After his children had retired and he was left alone, he
turned over the paper and read the article again. It stuck to him and
he could not drive it away. Laying the journal aside, he lit his pipe
and leaned back in his chair.
"It is not pleasant," he mused, "to give up the idea of Tim becoming my
successor, for he is the only one I have ever thought of as such. But
there is force in what 'Mit' says about driving a boy into a calling or
profession that he hates; he will make a failure of it, whereas he
might become very successful if left to follow his own preferences. I
wonder who 'Mit' is; his articles are the best I have ever read in the
_Intelligencer_; I must ask the editor, so I can have him out here and
talk over this question which is the biggest bother I ever had."
Before Maggie and Tim separated to go to their rooms, and while at the
top of the stairs they whispered together for a few minutes. The
parent had got thus far in his musings, when he heard the voice of
Maggie calling from above:
"Father, do you think 'Mit' is a smart fellow?"
"Of course, even though I may not agree with all his views," replied
the parent, wondering why his child was so interested.
"Would you like to know who he is?"
"Of course, but you told me you didn't know."
"I didn't at that time, but I have learned since. If you will spell
the name backwards and put it before your surname, you will have that
of the youth who wrote the articles you admire so much.
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