414 NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SEALER 



Boston when called there on business, or around Fresh Pond in 

 all weathers. A day without at least a six-mile tramp was bur- 

 densome to him. He was a good fencer, a good swimmer, and 

 an exceptionally fine horseman, having in his day mounted 

 every kind of beast, under all sorts of conditions, and yet never 

 been thrown. As for sports, he had taken his turn at the bat, 

 with the oar, and at football, but he cared little for them or for 

 any set amusement. Nothing made time pass heavily, he said, 

 but pastime. He got stimulus and diversion from so many 

 sources within himself that prescribed forms of entertainment 

 or violent efforts in that direction made no appeal to him. He 

 could take his sensations delicately ; it was not necessary to be 

 supersaturated with glaring sights, loud sounds, strong tobacco, 

 or highly seasoned food. He drank a glass of wine with the same 

 relish he would have shown for any other ingredient of a good 

 dinner. He did not need wine as a stimulant; it might have 

 been well had he taken it more freely as a sedative. He often 

 spoke of a delightful "spree" he once had with two congenial 

 spirits at the Cosmos Club in Washington which lasted from 

 eight in the evening till one o'clock, the jollity sustained by 

 Apollinaris water and crackers. He was capable of becoming 

 thoroughly exhilarated with good talk and sometimes better 

 on an empty stomach than a full one. Coffee was his favorite 

 beverage; it was one, however, he could not freely indulge in. 

 It was his habit to have it for breakfast on lecture mornings and 

 in consequence these were regarded by the family as red-letter 

 days. On other mornings the cup of tea was not one that 

 cheered ; on the contrary, Mr. Shaler always found it too strong 

 or too weak, too hot or too sweet, until at last it would be 

 necessary to remind him that tea was not coffee. "Alas! that 

 it is not/ 1 he would exclaim, and without further criticism 

 empty his cup. 



His youth had been spent much among men who in a way 

 were high livers; he therefore was accustomed to see both 

 whiskey and wine consumed freely. His father often sent him, 



