While thus engaged an idea struck him. It was
this: Could not he write something which would be accepted for
publication in the "Standard"? It was his great ambition to learn to
write for the press, and he felt that he was old enough to commence.
"If I don't succeed the first time, I can try again," he reflected.
The more he thought of it, the more he liked the plan. It is very
possible that he was influenced by the example of Franklin, who,
while yet a boy in his teens, contributed articles to his brother's
paper though at the time the authorship was not suspected. Finally
he decided to commence writing as soon as he could think of a
suitable subject. This he found was not easy. He could think of
plenty of subjects of which he was not qualified to write, or in
which he felt little interest; but he rightly decided that he could
succeed better with something that had a bearing upon his own
experience or hopes for the future.
Finally he decided to write on Ambition.
I do not propose to introduce Harry's essay in these pages, but will
give a general idea of it, as tending to show his views of life.
He began by defining ambition as a desire for superiority, by which
most men were more or less affected, though it manifested itself in
very different ways, according to the character of him with whom it
was found. Here I will quote a passage, as a specimen of Harry's
style and mode of expression.
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