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February 16, 1948 Dear Mr. Conroy,

    Thank you for the information.  You've been awfully kind to me, and to show my appreciation I should like to send you something on St. Patrick's Day to toast the "Ould Sod" with.
    Children like a great many things in a story, but what they would rank first, if they thought about it, would be sincerity.  No child is going to believe in an author's work if he doesn't. 
    Then comes action, which satisfies his unconscious desires.  No sooner do I finish reading a story then up shoot the hands, and Raymond becomes a monkey, Allen a king, Diane a rabbit, etc.  And a blackboard eraser is a present for the King, and the yardstick a sceptre [sic] of power and might.