112 Journal of the Mitchell Society [February 



which all additions or embellishments are as naught. A big-hearted 

 humanity, transparent honesty, quiet and sustained industry — these 

 are the immortal three; but let us also add the salt that never loses 

 its savor, the disposition to enjoy life and to get some fun out of 

 it. It is needless to add that he did not know the meaning of the 

 word vanity, as he had no trace of it in himself. While I was at 

 Johns Hopkins one of the strongest and best young professors in that 

 University died. Dr. Brooks, our great teacher of Biology, who 

 loved this man deeply, said to me: 'He was as simple as a child,' 

 as summing up all that was best in his friend. These words return 

 to me as I think of Wolfe. Such is the simplicity of serenity and 

 harmony, the absence of a jarring note. 



''Men of this type, and they are not so numerous, remind us of 

 natural phenomena. They are like the pine woods in winter — un- 

 shaken and sustaining in their perennial verdure. When others 

 change, their colors do not fade. They are like the hills, from whence 

 Cometh our help. There was no uncertainty about Wolfe and no 

 futility. He was radiant with humanity. There was a glow about 

 his friendship and his sympathy that did not admit of question. 

 He was not a casual benefactor, but was full of a sustained gener- 

 osity. Those who were with him daily In his community will testify 

 to his work as a member of the Board of Directors of Watts Hos- 

 pital and of his personal service in cases of sickness and distress. 

 He was willing to give himself, and not merely his means, a most 

 rare and excellent thing in a man. 



"As a student and investigator, Wolfe was intelligent and faith- 

 ful. His mind was intensely interested in ideas as well as facts, 

 and he was constantly thinking. I always looked forward to his 

 visits with interest. With his full share of jovial conversation, we 

 were never long together before he started a serious discussion of 

 some interesting biological problem of the day. He liked to talk 

 about evolution and heredity, their new problems and phases. This 

 interest was reflected in his choice of a subject for his presidential 

 address before the North Carolina Academy of Science at its 14th 

 annual meeting at Wake Forest (see this Journal, 31: 12. 1915). 

 He was not dogmatic and could change with the times. When a 

 cherished position was undercut by new discoveries he could step 

 off at the right moment. 



"Among American biologists his position was more than respect 

 able. He stood high as a producer of sound and timely work. He 

 was not wordy, never published for bulk, and was not anxious to 

 appear prolific. His papers were of the kind that required hard 

 and patient labor, and he kept right on until he got the results. His 

 training at Harvard under Farlow and Thaxter gave him a clear 

 conception of what is true scholarship and he never for a moment 

 lowered his standards. True to the best traditions of his profession, 

 he did not loaf his summers away under the plausible pretense of a 

 needed rest, but spent most of them in hard work at the Marine 



