Noted with Pleasure: Jerome K. Jerome.

One of the favorite humorists of your correspondent’s father, he is quickly becoming that of your Tatler’s, too.

From the opening of one of Jerome’s most popular works:

THE IDLE THOUGHTS
OF
AN IDLE FELLOW

—

ON BEING IDLE.

Now myself I really am au fait. The gentleman who, when I was young, bathed me at wisdom’s font for nine guineas a term – no extras – used to say he never knew a boy who could do less work in more time; and I remember my poor grandmother once incidentally observing, in the course of an instruction upon the use of the prayer-book, that it was highly improbable that I should ever do much that I ought not to do, but, that she felt convinced beyond a doubt, that I should leave undone pretty well everything that I ought to do.

Your Tatler will not admit this character flaw of Jerome’s is shared by himself as well, but will not deny it either.

A quirky fact: only in England would a fellow’s Christian name and surname being identical, be pronounced differently. In this case they would be: Christian name, Jer’um (rhymes with harem); surname, Jerome, like the saint.