Appreciations 
303 
for those who suffer, and those who conquer themselves. We here today — those 
among us who are Freethinkers — would not give up for these achievements, fine 
though they are, for our own best : Ihe very essence that makes us Freethinkers. 
Nevertheless, the Churches, in this way, have the advantage of us. And when a 
person like myself wants, as I do today, to mark by outer form and beautiful symbol, 
the great spiritual experience that has come to me, there is no ceremonial — the 
legacy of the genius of ages — waiting for me : and I am at a loss. So disconcerting- 
might this position have been, that it would have been easy to yield to the 
temptation that has for the last week assailed me : the temptation to do nothing ; 
to give way to difficulty ; to accept despair. All the time that I have felt it 
urgent within me to do honour, somehow, to my husband, on the day of this 
burial — all that time I have also felt an unworthy fear of the effort : and I have 
very often nearly decided to make none, but to have the ashes of his body buried 
without a sign, and myself alone as witness. 
I am glad I have cheated neither the memor}' of my husband, nor my own 
instincts, by doing that. I am glad that, by your presence, by the mysterious 
sense of the unity there is upon us in these moments — by the singing of these boys, 
whose music he loved, by these flowers, by the good fortune of an exquisite day of 
sunshine and warmth — I am glad that outward forms acknowledge the inward 
grace : I am glad that the influence of a lovely spirit is abroad in the air above 
this grave. 
In speaking of my husband himself I shall have to choose one quality only of 
him, I suppose, if I am to be clear. You will all know of others. And I shall not 
speak at all of his special intellectual gifts.... I think, perhaps, his rarest and 
most endearing quality was his particular kind of humaneness. I say " his particular 
kind of humaneness " because it was not in the least like what is called " humani- 
tarianism." He had no sentimentality. And he was never in the least taken in 
by humbug. But his humaneness enabled him to know, and to like, the humanity 
even behind the humbug. There was in him at once a complete lack of prudery 
and a perfect personal rectitude. Charlie was as incapable of being shocking him- 
self as he was of being shocked at another person's shockingness The fact is that, 
apart from cruelty, he did not take what is called " evil " very literally. He thought 
that nearly all people were intensely likeable when you got to know them. So 
that his charity — of which everyone speaks who knows him — was for less forgiveness 
than it was sympathy ; and his kindness was always /ovt/i^-kindness. 
If you will let me, I will tell you one or two things about him that may, 
perhaps, trace that silvery outline of which I spoke I think of a certain day, 
some years ago, when we had a really wonderful walk together. It was one of those 
fortunate days — those gift-days — when everything turns out successfully; when the 
unexpected leaps up ; when there is adventure through it all. I won't give you the 
whole histoiy of the walk, but only these points — to show you Charlie. 
We had just come down Villiers Street from the Strand, and were near the 
Embankment Gardens, when he pulled up suddenly with a look of intense 
