Almost the entire audience broke into a shout of
laughter and applause. Davis had read thirteen of the opening words of
Trilby.
All publishing houses employ "readers" outside of those in their own
offices for the reading of manuscripts on special subjects. One of these
"outside readers" was given a manuscript for criticism. He took it home
and began its reading. He had finished only a hundred pages or so when,
by a curious coincidence, the card of the author of the manuscript was
brought to the "reader." The men were close friends.
Hastily gathering up the manuscript, the critic shoved the work into a
drawer of his desk, and asked that his friend be shown in.
The evening was passed in conversation; as the visitor rose to leave,
his host, rising also and seating himself on his desk, asked:
"What have you been doing lately? Haven't seen much of you."
"No," said the friend. "It may interest you to know that I have been
turning to literary work, and have just completed what I consider to be
an important book."
"Really?" commented the "reader."
"Yes," went on his friend. "I submitted it a few days ago to one of the
big publishing houses. But, great Scott, you can never tell what these
publishers will do with a thing of that sort. They give their
manuscripts to all kinds of fools to read. I suppose, by this time, some
idiot, who doesn't know a thing of the subject about which I have
written, is sitting on my manuscript.
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