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84 "A dozen or more of these stories were written during those winters when I first set out to seek my fortune, which began with twenty dollars from the good old Gazette.

"With what eagerness did I unfold that generous sheet, and read aloud these foolish tales to my partial audience, who all predicted a future which would eclipse the fame of Shakspeare, Scott, and Dickens! Only those who have known this experience can understand the intense satisfaction one feels on seeing his first literary efforts actually in print, and the sheet in which they appear always finds a warm place in the heart of the grateful scribbler. For to no other work ever goes so much love and labor, hope and fear, as to these faulty darlings, whom we secretly cherish long after we are heartily ashamed of them.

"This training in the production of short dramatic stories proved very useful in after years, when orders for tales of certain lengths were plentiful; and a dozen a month were easily turned off, and well paid for, especially while a certain editor labored under the delusion that the writer was a man. The moment the truth was known the price was lowered; but the girl had learned the worth of her wares, and would not write for less, so continued to earn her fair wages in spite of sex."

Miss Alcott urges ladies who write for publication, not to submit to injustice of this kind, and to inform themselves as to their rights. She says:

"Now that women have made a place for themselves in journalism and literature, it is wise for them to cultivate, not only their intellectual faculties, but their practical ones also, and understand the business details of their craft. The ignorance and helplessness of women writers is amazing, and only disastrous experience teaches them what they should have learned before. The brains that