This early success showed Annesley the possibilities of the topical article; it led him also to construct a revised calendar for his own use.  In the “Bupp Almanac” the events of the day were put back a fortnight; so that, if the Feast of St Simon and St Jude fell upon the 17th, Annesley’s attention was called to it upon the 3rd, and upon the 3rd he surveyed the Famous Partnerships of the epoch.  Similarly, The Origin of Lord Mayor’s Day was put in hand on October 26th.

He did not, however, only glorify the past; current events claimed their meed of copy.  In the days of his dependence Annesley had travelled, so that he could well provide the local colour for such sketches as Kimberley as I Knew It (1901) and Birmingham by Moonlight (1903).  His Recollections of St Peter’s at Rome were hazy, yet sufficient to furnish an article with that title at the time of the Coronation.  But I must confess that Dashes for the Pole came entirely from his invaluable Encyclopaedia....

II

Annesley Bupp had devoted himself to literature for two years before his first article on trams was written.  This was called Voltage, was highly technical, and convinced every editor to whom it was sent (and by whom it was returned) that the author knew his subject thoroughly.  So when he followed it up with How to be a Tram Conductor, he had the satisfaction not only of seeing it in print within a week, but of reading an editorial reference to himself as “the noted expert on our overhead system.”  Two other articles in the same paper—­Some Curious Tram Accidents and Tram or Bus:  Which?—­ established his position.

Once recognized as the authority on trams, Bupp was never at a loss for a subject.  In the first place there were certain articles, such as Tramways in 1904, Progress of Tramway Construction in the Past Year, Tramway Inventions of the Last Twelvemonth, and The Tram:  Its Future in 1905, which flowed annually from his pen.  From time to time there would arise the occasion for the topical article on trams—­Trams as Army Transports and How our Trams fared during the Recent Snow, to give two obvious examples.  And always there was a market for such staple articles as Trams in Fiction....

III

You will understand, then, that by the end of 1906 Annesley Bupp had a reputation; to be exact, he had two reputations.  In Fleet Street he was known as a writer upon whom a sub-editor could depend; a furnisher of what got to be called “buppy”—­matter which is paid at a slightly higher rate than ordinary copy, because the length and quality of it never vary.  Outside Fleet Street he was regarded simply as a literary light; Annesley Bupp, the fellow whose name you saw in every paper; an accepted author.

It was not surprising, therefore, that at the beginning of 1907 public opinion forced Annesley into (sic) n wer fields of literature.  It demanded from him, among other things, a weekly review of current fiction entitled Fireside Friends.  He wrote this with extraordinary fluency; a few words of introduction, followed by a large fragment of the book before him, pasted beneath the line, “Take this, for instance.”  An opinion of any kind he rarely ventured; an adverse opinion, like a good friend, never.