________________
FRAGMENTS OF A PRISONER S DIARY
theless inclined to agrce with the cynic on this particular point. Frankly speaking, except in the terms of profit, made by those engaged in the printing and publishing business, it would be diffi cult to account for the meteoric appearance of many literary phenomena, including not a few best-sellers. In my humble opinion, the measure of a true advance in literature should be not the number of writers, but of readers. For this opinion, I am likely to be suspected of cattishness. But I am, after all, a cat. One cannot go away from one's shadow.
It appears rather odd, doesn't it? that, with this cattish reHection upon the numerous devotees of the fair Goddess Saraswati, I should be going to join their ranks, and increase the number of usclcss books in the world. But you don't expect a poor uneducated cat to be logical. A literary cat is bad enough ; a rational cat would be simply insufferable. I naturally don't wish to tax the indulgence of the reader too much in the very beginning.
Let me return to the point from which I have wandered away, just like a cat. I was going to explain why I did not plunge into my story right away. The reason is some diffidence on my part. I believe it is necessary to justify this unusual venture. How could a cat come to take it for granted that the story of its life would in. terest human readers ? This question might be
