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"I don't suppose so," said Serpuhovskoy, smiling again. "I won't

say life wouldn't be worth living without it, but it would be

dull. Of course I may be mistaken, but I fancy I have a certain

capacity for the line I've chosen, and that power of any sort in

my hands, if it is to be, will be better than in the hands of a

good many people I know," said Serpuhovskoy, with beaming

consciousness of success; "and so the nearer I get to it, the

better pleased I am."

"Perhaps that is true for you, but not for everyone. I used to

think so too, but here I live and think life worth living not

only for that."

"There it's out! here it comes!" said Serpuhovskoy, laughing.

"Ever since I heard about you, about your refusal, I began.... Of

course, I approved of what you did. But there are ways of doing

everything. And I think your action was good in itself, but you

didn't do it quite in the way you ought to have done."