 Self @-@ conscious and introverted in private , McCay was nevertheless a charismatic showman and self @-@ promoter , and maintained several lifelong friendships . McCay was a light but frequent drinker ; he drank for camaraderie rather than for a love of drinking . To his wife 's chagrin , McCay was a smoker of cigars and cigarettes . He was self @-@ taught at the piano , and was an avid reader of poetry , plays and novels ; he admired W. B. Yeats , knew the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats , and could quote the Bible and Shakespeare . 
