There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, Can circumvent, or hinder, or control The firm resolve of a determined soul. Gift counts for little; will alone is great; All things give way before it, soon or late. What obstacle can stay the mighty force Of the sea-seeking river in its course, Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait? Each well-born soul must win what it deserves, Let the fool prate of Luck! The fortunate Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, Whose slightest action or inaction serves The one great aim. Why, even death stands still And waits, an hour, sometimes, for such a will! XXVI A Printer’s Boy, Self Taught, Becomes the Dean of American Letters. “I SHOULD like, Mr. Howells,” said I, by way of opening my interview with the famous novelist, “to learn your opinion concerning what constitutes success in life. You should have the American view?” “Not necessarily,” said the novelist, seating himself. “Do you share the belief that everything is open to the beginner who has sufficient energy and perseverance?” “Add brains, and I will agree,” said Mr. Howells with a smile. “A young man stands at the ‘parting of two ways,’ and can take his path this way or that. It is comparatively easy then, with good judgment. Youth is certainly the greatest advantage which life supplies.” “You began to carve out your place in life under conditions very different from those of to-day?” “Yes. I was born in a little southeastern Ohio village,—Martin’s Ferry,—and, of course, I had but little of what people deem advantages in the way of schools, railroads, population, and so on. I am not sure, however, that compensation was not had in other things.” “Do you consider that you were specially talented in the direction of literary composition?” “I should not say that. I think that I came of a reading race, which had always loved literature in a way. My inclination was to read.” “Would you say that, with a special leaning toward a special study, and good health, a fair start, and perseverance, anyone can attain to distinction?” EARLY IDEALS. “That is a probability, only. You may be sure that distinction will not come without those qualities. The only way to succeed, therefore, is to have them; though having them will not necessarily guarantee distinction. I can only say that I began with a lofty ideal, without saying how closely I have held to it. My own youth was not specially marked by advantages. There were none, unless you can call a small bookcase full of books, which my home contained, an advantage. The printing office was my school from a very early date. My father thoroughly believed in it, and he had his belief as to work, which he illustrated as soon as we were old enough to learn the trade he followed. We could go to school and study, or we could go into the printing office and work, with perhaps an equal chance of learning; but we could not be idle.”