The Story of the House of Cassell
Only one letter of the novelist has been preserved, and that deals with nothing more exciting than the technique of illustration; but in the discussion of such an abstruse subject as the comparative merits of horizontal or upright pictures there is a twinkle of Reade's humour. The vertical picture he dubs "small and childish," having insufficient space "to present a dramatic situation":
There is Reade's honest, hearty ring in the concluding paragraph:
Wilkie Collins was also a contributor at this time. He was a singularly painstaking author, and not merely in the elaboration of his plots, for his MS. was corrected over and over again with meticulous care. Other writers for Cassell's Magazine during Manville Fenn's editorship were Hesba Stretton and Theo. Gift, the latter of whom, on her arrival from Montevideo, wrote sketches and verses, and later a charming serial story entitled "Pretty Miss Bellew."
In 1874 Fenn resigned the editorship of the magazine in which his wholesome and cheery character was so well reflected. His memory lingers pleasantly at the Yard to this day. Mr. Charles Harrison, for some years publishing
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