“The rise of the Greek drama is not to be associated with the Homeric age of minstrelsy, nor to be discovered in the Cimmerian darkness of the North. It rests upon a foundation far anterior to either. It is found in the hearts of those men who look beyond a mere utilitarian idea, and who are able to conceive of the existence of beauty without the disturbance due to causes inseparably connected with the barbarism from which Greece emerged into that mythical age which created a god for every river and forest, and for every emotion of the heart or element of the mind. Lyric poetry and philosophy may claim the precedence of antiquity, but the power that could draw tears from eyes that had never before wept, or cause the hardened lines of stoicism to relax in smiles, is not to be despised or even elevated upon a pinnacle of greatness.” At the time of writing, his thoughts flowed so rapidly that he was not conscious of the disconnected nature of his composition. If he stopped, however, to read it over, he at once saw how thoroughly it misrepresented his conceptions. No matter what the subject, the same thing happened, and even the most trivial notes could not be written without language being used which was either perfectly without relation to the ideas he wished to communicate, or else in direct opposition to them. For instance, wishing to obtain a book from a friend, he found he had written the prayer of Socrates which concludes the Phædrus of Plato. On another occasion, intending to indite an epistle to a lady who had sent him a volume of her poems, he discovered, when half through his letter, that he had requested her to accept one of his own books, and had then gone on to give his views relative to suicide and matrimony. Upon questioning him, I ascertained that he went to bed generally about two o’clock in the morning; that he lay awake for an hour at least, during which his mind was exceedingly active; and that he rose between six and seven, took a sponge-bath, and ate a light breakfast. He then went to work, spending the day in reading, and in dictating to his sister, who wrote out his language _verbatim_. At six o’clock he dined plainly, and then again resumed his labors. He drank neither tea, coffee, nor any alcoholic liquor. Occasionally he took a cup of chocolate at breakfast.