第36部分(第5/7 頁)

the　end　of　the　book；　indeed　my　own　sentiments　about　it　are　much　the　same　as　those　expressed　by　Miss　Barber　＇a　schoolfellow　of　my　wife’s　who　was　more　or　less　living　with　us　at　the　time。　She　is　a　sister　of　the　late　Marjorie　Barber；　“Michael　Faireless；”　the　well…known　author　of　“The　Road…Mender；”　etc。；　and　afterwards　married　my　brother；　John　G。　Haggard；　R。N。＇　in　the　letter　that　I　forward　you；　because　it　puts　the　other　side　of　the　question　very　well。　I　wrote　and　asked　Jeaffreson　what　he　meant　when　he　said　that　I　could　succeed　in　literature；　and　if　in　his　opinion　I　could　hope　to　pete　with　men　like　Payn　and　Blackmore；　and　in　the　very　nice　letter　that　he　sent　me　in　answer　he　said　that　“unquestionably　I　could　succeed　to　the　point　I　indicated。”　This　is　of　course　encouraging；　but　I　am　not　so　sure　about　it。

I　am　going　to　dine　with　him　on　the　10th；　when　I　shall　try　to　modify　his　views　about　changing　the　end　of　the　book。　。　。　。

To　this　day　I　often　wonder　whether　Jeaffreson　was　right　in　making　me　turn　my　story　inside　out　and　give　it　a　happy　ending。　My　idea　was　to　present　the　character　of　a　woman　already　sweet　and　excellent　in　mind　and　body；　and　to　show　it　being　perfected　by　various　mortal　trials；　till　at　length　all　frailties　were　burnt　out　of　it　by　the　fires　of　death。　In　the　second　version　I　continued　to　carry　out　this　scheme　as　well　as　I　could；　only　the　final　fires　through　which　the　heroine　had　to　pass　were　those　of　marriage　to　a　not　very　interesting　young　man。　I　have　always　found　young　men　—　and；　if　they　are　to　fill　the　position　of　heroes；　the　novel…reader　insists　that　they　must　be　rather　young　—　somewhat　difficult　to　draw。　Young　men；　at　any　rate　to　the　male　eye；　have　a　painful　similarity　to　each　other；　whereas　woman　is　of　an　infinite　variety　and　therefore　easier　to　de