"I will not cast you, sublime ashes, to the winds of heaven! I will keep you reverently, as one preserves the cloak of a great man, or the bones of a mastodon. Behold, I close you again in your covers, where the eye of no mortal shall henceforth behold you."
With the words the disappointed critic performed the action. And to this day visitors to his room read with wonder the inscription he has placed on the box:
"The greatest novel that ever was written."
THE END.
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings. Obvious typographical errors in punctuation (misplaced quotes and the like) have been fixed. Corrections [in brackets] in the text are noted below:
Table of Contents: typographical error corrected
I. A Rejected Manuscript [1[9]
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[would[wouldn't] touch the mooney, maundering mess. It makes my flesh creep, sometimes, to read it."
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playing at love with each other, might afterwards find that [that] they were experimenting with fire.
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arm around her again, checking himself with difficulty from [completeing[completing] the movement) "and dull, and wanting in manners, but you are the only young
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about this matter. She [shought[thought] the innocent man at her side had not quite [guaged[gauged] the interest that Mr.
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caught her passionately in his arms, and knew no better way to bring her to [consiousness[consciousness] than to rain kisses on her cheeks. As might be expected this
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abilities of Mr. Weil, and he had no idea of [dispuing[disputing] the conclusions of that wise guide.
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"To me? He would not dare[?[!] What angers me is the way he speaks to the rest of you. He
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called the Good side nothing stronger [that[than] wines were found on the bill of fare. On the Wicked side every decoction [know[known] to the modern drinker was to
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sexes. He half believed that Jennie Pelham and Mrs. [Delevan[Delavan] were sitting by his bed, more brazen
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young novelist. More than this, she would have [sufficent[sufficient] on hand to send the future amounts that Hannibal
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Roseleaf waved him back with a [sweeep[sweep] of his arm.
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countenance, the utter hopelessness had in a measure [diappeared[disappeared]. When Daisy came into the parlor, she
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came with him. Mr. Fern [upraided[upbraided] Weil for using so much ceremony, remarking that although he was