I walked to a neighboring village and bribed the editor of the local paper to print a five-line poem which I had written. The poem was entitled "To Hell," and was pretty hot stuff for a youngster. Next day I trotted off to the paper office to preserve the original manuscript. As I was leaving some one shouted: [Illustration] "That's the villiain, Jake, that makes love to your wife by writin' poetry to her." "Aha!" roared Jake, "that 'ar shunk! the fellow what wrote the poem about Nell! Whoop!" I caught a flash of a big farmer getting his gun in position. I waited for no more, but did a flying scoot. Great Scot! There's the stage bell. I'll have to shut down, or the manager will be here with a club. Ting-ting! [Illustration: Good Night!] Peaceful Valley _From the Drama_ By E. E. Kidder One of the most pleasing and touching narratives of country life ever written. Every reader will be thoroughly enraptured by Hosea's devotion to his sweetheart and his mother. Price, 25c. Illustrated with handsome, full-page half-tones. Sol Smith Russell as Hosea. At all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt of price and 4c. additional to cover postage. STREET & SMITH, _Publishers_, 238 William St., New York City. Ainslee's in 1904 An extremely rare occurrence for the publishers of a magazine is to find themselves embarrassed by the obligation imposed by the degree and quality of prosperity that has attended AINSLEE'S during the past year. Such prosperity brings with it an obligation in a very real sense, for it means that in what has actually been accomplished in the past, there is implied a promise to the public and to the literary world, of a continued development toward what is best and most wholesome in fiction, poetry and essays. Here are some of the more familiar names: JACK LONDON, EDGAR SALTUS, E. F. BENSON, CHAS. BATTELL LOOMIS, JUSTUS MILES FORMAN, BARONESS VON HUTTEN, JOHN D. BARRY, JOSEPHINE DIXON, J. J. BELL, BLISS CARMAN, GERTRUDE ATHERTON, ARTHUR STRINGER, E. NESBIT, FRANK D. SHERMAN, HAROLD MACGRATH, ELLA WHEELER WILCOX, RICHARD LE GALLIENNE, ARTHUR KETCHUM, O. HENRY, EDMUND VANCE COOKE, POULTNEY BIGELOW, S. E. KISER, ELIZABETH DUER, JOHN VANCE CHENEY, GUY WETMORE CARRYL, JOHN B. TABB, JOSEPH C. LINCOLN, CLINTON SCOLLARD, MRS. BURTON HARRISON, And Others. It will thus be seen that in 1904 there will be plenty of quality to go along with the greatest quantity of reading matter to be found in any other magazine published at any price.