And when I came to look at some of his letters, and saw the sweet and
generous things which he had said of myself in the old days, his
gratitude for trifling kindnesses and gifts which I had myself
forgotten, I felt a touch of sorrow for a moment that I had not been
even nearer to him than I was, and more in his enlivening company; and I
remembered how, when he arrived to see me, he would come lightly in, say
a word of greeting, and plunge into talk of all that we were doing; and
then I felt that I must not think of him unworthily, as having any
grievance or shadow of concern about my many negligences and coldnesses:
but that we were bound by ties of lasting love and trust, and shared a
treasure of dear memories and kindnesses; and that I might leave his
spirit in its newly found activities, take up my own task in the light
of his vivid example, and look forward to a day when we might be again
together, sharing recollection and purpose alike, as cheerfully and
gladly as we had done in the good days that were gone, with all the
added joy of the new dawn, and with the old understanding made more
perfect.




XVIII

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS


Hugh was always youthful-looking for his age, light and quick in
movement, intent but never deliberate, passing very rapidly from one
thing to another, impatient of boredom and dullness, always desiring to