The Gentleman's Magazine: January June, 1873 —— January June, 1873

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ISBN: 9781330636688 出版年：2018 页码：745 Sylvanus Urban Forgotten Books

In many cases their mss. Are accompanied by long confidential letters, appeals to one's feelings, attacks on one's sympathy. Now and then I detect something of merit in an amateur article; but too often the merit lies in the evident disadvantages of the circumstances under which the paper has been written. Misled on this tack I return a civil reply and say, Try again; you may succeed. The writer tries again. He does not succeed. I say so. His ms. Goes back. Then I have been unkind; I have raised hopes only to blight them. Sometimes the ms. Is lost or mislaid, the writer having omitted to put his name or address upon it. Then it cannot be returned and the young author pours out his wrath wildly upon the editor. I sympathise with him, despite the suffering he causes; but I tell him now, as I have told him before, that if he would retain his literary treasures, he must keep copies of them. This is easily done; the manifold letter writer and the copying press are old institutions.