Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1913-07-10
The Little
Authoress
By WILLARD BLAKEMAN

Walter Ewing had just that kind of
suavity that is required of the editor
of a magazine When authors came in
with their manuscripts he would grasp
them cordially by the hand, smile upon
them, ask them to be seated and listen
to their long talks about what they
had to offer.
One day the prettiest little girl in the
world was admitted to Mr. Ewing's
sanctum. She came in with smile
not only to beat the one with which he
greeted her, but, in slang phrase, ito
beat the band" He drew up chair
for her close to his rosewood desk and
relieved her at once of package she
carried by which he knew her for an
authoress. Then he brought his ex-
pressive eyes upon her as if to say:
"Do tell me what | can do for you. /
am dying to serve YOU
Then she began to talk. About
what? Everything bashfulness
about entering the field of literature,
the great responsibility that must nee
essarily rest upon editors, what won
derful powers of discrimination they
must have, the characters in. her work.
novel; her difficulty in finding a motif
and the many times she had rewritten
certain parts. For half an hour she
talked, the editor listening rather TO
her sweet voice than what she said-he
had heard it all thousand times be-
fore-sometimes fancying that she was
bird that had flown into his sanctum
to rest him from the hardest work in
the world-that of reading one manu-
script after another through the long
day.
When she went away he had prom
ised her that in order to give her story
especial attention he would take it
home with him and read it, far away
from the interruptions constantly oc-
curing during business hours. For
some time after she had gone he sat,
with her MARBLE still sounding sweetly
in his ears, then began to write in
blue pencil the word return" on the
covers of a pile of manuscripts n"his
desk, throwing each into basket be-
6lQC llIl, SuCl do 10 uoC0
as receptacle for soiled linen.
That evening" true to his promise,
he took the manuscript home with him,
intending to read it at an early date;
but. whether the little authoress had
made a deeper impression on him than
the bundle or whether he had been so
taken with her that he was in no hur-
ny to get rid of her he put off its ex-
animation from day to day. Now and
again she would call upon him. He
would greet her with the same affa-
bility as before, telling her that he
was deferring the examination of her
novel till he felt in a mood to appre-
ciate its merits The more delicate the
style and sentiment in story the
more difficult &c was of detection.
Doubtless within another week he
would feel inspired to read the manu-
script and decide upon its merits
The patience, the good nature, of the
little authoress were ineXhaustble
She appreciated the editors kindness
to her, a stranger and hoped he would
not hurry. He invited her to drop in
occasionally, since he would always be
glad to talk with her about her liter
airy. aspirations.
One day when the editor; felt lin
spired' to read the manuscript he had
taken home he looked for it in his
room and did not find it. Calling his
landlady, he made inquiries and learn
ed that she had gathered up some "old
truck" among them a lot of paper
done up in a bundle, and it had been
taken away by the scavenger.
The editor turned pale. The manu-
script of the little authoress had doubt
less gone ito the dumping ground,
whence it would not be recovered. He
wrote her at once to know if she had
another copy, since he wished a friend
on whose literary judgment he greatly
relied to read the story and had not
yet finished it himself She replied
that she had given him the only copy in
existence.
The six months that followed were
wearing on the editor. For that period
he put the little authoress off with ex-
cuses. Then, there being no other way
out of the trouble-at least so he put it
to himself-he asked her to marry him.
When she refused him she took away
his last prop. He had faint hope
that the enlargement which usually
comes between a man who has been
refused and the lady who has refused
him would lead the little authoress to
keep away from him and the lost
manuscript would in time be forgotten.
But she continued to call for it in per-
son, always with the same good natur-
ed smile, never Gliding him for the
delay, and every time she left him he
assured her that by the time she came
again he would surely be ready to give
her his literary opinion on her work
and did not doubt that it would be ac-
copied by the magazine
The lady's refusal of him made him
cognizant of the fact that she was