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  THE GENIAL IDIOT HIS VIEWS AND REVIEWS

  BY

  JOHN KENDRICK BANGS

  HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON MCMVIII

  BOOKS BY JOHN KENDRICK BANGS

  THE GENIAL IDIOT. 16mo $1.25

  THREE WEEKS IN POLITICS. 32mo .50

  COFFEE AND REPARTEE, AND THE IDIOT. Illustrated. (In One Vol.) 16mo 1.25

  COFFEE AND REPARTEE. 32mo .50

  THE WATER GHOST. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  MR. BONAPARTE OF CORSICA. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25

  A REBELLIOUS HEROINE. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  HOUSE-BOAT ON THE STYX. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25

  THE BICYCLERS, A DRAMATIC EVENING, THE FATAL MESSAGE, A PROPOSAL UNDER DIFFICULTIES. (In One Vol.) 16mo 1.25

  A PROPOSAL UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 16mo .50

  PURSUIT OF THE HOUSE-BOAT. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25

  PASTE JEWELS. Illustrated. 16mo 1.00

  GHOSTS I HAVE MET. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  PEEPS AT PEOPLE. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  THE DREAMERS. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  ENCHANTED TYPE-WRITER. Ill'd. 16mo 1.25

  BOOMING OF ACRE HILL. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  COBWEBS FROM A LIBRARY CORNER. 16mo .50

  THE IDIOT AT HOME. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  OVER THE PLUM-PUDDING. Post 8vo, net 1.15

  BIKEY THE SKICYCLE. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50

  THE WORSTED MAN. Illustrated. 32mo .50

  MRS. RAFFLES. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  R. HOLMES & CO. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.25

  OLYMPIAN NIGHTS. Illustrated. 16mo 1.25

  INVENTIONS OF THE IDIOT. 16mo 1.25

  HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, N. Y.

  Copyright, 1908, by HARPER & BROTHERS.

  _All rights reserved._ Published October, 1908.

  CONTENTS

  CHAP. PAGE

  I. HE DISCUSSES MAXIMS AND PROVERBS 3

  II. HE DISCUSSES THE IDEAL HUSBAND 14

  III. THE IDIOT'S VALENTINE 27

  IV. HE DISCUSSES FINANCE 39

  V. HE SUGGESTS A COMIC OPERA 52

  VI. HE DISCUSSES FAME 64

  VII. ON THE DECADENCE OF APRIL-FOOL'S-DAY 77

  VIII. SPRING AND ITS POETRY 88

  IX. ON FLAT-HUNTING 100

  X. THE HOUSEMAID'S UNION 112

  XI. THE GENTLE ART OF BOOSTING 123

  XII. HE MAKES A SUGGESTION TO THE POET 135

  XIII. HE DISCUSSES THE MUSIC CURE 147

  XIV. HE DEFENDS CAMPAIGN METHODS 159

  XV. ON SHORT COURSES AT COLLEGE 170

  XVI. THE HORSE-SHOW 182

  XVII. SUGGESTION TO CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS 194

  XVIII. FOR A HAPPY CHRISTMAS 205