No Writer's Cramp.

The chances are that, unless he has gone completely native, the first thing he grabs in the morning is his trousers which explains why every essayist, early in his career, writes on “The Influence of Trousers on Human Progress,” or “The Influence of Human Progress on Trousers.” This does not mean that he actually writes about trousers. He only writes under cover of trousers. He may start by quoting “How Pants the Hart …,” lead on to deep-breathing, take a fly at “Breathless Moments in History,” and finish with “Famous Last Gasps.” It really doesn't matter.

When an editor orders an essay on the growth of Nazi-ism he is not surprised if he gets a survey of the rubber industry from baby-soothers to rubber truncheons—or even the effect of geese on military footwork.