Produced by Beginners Projects and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) THE GENIAL IDIOT HIS VIEWS AND REVIEWS BY JOHN KENDRICK BANGS HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON MCMVIII BOOKS BY JOHN KENDRICK BANGS THE GENIAL IDIOT. 16mo $1.25 THREE WEEKS IN POLITICS. 32mo .50 COFFEE AND REPARTEE, AND THE IDIOT. Illustrated. (In One Vol.) 16mo 1.25 COFFEE AND REPARTEE. 32mo .50 THE WATER GHOST. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 MR. BONAPARTE OF CORSICA. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25 A REBELLIOUS HEROINE. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 HOUSE-BOAT ON THE STYX. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25 THE BICYCLERS, A DRAMATIC EVENING, THE FATAL MESSAGE, A PROPOSAL UNDER DIFFICULTIES. (In One Vol.) 16mo 1.25 A PROPOSAL UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 16mo .50 PURSUIT OF THE HOUSE-BOAT. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25 PASTE JEWELS. Illustrated. 16mo 1.00 GHOSTS I HAVE MET. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 PEEPS AT PEOPLE. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 THE DREAMERS. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 ENCHANTED TYPE-WRITER. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25 BOOMING OF ACRE HILL. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 COBWEBS FROM A LIBRARY CORNER. 16mo .50 THE IDIOT AT HOME. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 OVER THE PLUM-PUDDING. Post 8vo, net 1.15 BIKEY THE SKICYCLE. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50 THE WORSTED MAN. Illustrated. 32mo .50 MRS. RAFFLES. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 R. HOLMES & CO. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.25 OLYMPIAN NIGHTS. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25 INVENTIONS OF THE IDIOT. 16mo 1.25 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, N. Y. Copyright, 1908, by HARPER & BROTHERS. _All rights reserved._ Published October, 1908. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. HE DISCUSSES MAXIMS AND PROVERBS 3 II. HE DISCUSSES THE IDEAL HUSBAND 14 III. THE IDIOT'S VALENTINE 27 IV. HE DISCUSSES FINANCE 39 V. HE SUGGESTS A COMIC OPERA 52 VI. HE DISCUSSES FAME 64 VII. ON THE DECADENCE OF APRIL-FOOL'S-DAY 77 VIII. SPRING AND ITS POETRY 88 IX. ON FLAT-HUNTING 100 X. THE HOUSEMAID'S UNION 112 XI. THE GENTLE ART OF BOOSTING 123 XII. HE MAKES A SUGGESTION TO THE POET 135 XIII. HE DISCUSSES THE MUSIC CURE 147 XIV. HE DEFENDS CAMPAIGN METHODS 159