416 NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SHALER 



homely facts of life, or on easy wing ventured beyond the 

 bounds of the self-evident and prosaic. 



In his contact with men Mr. Shaler seldom struck the minor 

 key; conscious of an underlying tendency to melancholy, he 

 encouraged himself in the practice of cheerfulness, shutting his 

 lips upon anything like complaining or self-pity. He had not 

 only accepted the Universe, but had become reconciled to it and 

 although no one at times was more alive to the tragic conse- 

 quences of man's deeds, his poetic imagination enabled him to 

 endow the hard facts of life with rich compensations. The unity 

 of all created things in the plan of the Universe was an abiding 

 thought a thought which made it possible for him to believe 

 that society at large might become so united by sympathy that 

 the inherent isolation of the individual could to a certain extent 

 be overcome. As a consequence of his sympathetic outlook 

 upon the vast spectacle of ongoing life, his talk was optimistic, 

 not the complacent sort that tries to drug laziness by good 

 humor with the times, but of the type which endeavors to master 

 difficulties, cheerful and full of courage. It was this high- 

 sounding note of valor that made him so uplifting a companion. 

 It may be said here that while in the act of talking Mr. Shaler's 

 face wore a vivacious, half -amused expression ; when he listened 

 his look was intense and penetrating, as if he would allow 

 nothing to escape his attention. 



With callow youths his quick insight in the choice of subjects 

 that would interest them ranging from adventures by sea 

 and land to football tactics and baseball curves held them 

 spellbound, while the absence of anything like professional pose, 

 his friendliness and his eager desire to see the good that was in 

 them, won their enthusiastic and abiding affection. 



For all Mr. Shaler's unfeigned interest in his fellow men he 

 never descended to petty gossip, or encouraged it in others. The 

 truth was, a certain inner stateliness of soul made him not 

 scornful, but indifferent to the valet side of a man's life. 



Mr. Shaler was neither clubbable nor lionizable. From good 



