e
I had been fired twice. But that did me good. I sort of woke up about
then, and realized there were such things in the world as folks. I
wasn't the People's Choice,--not yet,--but I was learnin' a heap more
about the Basswood Junctions of this world. And I want to say to you
that after all's said and done, Princeton hasn't got Basswood Junction
skinned no ways permanent. There's several kinds of things in life,
when you come to find it out. It ain't all in the gay metropolis.

"At half-past four one afternoon I turned the roll down out of my
trousers and took account of the world. Says I to myself: 'Journalism
is not a science. It ain't exact enough.' Then I thought of studyin'
medicine. Bah! That's not a science. It's a survival. I clerked for
a while, but I couldn't stand it. What I was lookin' for was a
science. At last I concluded to take up law, because I thought it was
more of a science than any of these other things. I wanted some place
where I could sort of reason things out, and have them fit and hang
together. Well, the law--well, you know the law isn't just exactly
that way. But it's a beautiful thing if you just hang to the
principles, and don't believe too much of the practice. The law is
disgraced--but at bottom what the law meant to do was to give humanity
some sort of a square deal; which, of course, it doesn't. It ain't a
science; but I love it, because it might have been."

He fell silent once again for a time, after his fashion, but now his
gaze was softened, although he went on with his light speech. "I
rather thought I would take up the science of the law as the most
possible line of activity for a man of my attainments. I began to read
a little on the side. Then I didn't know whether to have contempt for
us fools who live and endure the eternal folly, or whether I ought to
pity Basswood Junction and Princeton, because life is all so awfully
hard and hopeless. Meantime, Old Mr. World went right on--didn't stop
to ask me anything.

"You can understand these things took a little time. Meantime, my dad
had sized me up as one more young man ruined by college life. The old
man had a heap of sense in him, and he did the right thing. He told me
to go to the devil."

"So you came West?"

"So I came West. Same pants."

"But you haven't told me about the girl," said I, quietly.

Ah, that was it, then! I could see his eyelids twitch. A moisture
broke out on his lower li