I thought of the coaching trip, and decided to write a few lines just to see how I should get on.

The narrative flowed freely, and before the day was over I had written between three and four thousand words.

I took up the pleasing task every stormy day when it was unnecessary for me to visit the office, and in exactly twenty sittings I had finished a book.

I handed the notes to Scribner's people and asked them to print a few hundred copies for private circulation.

The volume pleased my friends, as "Round the World" had done.