His tastes in fiction were very positive. Laura at first had tried to introduce him to her beloved Meredith. But after three chapters, when he had exclaimed, “What’s the fool talking about?” she had given over and begun again from another starting-point. Left to himself, his wife sorrowfully admitted that he would have gravitated to The Mysterious Island and Michael Strogoff , or even to Mr. Potter of Texas and Mr. Barnes of New York . But she had set herself to accomplish his literary education, so, Meredith failing, she took up Treasure Island and The Wrecker . Much of these he made her skip.