* * * * *

The following letter refers to his little book on Mars.

TO MR. W.G.  WALLACE

Broadstone, Wimborne.  September 26, 1907.

My dear Will,—­ ...  After elaborate revision and correction I have sent my MS. of the little “Mars” book to Macmillans yesterday....  Will you read the whole proofs carefully, in the character of the “intelligent reader”?  Your fresh eye will detect little slips, bad logic, too positive statements, etc., which I may have overlooked.  It will only be about 100 or 150 pages large type—­and I want it to be really good, and free from blunders that any fool can see....

* * * * *

For some years now he had suffered from repeated attacks of asthma and bronchitis.  He had tried the usual remedies for these complaints without any good results, and, though still able to write, had then no thought of beginning any large work; in fact, he considered he had but a few more years to live.  When Mr. Bruce-Joy came to see him in order to model the portrait medallion, he mentioned in the course of conversation that he had tried the Salisbury treatment with wonderful results.  Our father was at first incredulous, but decided to try it in a modified form.  He gave up all starchy foods and ate beef only, cooked in a special manner to render it more digestible.  He found such relief from this change of diet that from this time onwards he followed a very strict daily routine, which he continued to the end of his life with slight variations.

He made himself a cup of tea on a gas stove in his bedroom at 6 a.m. (the exact quantity of tea and water having been measured the previous evening), and boiled it in a small double saucepan for a definite time by the watch.  He always said this cup of tea tasted better than at any other time of the day.  He then returned to bed and slept till 8 a.m.  During his last two or three years he suffered from rheumatism in his shoulder and it took him a long time to dress, and he called in the aid of his gardener in the last year, who acted as his valet.  While dressing he prepared a cup of cocoa on the gas stove, which he carried into the study (next door) at 9 a.m.  This was all he had for breakfast, and he took it while reading the paper or his letters.

Dinner at one o’clock was taken with his family, and he usually related any interesting or striking news he had read in the paper, or in his correspondence, and commented upon it, or perhaps he would tell us of some new flower in the garden.

He drank hot water with a little Canary sack and a dash of soda-water, to which he added a spoonful of plum jam.  He was very fond of sweet things, such as puddings, but he had to partake sparingly of them, and it was a great temptation when some dish of which he was particularly fond was placed upon the table.