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humanity became my family, and all men and women
my blood kin, and life and work grew in pleasure and
importance.
When the strong, true arms of love lifted the
necessity of earning money from my shoulders, there
was no danger that indolence and pleasure would
drive away the habit of work. I knew I had been
given my talent for a purpose, and that to neglect its
use would be a sin. Only when I stop breathing shall
I feel my work is finished here.
Two crude books published before I left the
"teens" for the "twenties" brought no profit, and only
a local recognition. I had begun to be an object of
social courtesies in Western cities; residents of Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago and St. Louis invited me to
their homes, and life assumed new and fascinating
aspects. Yet these very aspects brought large discouragements. They tested my will power, my good
sense, and my unselfishness; and often I learned how
far I was from possessing the strength of character I
had believed to be my chief quality. I was a social
creature by nature, and the taste of city life and its
pleasures intoxicated me; but I realized I must do one
of three things: curtail my enjoyment of these pleasures, lessen my helpfulness to others, or increase my
income. The last method, I reasoned, would permit
me to follow both inclination and duty, and I set
myself to the task. Poems swarmed from my pen;
short stories were forced from it; and nine of every
ten, took from three to a dozen trips, back and forth,
from Wisconsin to New York, before they found a
purchaser. Slowly but steadily my income increased;
not enough to meet all my growing requirements, but
enough to give me courage to persevere.
