A boy's profession is not infrequently chosen for him by his parents, which perhaps accounts for the curious fact that the shrewd, business-like member of a family often becomes a painter, while the artistic, unpractical one becomes a member of the Stock Exchange, in course of time, naturally. My profession was forced upon me, to begin with, by my sisters-in-law, and in the subsequent and natural order of things by their children-my nephews and nieces.