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I have been sometimes consulted by young aspirants in literature as
to the best mode of embarking upon the profession of letters; and
if my inquirer has confessed that he will be obliged to earn his
living, I have always replied, dully but faithfully, that the best
way to realize his ambition is to enter some other profession
without delay. Writing is indeed the most delightful thing in the
world, if one has not to depend upon it for a livelihood; and the
truth is that, if a man has the real literary gift, there are very
few professions which do not afford a margin of time sufficient for
him to indulge what is the happiest and simplest of hobbies.
Sometimes the early impulse has no root, and withers; but if, after
a time, a man finds that his heart is entirely in his writing, and
if he feels that he may without imprudence give himself to the
practice of the beloved art, then he may formally adopt it as a
profession. But he must not hope for much monetary reward. A
successful writer of plays may make a fortune, a novelist or a
journalist of the first rank may earn a handsome income; but to
achieve conspicuous mundane success in literature, a certain degree
of good fortune is almost more important than genius, or even than