436 NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SHALER 



as well as the stony soil upon which the seeds of his thought 

 have fallen, and indirectly throw light upon his character. 

 Here are a few of the many he received about "The Indi- 

 vidual." The first extract is from a letter written by a 

 woman : 



. . . You can regard this merely as a word of appreciation, of gratitude 

 for the light and comfort I have got from your book "The Individual." I 

 wanted to talk with you and ask you questions, feeling that one, to use your 

 words, who sees so far on dark ways must be able to penetrate the mysteries 

 of life and death, and make the Universe plain. At least I was inclined to 

 feel that way. No doubt I shall get something from you that is not in your 

 book, as that is confined to the scientific, but what a wonderful outlook you 

 give. . . I want to tell you what comfort I had from the chapter on the 

 relation of parent to child I don't know how you know about it, unless 

 you love a child not your own, but I know what you say is true. I have not 

 seen it or heard it expressed before it has always been taken for granted 

 that no one can love a child as does its mother. I know I love my sister's 

 children as if they were my own. ... I have much comfort in the truth 

 that what we see is not all that is to be known. That " much may take place 

 in the revolution that evidently occurs in dissolution that we do not see 

 at all." 



Here is another that gave him pleasure : 



My dear Stranger-friend and " Brother Man": I Ve just finished reading 

 your exceedingly interesting "Individual." I feel sure that I, in a measure 

 at least, appreciate and "absorb" it. Will not the "solidarity" of organized 

 society in this century apply the peaceful, fraternal teaching of the Christ 

 to their daily life? What a vast theme it all is! I feel cheered, animated, 

 exalted and more full of myself, as capable of being uttered. Most heartily 

 do I thank you for this work. 



Gratefully and appreciatingly yours, T. F. 



But most interesting of all, perhaps, was this from William 

 James : 



Dear Shakr: Being a man of methodical sequence in my reading, which 

 in these days is anyhow rather slower than it used to be, I have only just 

 got at your book. Once begun, it slipped along "like a novel," and I must 

 confess to you that it leaves a good taste behind, in fact a sort of haunting 

 flavor due to its individuality, which I find it hard to explain or define. 



