t. You
were hopelessly wrong in your ideas about getting your foot on the
first rung of the ladder."

"I am ashamed of ever having had those ideas--of ever having been
willing to suppress my individuality, if only temporarily, for the
sake of living. It all ought to have ended then. Why did you advise me
to go on?"

"I only advised you to go on writing--I took the other thing for
granted. In the light of my experience of myself at the same age, I
judged it was the only advice you would take. And then having entered
on the adventure, I wanted to finish it; so naturally I set about
making peace between father and son. Excellent man, your father! So
open to reason! You must have been deuced clumsy to irritate him. To
refuse to enter such a business! You'd have been a rich man in a few
years. But I'm sorry to see your last remark implied a sort of
reproach."

"It was a stupid remark," admitted Morgan. "Of course I wanted to go
on. At twenty-three one does not want to die."

"If there is still a prospect of being allowed to write poetry," added
Ingram. "You wanted to be put in the way of earning fifty pounds a
year, and naturally you invoked the assistance of the man who was
reputed to have a weakness for embryo genius. However, at the age of
twenty-eight, it appears, one does want to die. I helped you over the
last crisis; perhaps I may help you over this one. Let us look at the
facts. You've had a good chance and you've been defeated. Your poetry
is not wanted. As I've told you before, I am not competent to say
whether it's great or whether it's downright drivel--it's years since
I discovered my limitations. You've been imprudent enough to pay the
expenses of publishing two small volumes, and certain it is that
nobody found any greatness in them. I admit I couldn't make head or
tail of the bulk of the stuff--I'm satisfied myself to write what
plain folk can understand. To put the matter bluntly, you send work to
market that most people would look on as the ravings of a lunatic.
Now, my advice is--cut poetry. There is plenty in the world for you to
live for. Go and travel awhile. See men and cities, sculpture and
paintings. Study humanity instead of merely thinking about it. Sail
over the wide seas; breathe in the good air; be true to your youth and
fall in love right bravely. You are rich--all this is in your power. I
am sure your father will be pleased."

Morgan was touched by the other's enthusiasm.

"I have alw