How to jitdgc of an Editor. 1 2 1 



less from the want of power than from the want of 

 will. Among customers who renewed their stock 

 daily, some would regularly effect sales up to about 

 ten shillings, others only up to five shillings, others 

 only to three ; but whatever the amount, it was 

 uniform, unless, through some accident or sickness, 

 loss or misconduct, the hawker was forced to begin 

 on a lower than his ordinary scale. Then he would 

 work up easily to his former maximum, but he would 

 not go beyond it. 



The contributions which flowed from Mr. Robert- 

 son's pen during this period of his life, though 

 generally brief, were many in number. Whether any 

 of his efforts were ever rejected is naturally a secret 

 between him and the editors. Those who are prone 

 to pry without delicacy into the innermost recesses of 

 a literary life may fancy that he unguardedly himself 

 supplies a clue to the mystery in the following 

 composition, which was accepted, and printed under 

 the heading: "The Scribbler's Opinion of the Editor." 



"He snatches up the paper with something of 

 ferocious greed, and scans it over with a hurried but 

 hopeful eye. If he lights on his own production his 

 movements at once assume a pleasing, fascinated 

 stillness ; he becomes philosophical and humorous ; 

 the paper is handled gently, and held in esteem. But 

 an article in particular is a special favourite, admired, 

 and shown to his friends. He believes the editor to 

 be a very independent, shrewd, and clever man, and 

 supposes the paper to have a great circulation. But 

 should his eye fail to light on his own important piece, 

 the paper becomes subjected to short convulsed turns, 



