The Project Gutenberg EBook of Humanly Speaking, by Samuel McChord Crothers

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Humanly Speaking

Author: Samuel McChord Crothers

Release Date: May 20, 2005 [EBook #15866]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HUMANLY SPEAKING ***

Produced by David Garcia, Bethanne M. Simms and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.

HUMANLY SPEAKING

BY SAMUEL McCHORD CROTHERS

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

MDCCCCXII

COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY SAMUEL MCCHORD CROTHERS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

_Published November 1912_

* * * * *

By Samuel M. Crothers

HUMANLY SPEAKING.
AMONG FRIENDS.
BY THE CHRISTMAS FIRE.
THE PARDONER'S WALLET.
THE ENDLESS LIFE.
THE GENTLE READER.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES: THE AUTOCRAT AND HIS FELLOW BOARDERS.
With Portrait.
MISS MUFFET'S CHRISTMAS PARTY. Illustrated.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

* * * * *

CONTENTS

HUMANLY SPEAKING

IN THE HANDS OF A RECEIVER

THE CONTEMPORANEOUSNESS OF ROME

THE AMERICAN TEMPERAMENT

THE UNACCUSTOMED EARS OF EUROPE

THE TORYISM OF TRAVELERS

THE OBVIOUSNESS OF DICKENS

THE SPOILED CHILDREN OF CIVILIZATION

ON REALISM AS AN INVESTMENT

TO A CITIZEN OF THE OLD SCHOOL

The author wishes to express his thanks to the Editors of the _Atlantic
Monthly_ and the _Century Magazine_ for their courtesy in permitting the
publication in this volume of certain essays which have appeared in
their magazines.

HUMANLY SPEAKING

"Humanly speaking, it is impossible." So the old theologian would say
when denying any escape from his own argument. His logical machine was
going at full speed, and the grim engineer had no notion of putting on
the brakes. His was a non-stop train and there was to be no slowing-down
till he reached the terminus.

But in the middle of the track was an indubitable fact. By all the rules
of argumentation it had no business to be there, trespassing on the
right of way. But there it was! We trembled to think of the impending
collision.

But the