It seems strange, reflecting on that evening, that I should now come to be his biographer.
However, I was interested in the type of character he displayed, and did not let the acquaintance drop.

I invited him to my rooms.

He would not come of his own accord at first, but by-and-by he got habituated to me, and not unfrequently strolled in.
He never let any one into the secret of his motives; he never confessed to any plans for the future, or to taking any interest in one line of life more than another.

He was well off and did not spend much, except on his books, which were splendid.

His rooms were untidy to the last degree, but liberally supplied with the most varied contrivances for obtaining a comfortable posture.