William Dean Howells 
Imaginary Interviews 

Mr. Howells’s philosophy in these Easy Chair essays is distinctly of the inclusive order, and the wide range of subjects treated is indicated by the following titles from the thirty-odd that make up the volume: ‘ The Practices and Precepts of Vaudeville, ‘ ‘The Superiority of Inferiors, ‘ ‘ Unimportance of Women in Republics, ‘ ‘The Quality of Boston and the Quantity of New York.’ Surely Mr. Howells has taken the earth for his possession; but has he not gone up and down in it for seventy-odd years? It is his right to speak and our privilege to listen.