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150
Literary Lapses
·
Stephen Leacock
107
At
this
point
the
feelings
of
Mr.
Scalper,
who
had
been
writing
very
rapidly,
evidently
become
too
much
for
him.
He
starts
up
from
his
chair,
rushes
two
or
three
times
around
the
room,
and
finally
returns
to
finish
the
delineation
thus:
"it
is
only
when
carried
to
excess
that
this
moderation
becomes
pernicious."
Mr.
Scalper
succumbs
to
the
train
of
thought
suggested
and
gives
an
illustration
of
how
moderation
to
excess
may
be
avoided,
after
which
he
lowers
the
bottle
to
Policeman
Hogan
with
a
cheery
exchange
of
greetings.
The
half-hours
pass
on.
The
delineator
is
writing
busily
and
feels
that
he
is
writing
well.
The
characters
of
his
correspondents
lie
bare
to
his
keen
eye
and
flow
from
his
facile
pen.
From
time
to
time
he
pauses
and
appeals
to
the
source
of
his
inspiration;
his
humanity
prompts
him
to
extend
the
inspiration
to
Policeman
Hogan.
The
minion
of
the
law
walks
his
beat
with
a
feeling
of
more
than
tranquillity.
A
solitary
Chinaman,
returning
home
late
from
his
midnight
laundry,
scuttles
past.
The
literary
instinct
has
risen
strong
in
Hogan
from
his
connection
with
the
man
of
genius
above
him,
and
the
passage
of
the
lone
Chinee
gives
him
occasion
to
write
in
his
book:
"Four-thirty.
Everything
is
simply
great.
There
are
four
lights
in
Mr.
Scalper's
room.
Mild,
balmy
weather
with
prospects
of
an
earthquake,
which
may
be
held
in
check
by
walking
with
extreme
caution.
Two
Chinamen
have
just
passed--mandarins,
I
presume.
Their
walk
was
unsteady,
but
their
faces
so
benign
as
to
disarm
suspicion."
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