Autograph letter signed : London, to Miss Gillington, 1886 November 21.

Concerning the reprinting of her work in America and offering her advice; saying "My novels have merely been reprinted in America, & though some of my poems have made their first appearance there, the amount of verse I write is very small. Perhaps I have sent them something under a dozen poems in something over half a dozen years, & as on one occasion three or four went together & were accepted, this represents but a small total of communication with American editors. Indeed I have had no dealings with any but 'Harpers' & the 'Century'. Were I you I would write to one of these. According to my experience if they think your work good they will take it, and if they take it they will pay you for it. If it should be verse of the lighter kind the 'Century' has its Bric-a-Brac department, otherwise I sh'd think the chances were about equal. I fancy that as beginners we are apt to overestimate the value of an introduction, especially for short pieces of verse which can be rapidly judged on their own merits. An introduction might secure you more prompt attention and a somewhat speedier reply, but I believe the substance of the reply would be the same. If work is good the fact of its goodness will be discovered sooner or later. An Editor - like most of us - is fallible & may make a mistake, but no one editor's verdict is final. Of course one must remember that these leading magazines have only a limited space at their disposal, & that the pressure on it is great. I wish I could give you more practical advice, but unluckily I have none to give. Do not apologise for having 'troubled' me. I remember the time - it does not seem very long ago - when I was a girl in a country town, writing, and burning, poems & stories, till the great day came when I had a bit of verse in the Spectator."