t to her and to them an unusual degree of
happiness. This was so great a factor in her life that it may seem as if
special mention of many of these friends should be made in even so brief
a sketch as this. But they themselves will realize how impossible this
would be because the circle to which they belong is so large. She was
not blind to the failings of her friends, but was clear in her
comprehension of their fundamental traits, and her love for them, her
strong though often undemonstrative interest in them, never abated.
While she added to their number many times during her stay in different
places, no new friend or new interest ever took the place of an old one.
Her generous heart had room for all whom she took to it.

Her correspondence with friends was surprisingly large in view of the
frequency of her letters to her own immediate circle; when the family
became widely scattered this might easily have been made an excuse for
dropping much of the general correspondence, but instead of that it grew
as the circle of her interest widened. No one was neglected and all
letters were written with her own hand. During the last years of her
life much of her mail that was not personal became a distinct burden
with its increasing appeals from all directions, but she conscientiously
attended to it all herself. An abundance of good common sense helped her
to ignore many of these, but any that could not be laid aside lightly
she investigated in a way that took much time and strength.

Her outspoken nature and uncompromising mind often made her draw hard
and fast lines in no unmistakable way as to conduct that met her
approval or condemnation, but she asked no one to come up to any
standard higher than she had laid down for herself. She wanted above all
things to be just, and few people are so essentially just as she was. To
quote a friend, "her judgment of character was clear, just, and
vigorous."

One fixed habit of her mind must not be overlooked: this was
unwillingness to accept any help in whatever she could possibly do
herself. Many friends thought this a failing and frequently told her so.
They were wont to rebel against the fact that they could not serve her,
while she was a past master in the art of serving others. Her swift
motions and deft hands, impelled by her quick mind, would outwit half a
dozen people who were looking for means by which to circumvent her. No
amount of urging could lead her to agree to be waited u