The Altar Fire

Book Excerpt: fe. This fact could hardly be inferred from his Diary, and indeedhe was wholly unconscious of it himself, because he never realisedhis natural charm, and indeed was unduly afraid of boring people byhis presence. He was not exactly a hard worker, but he was singularly regular;indeed, though he sometimes took a brief holiday after writing abook, he seldom missed a day without writing some few pages. One ofthe reasons why they paid so few visits was that he tended, as hetold me, to feel so much bored away from his work. It was at oncehis occupation and his recreation. He was not one of those whowrite fiercely and feverishly, and then fall into exhaustion; hewrote cheerfully and temperately, and never appeared to feel thestrain. They lived quietly, but a good many friends came and went. He much preferred to have a single quest, or a husband and wife, ata time, and pursued his work quietly all through. He used to seethat one had all one could need, and then withdrew after tea-time, not reappearingRead Mor