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xx guests; and until he got over his shyness we used almost to ignore him, going on with the family routine as if he were not there, to avoid embarrassing him.

"But when he got over that shyness, he was a charming talker; and we grew attached to him. My daughter used to tease him.

"He wrote editorials for the Item, but most of the political editorials were written by Bigney or by me. When, in the winter of 1881, the Times-Democrat offered him a place on its staff, we had to let him go, because we could not meet the offer. The Item then was only a two-page sheet."

Besides these editorials, and the occasional "Fantastics" which Hearn contributed to the Item between the summer of 1878 and the winter of 1881, a column of book reviews, called "Our Book Table," and a column of advice to young people, somewhat on the order of those of "Ruth