Sohefellawayfromalloldfriendsexceptmyselfandthreeorfouroldintimatesofmyown，whowereassuretotaketohimashetothem，andwholikemyselfenjoyedgettingholdofayoungfreshmind。Ernestattendedtothekeepingofmyaccountbookswhenevertherewasanythingwhichcouldpossiblybeattendedto，whichthereseldomwas，andspentthegreaterpartoftherestofhistimeinaddingtothemanynotesandtentativeessayswhichhadalreadyaccumulatedinhisportfolios。Anyonewhowasusedtowritingcouldseeataglancethatliteraturewashisnaturaldevelopment，andI
　　waspleasedatseeinghimsettledowntoitsospontaneously。Iwaslesspleased，however，toobservethathewouldstilloccupyhimselfwithnonebutthemostserious，Ihadalmostsaidsolemn，subjects，justashenevercaredaboutanybutthemostseriouskindofmusic。
　　IsaidtohimonedaythattheveryslenderrewardwhichGodhadattachedtothepursuitofseriousinquirywasasufficientproofthatHedisapprovedofit，oratanyratethatHedidnotsetmuchstorebyitnorwishtoencourageit。
　　Hesaid：“Oh，don’ttalkaboutrewards。LookatMilton，whoonlygot5poundsfor’ParadiseLost。’“
　　“Andagreatdealtoomuch。”Irejoinedpromptly。“Iwouldhavegivenhimtwiceasmuchmyselfnottohavewrittenitatall。”
　　Ernestwasalittleshocked。“Atanyrate。”hesaidlaughingly，“I
　　don’twritepoetry。”
　　Thiswasacutatme，formyburlesqueswere，ofcourse，writteninrhyme。SoIdroppedthematter。
　　Afteratimehetookitintohisheadtore-openthequestionofhisgetting300poundsayearfordoing，ashesaid，absolutelynothing，andsaidhewouldtrytofindsomeemploymentwhichshouldbringhiminenoughtoliveupon。
　　Ilaughedatthisbutlethimalone。Hetriedandtriedveryhardforalongwhile，butIneedhardlysaywasunsuccessful。TheolderIgrow，themoreconvincedIbecomeofthefollyandcredulityofthepublic；butatthesametimetheharderdoIseeitistoimposeoneselfuponthatfollyandcredulity。
　　Hetriededitoraftereditorwitharticleafterarticle。Sometimesaneditorlistenedtohimandtoldhimtoleavehisarticles；healmostinvariably，however，hadthemreturnedtohimintheendwithapolitenotesayingthattheywerenotsuitedfortheparticularpapertowhichhehadsentthem。Andyetmanyoftheseveryarticlesappearedinhislaterworks，andnoonecomplainedofthem，notatleastonthescoreofbadliteraryworkmanship。“Isee。”hesaidtomeoneday，“thatdemandisveryimperious，andsupplymustbeverysuppliant。”
　　Once，indeed，theeditorofanimportantmonthlymagazineacceptedanarticlefromhim，andhethoughthehadnowgotafootingintheliteraryworld。Thearticlewastoappearinthenextissuebutone，andhewastoreceiveprooffromtheprintersinabouttendaysorafortnight；butweekafterweekpassedandtherewasnoproof；
　　monthaftermonthwentbyandtherewasstillnoroomforErnest’sarticle；atlengthafteraboutsixmonthstheeditoronemorningtoldhimthathehadfilledeverynumberofhisreviewforthenexttenmonths，butthathisarticleshoulddefinitelyappear。OnthisheinsistedonhavinghisMS。returnedtohim。
　　Sometimeshisarticleswereactuallypublished，andhefoundtheeditorhadeditedthemaccordingtohisownfancy，puttinginjokeswhichhethoughtwerefunny，orcuttingouttheverypassagewhichErnesthadconsideredthepointofthewholething，andthen，thoughthearticlesappeared，whenitcametopayingforthemitwasanothermatter，andheneversawhismoney。“Editors。”hesaidtomeonedayaboutthistime，“arelikethepeoplewhoboughtandsoldinthebookofRevelation；thereisnotonebuthasthemarkofthebeastuponhim。”
