The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-09-05
Among the
Alps
A Slngular Story Of the
Writing of a Pic.
ture Play
BY F. A. mitchell

SA1DA0VACu q ASSAoAy "SAAA0AA
fheugh I an really nothing more than
Z nteFary hack. Real literary persons
usually 50 hungry. I have from tne
hrst uade fair living and, consoles
Ing TIT ! am a woman, a very good
living. TAe reason for this is that do
my part n supplying that perennial
dow Of reading matter that Is quaffed
BY tho masses. whose literary taste is
negligible. The readers Of classic liter
ature conpared with consumers of ev.
eryday uterary fodder are as one to
million. That is the reason why l,
person Devoid of genius. am enabled to
make living.
Ny natural instincts are all for art,
but unfOrtunately art requires educa-
t0n, and when 1 was thrown on my
own resources for a living I had not
the means to obtain an education.
There are no schools of literature. Any
one who possesses pen. ink and pa
per may scribble, and the pecuniary re-
turn Of scribbling is not an index of
the nature Of the production. So took
up my pen and went to work. What I
wrote seemed to interest Tom, Dick
and Harry, and since Tom, Dick and
Harry were in the market for some
thing TO read began at once to make a
aiviAs.
While these preliminary remarks are
perhaps essential to my story, there Is
n than but one statement that the
story y Intended to bring out. I have
said that my natural leanings are to-
ward art I know a thing Of beauty
1nscluctavely, and I can conceive
thing ~ beauty. But never having
beeo adncated to produce anything
beautiful, am unable to do SO. One
mQro elozuent in which what am 60
" tobca1is essential. also have dra.
Innate in1tinct.
Nov for the story:
One winter, desiring to take a vaca.
uon during the following summer, I
|Fworke6 very hard in order to produce
the funds for a trip abroad. The re.
suit wae that my nerves broke down
under the strain. l took my vacation,
but instead Of travelling for enjoyment
! travelled for my health. Furthermore.
instead OF improving l grew worse.
Feeling that needed quiet, I went to
tnterlaken. in Switzerland. hired
room with windows opening on several
Of the most magnificent views l have
ever beheld and settled down to recu-
| perate.
I had met during the ocean voyage u
young woman-Ellen Trowbridge-who
was trying to make an artist Of her.
self.A H. was on her way to Switzer-
land f0r the hot season, after which
she Wae going down into Italy to COM
monco her studies. Being two lonely
| Amog1can women, we agreed to travel
In c6mpany and took room In the
samo house at Interlaken.
| y fow days after our arrival there l
collapsed Something seemed to give
way eomewhere within me, and lost
consc1ou1ness. From that time for two
months I remained in an abnormal
condlt3on. A part of the time I was In
bed and . part sitting up in an easy
chair By . window looking out on one
Of the many views spread before me-
From ny bed looked out upon that
beautiful mountain. the Jungfrau, as 1t
b seon from Interlaken rising out Of
| valley made by two nearer mountains.
For months before my departure from
homo had been creating stories, and
they were tumbling about In my brain
In confusion. After time they shaped
themselves In dreams. While lying in
my bed persons were enacting parts, It
Eseemed, on their own account, for I
bad 10 power-at least was conscious
Of none-to compel them to do my bid.
ding.
An1 heee let me say that In fiction
Tor plays which are a form Of fiction,
"a great Distake Is made in supposing
that IL author controls his characters.
Il = The characters that control the
! author. He can force them to DO his
hl66ing. but he will spoil his story
Thoeo ore grooves for the emotions as
VA . ether things. and let him drag
ennH0gesr out Of its groove, and 1t
wm hank at once. Then the author
mugt ~ him back where he belongs
OF - Wl11 stand out from the natural.
! neso * ~ play like sore thumb.
Duk1ne this abnormal period Of mine
I Va eonscious Of Ellen Trowbridge
beng ~ he room, sometimes minister
Inc b ny wants, sometimes sitting at
tnb1e writing, sometimes at her
keaso1 nketching. These were only
! GIiMpoGo Of her. which would come
Fand - - figures In q dream. They
FwoGo roa1 enough at times for me to
have . aim consciousness Of the fact
that ! was fortunate In having an
American companion to take an inter
est n me.
IN TIE early part of my illness 1
was trying to disentangle the many
storles I had written during a long
period and keep all sorts Of persons
iron ehnsing one another through my
bgn1n- Later several of my stories
that - been favorites with me SEEM
81 70 drive out the rest. and 1 found
myl1lf liking them together. It was
hard woEk. but better than having 30