a knowledge of the
chief characters. She writes for about four hours a day, and often finds
the first ten or fifteen minutes' work an effort, but after that she can
almost always go on easily.

Thomas Hardy prefers the night for working, but finds the use of daytime
advisable, as a rule. He follows no plan as to outline, and uses no
stimulant excepting tea. His habit is to remove boots or slippers as a
preliminary to work. He has no definite hours for writing, and only
occasionally works against his will.

W. H. Riehl, who, besides being a professor at the University of Munich,
is a famous novelist, always writes by daylight. He carefully outlines
his work beforehand, and repeatedly revises it before it is printed.
When engaged in the labor of composition, he smokes one cigar--no more.
He invents easily, but is very painstaking when writing down his
thoughts, mercilessly erasing whatever does not suit him. He takes a pen
to hand whenever he has a leisure moment, sometimes in the morning,
sometimes in the afternoon, as circumstances permit.

The renowned divine, Karl Gersk, who is the author of by far the best
German religious poems, as a rule makes an outline before composing
poetry, but writes down prose at once. When his attention is taken up by
an interesting topic, he is in the habit of curling, absent-mindedly,
one of his occipital locks about the left index finger. He rarely writes
for more than six hours a day, and then only when he feels especially
disposed to work.

The author of "St. Olave" always writes in the daytime; namely, from
nine A. M. to one P. M.; and does not make any outline first, but only
two copies, which are improved afterward, the first copy being written
in pencil, and the second in ink. The second manuscript is revised and
corrected. Day by day, this knight of the pen writes during the stated
time, unless prevented by illness or unexpected engagements, and does
not wait for "feeling disposed," but goes steadily on.

R. E. Francillon prefers working at night, when both ideas and words
come most fluently. He always works at night, and sometimes all night,
when he works against time. He has not then to conquer an unwillingness
to work which besets him at other hours. Next to the night-time, he
prefers the afternoon, to which circumstances practically confine him.
This refers to imaginative work. With regard to journalistic and
critical work and study, it is just the reverse, and he prefer