He was a friend of Thomas Hardy and took young Roderick to tea there on at least one occasion. Roderick later noted in his essay “Hardy’s Dorset” that he regretted not having elicited more information from Hardy about being a writer, but he was sixteen then and was passionate about fishing and shooting.
A close friend of Thomas Hardy, the man took young Roderick to tea at Hardy's residence at least once.  Roderick later expressed regret for not having learned more about Hardy's writing career from him when they were both sixteen, as he was preoccupied with his passion for fishing and hunting.