Auk 



22 Hen shaw, In Memoriam: William Brewster. [j" n 



"These voices with, perhaps, the tender, plaintive warble of some 

 passing bluebird or at evening, towards the close of the month, the merry 

 peeping of Pickering's hylas are the characteristic March sounds of the 

 Fresh Pond marshes as well as of many similar places in eastern Massa- 

 chusetts. How they smooth and refresh the senses after the long silence 

 of winter, breathing to every one of refined sensibilities the very essence of 

 early spring! To those who have long known and loved them they are 

 inexpressibly grateful and precious, touching the chords of memory more 

 subtly than do any other sounds, recalling past associations, albeit often 

 saddened ones, and filling the heart with renewed courage and hope for 

 the future." 



He was a patient and untiring observer, and his intense interest 

 in bird and other outdoor life never knew abatement. Summer 

 and winter, in sickness and in health, from youth to old age his 

 interest continued undiminished, and only death itself sealed to 

 him the Book of Nature. Indeed in his last moments, when the 

 voices of the friends about him awakened no response, he roused 

 himself sufficiently to listen to the song of a robin which came to his 

 ears from the linden tree outside his window, fitting requiem to the 

 passing soul of the ornithologist. 



William Brewster was tall and well proportioned, and when he 

 developed into full manhood was a strikingly dignified and hand- 

 some man. His habitual expression was kindly and engaging, and 

 few people met him who were not at once drawn toward him by 

 his kindly bearing and courteous manners. He did not mature 

 early, but when he came into his own, and his mind expanded, and 

 his experience widened he became a charming and very interesting 

 talker. 



While Brewster possessed none of the gifts of the orator and 

 made no effort to cultivate public speaking, he was entirely self 

 possessed when he rose to address an audience and spoke inter- 

 estingly and to the point, chiefly perhaps, because he always had 

 something definite and illuminating to say. 



He had a genius for friendships, and made many friends whom 

 he grappled to his soul with hooks of steel. He had a peculiar 

 reverence for womankind, always treated them with the utmost 

 deference, and always spoke of them with respect. 



He had a well developed sense of humor and liked to exchange 

 repartee with his friends, and always enjoyed a witty story. But 



