The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1920-12-27

locoae remark In their presence
had 80 long been ridden by the
incubus OF humor that seized my
hours OF holiday with "A sohoolboy's
heat.
My work began 10 suffer. II was
not tho pain ana burden TO me that
Il had been often whlstled al my
desk. and wrota with far moro fiu.
oncy than before. accomplished
my tasks impatiently. as anxious 20
bo off TO my helpful retreat as a
drunkard In TO get his tavern.
ono day Peter iIcffeibowcr laid be
fore me a temptation that swept me
off my feet. In his sensible, unin,
spirod way he showed mo HIS books.
and explained that his profits and his
business were increasing rapidly. lie
had thought OF taking In "a partner
with some cash. lilo would rather
have mo than any ono he knew,
When | left his place that afternoon
Peter had my check for the thousand
dollars | had In the hank. and was
partner In his undertaking bust
ness.
went home with feelings Of De.
lirious JOY. mingled with certain
amount Of doubt. was drcadlng To
tel my wife about II. But walked
on air. To give up the writing OF
humorous stuff. once more 10 enjoy
tho apples Of life. instead OF squerz-
ing them TO pulp for a few drops
OF hard cider TO make the public feel
funny-what boon that would be-
AT the supper table Louisa handed
mo some letters that had come dur.
Ing my absence. Several OF them
contained rejected manuscript Ever
since ! first began going 20 Hcffcl.
bowers my stuff had been coming
back with alarming frequency. Lately
! had been daAhing Off my jokes and
articles with tho greatest fiucncy.
Previously I had labored like n brick.
layer. slowly and with agony.
Presently opened a letter from
tho editor Of tho weekly with which
] had a regular contract. The checks
Tor that weekly article were stu our
main dependence. The letter ran
thus
Dear Sir.
As you arr aware. our oontrne, for
tho year expires with the prcson,
month. While rcgre,,inE the necen
siiy for 40 doing. must say thai
We do not care TO renew same for
the coming year. We were quite
pleased with your style OF humor.
which seems 10 have delighted quite
large proportion OF our readers.
But for the past two month. we have
noiio"d a decided falling OF in It's
quality.
Your earlier work showed n spon.
famous. easy. natural flow OF FUN
and wit OF late Il IL labored, stud.
led. and unconvincing. giving pain.
full evidence Of hard toll and druas.
ing mechanism.
Again rcgrcttinE that we do no,
consider your contributions available
any longer. we are. yours sincerely.
Tho Editor.
handed this letter 10 my wife.
After she had read :, her face REV
extremely long. and there were tears
In her eyes.
Tho mean old thing she ex.
Claimed Indignantly. I'm sure your
piccca arc Just an good as they ever
were. And II doesn't take you half
as long To write them an II did"
And then. ! suppose. Louisa thought
OF The checks that would erase com.
ins. "oh. John" abe walled what
viii you DO nowr''
For an answer ! got up and began
10 do polda step around the supper
table. ! am sure Louisa thought the
trouble had driven me mad: and I
think the children hoped II had. for
they tore after me. yelling with rico
and emuiating my steps. was now
something like their old playmate as
Of yore.
The theatre for us tonirht--
shouted. nothing Tess. And n late,
wild. dinrcputablc supper for all OF
US nt the Palace restaurant Lurnpty.
dcc-dc-dumf'
And then explained my gfc. by
declaring that I was now n partner
in a prosperous Undertaking estab.
ltAhment. and that written jokes
utkut no niue lnetr heidH IN fIlCk.
cloth and ashes for me.
With the EDITORS letter IN her hand
TO Justify the decd I had done. my
wife could advance no objections
save a few mild ones based on the
feminine inability TO appreciate a
good thing such al tho little back
room OF Peter Hef-- no. OF Heffei.
bower q Co.'S undertaking establish.
fnent
In conclusion. WIN say that todas
you win find no man In our town as
well liked. as Jovlai. and fun OF
merry sayings as 7. My Jokes are
again noised about and quoted: once
more take pleasure in my wife's
confidential chatter without n mer.
cenary thought. while Guy and Viola
play at my feet distributing gems Of
childish humor without fear OF the
CHASTITY tornentor who used 20 dog
their steps. notebook In hand.
Our business has prospcred finely.
keep the books and look after the
ship, while Peter attends 20 outside
matters. He says that my ievity and
high spirits would simply turn any