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Show CALLING DOWN THE BOASTER Good Little Story Told by William Dean Howells as a Rebuke to Spread-Eagleism. "It was William Dean Howells," said a Chicago editor, "who first rebuked re-buked us Americans for our spread-eagleism, spread-eagleism, for our foolish boasting. I see that Mr. Howells has just joined a men's society for the promotion of woman suffrage. Trust him to be in the forefront always. "I once heard Mr. Howells deliver a fourth of July oration in Maine. The orator preceding him had boasted a good deal. Mr. Howells showed that some of the man's boasts were even impious. "He said that these spread-eagle boasters deserved the rebuke that the little child administered to the cackling cack-ling hen that had just laid an egg. The child, angered by the hen's continuous con-tinuous cawk-cawk-cawk, cawk-cawk-cawk-cawk, shook his little finger at her and said: " 'You fink you're smart. But Dod made dat egg. You touldn't help but lay it!' " |