The Chronicles of the Imp: A Romance
the Old School":

CONTENTS

He lived in that past Georgian day,

When men were less inclined to say

That "Time is Gold," and overlay

With toil their pleasure;

He held some land, and dwelt thereon,--

Where, I forget,--the house is gone;

His Christian name, I think, was John,--

His surname, Leisure.

Then followed some unhappy days which lengthened into months during which the author of The Broad Highway was endeavouring to find a publisher. Three separate publishing houses in New York refused the book; two turned it down without ceremony; a third gave as a reason that it was "too long and too English."  One of the actors of the Astor Theatre was about to fulfil an engagement in Boston, and offered to show the manuscript to a publisher in that city. Long months afterwards that friend returned to New York, and Mr. Farnol found to his chagrin that he had forgotten all about his promise. The unlucky story was still at the bottom of his trunk. The author, now almost in despair, sent the manuscript to his wife, who was residing at Engelwood, New Jersey, and asked her to burn it. But his wife had the happy thought of sending it to England--to Mr. Shirley Jevons, who was then occupying the editorial chair of The Sportsman, and was a friend of the family. Mr. Jevons read it with enthusiasm, and with such results as we have already noted. The book sold like wildfire. The author returned to England to win further laurels. Here I find a pleasant coincidence in the fact that the London firm of Sampson Low, having accepted the story, offered it to Little, Brown & Co. of Boston, where their accomplished representative, Mr. Herbert Jenkins, at once perceived the merits of the 
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