MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 119 
only after they had been fully tried and found worthy. 
A gentleman who had long business association with him 
says: ‘‘It was more than two years after our first acquaint- 
ance before he was what is called ‘social’ with me, and five 
years before he invited me to his house. After that his 
confidence in me seemed to be established, and was never, 
so far as I know, withdrawn.’’ But it is doubtful whether 
Mr. Shaw ever had, at any time, what is called ‘‘a bosom 
friend;’’ one to whom he could unreservedly reveal him- 
self. He had not that need of sympathy and support which 
such intimacy usually implies. He was always self-support- 
ing and self-poised, requiring no outside aid of any kind 
from any quarter. His friends were many, and he valued 
their friendship; but the nearest of them felt that they 
could come just so near, and no nearer—that there was a 
certain point they could not pass, even if so inclined; a 
place where he desired no companionship, where he stood 
alone. 
Montaigne, if we may judge from the inimitable ‘‘Es- 
says,’’ looked at life from the philosophic standpoint, and 
rarely suffered his equanimity to be disturbed by any inci- 
dent or accident, however annoying. In this enviable pe- 
culiarity Mr. Shaw followed his example. His naturally 
high temper was under such complete control that few ever 
suspected its existence. ‘‘In twenty-three years,’’ says Mr. 
Gurney, the head gardener, ‘‘I never heard him speak a 
harsh or an irritable word. No matter what went wrong— 
and on such a place and with so many men things will go 
wrong occasionally—he was always pleasant and cheerful, 
making the best of what could not be helped.’’ Illustrating 
this control of temper another informant says: ‘‘The only 
time, I think, I ever saw Mr. Shaw actually angry was when 
a certain person had failed to keep an important engage- 
ment and given a poor, if not provoking, excuse for his 
failure. Mr. Shaw relieved his mind to me on the subject, 
speaking very strongly and sharply for some minutes, while 
I sat watching the unusual exhibition with considerable 
curiosity. At last he caught my eye, stopped short and 
said: ‘Ah, Mr. A , I see by your face what you are 
thinking of. You are thinking that I have lost my tem- 
LOT eI Te tte 3. TY, ay ae ee 
