Note A — §5

Mr. C. E. Montague writes as follows of the origin of his novel A Hind Let Loose, a witty satire of newspaper life: “It arose from much study—in the course of my daily work—of the editorial articles of the best-reputed English papers. I found that they consisted, to a wonderfully large percentage, of certain stock expressions of positiveness, dislike and contempt. These, I noticed, were so general that they constantly recurred in all sorts of discussions on various subjects, and the fancy took me that their use could be carried further and further until all reference to any particular topic vanished and nothing but quite general positiveness remained, the Olympian mentality and temper just going on asserting themselves for assertion’s sake.”