The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-31
ractlcjng
At Literature
By ALAN HINSDALE

met Maud Erskine 1t was sprinStime.
They were together i'll the country
with nothing TO do. Jones was feeling
for a literary career Persons inocu
lated with the literary fever usually
show the symptoms in verse. Jones'
installing 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 eHusions 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
70 Jones her voice was melodious.
Jones became separated from her
for period of six months. When they
met again he was surprised TO see
woman very plain of face and figure.
and as to voice. hers was like the
wind whistling 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
>ome of them TO him. They were very
good as literary productions: they
bespoke genuine love- Bit 1t seemed
to the author that they must have ex-
pressed the love of some one else
Jones decided that. what had been
evolved must he permitted to die out
as gradually as it had come He went
10 another city. wrote Miss Erskine
commonplace letters further and fur
Their apart and finally stopped writing
70 her altogether
Jones literary attainmentS became
| known in the place of his sojourn. and
he was pointed ont as an author In
order to divest himself entirely of Miss
Erskine he adopted nom de plume
and nom de hide in one. He became
| AlonZo Poindexter. One who Is at
| tempting TO hide from a sheriff or a
| woman is always looking out for dis
| coyery. Jones was no exception.
When Miss Phlomena Andrews
heard that Mr.. Jones oindexter was
an author she secured an Introduction
| MIR. Jones" she said why do you
| authors HIDE under assumed names|
| How did you know my name is
Jones?" he asked. with suspicion.
| ~ little bird told me-
| Jones got away from her as soon as
possible and later asked one of his
friends who is Philomena Andrews r
shes 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 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
breach OF promise suit! He was and
had been for some time thoroughly con
1 scious that he had been praeticing as a
| literary producer but what avail would
such an excuse be when his effusions
were read to twelve good and true
practicaD men? Could he say his pro
auctions were simply literary bubbles
And If such a statement were believed
would he be considered to have the
right to practice for authorship on q
girl who could not but take the effu.
sfons 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
1t from love? He would be laughed at
One day the SO called Philomena An
drews tackled him. saying:
You might as well confess, Mr.
Jones. that you are after me In behalf
Of Mr.. Jenkins, who wrote those love
letters to me-"
After your"
Yes But l 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 a good wife and mother
SO am l. His wife in her jealousy hal
been ridiculous l made up my mint
to disappear for awhile hoping tha
she would come to her senses and the
matter would be dropped"
'B-b-but," stammered Jones, rs Il
usual for literary men to gather inspi
ration by means Of fancied lover?
1T should be. How would artist:
get on without models?"
Just so. l never thought of it IL
that light"
do be sensible. l know you hav,
been employed to get evidence agains
my friend. Go back and say that 70,
have been convinced that l have beel
simply his literary model"
I'm do it don't know any one t,
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
| III