r periodical. But Mr. Curtis believed
in showing the advertising world that he was willing to take his own
medicine.

Naturally, such a campaign of publicity announcing the most popular
attractions offered by any magazine of the day had but one effect: the
circulation leaped forward by bounds, and the advertising columns of
the magazine rapidly filled up.

The success of _The Ladies' Home Journal_ began to look like an assured
fact, even to the most sceptical.

As a matter of fact, it was only at its beginning, as both publisher
and editor knew. But they desired to fill the particular field of the
magazine so quickly and fully that there would be small room for
competition. The woman's magazine field was to belong to them!

CHAPTER XIV

MEETING A REVERSE OR TWO

With the hitherto unreached magazine circulation of a million copies a
month in sight, Edward Bok decided to give a broader scope to the
periodical. He was determined to lay under contribution not only the
most famous writers of the day, but also to seek out those well-known
persons who usually did not contribute to the magazines; always keeping
in mind the popular appeal of his material, but likewise aiming
constantly to widen its scope and gradually to lift its standard.

The editor was very desirous of securing something for his magazine
that would delight children, and he hit upon the idea of trying to
induce Lewis Carroll to write another _Alice in Wonderland_ series. He
was told by English friends that this would be difficult, since the
author led a secluded life at Oxford and hardly ever admitted any one
into his confidence. But Bok wanted to beard the lion in his den, and
an Oxford graduate volunteered to introduce him to an Oxford don
through whom, if it were at all possible, he could reach the author.
The journey to Oxford was made, and Bok was introduced to the don, who
turned out to be no less a person than the original possessor of the
highly colored vocabulary of the "White Rabbit" of the Alice stories.

"Impossible," immediately declared the don. "You couldn't persuade
Dodgson to consider it." Bok, however, persisted, and it so happened
that the don liked what he called "American perseverance."

"Well, come along," he said. "We'll beard the lion in his den, as you
say, and see what happens. You know, of course, that it is the
Reverend Charles L. Dodgson that we are going to see, and I must
introduce you to that person, n