ain't got no business here" he usually found the statement "my father
was a mill-overseer" a way to break down the barrier. He had to use it
seldom, for he dressed plainly and met the men in a way which seldom
failed to make them feel that he was one of them. After such inspection
and chat, he would get books from the library, and read up about the
business or trade, finding that in this way he could enjoy works
otherwise too technical, and really obtain a very good knowledge of many
subjects. Just how interesting he found such books as "Our
Fire-Laddies," which he read from cover to cover, after an inspection
of, and chat with, the men of the nearest fire-engine station; or
Latham's "The Sewage Difficulty," which the piping of uptown New York
induced him to read; and others of diverse types is questionable.
Probably it was really due to his isolation, but it was much healthier
than gazing at blank walls.

When the courts opened, Peter kept track of the calendars, and whenever
a case or argument promised to be interesting, or to call out the great
lights of the profession, he attended and listened to them. He tried to
write out the arguments used, from notes, and finally this practice
induced him to give two evenings a week during the winter mastering
shorthand. It was really only a mental discipline, for any case of
importance was obtainable in print almost as soon as argued, but Peter
was trying to put a pair of slate-colored eyes out of his thoughts, and
employed this as one of the means.

When winter came, and his long walks became less possible, he turned to
other things. More from necessity than choice, he visited the art and
other exhibitions as they occurred, he went to concerts, and to plays,
all with due regard to his means, and for this reason the latter were
the most seldom indulged in. Art and music did not come easy to him, but