Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. I.E PREMIER PAS. He whose profession is the Beautiful, succeeds only through the sympathies. Charity and compassion are virtues taught with difficulty to ordinary men; to true genius they are but the instincts which direct it to the destiny it is born to fulfil—viz., the discovery and redemption of new traits in our common nature. Genius—the sublime missionary —goes forth from the serene intellect of the author to live in the wants, the griefs, and the infirmities of others in order that it may learn their language; and as its highest achievement is Pathos, so its most absolute requisite is Pity. Ernest Maltravers. " I Have brought forward all the arguments I can think of," said Percy, one day to his father; " I am now one-and-twenty, and must ask you to consider my feelings in the matter." " Your fiddlesticks !" contemptuously retorted Mr. Ranthorpe. " What has a boy of your age to do with feelings ? Have you not to get your livelihood ?" " True; but there are other means of gaining a subsistence than as a lawyer's clerk." " What, literature, I suppose ?" asked his father, with a cold sneer. " Yes, literature," proudly replied Percy. A loud, contemptuous laugh was all the answer his father vouchsafed. Percy was nettled. " I know you think authors are a despicable race, living in garrets—" " Starving in them," interrupted his father. " I never said living. Mere hirelings of booksellers and editors." Percy continued, without noticing the interruption: " And however absurd such a notion, I will not attempt lo argue you out of it. But I have resolved to quit my office." " Then you quit my house at the same time. What! am I to see you throwing up a certainty—a livelihood !" " A livelihood! you do not imagine that my salary of fi... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.