or Whitman ever gave out rules and regulations for the writing of
poetry; that Michael Angelo or Raphael was addicted to formulating
instructive matter as to the accomplishment of paintings and frescoes;
that Thackeray or Dickens or Meredith or George Sand were known to have
answered inquiries as to 'How to write a Novel'; or that Beethoven or
Wagner or Chopin or Mendelsohn paused in the midst of their careers in
order to tell newspaper men what they considered the true method of
composing music. These fortunate people--as well as others of their
time--could so easily be silent and thus avoid disclosing the fact that
they could not--for the lives of them--tell about these things; but in
our unhappy day even geniuses are prodded and teased and tortured into
speech. In this case we may be more than grateful that they are, for the
result is most delightful reading--even tho it falls a trifle short of
its purpose as indicated by the rather far-reaching title.

There are no workable rules for play-writing to be found here--nor,
indeed, any particular light of any kind on the subject, so the letters
may be approacht with a mind arranged for enjoyment. I would be sorry
indeed for the trying-to-be dramatist who flew to this volume for
consolation and guidance. I'm sorry for him any way, but this additional
catastrophe would accelerate my sympathy, making it fast and furious.
Any one sufficiently inexperienced to consult books in order to find out
how to write a play will certainly undergo a severe touch of confusion
in this case, for four of the letter-writers confess quite frankly that
they do not know--two of these thereupon proceeding to tell us, thus
forcibly illustrating their first statement. One author exclaims, "Have
instinct!"--another, "Have genius!" Where these two necessaries are to
be obtained is not revealed. Equally discouraging is the Dumas
declaration that "Some from birth know how to write a play and the
others do not and never will." That would have killed off a lot of