Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/186

 MARK TWAIN

Inasmuch as you had not signed it I had the im pression at first that you had not dictated it. But only for a moment. Certain quite simple and defi nite facts reminded me that the article had to come from you, for the reason that it could not come from any one else without a specific invitation from you or from me. I mean, it could not except as an in trusion, a transgression of the law which forbids strangers to mix into a private dispute between friends, unasked.

Those simple and definite facts were these: I had published an article in this magazine, with you for my subject; just you yourself; I stuck strictly to that one subject, and did not interlard any other. No one, of course, could call me to account but you alone, or your authorized representative. I asked some questions asked them of myself. I answered them myself. My article was thirteen pages long, and all devoted to you ; devoted to you, and divided up in this way: one page of guesses as to what sub jects you would instruct us in, as teacher; one page of doubts as to the effectiveness of your method of examining us and our ways; two or three pages of criticism of your method, and of certain results which it furnished you; two or three pages of at tempts to show the justness of these same criticisms ; half a dozen pages made up of slight fault-findings with certain minor details of your literary work manship, of extracts from your Outre-Mer and com ments upon them; then I closed with an anecdote. I repeat for certain reasons that I dosed with an anecdote.

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