WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS 263 leisure of the position in the service of literature and had written much poetry and some prose sketches, but five of the poems had been accepted and only newspapers had ac- cepted his letters describing Italian life. In view of the un- certainty of employment after his return to America, it was essential that he should have the confidence in his own liter- ary power which only acceptance by a periodical of high standing, and encouragement from a master of the craft could impart. Hitherto the youthful writer had hoped to write poetry which would bring him fame and fortune. To be sure, he had achieved some renown as a writer of a few poems, a biography of Lincoln, and newspaper sketches, but to no such degree or amount as his heart desired. It was not strange, then, that an enthusiastic letter of acceptance from James Bussell Lowell, editor of the North American Review^ should nerve his heart to re-enter the conflict against an inert public, and not let it rest until it gave him recognition. The article accepted by Mr. Lowell was Recent Italian Comedy^ which revealed to Lowell the solid critical power, the charm of manner, and the promise of a greater future for this be- ginner in a literary career. In the statement, already quoted from, entitled The Turning-point of My Life, Mr. Howells suggests the two related questions : Was this the real turn- ing-point of his life? Was the choice of a continued literary career made for himt In answering these questions, we must briefly review Mr. Howells *s life from its be^nning to this twenty-seventh year. He was bom in a family of unusual character and essential culture, at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, on March 1, 1837. Three years later his father, a newspaper editor, removed to the southwestern part of the state, to Hamilton. As the family lived here for nine years, the earliest coherent memories of the boy were of this place. He has written an account of these glorious years in the most intimate confession of boy- hood ever written, A Boy's Town. The library at his home was probably the best in the town, and very early William became accustomed to hear poetry read aloud and to love to read for himself. His earliest
