"By all means," answered Miss Fern.
"Your story, though written with spirit and power, needs a great deal of revision from a—from a rhetorical standpoint. It is, in fact, carelessly put together. That is a cardinal fault in a literary production, and one for which no amount of talent, or even of genius, can compensate."
The girl listened with deep interest. She tried to think where the blemishes alluded to could be, for she had read the story twenty times. To say nothing of several girl friends, who had listened with evident wonder and delight, to various parts of the tale, as it progressed.
"If that is true," answered Miss Fern, slowly—, "could not the trouble be remedied by sending the MSS. to some very competent person and having the errors made right?"
Mr. Gouger smiled.
"Hardly," he said. "A novel is like a painting. The ensemble—do you understand?—is the thing. Can you conceive a painting being 'done over'? Your book would lose its quality if subjected to that process."
A look of discouragement crossed the features of the young woman.
"Of course, you know best," she stammered. "What would you advise me—try again?"
Mr. Gouger raised both his hands.
"It is difficult to say, in such a case," he replied. "But—if you want my best opinion—"