His tall upright figure and quick penetrating glance indicate the man of energy and decision, and those who are most intimately acquainted with him know best that these qualities are combined with a large measure of kindliness and breadth of view, and a readiness to be of use to such as are brought into contact with him in official capacity and in private life. (Biograph 158)

IT IS MY PURPOSE to demonstrate that the above paragraph, published in 1880, is a description of the man who wrote My Secret Life, the man who called himself Walter. I shall be very little concerned with literary or psychological analysis. I intend simply to present the process of research which led me to conclude, beyond reasonable doubt, that I have discovered the identity of the author, then to summarize such biographical information as I have been able to obtain from contemporary sources or archival records, and to comment, where necessary, on the correspondences or differences between Walter’s narrative and the real man’s outer life.