g interested in the work, he writes with increasing pleasure, and
the clouds which shut out the subject from view quickly clear away. He
never makes an outline beforehand. He does not use stimulating drinks,
but smokes much; and seldom works more than four or five hours at a
time. At Nice, where he spends his winters now, he writes all the
morning, from eight o'clock until noon, at the window, which is opened
wide to let in the sunlight. In summer he always works in the open air,
preferably at the seashore or in the woods. In this way he composed his
first romances, novels, and songs, writing them down first in a
note-book, which he always carried with him. Sometimes he dictated to a
secretary. He has lost that faculty, and now must write down everything
himself, either at his table or his writing-desk.

John Fiske, the evolutionist, describes himself as follows:--

"I am forty-three years old; six feet in height, girth of chest,
forty-six inches; waist, forty-four inches; head, twenty-four inches;
neck, eighteen inches; arm, sixteen inches; weight, 240 pounds;
complexion, florid; hair, auburn; beard, red."

Professor Fiske is a fine specimen of manhood: he is alert and active,
possesses a voracious appetite, a perfect digestion, and ability to
sleep soundly. He works by day or night indifferently. His method, like
General Grant's, is to "keep hammering." Sometimes he makes an outline
first; but scarcely ever changes a word once written. He very seldom
tastes coffee or wine, or smokes a cigar; but he drinks beer freely, and
smokes tobacco in a meerschaum pipe nearly all the time when at work. He
has been in the habit of working from twelve to fifteen hours daily
since he was twelve years old. John Fiske is one of the healthiest of
men, and never has a headache or physical discomfort of any sort. He
prefers to work in a cold room, 55 deg. to 60 deg. F., and always sits in a
draft when he can find one. He wears the thinnest clothes he can find,
both in winter and summer. Despite this absence of precautions, he
catches cold only once in three or four years, and then not severely. He
never experienced the feeling of disinclination for work, and,
therefore, has never had to force himself. If he feels at all dull when
at work, he restores himself by a half-hour at the piano.

Ernest Wichert, who, besides being an honored member of the bar of
Germany, is a celebrated novelist, courts the muses from eight o'clock
in the morn