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that.” Well, she was very reassured and we stuck to that religiously. The last year or two, he could barely walk by himself. He had a secretary who adored him and became practically his nurse.

People's voices would soften when Harry came along because you recognized a gentleman when you saw one. He was one of the many nice people that we've had at Random House.

Would you think that a painstaking editor, as he was, is still valuable today? I mean, I've heard criticism that many editors really don't take the time...

They don't.

...and that this is an art that had been lost to a certain extent.

True, true. Now we still have Albert Erskine, but he is one of the older editors now. It's hard to find excellent young editors today, though we have several promising ones. Most authors don't really like editors who make them hew the line.

Maybe they should though.

Yes. But there's a fault connected with this. Many