Excerpt from Over the Teacups This series of papers was begun in March, 1888. A single number was printed, when it was interrupted by the course of events, and not resumed until nearly two years later, in January, 1890. The plan of the series was not formed in my mind when I wrote the first number. In returning to my task I found that my original plan had shaped itself in the underground laboratory of my thought so that some changes had to be made in what I had written. As I proceeded, the slight story which formed a part of my programme developed itself without any need of much contrivance on my part. Given certain characters in a writer's conception, if they are real to him, as they ought to be, they will act in such or such a way, according to the law of their nature. It was pretty safe to assume that intimate relations would spring up between some members of our mixed company; and it was not rash to conjecture that some of these intimacies might end in such attachment as would furnish us hints, at least.