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Aet. 41, to an American publisher. Scribner’s reply to this letter about an American edition of Esther Waters, quoted in Roger Burlingame’s Of Making Many Books (1946, page 86) was written by William C. Brownell: “We wish very much to publish it if we could and so to give it and ourselves every chance we waited till the second batch of sheets came. You will easily understand the obstacle in one way to be the plain-spokenness which our public finds objectionable and unnecessary, and will certainly not believe us blind to the elevation, force and touching qualities of the work. We regret sincerely not to become its publishers and regret also to be obliged to enclose (as we do) the notes of declination we have received from Messrs. Harper and Messrs. Appleton, to whom, in this order, we sent the sheets.”