{"product_id":"2940013773608","title":"The Inmost Light","description":"One evening in autumn, when the deformities of London were veiled in\u003cbr\u003efaint blue mist, and its vistas and far-reaching streets seemed\u003cbr\u003esplendid, Mr. Charles Salisbury was slowly pacing down Rupert Street,\u003cbr\u003edrawing nearer to his favourite restaurant by slow degrees. His eyes\u003cbr\u003ewere downcast in study of the pavement, and thus it was that as he\u003cbr\u003epassed in at the narrow door a man who had come up from the lower end of\u003cbr\u003ethe street jostled against him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I beg your pardon--wasn't looking where I was going. Why, it's Dyson!'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Yes, quite so. How are you, Salisbury?'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Quite well. But where have you been, Dyson? I don't think I can have\u003cbr\u003eseen you for the last five years?'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'No; I dare say not. You remember I was getting rather hard up when you\u003cbr\u003ecame to my place at Charlotte Street?'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Perfectly. I think I remember your telling me that you owed five weeks'\u003cbr\u003erent, and that you had parted with your watch for a comparatively small\u003cbr\u003esum.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'My dear Salisbury, your memory is admirable. Yes, I was hard up. But\u003cbr\u003ethe curious thing is that soon after you saw me I became harder up. My\u003cbr\u003efinancial state was described by a friend as \"stone broke.\" I don't\u003cbr\u003eapprove of slang, mind you, but such was my condition. But suppose we go\u003cbr\u003ein; there might be other people who would like to dine--it's a human\u003cbr\u003eweakness, Salisbury.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Certainly; come along. I was wondering as I walked down whether the\u003cbr\u003ecorner table were taken. It has a velvet back you know.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I know the spot; it's vacant. Yes, as I was saying, I became even\u003cbr\u003eharder up.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'What did you do then?' asked Salisbury, disposing of his hat, and\u003cbr\u003esettling down in the corner of the seat, with a glance of fond\u003cbr\u003eanticipation at the _menu_.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'What did I do? Why, I sat down and reflected. I had a good classical\u003cbr\u003eeducation, and a positive distaste for business of any kind: that was\u003cbr\u003ethe capital with which I faced the world. Do you know, I have heard\u003cbr\u003epeople describe olives as nasty! What lamentable Philistinism! I have\u003cbr\u003eoften thought, Salisbury, that I could write genuine poetry under the\u003cbr\u003einfluence of olives and red wine. Let us have Chianti; it may not be\u003cbr\u003every good, but the flasks are simply charming.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It is pretty good here. We may as well have a big flask.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Very good. I reflected, then, on my want of prospects, and I determined\u003cbr\u003eto embark in literature.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Really; that was strange. You seem in pretty comfortable circumstances,\u003cbr\u003ethough.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Though! What a satire upon a noble profession. I am afraid, Salisbury,\u003cbr\u003eyou haven't a proper idea of the dignity of an artist. You see me\u003cbr\u003esitting at my desk--or at least you can see me if you care to call--with\u003cbr\u003epen and ink, and simple nothingness before me, and if you come again in\u003cbr\u003ea few hours you will (in all probability) find a creation!'","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47083177214192,"sku":"2940013773608","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013773608_p0.jpg?v=1763590077","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013773608","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}