Read it and Weep. When they found that it did not contain any Dark Skies
or Headstones, they felt that they had been Bilked out of $1.50 each. It
was Suggested that the Author of "Willie's Good Night" was losing his
Grip and seemed to have Written Himself Out.

He was not wholly Discouraged. He went out Lecturing on the Occult, just
to prove to People that he had been Misjudged. The Local Chairman always
introduced him as the Celebrated Author of "Willie's Good Night."
Frequently he was Dragged away to a Home to meet all the Big Guns of one
of these Towns that call a Lecture a Show. After he had been on
Exhibition for a Half Hour or so, the same as the Albino or the Man with
the Elastic Skin in the Main Curio Hall, the Host would clear a Space in
the Center of the Room and announce that he was about to spring a
Delightful Surprise on their Distinguished Guest. Little Fern, the
Daughter of the County Recorder, was going to Speak "Willie's Good
Night."

There are Times and Times, but those were the Times when he suffered
Agony that went beyond the Limit.

The Author always knew the Verses were Bad enough to be Wicked, but he
never guessed how Yellow they really were until he heard them recited by
Little Girls who made the Full Stop at the Comma instead of the Period.
He used to lose a Pound a Minute, and when he would start back to the
Hotel his Shoes would be Full of Cold Perspiration. Finally, when he
began to decline Invitations, against the advice of his Manager, it was
said of him that he was Eccentric and appeared to have a Case of the
Swell Head.

He had to retire into a Suburb, where he built a Wall around his