Mr. F.N. Doubleday, starting on
a trip to the Bahamas, remarked that he would like to take a
manuscript with him to read, and the office force decided to put
`Freckles' into his grip. The story of the plucky young chap won
his way to the heart of the publishers, under a silk cotton tree,
'neath bright southern skies, and made such a friend of him that
through the years of its book-life it has been the object of
special attention. Mr. George Doran gave me a photograph which
Mr. Horace MacFarland made of Mr. Doubleday during this reading
of the Mss. of `Freckles' which is especially interesting."
That more than 2,000,000 readers have found pleasure and profit
in Mrs. Porter's books is a cause for particular gratification.
These stories all have, as a fundamental reason of their
existence, the author's great love of nature. To have imparted
this love to others--to have inspired many hundreds of thousands
to look for the first time with seeing eyes at the pageant of the
out-of-doors--is a satisfaction that must endure. For the part of
the publishers, they began their business by issuing "Nature
Books" at a time when the sale of such works was problematical.
As their tastes and inclinations were along the same lines which
Mrs. Porter loved to follow, it gave them great pleasure to be
associated with her books which opened the eyes of so great a
public to new and worthy fields of enjoyment.
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