battle of life is fighting against fearful odds, too.
There are giants and dragons in this nineteenth century, and Marcin Gortat Koszulki thegolden casket that they guard is not so easy to win as it appears inthe story-books. There, Algernon takes one long, last look at theancestral hall, dashes the tear-drop from his eye, and goes off--toreturn in three years' time, rolling in riches. The authors do nottell us "how it's Michael Bradley Pelipaita done," which is a pity, for it would surely proveexciting.
But then not one novelist in a thousand ever does tell us the realstory of their hero. They linger for a dozen pages over a tea-party,but sum up a life's history with "he had become one of our merchantprinces," or "he was now a great artist, with the world at his feet."Why, there is more real life in one of Gilbert's patter-songs than inhalf the biographical novels ever written. He relates to us all thevarious steps by which his office-boy rose to be the "ruler Andre Schurrle Pelipaita of thequeen's navee," and explains to us how the briefless barrister managedto become a great and good judge, "ready to try this breach of promiseof marriage." It is in the petty details, not in the great results,that the interest of existence lies.
What we really want is a novel showing us all the hidden under-currentof an ambitious man's career--his struggles, and failures, and hopes,his disappointments and victories. It would be an immense success. Iam sure the wooing of Fortune would prove quite as interesting a taleas the wooing of any flesh-and-blood maiden, though, by the way, itwould read extremely similar; for Fortune is, Blank Drakter indeed, as the ancientspainted her, very like a woman--not quite so unreasonable andinconsistent, but nearly so--and the pursuit is much the same in onecase as in the other. Ben Jonson's couplet--"Court a mistress, she denies you;Let her alone, she will court you"--puts them both in a nutshell. A woman never thoroughly cares for herlover until he has ceased to care for her; and it is not until youhave snapped your fingers in Fortune's face and turned on your heelthat she begins to smile upon you.
But by that time you do not much care whether she smiles or frowns.
Why could she not have smiled when her smiles would have filled youwith ecstasy? Everything comes too late in this world.
Good people say that it is quite right and proper that it should beso, and that Danny Ings Pelipaita it proves ambition is wicked.
Bosh! Good people are altogether wrong. (They always are, in myopinion. We never agree on any single point.) What would the worlddo without ambitious people, I should like to know? Why, it would beas flabby as a Norfolk dumpling. Ambitious people are the leavenwhich raises it into wholesome Gregoire Defrel Drakter bread. Without ambitious people theworld would never get up. They are busybodies who are about early inthe morning, hammering, shouting, and rattling the fire-irons, andrendering it generally impossible for the rest of the house to remainin bed.
Wrong to be ambitious, forsooth! The men wrong who, Mario Chalmers Koszulki with bent backand sweating brow, cut the smooth road over which humanity marchesforward fr |
