he was, and was hopeful of her future in all things, and for her art
he worked nobly and unselfishly. He suffered from discouragement in
an acute form, but worked steadily on with a simple, unshakable
faith in his divine gifts. At the height of his fame he was never
unapproachable, but always had a kindly thought for the struggling
student of limited means; and although his plans at Columbia
University were defeated, he gave free private lessons to poor
students of talent. His noble and unselfish action in this regard
has not often been equalled among past and present successful
musicians. MacDowell was very modest about his work, but he was
quite conscious of the greatness of his gifts, and he had the
ambition to make a name, not merely for his own sake, but also that
America might be able to hold up her head as proudly in music as she
does in other things.

The idea of purely personal fame seldom entered his head and when
it did it made him rather uncomfortable, but his belief that he
was gifted and destined to make a name for his country, sustained
him in the struggle against the endless drudgery that always
dogged the free use of his talents.

One of MacDowell's dearest wishes was that America should have a
musical public capable of judging in an intellectual, educated and
sincere manner the merits of music and musicians, uninfluenced by
traditions and reputations introduced from other countries. He
wanted Americans to encourage their own men in Music, Art and
Literature and not to respect a third-rate artist simply because
he came from a foreign country having traditions of culture. He
insisted on the American composer being treated on absolutely equal
terms with the foreigner and according to his merits.