The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-08-10
CHAPTER WI.

ing LisesIentS ofseurftSf " c1ahRe Inc even
tenor II their ljses Harlaa read law In a
fitful erTatie way, attended lectures at Co
1nmtaa and spent a good deal Of valuable
time writing verses Such poems as he
deenel war1 by u preservation he sent to
the magazines. usingea asH-sie-ptume for
fear that hls father would he displeased at
hisesfoIf Ia :. conquer the severe ascent OF
high Parnassus" Manyofhis poems were
published aud tke encouragement he thus
received Sketted his desire fox literary
fame Once in awhile be would confess
his aspirations to Alice and. perhaps. tell
her Of his latest success. Ii SON became
evident to him. however. that she had no
sympathy with bis literary ambitions.
1t u true that she was Intensely fond Of
reading. aud her tastes had always led her
toward the best fruits in the garden Of
letters. But it Is one thing to admire
poetry and very different one TO b. mar
ried TO poet.
Alice possessed certain naHrowncss Of
mind that was partially hereditary and
partially provincial Though she had
spent hours In Westminster Abbey aud
had seen there clearly written by
a nations hand the great truth that
the poet, he be worthy Of the name.
wins undying lalifels fairer far than
those that crown the brows Of warriors
and statesmen still did she retain some
thing Of that sId-fashioned preindice
against those who follow the Corycian
nymphs that many wiser and broader
minded people than herself still entertain.
Furthermore. her judgment told her that
Harlan could never become great poet.
True he was something more than a
clever versi t.r and she realized that the
verdict Of certain prominent critics In his
college days had established the fact that
when time had Taeliowed his muse he
would take fairly high rank among the
lesser poets Of America. Nevertheless she
could not overcome her dislike for those
who WELD the pen and are generally de-
6cribed as literary men"
Was Alice wrong? Was Alexander Otis
wrong? Would 1t not have been wiser, know
ing, as they did. the youths bent, to have
encouraged him In the line be loRged to
take2 They were all three at fault. The
father. always generous to the boy. had
been less sympathetic than was polite.
Alice, during the two years that followed
her marriage, had showed a lack OF tact,
to put 1t mildly. In not entering more close
1y into her husbands aspirations. Last OF
all, Harlan himself was by no means
blameless. He had discovered at the end OF
the year, what he and others had long suS-
pocted that he had no love for the law and
that In his case. as In SO many others. a
round peg was to be thrust into Q
square hole. 1t would have been
far better in the end II he had frank
ly acknowledged his detestation Of the
profession before him. insisted upon his
right to take the path that nature had
formed for him, and, instead Of devoting
himself openly to the law and by stealt
to literature, to have publicly chosen the
only line In which success seemed certain.
But he knew that his father and his vie
would be bitterly disappointed il he aban-
boned his books and lectures and devoted
his whole time to his pen. He did not pos
sess the strength to endure their displeas-
ure and 50, dtscontented and unhappy. ne
continued TO make certain nOm-de-p plume
famous to magazine readers, while at
tempting to gain sufficient knowledge Of
the law to save him in the future from ut
ter failure.
Something Of all this was known to job n
Arnold who had become const mt visitor
at the home Of his former chum. One
evening when Harlan and his father had
departed to spend an evening at their
club, Arnold preached the subject to Alice
Harlan was very ambitious to win q
name in letters in the old days" he began
Does he do any writing, now?'
Alice flushed as she met the steady gaze
of her ques toner.
Frankly" she answered, Idon't know
think, however, that he writes poem
now and then, but never see Them"
Arnold was surprised. This lack of con-
fidence between husband and wife was not
usual. -
e You don't approve of his literary aspir.
ations them"
Not at all. Do you?"
I'm not quite certain" answered
Arnold. who had become enough of doc
tor to carefully hedge when an important
question was put to him. When we were
In college took a good deal of interest IL
the fate Of his poems. Since / have seer
more of the world have come to the con.
clusion that in these materiaistic days il
may be better for a man to be a black.
smith rather than genius"
agree with you, Mr.. Arnold. I know
that Harlan longs to devote his life to lit
erature but his father is wrapt up in TIN
idea of having him a lawyer and my sym
pathies are with Mr.. Otis
But there's another side to it." re
marked Arnold, whose face in the last few
II years had become sufficiently mature t
conform to his stature. II knew Harlan
very III tiinateiy for four years. / am.
you viii forgive ile for saying so, incline,
to douot that he will make a success as
lawyer" 1r. n
Why
In the first place, because he does mo
care for his profession. That is fearful
handicap from the start Then again, Ia
possesses a creative imagination. 70
certain degree such mental characters
tic is valuable In any line of life When
however, it is sufficiently developed to ap
proach genius it becomes danger to hin
who holds it and a menace to those VIII
expect him to live and move and have hi
being like other men,"
y She flinched little at his words Coul
1t be that this man understood HarIa
better than either his father or his wife2
Then you mean" she suggested, 'thd
the creative imagination inNnaking ma
poet renders him abnormal2%
Perhaps that is it. At all events an
inclined toNthink that any Conception du
to what we call the inspiration Of ghnin
Ia the oIltrOtffn of 81 thar IT Tipt'fnartnfEN 4