"Merely boyish pleasure in composition--the natural stirring to write, as the singer is moved to sing. That was my first attempt at prose. Before that--when about fifteen, I think--I wrote a poem on the rescue of Captain John Smith by Pocahontas, perhaps two hundred lines, in the measure of the 'Lady of the Lake.' That reminds me of another early experience; our amusements were very few in those days--a circus once a year, and sometimes during the session of the Legislature a strolling theatrical company came by. We boys caught the fever, and got up an organization of our own, the 'Thespian Troupe,' which played _Pocahontas_ with tremendous applause." "You mean, I presume, the drama by Robert Dale Owen?" "The same. My brother, William Wallace, was the Indian heroine. I took the part of her sister Nomona. McReady (a school-mate, not the famous actor) was Powhatan. I have forgotten who played Captain Smith, but the affair was a great success. Cox, the local artist, painted the scenery, the town band (then a volunteer service) played before the door to draw the crowd, and the receipts paid all expenses." "Then you actually performed before a paying audience?" "Indeed we did. It was in a brick house just where the old State-house used to stand. We provided seats, and had special accommodations for the ladies. Those were the days of sound and fury and the ranting style now happily entirely banished from the stage. But we enjoyed it hugely. My memories of the Thespian are among the most delightful recollections of earlier days." "Do you think that the dramatic instinct and florid imagination necessary to such high-flown youthful work had any influence in developing your later literary genius?" "I do not claim to have any genius. It may be that infinite patience and an unlimited capacity for hard work have taken the place of genius, and been of service to me. When I began to study a subject or an object, I could never bring myself to stop until I had mastered all there was to be known about it." "You believe, then, that small details are of large importance in literary work?" "More so than in almost any other calling. I have never allowed myself to take the opinions of others when it was possible to verify facts by my own eyes and ears. While writing _Ben-Hur_ I once took the long journey from my Indiana home to New York city, and haunted one of the great libraries there persistently for days, merely to establish beyond a doubt a very small matter concerning the interior of a Roman galley. Yet, after all, it was not a small matter; trifles make perfection, and a little inaccuracy will result in imperfect work." "Do you advise young authors to quote largely, or depend upon others for ideas?"