The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-21

ment OF one Of the few real literary
genluses of the nineteenth &c ltury
that the school in which she had been
Drought up was very narrow one.
MISS Swift had accidentally struck !.
theme for a story that appealed very
strongly to her. She determined t.
throw off the prejudices to which she
mad been educated. give herself free
rein and write a Mildred Swift novel
She soon became engrossed in her work
and by the time she had half finished
1t she seemed to walk upon the winds
with lightness"-not that she was con-
sclous Of the value of this moving
without effort. Indeed, she doubted il
she were producing anything of value.
because 1t was so easy for her.
1t has been said that on Miss Swift's
hrst meeting with Mr.. Tymerson she
desired his criticism. Now that they
were lovers she dared not risk turn
Ing his love into contempt by submit
ting to him any Of her literary work.
In other matters she leaned on him.
this she kept within herself.
When Mildred finished the work in
which her whole being was absorbed.
she waited a week to give her mind
little freedom from it, then read it
over. About the middle Of the book
she struck snag. Something went
against her She became dissatisfied
with her work, tossed it into Il drawer
and left 1t there for some time. Then
one day she read it again. 1t occurred
to her she might remedy the blcmish
that had upset her. and she did so. The
next day, without giving herself time
| to think about 1t. she started it out on
voyage among publishers. But, prin-
clpally on account of fear that it might
cost her her lover she concealed the
| authorship After her manuscript had
! been returned with printed slip by
twelve publishers it was accepted by
the thirteenth
! Meanwhile Tymcrson had accepted a
| position as book reviewer for a maya
zine. He found that the stories used
! by publishers who were in the bust
ness to make money were not the kind
he admired himself. He soon learned
to put his personal opinions aside and
speak well OF works that sold well. He
wrote few stories. but they were con-
sidered too thin for the public taste.
One day among the> new books
dumped upon his desk for him to read
and review was a novel called MAR
cia's Problem" by Hester Gwynnc.
He read it, but hardly knew what to
say about it. 1t was not Of the school
he considered the acme Of literature,
and 1t was not of any other school
with which he was familiar. Person
ally he had no use for 1t. He resolved
to write the only criticism he had ever
written, giving free vent to what he
preferred to say.
THE book has been put together"
he said. with no regard whatever to
literary laws. 1t cannot be classed
with dramatic fiction. with imagina.
tive fiction or with realism. 1t is a
hodgepodge. Generally speaking, it Is
very bad. Nevertheless there are bits
here and there that indicate some
dUlllN vi tIlc putt vi Tic duluOI. tDlC
is doubtless a beginner who, If there
were literary schools at which she
could learn the commonest principles
underlying the telling of n story, might
some day produce something of value"
Notwithstanding this criticism the
public did-though very slowly-take
fancy to "Marcia's Problem" 1t
grew In favor and was read by all
classes. That is to say, it appealed to
both intellectual and simple minded
persons. The reasons assigned for this
by those who were disposed to ask the
was also unique.
1t was soon after Winslow Tymerson
and Mildred Swift were married that
"Marcia's Problem" began to attract the
attention of the public, and this occa-
stoned an overhaullng of the criticism
that had been written on 1t at the
time of its appearance in print The
manager of the magazine with which
WinslOw Tymerson was connectedw went
into his book reviewers Office one day
Will u WIN Va lhC SUI hnhoh
him what lie had said about it, Ty-
merson got out copy of his review.
The manager read it and said that
since it had probably been forgotten
which was true-Tymerson had better
write it up again. giving it II better
SendOff The reviewer had no option
on the matter. ana. since his name was
not signed to his reviews. he wrote Il
new criticism. beginning with the
words. This remarkable story, which
shows especial adaptation to construc-
ton on the part Of the gifted au-
thoreSS"-
One day when Tymerson went home
after business his wife showed him a
check for So 900 she had received from
her publisher sandwiched between his
two criticisms on "Marcia's Problem"
81 wrote that story. dear.
"YOu wrote it,
"YeS | wrote It.
81 never heard Of your doing It,"
ITO tell the truth, dearie, when |
first met you wanted your criticism
on my literary work But | don't
value criticism any more. / don't
.h,,t- a. ,1oeeil,lo for onv ono RI cav