Morgan had a consciousness of the strange, complete reversion of the
position the years had brought about.

"I could never, never consent not to live by my own labour," he said,
giving utterance to what, at the moment, he intensely felt to be the
one essential condition of existence for him.

"Come now, surely we can get over that difficulty," said Archibald
eagerly. "I take it it is immaterial to you what work you do, so long
as it is of a kind in which you can employ your faculties. After all,
the principal point in your present occupation is the discipline it
affords and the habits of mind it is forming in you; all of which
could be employed in some other direction. It would simply be a matter
of your mastering a different set of facts for the different
employment, which you could do very quickly. Why not accept a
position in the bank? That would afford you an honorable livelihood,
and it would help you to be near us. Then perhaps some day, when you
feel you have lived down the old mistakes, you may be inspired to take
up your pen again. Mistakes! Why should they kill for ever the first
fresh ambition of your life? Mistakes! I made them, too, when I was
young. So has every man who is worth his salt. Of course, there's one
mistake you can't undo--you don't mind my alluding to it, Morgan. But
if you continue to face it as you are doing now--my God, Morgan! you
are suffering!"

Archibald groaned heavily, then checked himself and put on as cheerful
a face as he could muster.

"I meant to have proved to you," he continued, "that you scarcely take
a scientific--I had almost said an intelligent--view of your function
in life. The desire to live by your own labour is actuated by the very
proper feeling that you ought to be doing your duty in the social
organism. Your present work is equal to, say, three respectable pairs
of boots a week. That, you will admit, is a fair measure of your
utility. Now, if by becoming a great poet, you could give pleasure and
delight to thousands of your fellow-men, it seems to me your utility
would be fairly represented by quite a considerable number of pairs of
boots, and very respectable ones, too."

"How it would have delighted me to hear you argue like that when I was
a boy," almost whispered Morgan. "Forgive me, father," he added
immediately. "I did not mean any reproach."

"I admit my not arguing in that way at the time was one of my
mistakes. But I am sure you will yet be a gre