A man who keeps a diary pays,
Due toll to many tedious days;
But life becomes eventful -- then,
His busy hand forgets the pen.
Most books, indeed, are records less
Of fulness than of emptiness.
Source: A Diary, ch. 6 (ed. by H. Allingham and D. Radford, 1907), entry for 24-28 March 1864.
-- William Allingham, (Mar 19 1824-1889), Irish poet, editor; He was editor of Fraser, 1874-79; his volumes of verse include The Fairies, 1883.