“By the identical process Pseudonymuncle has used to entrap your readers into believing ‘The Wandering Heir’ a mere plagiarism from Swift, one could juggle those who read quotations, not books, into believing:-- “1. That the Old Testament is _full_ of indelicacy. “2. That the miracles of Jesus Christ are none of them the miracles of a God, or even of a benevolent man--giving water intoxicating qualities, when the guests had drunk enough, goodness knows; cursing a fig-tree; driving pigs to a watery grave. This is how Voltaire works the sham-sample swindle, and gulls Frenchmen that let him read the Bible for them. “3. That Virgil never wrote a line he did not take from Lucretius or somebody else. “4. That Milton the poet is _all_ Homer, Euripides, and an Italian play called ‘Adam in Paradise.’ “5. That Molière is _all_ Plautus and Cyrano de Bergerac, ‘en prend _tout_ son bien où il le trouve.’ “6. That the same Molière _never_ writes grammatical French. “7. That Shakespeare is _all_ Plautus, Horace, Holinshed, Belleforest, and others. “8. That Corneille had not an idea he did not steal from Spain. “9. That Scott has not an original incident in all his works. “10. That five Italian operas are _all_ English and Irish music. “11. That the overture to ‘Guillaume Tell’ is _all_ composed by Swiss shepherds. “12. That ‘Robinson Crusoe’ is a mere theft from Woodes, Rogers, and Dampier. “Not one of these is a greater lie, and few of them are as great lies, as to call ‘The Wandering Heir’ a plagiarism from Swift. “Now for the blunder. That will be best corrected by putting examples of jewel-setting and examples of plagiarism cheek by jowl.