第41部分(第4/7 頁)

ther　pla。　I　can’t　give　a　better　account　of　the　extraordinary　impression　it　makes　upon　me；　as　to　the　Public　I　never　can　speak。

Then　he　makes　some　criticisms　of　the　style；　the　ic　element　and　the　horrors；　and　ends　with　a　P。S。　“I　know　I　shan’t　sleep。”

On　the　25th　of　the　same　month　Lang　writes　again：

I　have　just　finished　“She；”　previously　I　skipped　a　bit　to　get　to　the　end。　I　certainly　still　think　it　the　most　extraordinary　romance　I　ever　read；　and　that’s　why　I　want　you　to　be　very　careful　with　the　proofs；　before　it　goes　out　in　a　volume。　。　。　。　I　nearly　cried　over　Ayesha’s　end。　But　how　did　she　e　to　Kor？　There　is　a　difficulty　about　Leo。　He　is　not　made　a　very　interesting　person。　Probably　he　was　only　a　fine　animal。　Anyhow　that　can’t　be　helped　now　and　never　could　perhaps。　I　dare　say　Kallikrates　was　no　better。　But　some　of　the　chaff　in　awful　situations　lets　one　down　too　suddenly。　I’d　take　other　fellows’　advice　about　it；　in　some　of　the　marked　places。　I　hope　they　find　She　in　Thibet；　and　all　die　together。　＇They　did；　practically；　twenty　years　later；　see　“Ayesha。”　—　H。　R。　H。＇　By　George；　I’d　have　gone　into　the　fire　and　chucked　in　She　too；　perhaps　it　would　have　picked　her　up　again。

In　another　letter　he　says：

It　is　awfully　good　of　you　to　think　of　putting　my　name　in　“She”　and　I　consider　it　a　great　distinction。　The　only　thing　is　that；　if　you　do；　I　shan’t　be　able　to　review　it；　except　with　my　name　signed　thereto　and　my　honest　confession。　Probably　I　could　do　that　in　the　Academy。　It　is　rather　curious　（plagiarism　on　your　side　again）　that　I　was　going　to　ask　you　to　let　me　dedicate　my　little　volume　of　tales；　“That　Missionary；”　etc。　to　you。

I　may　say　here　that　Lang　did　review　“She”　in　the　Academy　over　his　own　name；　but；　I　am　almost　sure；　nowhere　else；　although　I