Mr. Rogers consented to see Miss Jasmine Mainwaring and her
companion, and accordingly the two girls were ushered into the
editorial presence.
Mr. Rogers commenced his interview with Miss Jasmine by apparently
forgetting all about her. This had a most disconcerting effect on the
young author.
"But surely you must remember that I came to see you nearly three
months ago, and brought you a poem called an 'Ode to Adversity,'"
pleaded Jasmine--"we had rather a long talk about it; I don't know how
you can absolutely forget."
"My dear young lady, so many people call, and leave so many poems, and
each poem is so like the last, that really you must pardon me, but my
head gets confused."
"Taken with a kind of swimming, sir?" here burst in Poppy. "I suppose
it is a sort of Sarah case over again."
The editor stared rather fiercely at this unexpected interruption,
deigned no reply whatever to Poppy, and continued his conversation
with Jasmine.
"I am sorry that I have forgotten both you and your poem--it is,
doubtless, docketed with others to be returned in due course--I am
sorry, but of course I could not use it--did you expect me to? Why,
the name alone--an 'Ode to Adversity,' was quite sufficient to make me
decline it.
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