I said, "Rum punch." He said: "If you have got any business here, sir, state it--and in as few words as possible." I then said that I was sorry he had seen fit to change the subject so abruptly, because such conduct was very offensive to me; but under the circumstances I would overlook the matter and come to the point.

I now went into an earnest expostulation with him upon the extravagant length of his report.

I said it was expensive, unnecessary, and awkwardly constructed; there were no descriptive passages in it, no poetry, no sentiment--no heroes, no plot, no pictures--not even wood-cuts.

Nobody would read it, that was a clear case.

I urged him not to ruin his reputation by getting out a thing like that.