ons to Thomas Cooper, a distant cousin, who at one time lived
with him as pupil. He studied attentively the boy's character, and did
his utmost to treat him gently and kindly, but, on the other hand, he
expressed in his presence his opinion of him in language harsh enough to
justify his pupil's indignation. It is more than probable that this same
frankness was one of the causes of his many quarrels--_demeles_, he calls
them in his diary--with his most devoted friends. His sincerity, however,
invariably triumphed, and these were always mere passing storms.

He was passionless even in relations which usually arouse warmth in the
most phlegmatic natures. He was a good son and brother, yet so
undemonstrative that his manner passed at times for indifference. Though
in beliefs and sentiments he had drifted far apart from his mother, he
never let this fact interfere with his filial respect and duty; and her
long and many letters to him are proofs of his unfailing kindness for
her. Men more affectionate than he might have rebelled against her
maternal sermons. He never did. But the good lady had occasion to object
to his coldness. In one of her letters she asks him why he cannot call
her "Honored Mother" as well as "Madam," by which title he addressed her,
adding naively that "it would be full as agreeable." He was always
willing to look out for the welfare of his brothers, two of whom were
somewhat disreputable characters, and of his sister Hannah, who lived in
London. With the latter he was on particularly friendly terms, and saw
much of her, yet Mrs. Sothren--the cousin who had been such a help to him
in his early years--reproves him for writing of her as "Miss Godwin"
instead of "sister," and fears lest this may be a sign that his brotherly
affection, once great, had abated.

He seems at one time to have thought that he could provide himself with
a wife in the same manner in which he managed his other affairs. He
imagined that in contracting such a relationship, love was no more
indispensable than a heroine was to the interest of a novel. He proposed
that his sister Hannah should choose a wife for him; and she, in all
seriousness, set about complying with his request. In a spirit as
business-like as his, she decided upon a friend, calculated she was sure
to meet his requirements, and then sent him a list of her merits, much as
one might write a recommendation of a governess or a cook. Her letter on
the subject is so unique,