Professor Howell's Address 11 



things material they believed that, if the necessity should 

 arise, it was their part to guard and protect his unsus- 

 picious and gentle nature from, possible injustice. They 

 have always shown an especial willingness or eagerness 

 to proclaim his great work, because, I believe, they felt 

 that he himself was liable to ignore completely and uncon- 

 sciously all the various devices, legitimate and illegiti- 

 mate, of self-exploitation. 



The simplicity and purity of Dr. Brooks's character 

 found an especially favorable environment in the quiet of 

 academic life. While these qualities may not have been 

 wholly recognized or appreciated by those who knew him 

 slightly, or by those who value only the militant virtues, 

 yet in the intimacy of the laboratory life they appealed 

 strongly to his better students, and formed, I have no 

 doubt, a considerable part of the uplifting influence which 

 he exerted upon the character and work of his men. 



As a teacher Dr. Brooks had a remarkable gift for expo- 

 sition. His method was peculiar and unusual, but 

 very attractive and effective. In lecturing he used 

 no notes of any description, and certainly nothing that 

 savored of the oratorical manner, but the clearness, the 

 orderliness, and the attractiveness with which he could 

 present a subject was really unrivalled, so far as my 

 experience goes. He seemed to have such a complete con- 

 trol of his mental processes, he thought so well and so 

 clearly and expressed his thoughts in such appropriate 

 language, that every student with a spark of interest in 

 the subject was delighted ; it was a treat to hear him 

 lecture. 



I remember that, while serving on the faculty of the 

 University of Michigan, I came to know very well some of 

 the Hopkins men who were in the departments of ancient 

 and modern languages. In recalling their student days 

 at the Hopkins one of their pleasantest memories seemed 

 to be the talks that Brooks gave before the scientific asso- 

 ciation of the University. It would appear that, when it 



