NOTEBOOK

and more, left for America today. We can never forget
her and shall always be grateful to her.

Dec. 22 '03. "What is so rare as a day in June?" That
is this day, exactly. Brilliant sun, balmy air, heavy with
the odor of roses.

In the early days I was a correspondent and it was a
lucrative respectable industry; but now by merely drop-
ping an r out of it, it has so lost ground in the public

demand that one can hardly make a living at it.

i

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except
an old optimist.

When one reads Bibles, one is less surprised at what
the Deity knows than at what he doesn't know.

It is not in the least likely that any life has ever been
lived which was not a failure in the secret judgment of the
person who lived it.

It is not likely that there has ever been a civilized
person 65 years old who would consent to live his life over
again.

If man had created man he would be ashamed of his
performance.

Jan. i, 1904. Lay abed nearly all day but wrote 3000
words, earning £900.

He took a boyish interest in the calculation of
how much copy he was turning out and what he
would receive for it. Quantity seemed more' im-
portant to him than quality—in fact he was not
always clear as to the difference.

Jan. 14. Died at Keokuk, Mrs. Orion Clemens.

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