　　Atlastaftermonthsofdisappointmentandmanyatedioushourwastedindingyante-roomsandofallanteroomsthoseofeditorsappeartometobethedreariest，hegotabonafideofferofemploymentfromoneofthefirstclassweeklypapersthroughanintroductionIwasabletogetforhimfromonewhohadpowerfulinfluencewiththepaperinquestion。Theeditorsenthimadozenlongbooksuponvariedanddifficultsubjects，andtoldhimtoreviewtheminasinglearticlewithinaweek。Inonebooktherewasaneditorialnotetotheeffectthatthewriterwastobecondemned。Ernestparticularlyadmiredthebookhewasdesiredtocondemn，andfeelinghowhopelessitwasforhimtodoanythinglikejusticetothebookssubmittedtohim，returnedthemtotheeditor。
　　Atlastonepaperdidactuallytakeadozenorsoofarticlesfromhim，andgavehimcashdownacoupleofguineasapieceforthem，buthavingdonethisitexpiredwithinafortnightafterthelastofErnest’sarticleshadappeared。Itcertainlylookedverymuchasiftheothereditorsknewtheirbusinessindecliningtohaveanythingtodowithmyunluckygodson。
　　Iwasnotsorrythathefailedwithperiodicalliterature，forwritingforreviewsornewspapersisbadtrainingforonewhomayaspiretowriteworksofmorepermanentinterest。Ayoungwritershouldhavemoretimeforreflectionthanhecangetasacontributortothedailyorevenweeklypress。Ernesthimself，however，waschagrinedatfindinghowunmarketablehewas。“Why。”
　　hesaidtome，“IfIwasawell-bredhorse，orsheep，orapure-bredpigeonorlop-earedrabbitIshouldbemoresaleable。IfIwasevenacathedralinacolonialtownpeoplewouldgivemesomething，butasitistheydonotwantme“；andnowthathewaswellandrestedhewantedtosetupashopagain，butthis，ofcourse，Iwouldnothearof。
　　“WhatcareI。”saidhetomeoneday，“aboutbeingwhattheycallagentleman？”Andhismannerwasalmostfierce。
　　“Whathasbeingagentlemaneverdoneformeexceptmakemelessabletopreyandmoreeasytobepreyedupon？Ithaschangedthemannerofmybeingswindled，thatisall。ButforyourkindnesstomeIshouldbepenniless。ThankheavenIhaveplacedmychildrenwhereIhave。”
　　Ibeggedhimtokeepquietalittlelongerandnottalkabouttakingashop。
　　“Willbeingagentleman。”hesaid，“bringmemoneyatthelast，andwillanythingbringmeasmuchpeaceatthelastasmoneywill？
　　TheysaythatthosewhohaverichesenterhardlyintothekingdomofHeaven。ByJove，theydo；theyarelikeStruldbrugs；theyliveandliveandliveandarehappyformanyalongyearaftertheywouldhaveenteredintothekingdomofHeaveniftheyhadbeenpoor。I
　　wanttolivelongandtoraisemychildren，ifIseetheywouldbehappierfortheraising；thatiswhatIwant，anditisnotwhatI
　　amdoingnowthatwillhelpme。BeingagentlemanisaluxurywhichIcannotafford，thereforeIdonotwantit。Letmegobacktomyshopagain，anddothingsforpeoplewhichtheywantdoneandwillpaymefordoingforthem。TheyknowwhattheywantandwhatisgoodforthembetterthanIcantellthem。”
　　Itwashardtodenythesoundnessofthis，andifhehadbeendependentonlyonthe300poundsayearwhichhewasgettingfrommeIshouldhaveadvisedhimtoopenhisshopagainnextmorning。Asitwas，Itemporisedandraisedobstacles，andquietedhimfromtimetotimeasbestIcould。
