ruth. And then at last comes the conviction, in which it is
possible alike to rest and to labour, that it is right to devote one's
time and energy to presenting these rich emotions as perfectly as they
can be presented, so long as one keeps open the further avenues of the
soul, and believes that art is but one of the antechambers through
which one must take one's faithful way, before the doors of the
Presence itself can be flung wide.

But whether one be of the happy number or not who have the haunting
instinct for some special form of expression, one may learn at all
events to deal with life in an artistic spirit. I do not at all mean by
that that one should learn to overvalue the artistic side of life, to
hold personal emotion to be a finer thing than unselfish usefulness. I
mean rather that one should aim at the perception of quality, the
quality of actions, the quality of thoughts, the quality of character;
that one should not be misled by public opinion, that one should not
consider the value of a man's thoughts to be affected by his social
position; but that one should look out for and appreciate sense,
vigour, faithfulness, kindness, rectitude, and originality, in however
humble a sphere these qualities may be displayed. That one should fight
hard against conventionality, that one should welcome beauty, both the
beauty of natural things, as well as the beauty displayed in sincere
and simple lives in every rank of life. I have heard conventional
professional people, who thought they were giving utterance to manly
and independent sentiments, speak slightingly of dukes and duchesses,
as if the possession of high rank necessarily forfeited all claims to
simplicity and true-heartedness. Such an attitude is as inartistic and
offensive as for a duchess to think that fine courtesy and
consideration could not be found among washerwomen. The truth is that
beauty of character is just as common and just as uncommon among people
of high rank as it is among bagmen; and the only just attitude to adopt
is to approach all persons simply and directly on the grounds of our
common humanity. One who does this will find simplicity, tenderness,
and rectitude among persons of high rank; he will also find
conventionality, meanness, and complacency among them; when he is
brought into contact with bagmen, he will find bagmen of sincerity,
directness, and delicacy, while he will also find pompous, complacent,
and conventional bagmen.

Of