BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THOREAU. 11 



so impatient was he of the limitations of our daily / 

 thought. This habit, of course, is a little chilling to 

 the social affections ; and though the companion 

 would in the end acquit him of any malice or untruth, 

 yet it mars conversation. Hence, no equal com 

 panion stood in affectionate relations with one so pure 

 and guileless. &quot; I love Henry,&quot; said one of his friends, 

 4 Hbut I cannot like him ; and as for taking his arm, I 

 should as soon think of taking the arm of an elm-tree.&quot; 

 Yet, hermit and stoic as he was, he was really fond 

 of sympathy, and threw himself heartily and childlike 

 into the company of young people whom he loved, and 

 whom he delighted to entertain, as he only could, with 

 the varied and endless anecdotes of his experiences by 

 field and river ; and he was always ready to lead a 

 huckleberry party or a search for chestnuts or grapes. 

 Talking, one day, of a public discourse, Henry re 

 marked, that whatever succeeded with the audience 

 was bad. I said, &quot;Who would not like to write 

 something which all can read, like Robinson Cru 

 soe ? and who does not see with regret that his page 

 is not solid with a right materialistic treatment, which 

 delights everybody ? &quot; Henry objected, of course, and 

 vaunted the better lectures which reached only a few 

 persons. But, at supper, a young girl, understanding 

 that he was to lecture at the Lyceum, sharply asked 

 him, &quot; whether his lecture would be a nice, interest 

 ing story, such as she wished to hear, or whether it 

 was one of those old philosophical things that she did 

 not care about.&quot; Henry turned to her, and bethought 

 himself, and, I saw, was trying to believe that he had 

 matter that might fit her and her brother, who were 

 to sit up and go to the lecture, if it was a good one 

 for them. 



