Real Letter-writing ... Is Founded On A

There Was No Escape From The Letter-writer Who, A Hundred Or A Hundred And Twenty-five Years Ago, Captured A Coveted Correspondent. It Would Have Been As Easy To Shake Off An Octopus Or A Boa-constrictor.

Wit Is As Infinite As Love, And A Deal More Lasting In Its Qualities.

It Is Impossible For A Lover Of Cats To Banish These Alert, Gentle, And Discriminating Friends, Who Give Us Just Enough Of Their Regard And Complaisance To Make Us Hunger For More.

Why Do So Many Ingenious Theorists Give Fresh Reasons Every Year For The Decline Of Letter Writing, And Why Do They Assume, In Derision Of Suffering Humanity, That It Has Declined? They Lament The Lack Of Leisure, The Lack Of Sentiment ... They Talk Of Telegrams, And Telephones, And Postal Cards, As If Any Discovery Of Science, Any Device Of Civilization, Could Eradicate From The Human Heart That Passion For Self-expression Which Is The Impelling Force Of Letters.

The Audience Is The Controlling Factor In The Actor's Life. It Is Practically Infallible, Since There Is No Appeal From Its Verdict. It Is A Little Like A Supreme Court Composed Of Irresponsible Minors.