lLouetted against the square of yellow
light that flooded the room beyond.
III one corner of the room, just by the
window that looked out on the meadow
and the river beyond, they had placed q
broad desk, with all Kerrigan's writing
things on it, and besides these great
bowl of crimson ramblers.
He reached out his hand and laid it on
FieIding's arm. Its all quire wonderful,
Eert, he said-quite wonderful, just like
sunshine-and that's good, because you
see this room is my whole world now"
And this as events turned out was
largely true. AS the long days passed
Kerrigan seldom left the house, and then
only very late at night, when Ferguson
drove him in e closed carriage over the
deep, sandy roads.
The Scotchman went to the postoffice
for the mail every morning and again at
night and sometimes he received long
bulky letters, and at other times small
thin ones, with the name of some publish
ing house in the corner; but all of these
letters were addressed to John Ferguson.
The accounts at the village were paid by
checks signed by the same name, and later
on the name of John Ferguson began to
appear as an occasional contributor in the
better class of magazines. AS living
being Beauty Kerrigan had stepped aside
the day of the Canal street tenement
fire and had let the world pass on
AS human being he existed only for
Fielding and his two servants; as a
writer, he was slowly gaining place of
honorable distinction but the tributes to
fame that he had envied SO in others
the tinsel success that he hoped and
worked and prayed for in his youthful
days now that it was almost within
his grasp could never be his, be-
cause Beauty Kerrgan did not exist in
the eyes of the world.
But late in the spring of Kerrigans first
year at Pleasant Harbor he told Fielding
of "A drama he wanted to write. To be the
author of a successful play had always
been his ambition, and now he believed
that it was time to move on toward that
accomplishment.
And so for the next few months. Kerri-
gan gave up the short stories and the spe-'
cal articles and devoted himself to his
to Fielding his weeks work, and Fielding.
who HAD slight practical knowledge of
the stage would make suggestions and
revisions.
In the early fall Fielding carried the
manuscript back with him to New York
and gave it to the dramatic editor of his
paper, who, he knew, could at least obtain
for it the serious consideration of the
managers 1t was month later when
he wired to Kerrgan one morning that
manager had made an appointment with
hin. to talk over the play.
The manager sat behind very large fiat
uesk and divided his time about equally
between talking slowly and silently roll
ing a long cigar between his lips The
v ell-thumbed manuscript of the play lay
en- the desk in front of him, and during
the conversation he occasionally ran a
raper-cutter between it's pages and tapped
it thoughtfully on the blue cover.
IT don't want to produce this play
very much" he said. by way Of intro