later life, and when a conclusion had been agreed upon, it
was Mr. Duncan's habit to embody it in a copy for Dave's writing
lesson. One evening they had a long talk on success, and Mr. Duncan
had gradually stripped the glamour from wealth and fame and social
position. "The only thing worth while," he said, "is to give
happiness. The man who contributes to the happiness of the world is a
success, and the man who does not contribute to the happiness of the
world is a failure, no matter what his wealth or position. Every man
who lives long enough, and has brains enough, comes to know this in
time. And those who have not brains enough to know it, are the
greatest failures of all, because they think they have attained
success, and they have only been buncoed with a counterfeit."

"But a man who has money is in a position to give more happiness than
one who hasn't," objected Dave. "Think of all the things a man with a
million dollars can do to make people happy--like paying for libraries,
and giving excursions to poor children, and things like that. So, in
order to make people happy, wouldn't the first step be to make money,
so it could be spent in that way?"

"That is a good thought," agreed Mr. Duncan, "but not a conclusive one.
In reckoning the happiness a man gives we must, of course, subtract the
unhappiness he occasions. He may make a great sum of money, and use
much of it in creating happiness, but if in the making of the money he
used methods that resulted in unhappiness, we must subtract the
unhappiness first before we can give him any credit for the happiness
he has created. And I am disposed to think that many a philanthropist,
if weighed in that balance, would be found to have a debit side bigger
than his credit. No matter how much wealth a man may amass, or how
wisely he may distribute it, we cannot credit him with success if he
has oppressed the hireling or dealt unfairly with his competitors or
the public. Such a man is not a success; he is a failure. In his own
soul he knows he is a failure, that is, provided he still has a soul,
and if not, as I said before, he is a greater failure still."

Out of this discussion Mr. Duncan evolved the copy line, "The success
of a life is in direct proportion to its net contribution to human
happiness," and Dave sat writing it far into the night.

As soon as Dave had learned to read a little Mr. Duncan took him one
day to the public library, and the young man g