MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 11 



power to do so. In my long experience of Lampeter 

 I have known some very able men, but only one 

 Alfred Rees — only one man capable of writing lanto 

 the Fisherman. 



To fchis I may add that Rees's method of 

 composition was peculiar. He would sit down 

 with pencil and large sheet of paper, and com- 

 pose slowly, writing a neat but extremely 

 minute hand, with the lines very close together. 

 Corrections, deletions, transpositions followed, 

 till each sentence was moulded to his fastidious 

 liking. The final result was sent to his un- 

 fortunate typist to decipher ! Professor Walker 

 is not quite right in saying he required absolute 

 quiet for his work. He would often write with 

 two or three others working and talking in the 

 study, though doubtless it was less easy for him 

 to do so ; but he rather prided himself on his 

 power of concentration. Later on his sermons 

 also were often written in similar conditions. 

 The difiiculty with his college essays was 

 largely, I think, the limit of time ; he was 

 accustomed to brood slowly over his subject, 

 and at first probably found himself with 

 about ten minutes to go, and nothing yet 

 done. Hence a rapid rush at the end, and — 

 " drivel " ! 



