He was a man of simple habits, his wants few.

He had saved money in every year of his service; and for a man of his station was rich enough to be unassailable by the tempter.
He had reconciled his mind to the monotonous course of life at Fellside in the beginning of things; and, as the years glided smoothly by, his character and wants and inclinations had, as it were, moulded themselves to fit that life.

He had easy duties, a comfortable home, supreme authority in the household.

He was looked up to and made much of in the village whenever he condescended to appear there; and by the rareness of his visits to the Inn or the Reading-room, and his unwillingness to accept hospitality from the tradesmen of Grasmere and Ambleside, he maintained his dignity and exaggerated his importance.

He had his books and his newspapers, his evening leisure, which no one ever dared to disturb.