I first thought that I would go over each essay and add a little here, and take away a little there, polishing up and burnishing as I went along. But when I looked over them, my heart failed me. There they were just as they were written-just as they were dug out of my mind-and I hadn't the heart to change them. I remembered the circumstances surrounding the writing of every one of them, and I let them alone. A "nugget" polished up would be no longer a nugget. And these thoughts are nuggets-I dug them myself. I will not say much regarding the quality of the metal-that is for you-but you see...
I first thought that I would go over each essay and add a little here, and take away a little there, polishing up and burnishing as I went along. But ...