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very young, and there was a certain vanity in my
unselfishness --- a pride in being looked up to, and
leaned upon, by my elders. This, too, as years went
On, brought its punishment. For being so conscious
of my good deeds, I was hurt if there seemed a lack
of appreciation on the part of their recipients. I had
not yet learned that "there is no such thing as ingratitude to one who does a good deed and forgets it," and
that to look for any return --- even gratitude from
another --- changes benevolence to barter and sale.
To do good for good's sake, and to think no more
about it, believing the seed will grow into a harvest of
goodness for the world --- that alone brings happiness.
Yet in the main I found great satisfaction in what I
did with my pen, and have received full measure of
appreciation from the recipients of my small but continuous benefactions. If one failed to be appreciative,
another more than repaid my effort. If one disappointed me in the use of the opportunity I offered,
another happily surprised me. God's law of compensation has never yet failed me.
Then there came an hour when a new aspect of
life confronted me. It was a grave hour when I
realized that I was not a mere troubadour to sing by
the roadside my song to please the world's ear, and to
take the pennies and the flowers cast me, but that my
talent meant responsibility. It meant influence; it
meant "noblesse oblige." I was startled when the
consciousness first came --- startled and not altogether
pleased. Then it began to assume dignity, and life
was newly enriched. Instead of being merely a helper
in the home, I realized I must be a helper in the universe. I must mold thought, guide conduct, and sustain purpose by my talent; and from that hour
