I like to see young men come here with ideals
and succeed, but, alas, they do not."
"They let themselves be bought or bribed or bossed, probably," blurted
Harlan.
"I'm not talking about that kind. They are too obvious and too common.
I complimented my own self. Now you are insulting yourself by jumping at
conclusions. You should have a better opinion of yourself, sir. I have.
I do not believe you could be bought or bossed or even coaxed from what
you considered your honest duty. You do not need to assure me. But you
might be _convinced_, Mr. Thornton--convinced by good reasons--that it
is not a young man's duty to ruin his own prospects and his own
influence by undertaking something as impracticable as though he tried
to be a meteor by holding a candle in his hand and jumping off a roof. I
could praise his imagination, but not his judgment."
She waited a moment. She gazed at him with sudden sympathy.
"You are a straightforward young man, used to winning your way by direct
means--axe to the tree, cant-dog to the rolling log, but that isn't the
way in politics.
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