Browning of his poem "Pippa Passes"; as he proclaims that "God's
in his heaven, all's right with the world", the members applaud
and the manager rises and bows.

The chairman announces that "today we take up a subject in which
I am sure we are all extremely interested--the popular literature
of the United States".

The members listen to selected extracts from the writings of Gene
Stratton-Porter, Zane Grey, and Harold Bell Wright; at the
conclusion they applaud and the manager again bows.

"I am sure", says the chairman, "that we are all glad to hear
that things are going so nicely in the United States."
(Applause.) "And now, in conclusion, Brother Voltaire has
requested permission to address us for a few minutes, and I am
sure that anything Brother Voltaire has to say will be eminently
worthwhile."

Brother Voltaire rises and announces that he has listened with
interest to the discussion of American literature; that he, too,
rejoices that all is well in this best of all possible United
States; and that he hopes they will pardon him if he supplements
the program by reading a few extracts from another extremely
popular American book recently published under the name of "Main
Street".

XII

At the next meeting of the Celestial Browning Club it was