though it cost him later hours out of bed,
the invitation to sit down, followed quickly by an indignant
remonstrance as we ousted his cat from the best arm-chair. And then
the talk that followed: sometimes almost trivial; sometimes (but only
if we wished it) deeply serious; sometimes--and these occasions were
precious--a kind of soliloquy on his part, as he spoke of God, of the
realities of life, of love, of prayer. Then, with still the same
half-smile, he would bid us "Good night," and watch us out of the room
with the same look of love in his eyes with which he welcomed us, {53}
as he turned back to his table to work and think and pray far into the
night.

'So many a one of us has left him again and again, to return to the
merry, careless, selfish undergraduate world a nobler, better man. And
now he has passed from us--"dead ere his prime" we should say, did we
not understand that somewhere the faithful, hopeful, loving soul has
better work to do. He is, as he ever was, "in Christ." He lives. His
life remains here and beyond. His faith in God, in prayer; his hope
for every man; his utterly wonderful, amazing love,--they still remain.
For _nuni menei_ (nothing can rob us of the word) _pistis, elpis,
agape, ta tria tauta; meizpon de touton he agape_.'

[Transcriber's note: The above Greek phrases were transliterated as
follows: _nuni_--nu, upsilon, nu, iota; _menei_--mu, epsilon, nu,
epsilon, iota; _pistis_--pi, iota, sigma, tau, iota, final sigma;
_elpis_--epsilon, lambda, pi, iota, final sigma; _agape_--alpha (soft
breathing mark), gamma, alpha, pi, eta; _ta_--tau, alpha; _tria_--tau,
rho, iota, alpha; _tauta_--tau, alpha, upsilon, tau, alpha;
_meizpon_--mu, epsilon, iota, zeta, omega, nu; _de_--delta, epsilon;
_touton_--tau, omicron, upsilon, tau, omega, nu; _he_--(rough breathing
mark) epsilon; _agape_--alpha (soft breathing mark), gamma, alpha, pi,
eta]

{54}

LETTERS

_To A. V. R._

Brislington Hill, Bristol: September 24, 1890.

. . . I have been persuaded to try the Semitic Languages Tripos. I
have been learning German and Syriac a little this Long with that aim
in view. . . . I don't really know what to do. I am trying to do what
will best fit me for my future work. It is hard to know what is right.

. . . The only thing I want is not to develop into a mere
bookworm. . . . The atmosphere of Cambridge so tends to deaden one,
and to make one unsympathetic with humanity; and yet t