"a pair of Norway rats had taken possession of the whole, and reared a young family among the gnawed bits of paper" "I felt pleased that I might now make better drawings than before; and, ere a period not exceeding three years had elapsed, my portfolio was again filled." "He had no draft, and was compelled to rake up from his memory facts, ideas, and expressions, which had been long since dismissed."

— In our words · Source: Self-Help (Samuel Smiles)