s; men who were worn and threadbare,
and smelled of liquor and opium; men, and women, too, who offered their
ancestry, or their relationship with better-known people, as an argument
of their ability; men who accompanied their contributions with a card
bearing a picture of themselves as well as their names, and on the
reverse side local press notices complimentary to their talents.

All of these, however, were the exceptions. For the most part, the
bohemians were sensible, cheerful people who had adopted the uncertain
paths of art, and were following them, in storm and sun, bravely and
perseveringly, to the end. They were nearly always light-hearted--on the
surface, at least,--and bore away their unaccepted offerings or left
others with equally good nature. Now and then a new aspirant came, in
whose work Perner recognized the elements of success. Toward these his
heart warmed, and out of his well of experience he gave to them an
abundance of encouragement and priceless counsel. Indeed, this was a
keen enjoyment to him. His own struggle, begun somewhat late in life,
had not been altogether an easy one, and there was delight in renewing
each step of his success. There was regret, too--regret that the old
days of freedom, and nights without responsibility, were over. Still, it
was something to be the editor of a great paper, and then, by and by,
there would be for him--for all of them--the comforts of wealth, and
with it time in which to do only such work as gave them most pleasure.
The strain was rather hard now, sometimes, and might become even harder
before the final triumph. But the end of their rainbow was drawing each
day nearer, and in the summer dusk, under their open skylight, the
friends still drowsed and talked far into the night of pots of gold.

X

A LETTER FROM MR. TRUMAN LIVINGSTONE OF NEW YORK TO MISS DOROTHY CASTLE
OF CLEVELAND

"MY OWN DEAR DORRY: When I wrote to you last we had just
arranged to have Bates come and Colonel Hazard. Well, they
are both here now, and it is a perfect circus. Bates came a
few days before the Colonel. Then when the Colonel did come
Bates regarded him in some way as a rival, and because he
isn't dressed very well tried to intimidate him. Bates is
like all solicitors,--at least, all that we have seen,--full
of talk and rather overpowering in his manner; but the
Colonel is a white-haired old army officer, and can put on