The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1917-04-21

thrill and light up dur., corners b.
'hr mans consciousness. .'tcr III"
others wcr" nearly all gone he went
NJ To her. May i--wh,u You have
more timc->pcak t. YOU he asked.
Why. yes" she said pleasantly
Can you COME" She was about L.
name nm hour the next day when some
thing in the mans face arrested her.
Right now" she added. "l;ut wait,
Have you had any breakfasts:
Il WAS new sensation for him 10
be ashamed 10 admit he had not. Bur
with this woman il must he the truth.
So he told her. At once Sh" took him
10 the dining room. ana asked another
lady To- see that he had 4 lunch, ana
then ~ come To her. After his meal
ne was taken To IN upper room hand
Somcly furnished like Il combination Of
study and library.
Does il seem sure 10 you he
asked, that what you have said this
morning is true?"
Il am sure" She said. Il have proved
it, If had not l wouldn't dare TO
speak"
Il think | am not the sam" man
was when | came in. Its strange,
you know don't want 10 he the
same man"
Then she drew from him something
of his early life. He had left the high
school with great hopes of literary
success. His father had died when he
was Il small lad. and his mother could
not afford To send him To college.
Routine work at desk or counter
simply drove him mad. lie was born
Il dreamer, and he meant To put his
dreams on paper. and liv" by them.
But the stories and poems he Wrnt"
came back to him. He did not study
the popular taste with practical eye.
He would not make concessions, he
was not pliHble to the general. His
relatives one and all united in giving
him advice which was To stop fritter-
ing away his time. and 20 To- work.
"In the sweat Of thy face shalt thou
eat bread" But as RuSkn adds: IL
was not written. "In the breaking of
thy heart" His mother had encour-
aged him. but when she died, and 10
bitter encouragement was added dire
poverty, one day he tried to end IL
all. but had been found before life
was quite gone. hurried under arrest
Ia hospital. and brought back TO
the struggling unhappy living. He
was hauled up I'm court, properly pun
iShed, and set adrift without Il kind
word. an offer of help, or the slight
est inducement to not again try the
experiment with better chances Of
success. She Mrs. Berlan. the speak
er. did not tell him he was weak and
good for nothing. because he had let
himself become a tramp and dere-
lict. She told him To wipe the past
off the slate. and begin then and there
10 know himSelf.s She asked him If
he was willing to work AT anything
till he could get his start ut his own
work. Yes he was. The next day Mrs.
Berlan found him clothes. and n job.
He also did some secretarial work
for her One Sunday the pretty girl
who played the piano did not appear,
and Mrs. Berlan was troubled that
they were to have no music.
"Will you let me try" Trask
asked.
Mrs. Berlan assented with some
trepidatiOn. Against her own teach
ings. the lurking devilishnesS in his
eyes made her fearful. But when one
of Memberships "Songs Without
Words" vibrated through the room.
played with fine feeling. she sat back,
closed her eyes. and enjoyed it.
This was the way the pretty girl
and the man became acquainted. She
told him he must write something, and
let her try TO sell 1t. He insisted II
made him do it. She took ii 10 her
brother who was n magazine editor.
and told him ne must read IT at once.
When she walked into the office on
schedule time she looked at the ed
itor and said: "Well?"
"Whcre did you find it," he asked.
THAT isn't to the point. Are you
going to print it and pay for IT." she
demanded.
81 am. And am also going to fall
on your neck for bringing the story.
Why, the man is n genius"
81 suppose" she remarked. that is
why they wouldn't publish his work.
George, | actually feel respect for
you"
Gerald Trask doesn't write over his
own name. so you wouldn't know him
by this. but he is now one Of the
"high-priced' men.
One of his stories is called THE
Resurrection of Soul"