about it. In my
leisure moments on the Bench I have, from time to time, polished and
perfected a certain college poem begun years ago, but which may now be
said to have been finished in California, and thus embraced in the scope
of your proposed selection. If a few extracts, selected by myself, to
save you all trouble and responsibility, be of any benefit to you, my
dear young friend, consider them at your service.'

[Illustration: 'CONSIDER THEM AT YOUR SERVICE']

In this fashion the contributions had increased to three times the bulk
of the original collection, and the difficulties of selection were
augmented in proportion. The editor and publisher eyed each other
aghast. 'Never thought there were so many of the blamed things alive,'
said the latter with great simplicity, 'had you?' The editor had not.
'Couldn't you sort of shake 'em up and condense 'em, you know? keep
their ideas--and their names--separate, so that they'd have proper
credit. See?' The editor pointed out that this would infringe the rule
he had laid down. 'I see,' said the publisher thoughtfully--'well,
couldn't you pare 'em down; give the first verse entire and sorter
sample the others?' The editor thought not. There was clearly nothing to
do but to make a more rigid selection--a difficult performance when the
material was uniformly on a certain dead level, which it is not
necessary to define here. Among the rejections were, of course, the
usual plagiarisms from well-known authors imposed upon an inexperienced
country Press; several admirable pieces detected as acrostics of patent
medicines, and certain veiled libels and indecencies such as mark the
'first' publications on blank walls and fences of the average youth.
Still the bulk remained too large, and the youthful editor set to work
reducing it still more with a sympathising concern which the
good-natured, but unliterary, publisher failed to understand, and which,
alas! proved to be equally unappreciated by the rejected contributors.

The book appeared--a pretty little volume typographically, and
externally a credit to pioneer book-making. Copies were liberally
supplied to the Press, and authors and publisher self-complacently
awaited the result. To the latter this should have been satisfactory;
the book sold readily from his well-known counters to purchasers who
seemed to be drawn by a singular curiosity, unaccompanied, however, by
any critical comment. People would lounge into the shop, turn