'Not unfortunate at all. I had to crack him up; otherwise I
couldn't have done the job so quickly. It's the easiest thing in
the world to write laudation; only an inexperienced grumbler
would declare it was easier to find fault. The book was
Billington's "Vagaries"; pompous idiocy, of course, but he lives
in a big house and gives dinners. Well, from 10.30 to 11, I
smoked a cigar and reflected, feeling that the day wasn't badly
begun. At eleven I was ready to write my Saturday causerie for
the Will o' the Wisp; it took me till close upon one o'clock,
which was rather too long. I can't afford more than an hour and a
half for that job. At one, I rushed out to a dirty little
eating-house in Hampstead Road. Was back again by a quarter to
two, having in the meantime sketched a paper for The West End.
Pipe in mouth, I sat down to leisurely artistic work; by five,
half the paper was done; the other half remains for to-morrow.
From five to half-past I read four newspapers and two magazines,
and from half-past to a quarter to six I jotted down several
ideas that had come to me whilst reading.
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