The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-08-15
Practicjng
At Literature
BY ALAN HINSDALE

Wilbur Jones had in him a literary
fervor that was seeking an outlet. be
met Maud Erskine. It was springtime.
They were together In the country
with nothing to do. Jones was feeiing
l for a literary career. Persons inocu'
lated with the literary fever usually
show the symptoms In verse. Jones.
mistaking his literary ebullitions for
love, veered between letters and poetry,
both addressed to Miss Erskine.
Miss Erskine. not being able to
throw an x ray upon Jones' heart. nat
urally supposed these illusions to be
genuine lovemaking. Had Jones not
felt them to be such himself they
would not have been as commendable
as they were.
Miss Erskine was not a beauty. but
while Jones was writing verses and
love letters to her he considered her at
least comely. She sang ballads. and
! to Jones her voice was melodious.
Jones became separated from her
for period of six months. When they
met agala he was surprised to see
woman very plain Of face and figure.
and as to voice. hers was like the
wind whstling through telegraph
wires. though not SO musical He
would not have believed that he could
have been infatuated had it not been
for the letters and verses. She read
some of them to him. They were very
good as literary productions; they
bespoke genuine love. But it seemed
to the author that they must have ex-
pressed the love of some one else.
Jones decided that what had been
evolved must be permitted to die out
ais gradually as 1t had come. He went
to another city, wrote Miss Erskine
commonplace letters further and fur
Their apart and finally stopped writing
to her altogether.
Jones' literary attachments became
known in the place Of his sojourn. and
he was pointed out as an author In
order to divest himself entirely of Miss
Erskine he adopted a nom de plume
and a nom de hide in one He became
Alonzo Poindexter. One who Is at
woman is always looking out for dis
covery. Jones was no exception.
When Miss Philomena Andrews
heard that Mr.. Jones' oindexter was
an author she secured an introduction
"Mr. Jones'" she said. why do you
authors hide under assumed names"
How did you know my name is
Jones" he asked. with suspicion.
"A little bird told me-"
Jones got away from her as soon as
possible and later asked one of his
friends. WHO is Philomena Andrews"
! she's not Philomena Andrews at
all; she's Mrs. Susan Eldredge."
| Jones trembled. Could it be that
Maud Erskine had objected to being
left in the lurch and had sent a detec-
tive after him?
Then it was that those letters. those
verses he had written to Maud came
up to strike him with terror. What ex-
cellent evidence against him in a
i breach of promise suit! He was and
had been for some time thoroughly con-
scious that he had been practicing as a
literary producer. but what avail would
such an excuse - when his illusions
were read to twelve good and true
(practicaD men? Could he say his pro-
auctions were simply literary bubbles?
And If such statement were believed
would he be considered to have the
right to practice for authorship on a
girl who could not but take the effu-
sions to be genuine expressions of his
love for her? Suppose that he attempt
ed to excuse himself on the ground
that the literary fervor within him was
so strong that he could not distinguish
it from lover He would be laughed at.
One day the so called Philomena An
drews tackled him. saying:
"You might as well confess, MIR.
! Jones, that you are after me in behalf
of Mr.. jenkins. who wrote those love
letters to me-"
after your"
"Yes. But | assure you l will not
give up the discriminating illusions. He
and ] are merely excellent friends.
When he began to scribble he asked
me to play Beatrice to his Dante.
Beatrice was good wife and mother;
so am l. His wife in her jealousy has
been ridiculous. made up my mind
to disappear for awhile. hoping that
she would come to her senses and the
matter would be dropped"
"B-b-but," stammered Jones, is 1t
usual for literary men to gather inspi-
ration by means Of fancied lover"
"It should be. How would artists
get ON without modelsr'
lust so. l never thought of it in
that light"
"Do be sensible. know you have
been employed to get evidence against
my friend. Go back and say that you
have been convinced that have been
simply his literary model"
IN do it don't know any one to
present your case who is better equip
ped for the purpose than l."
Jones fixed this matter up satisfac.
torily. but he did not dare try to dis.
pose of his own affair in the same way.
| However. on his return he heard that