A rather amusing illustration of the slender foundation on which
literary fame rests is found in the following:
“Literary fame is not always highly regarded by the people,”
says William Dean Howells. “I remember when I was in San Remo,
some years ago, seeing in a French newspaper this notice by a
rat-trap maker of Lyons:
“‘To whom it may concern: M. Pierre Loti, of Lyons, inventor of
the automatic rat-trap, begs to state that he is not the same
person and that he has nothing in common with one Pierre Loti, a
writer.’”
(1058)