CALVIN: A STUDY OF CHARACTER. 186 



touching and clawing." Yet I would not 

 give an unfair notion of his aloofness, his 

 fine sense of the sacredness of the me and the 

 not-me. And, at the risk of not being be- 

 lieved, I will relate an incident, which was 

 often repeated. Calvin had the practice of 

 passing a portion of the night in the contem- 

 plation of its beauties, and would come into 

 our chamber over the roof of the conserva- 

 tory through the open window, summer and 

 winter, and go to sleep on the foot of my 

 bed. He would do this always exactly in 

 this way ; he never was content to stay in 

 the chamber if we compelled him to go up- 

 stairs and through the door. He had the 

 obstinacy of General Grant. But this is by 

 the way. In the morning, he performed his 

 toilet and went down to breakfast with the 

 rest of the family. Now, -when the mistress 

 was absent from home, and at no other time, 

 Calvin would come in the morning, when 

 the bell rang, to the head of the bed, put up 

 his feet and look into my face, follow me 

 about when I rose, " assist " at the dressing, 



