the wound; whereas by suspending his work he could diminish it, and
absolute mental rest produced perfect cure. In connection with this
incident he remarked that poetic excitement, accompanied by protracted
labour in composition, always brought on more or less of bodily
derangement He preserved himself from permanently injurious
consequences by his excellent habit of life.--Hamerton. _The
Intellectual Life_.

I know that certain authors think they can write better when taking
artificial stimulants. I do not, however, believe that an artificial
irritation of the nerves can have any good effect upon our faculty of
apprehension. I am even inclined to think that when we write best,
_it is not owing_ to nervous _excitement_, but rather because our nerves,
after a period of extreme irritation, _leave us a few moments respite_,
and it is during these moments the divine spark shines brightly. When
creative genius has accomplished its task, the nerves once more relapse
into their former irritability and cause us to suffer; but at the time of
creation there is a truce of suffering.

I never use any stimulant to help me in my labours; yet when I have
been writing works of fiction, for instance my Indian and Roman Plays,
I have nearly always been subject to great nervous agitation. When I
suffered most from spasms, I had short intervals of freedom from pain,
during which I could write, and those around me asked in astonishment
how I could, in the midst of such suffering, write scenes that were
cheerful, glowing and impassioned.

I have occasionally in my time enjoyed these luminous intervals. I do
not know whether those who use alcohol as a stimulant have experienced
the same. No doubt they have succeeded in exciting their nervous