30 THE HISTOKY OF 



thousand copies of a book which I am about to write. la 

 there no way that you can help me out ? " The gentleman 

 looked at me incredulously. 



I added, "Mr. , I hare been in the newspaper busi- 

 ness a good many years, and I have had the message of the 

 President of the United States — a document occupying a 

 dozen columns of solid brevier and ininion — set up and 

 put to press within forty-two minutes from the time it 

 reached our office. Anything can be accomplished, now-a- 

 days,. if we but will it." 



"But, you say you are afiow^ to write it. When will 

 the ' copy' J)e ready ? " said the stereotyper. 



" I have thought of this," I replied, " but a few hours. 

 The title, even, is not yet decided upon. I will give you 

 fifty pages of manuscript to-morrow morning, the next day 

 I will add another fifty, and you- shall have the whole in 

 hand by Friday morning." 



He kindly undertook to aid me.' I engaged three engrav- 

 ers, who worked day and night upon the drawings and 

 transfers of the fowls for my illustrations ; the paper was 

 wet down on Monday and Tuesday ; I read the final revised 

 proof of my work on Wednesday night ; the book went to 

 press on Thursday; the binders were ready for it as it came 

 up, the covers were put on on Friday morning, and I sent 

 to the New York house (who had bespoken them), by 

 Hamden's Express, on Friday evening, three thousand 



