tion of miniatures painted on
ivory. Her attention was attracted to them several years ago by a
miniature of one of her ancestors, painted by Edward Greene
Malbone, which came into her possession. The delicate quality of
the painter's art that was of necessity lavished upon the ivory
pleased her as an amateur and she began to collect. Miss S. has
haunted the antique shops of Manhattan and Brooklyn during the few
leisure moments that came to her, in her search after miniatures.
She now owns something like one hundred examples of famous
miniatures. One of her greatest treasures is a portrait of John
Dray, by that master-painter of miniatures, Richard Cosway.

The publication of this article brought such a number of requests from
the friends of Miss S. to see her collection, that the ingenious press
agent was obliged to invent and publish another fabrication--this time
of a midnight robbery in which the collection disappeared. This
shameless story was told me by the press agent himself, and he gave me
from his scrap-book the fake clipping I have just read.

Similarly the imitation riots, and protests from delegations of
negroes, where Thomas Dixon's Ku-Klux play, "The Clansman," was to be
produced, were often due to the initiative of the enterprising press
agent--at least so he told me.

I would not have you think, however, that the press bureau is not in
many instances a perfectly legitimate institution, and cannot be used
with all propriety by religious, reform, political, and other
organizations. The woman's suffrage movement, for instance, has a
well-equipped and organized bureau; while the two great political
parties during campaign times have sent out for many years news-articles
and editorials of great value to the country and partisan press.

Perhaps the most efficacious press bureau of the legitimate kind is
that of the Christian Scientists. Every time an editor prints anything
derogatory to the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy, or her influential cult, a
suave and professionally happy gentleman immediately sends his card
into the sanctum, and, holding the offensive clipping in one hand,
together with a brief and well-written reply, says with the utmost
courtesy:--

"Inasmuch, my good sir, as you deemed it worth while to devote so
much of your valuable space to spreading broadcast before your
intelligent audience an error about Christian Science, I feel sure
tha