Father Payne by A.C. Benson

Father Payne used often to say that he was more interested in biography than in any other form of art, and believed that there was a greater future before it than before any other sort of literature. "Just think," I remember his saying, "human portraiture -- the most interesting thing in the world by far -- what the novel tries to do and can't do!"

"What exactly do you mean by 'can't do'?" I said.