The epic was growing. It had become so vast now that Clangingharp had long since stopped saving rough drafts, and the complete copy was piled up neatly on his desk. There was so much that he had even ceased reading the whole of it through after writing each new line. The evening came when Clangingharp felt that he could finish the last canto. His heroine was about to get her document so she could be married to the hero, and Clangingharp felt that without stimulants he was scarcely up to writing the heroine’s final spasm to the jury. It may as well be said here that Clangingharp had been hearing from home lately, so he decided to go out and have them for a last strain. He piled his manuscript fondly on a corner of the desk, dipped his pen thoughtfully into the ink-well, and gazing abstractedly at Marcus, plunked the whole penful into a mute Aurelian eye. When Clangingharp got back he had had several of them, so at first he did not quite take in what had happened. It seemed to him as if much greater cohesion and consistency had been imparted to the epic by the insertion interlinearly as well as between the pages, of his pot of mucilage. Illustrations had also been sketched over the sheets with the unbridled ink-bottle. The work as a whole had begun to circulate, and was already widespread in its influence. Much of it looked as if the critics had already been at it. Clangingharp stepped to the window and looked out. Golden light from the window in a first-floor flat shone brightly over the bottom of the air-shaft. There, curled up on the cement, lay Marcus Aurelius, a study in purple and dead. “Dam that cat!” said Clangingharp. FRANK W. NOXON. HEART TO HEART TALKS WITH MEN QUERY ONE. Whom do you consider the greatest living _litterateur_? Formerly, this matter was in doubt; but there can be no dispute over this point in recent years. But, unfortunately, both good taste and modesty prevent me from making a more definite reply. QUERY TWO. I notice you frequently refer to Henry Ward Beecher as a great man; will you kindly state why you consider him such? Mr. Beecher acquired some reputation in Brooklyn a few years ago as a preacher; this contributed somewhat to his fame. His principal claim to greatness, however, rests on his wonderful power of recognizing genius in others. He early saw the advantage of seeking out and connecting himself with the great geniuses of his neighborhood. I need scarcely add that I was raised in Brooklyn, and that he was among my first admirers. QUERY THREE. Should a young man smoke cigarettes? I notice on glancing over our advertisement columns, that the cigarette trust has given up its devilish attempt to make our American women nicotine _habitues_, so I will divert from my usual plan of never referring to myself, and tell you my own experience as a reply to this question.