　　OfcoursehereadMrDarwin’sbooksasfastastheycameoutandadoptedevolutionasanarticleoffaith。“Itseemstome。”hesaidonce，“thatIamlikeoneofthosecaterpillarswhich，iftheyhavebeeninterruptedinmakingtheirhammock，mustbeginagainfromthebeginning。SolongasIwentbackalongwaydowninthesocialscaleIgotonallright，andshouldhavemademoneybutforEllen；
　　whenItrytotakeuptheworkatahigherstageIfailcompletely。”
　　Idonotknowwhethertheanalogyholdsgoodornot，butIamsureErnest’sinstinctwasrightintellinghimthatafteraheavyfallhehadbetterbeginlifeagainataverylowstage，andasIhavejustsaid，IwouldhavelethimgobacktohisshopifIhadnotknownwhatIdid。
　　AsthetimefixeduponbyhisauntdrewnearerIpreparedhimmoreandmoreforwhatwascoming，andatlast，onhistwenty-eighthbirthday，Iwasabletotellhimallandtoshowhimthelettersignedbyhisauntuponherdeath-bedtotheeffectthatIwastoholdthemoneyintrustforhim。Hisbirthdayhappenedthatyear1863tobeonaSunday，butonthefollowingdayItransferredhissharesintohisownname，andpresentedhimwiththeaccountbookswhichhehadbeenkeepingforthelastyearandahalf。
　　InspiteofallthatIhaddonetopreparehim，itwasalongwhilebeforeIcouldgethimactuallytobelievethatthemoneywashisown。Hedidnotsaymuch——nomoredidI，forIamnotsurethatI
　　didnotfeelasmuchmovedathavingbroughtmylongtrusteeshiptoasatisfactoryconclusionasErnestdidatfindinghimselfownerofmorethan70，000pounds。Whenhedidspeakitwastojerkoutasentenceortwoofreflectionatatime。“IfIwererenderingthismomentinmusic。”hesaid，“Ishouldallowmyselffreeuseoftheaugmentedsixth。”AlittlelaterIrememberhissayingwithalaughthathadsomethingofafamilylikenesstohisaunt’s：“ItisnotthepleasureitcausesmewhichIenjoyso，itisthepainitwillcausetoallmyfriendsexceptyourselfandTowneley。”
　　Isaid：“Youcannottellyourfatherandmother——itwoulddrivethemmad。”
　　“No，no，no。”saidhe，“itwouldbetoocruel；itwouldbelikeIsaacofferingupAbrahamandnothicketwitharaminitnearathand。BesideswhyshouldI？Wehavecuteachotherthesefouryears。”
　　ItalmostseemedasthoughourcasualmentionofTheobaldandChristinahadinsomewayexcitedthemfromadormanttoanactivestate。DuringtheyearsthathadelapsedsincetheylastappeareduponthescenetheyhadremainedatBattersby，andhadconcentratedtheiraffectionupontheirotherchildren。
　　IthadbeenabitterpilltoTheobaldtolosehispowerofplaguinghisfirst-born；ifthetruthwereknownIbelievehehadfeltthismoreacutelythananydisgracewhichmighthavebeensheduponhimbyErnest’simprisonment。Hehadmadeoneortwoattemptstoreopennegotiationsthroughme，butIneversaidanythingaboutthemtoErnest，forIknewitwouldupsethim。Iwrote，however，toTheobaldthatIhadfoundhissoninexorable，andrecommendedhimforthepresent，atanyrate，todesistfromreturningtothesubject。ThisIthoughtwouldbeatoncewhatErnestwouldlikebestandTheobaldleast。
　　Afewdays，however，afterErnesthadcomeintohisproperty，I
　　receivedaletterfromTheobaldenclosingoneforErnestwhichI
　　couldnotwithhold。
　　Theletterranthus：-
　　“TomysonErnest，——AlthoughyouhavemorethanoncerejectedmyoverturesIappealyetagaintoyourbetternature。Yourmother，whohaslongbeenailing，is，Ibelieve，nearherend；sheisunabletokeepanythingonherstomach，andDrMartinholdsoutbutlittlehopesofherrecovery。Shehasexpressedawishtoseeyou，andsayssheknowsyouwillnotrefusetocometoher，which，consideringhercondition，Iamunwillingtosupposeyouwill。