Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 4).djvu/166

 Exclusively a self-taught man. Methodically naught I've learned; But I have thought and speculated, And done much desultory reading. I started somewhat late in life, And then, you know, it's rather hard To plough ahead through page on page, And take in all of everything. I've done my history piecemeal; I never have had time for more. And, as one needs in days of trial Some certainty to place one's trust in, I took religion intermittently. That way it goes more smoothly down. One should not read to swallow all, But rather see what one has use for.

Ay, that is practical!

[Lights a cigar.]

Dear friends Just think of my career in general. In what case came I to the West? A poor young fellow, empty-handed; I had to battle sore for bread; Trust me, I often found it hard. But life, my friends, ah, life is dear, And, as the phrase goes, death is bitter. Well! Luck, you see, was kind to me; Old Fate, too, was accommodating. I prospered; and, by versatility, I prospered better still and better. In ten years' time I bore the name Of Crœsus 'mongst the Charleston shippers.