Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1911-04-26
A LOST
MANUSCRIPT
BY JOHN Y. LARNED
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1911.

was still very young. I was not at
all systematic and was consequently
always In trouble. finally received
lesson that made me change my habits.
One day i left the theater and had
entered a cab just about to start away
when a girls face appeared at the ,
window.
Beg pardon for stopping you" she
said. Are you Mr.. Closer. the man
agerT"
81 am"
Would you be so kind as to read a
play for me?"
1 had more plays than l could put
on the boards for two years. but the
girl had such winning smile that |
consented. / took n roll OF manuscript
from her; told her to call at my Office |
In a week and 1 would give her an |
answer.
| In a week she called.
Have you read my play7" she asked.
with that same winning smile L had
seen before.
"No; 1 have been very busy. I'm
sorry. Could you give me another
| weekr
Certainly. I'm in no great hurry"
"Well, come on this day week"
l went to my rooms and ransacked
every corner for that manuscript 1t
was nowhere to be found / must
have left 1t In the cab. But i had
picked the cab up on the street and
couldn't possibly know 1t from other
cabs l should have admitted the loss
and taken the consequences. But
was young and prided myself on my
ability to get out Of such scrapes.
would FIRST win the girls good will.
then confess and compromise the mat
ter as best l could.
When she called again l put her on
by Offering her two excellent seats for
the evenings performance. She said
they would be Of no use to her since
she had no escort. She smiled at me
so sweetly when she said this that !
D told her l would escort her myself
j I not only did so. but said several nice
things to her about the opening of
4 her play, few passages of which
q professed TO have read regretted
o doing so. however because she asked
i, me lot OF questions about IT which
: couldn't answer. ! got all mixed NJ
over 1t and was obliged to tell he
:, that i thought had got hold OF thu
=, wrong manuscript. When l left her
told her that three days should no
elnpse before / had read the play, ant
would be sure that It was her pla
~. and not some other authors play.
put the poor girl of for thre
months She was very nice TO m
H. about II all this time. but the furthe
es' l proceeded with my deception I'll
is further | sank in the miro. The worS
IT. part Of the matter was that when
week passed without my seeing her
found myself like topper without b
glass of grog.
'gs One day the girl came into my Off
of and told me that she had given Il
a. scenario OF her play dts skeletonl 10
rival manager. and he had assured h
I'D that II the dialogue was filled in effe
tn lively he would put 1t on the boards
pie once. When ! tried to put her
some more a beautiful bright tie
stood In her eye
When q man is fitting between
on difference and love for woman
out may be easily unbalanced on the 81
Ike of love by one OF those little glooul
In At any rate, l lost my balance. 1 C
,ah fessed TO have lost her manuscri
ay. but told her not to mind little thi
ike that since l loved her and b
quite enough for both OF us III
would marry me il would be all rig
ing kissed away the tear. and her SIN
re- was like the sun peeping from
Mt other side of an April cloud.
From that moment l heard no m
of the missing manuscript AfteI
few months engagement we were n
1T Red and after a brief wedding
han settled down to the humdrum OF |
One evening when I went home
wife told me that she had recei
con- s.first night" tickets to new 2
Law .hot ,,oo 20 no nut on the boards
free asked me to go with her to see
performance. tried to beg on sa!
that 1 was needed at my own thea
that but she insisted. and yielded.
en- Our seats were q proscenium Dol
q level with the stage. My wife pu
ricn. a curtain before her SO that she c.
ance not be seen except from the st
g. The play opened so well that !
claimed. "By Jove. why didn't
A. 49, hold of this" AS the performance
ceeded it was evident that hit
being made. l ground my teetl
osn's uo-at,oD 81 having missed gettin,
what promised to be a money ms
At the climax in the third act
,ditor audience came GOWN III .n"nue
this applause. CANS WERE nn"o
Ike an author, put the au'nor aiu nv "pl
on The manager came peio'e
& and and announced 'nat ne WIZ OF
, can at the end Of the play. This SAT-