TheymustnotclaimcreditinAmericaforwhatwasreallywritteninanotherformsolongago。TheymustonlyclaimthatItrimmedthis,that,andtheother,andsochangedtheirappearanceastomakethemseemtobeoriginal。YounowseewhatmodestyIhaveinstock。Butithastakenlongpracticetogetitthere。
ButImustnotstandheretalking。Imerelymeanttogetupandgivemythanksforthepleasantthingsthatprecedingspeakershavesaidofme。IwishalsotoextendmythankstotheAuthors\'Clubforconstitutingmeamember,atareasonablepriceperyear,andforgivingmethebenefitofyourlegaladviser。
Ibelieveyoukeepalawyer。Ihavealwayskeptalawyer,too,thoughIhavenevermadeanythingoutofhim。Itisservicetoanauthortohavealawyer。Thereissomethingsodisagreeableinhavingapersonalcontactwithapublisher。Soitisbettertoworkthroughalawyer—andloseyourcase。Iunderstandthatthepublishershavebeenmeetingtogetheralsolikeus。Idon\'tknowwhatfor,butpossiblytheyaredevisingnewandmysteriouswaysforremuneratingauthors。Ionlywishnowtothankyouforelectingmeamemberofthisclub—IbelieveIhavepaidmydues—andtothankyouagainforthepleasantthingsyouhavesaidofme。
LastFebruary,whenRudyardKiplingwasillinAmerica,thesympathywhichwaspouredouttohimwasgenuineandsincere,andIbelievethatwhichcostKiplingsomuchwillbringEnglandandAmericaclosertogether。Ihavebeenproudandpleasedtoseethisgrowingaffectionandrespectbetweenthetwocountries。Ihopeitwillcontinuetogrow,and,pleaseGod,itwillcontinuetogrow。Itrustweauthorswillleavetoposterity,ifwehavenothingelsetoleave,afriendshipbetweenEnglandandAmericathatwillcountformuch。IwillnowconfessthatIhavebeenengagedforthepasteightdaysincompilingapublication。Ihavebroughtitheretolayatyourfeet。Idonotaskyourindulgenceinpresentingit,butforyourapplause。
Hereitis:\"SinceEnglandandAmericamaybejoinedtogetherinKipling,maytheynotbeseveredin\'Twain。\'\"