THE BEST THINGS GOING:

THE PURE MILK OF THE WORD




FOREWORD

These little records of some excursions made by what Mr. James called
"a visiting mind" first saw the light of public countenance in the
pages of various publications. "On Going to Art Exhibitions" has been
much expanded since its appearance in _Vanity Fair_. In _The Unpopular
Review_ the original title of "That Reviewer 'Cuss'" was brought into
harmony with the dignity of its setting by being changed to "The Hack
Reviewer." "A Clerk May Look at a Celebrity" was printed in the New
York _Times_ under the head "Glimpses of Celebrities." This paper has
been included in this collection at the request of several
distinguished gentlemen who have been so unfortunate as to lose their
newspaper clippings of the article. That several of the personages
figuring in this and one or two other of these papers have passed away
since these papers were written seems to be thought an additional
reason for reprinting these essays here. _The Bellman_ fell for
"Caun't Speak the Language"; the New York _Tribune_, "Humours of the
Bookshop"; _The Independent_, "Reading After Thirty," "You Are an
American" appeared in the New York _Sun_; where the head "An American
Reviewer in London" was substituted for the title of "Literary Levities
in London." The following papers were contributed to the New York
_Evening Post_: "The Fish Reporter," "On Going a Journey," "A
Roundabout Paper," "Henry James, Himself," "Memories of a Manuscript,"