126 HENRY HILL GOODELL 



What a pleasure it is to get back once more into the midst 

 of our circle ! I did n't know how dear you all were to me 

 till I came away, and then M. and D. and S. tugged at my 

 heart-strings. The Bible says, * Every heart knoweth its 

 own bitterness.' I think there ought to be something like 

 this: * Every heart knoweth its inability to express its in- 

 most feelings.' For I can't measure out in words my thank- 

 offering. I can only thank God for giving me so dear a 

 friend as you, who have been loyal to me so many years." 



From this attack he gradually recovered strength to at- 

 tend to the ordinary business of the College; but the brisk 

 step and spontaneous activity, so characteristic of him, were 

 gone. It was very apparent, even to a casual observer, 

 that every movement was the result of a conscious effort of 

 the will. But the blithe, mirthful spirit was still clearly in 

 evidence, and he faced the duties of his position with the 

 cheerfulness and self-possession of a man in full health. 

 This probably led many to think that his condition was 

 not so serious as it really was. But for two years the stu- 

 dents lost something of his cheering and inspiring person- 

 ality. Yet there seems to have been no failure in his 

 mental grasp. His last report, that of 1905, which must 

 have received its finishing touches after his final and fatal 

 attack, shows no loss of intellectual power or enthusiasm. 

 Indeed it is the most potent of them all, especially in his 

 statement of the needs of the College. 



In the meantime he was really hovering so near the edge 

 of life that an exposure of any kind was pretty sure to prove 

 fatal. It seems impossible that he should not have been 

 aware of his condition; but if he was, it did not seem to 

 have disturbed him in the least, and probably did not. His 



