If Mr.Howells should pretend to me that he wrote the Plague-Spot Bacilli rhapsody, I should receive the statement courteously; but I should know it for a--well, for a perversion.

If the late Josh Billings should rise up and tell me that he wrote Herbert Spencer's philosophies; I should answer and say that the spelling casts a doubt upon his claim.

If the late Jonathan Edwards should rise up and tell me he wrote Mr.Dooley's books, I should answer and say that the marked difference between his style and Dooley's is argument against the soundness of his statement.

You see how much I think of circumstantial evidence.

In literary matters--in my belief--it is often better than any person's word, better than any shady character's oath.