And so it ought to be, thought Guy, for a guinea.
"And I don't think," Mr. Worrall went on, "that in the circumstances we need be very much afraid. Have you any ideas about the price at which your sheaf, your little harvest is to be offered to the public?"
"Oh, I should leave that to you," said Guy hastily.
"Precisely," said the publisher. "Yes, I think perhaps we might say five shillings or ... of course it might be done in paper in the Covent Garden Series of Modern English Poets. Yes, the reader speaks most highly of your work. You know the Covent Garden series of modern poets? In paper at half-a-crown net?"
"I should be very proud to appear in such a series," said Guy pleasantly. The series as a matter of fact was one that could do him no discredit.
"It's a charming idea, isn't it?" said Mr. Worrall, fondling one of the set that lay on his desk. "Every five volumes has its own floral emblem. We've done The Rose, The Lily, The Violet. Let me see, your poems are mostly about London, aren't they?"
"No, there isn't one about London," Guy pointed out rather sharply.
"No, precisely, then of course they would not come in The London Pride set which still has a vacancy. Perhaps The Cowslip? What does the reader say? Um, yes, pastoral. Precisely! Well, then why not let us decide that your poems shall be Number Three in The Cowslip set. Capital! I think you'd be wise to choose the Covent Garden series in paper. The cost of publication is really less in that series, and I have always chosen my poets so carefully that I can be sure the Press will pay attention to—er neophytes. That is a great advantage for a young writer, as you no doubt realize without my telling you?"
"The cost?" echoed Guy in a puzzled voice.
"It will run you in for about £30—as a guarantee of course. The terms I suggest are simply a written agreement that you will guarantee £30 toward the cost. Your royalty to be ten per cent on the first thousand, twelve and a half on the next thousand and fifteen over two thousand. We might fairly say that in the event of selling a thousand you would have nothing to pay, but of course if you only sell twenty or thirty, you will have to—er—pay for your piping."