As he did so, the printer's devil appeared at the door, holding proof
in his hand.
"You see I am never safe from intrusion, colonel. This _Examiner_
newspaper keeps me at the oar."
I rose and put on my hat.
"Come and see me again soon, if it suits your convenience," he said. "I
am going to write an editorial, and I think I will serve up your host,
Blocque."
"Do not use his name."
"Be tranquil. He will be the type only."
And, escorting me to the door, Mr. Daniel bestowed a courteous bow upon
me, which I returned. Then the door closed.
VI.
AN EDITORIAL IN THE EXAMINER.
On the following morning I opened the _Examiner_, and the first article
which I saw was the following one, on
THE BLOCKADE-RUNNER.
"We owe to the kindness of SHEM'S Express Company, which has charge
of the line between the front door of the State Department and the
back door of the Tuileries kitchen, the advance sheets of a new
novel by VICTUS HAUTGOUT, which bears the striking title, _Les
Fortunes_, and which consists of five parts--ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB,
JUDAH, and BENJAMIN. Of course, the discerning reader will not
suppose for a moment that there is any connection between _Les
Fortunes_ and _Les Miserables_; between the chaste style of
HAUTGOUT and the extravaganzas of HUGO; whose works, in former
days, were not considered fit reading for an Anglo-Saxon public,
whose latest and most corrupt fiction owes its success (let us
hope) rather to the dearth of new literature than to the vitiated
taste of the Southern people.
Pages:
303
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