electricians. If literature and occupation with letters were not its own
reward, truly they who seem to succeed might envy those who fail. It is
not wealth that they win, as fortunate men in other professions count
wealth; it is not rank nor fashion that come to their call nor come to
call on them. Their success is to be let dwell with their own fancies,
or with the imaginations of others far greater than themselves; their
success is this living in fantasy, a little remote from the hubbub and
the contests of the world. At the best they will be vexed by curious
eyes and idle tongues, at the best they will die not rich in this world's
goods, yet not unconsoled by the friendships which they win among men and
women whose faces they will never see. They may well be content, and
thrice content, with their lot, yet it is not a lot which should provoke
envy, nor be coveted by ambition.

It is not an easy goal to attain, as the crowd of aspirants dream, nor is
the reward luxurious when it is attained. A garland, usually fading and
not immortal, has to be run for, not without dust and heat.




FOOTNOTES


{1} As the writer has ceased to sift, editorially, the contributions of
the age, he does hope that authors will not instantly send him their MSS.
But if they do, after this warning, they will take the most direct and
certain road to the waste paper basket. No MSS. will be returned, even
when accompanied by postage stamps.