to the famous and is
greatly prized. The highest of all honors in the nation, higher than
the presidency, which calls merely for good sense and devotion to duty,
is the red ribbon awarded by the vote of the people to the great
authors, artists, engineers, physicians, and inventors of the
generation. Not over a certain number wear it at any one time, though
every bright young fellow in the country loses innumerable nights'
sleep dreaming of it. I even did myself."

"Just as if mamma and I would have thought any more of you with it,"
exclaimed Edith; "not that it isn't, of course, a very fine thing to
have."

"You had no choice, my dear, but to take your father as you found him
and make the best of him," Dr. Leete replied; "but as for your mother,
there, she would never have had me if I had not assured her that I was
bound to get the red ribbon or at least the blue."

On this extravagance Mrs. Leete's only comment was a smile.

"How about periodicals and newspapers?" I said. "I won't deny that your
book publishing system is a considerable improvement on ours, both as
to its tendency to encourage a real literary vocation, and, quite as
important, to discourage mere scribblers; but I don't see how it can be
made to apply to magazines and newspapers. It is very well to make a
man pay for publishing a book, because the expense will be only
occasional; but no man could afford the expense of publishing a
newspaper every day in the year. It took the deep pockets of our
private capitalists to do that, and often exhausted even them before
the returns came in. If you have newspapers at all, they must, I fancy,
be published by the government at the public expense, with government
editors, reflecting government opinions. Now, if your system is so
perfect that there is never anything to criticize in the conduct of
affairs, this arrangement may answer. Otherwise I should think the lack
of an independent unofficial medium for the expression of public
opinion would have most unfortunate results. Confess, Dr. Leete, that a
free newspaper press, with all that it implies, was a redeeming
incident of the old system when capital was in private hands, and that
you have to set off the loss of that against your gains in other
respects."

"I am afraid I can't give you even that consolation," replied Dr.
Leete, laughing. "In the first place, Mr. West, the newspaper press is
by no means the only or, as we look at it, the best vehicle for seri