literary boston as i knew it-第7节

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leaves　me　with　the　grief　of　a　friend。　　No　ones　indeed；　could　meet　John
Codman　Ropes　without　wishing　to　be　his　friend；　or　without　finding　a
friend　in　him。　　He　had　his　likes　and　his　dislikes；　but　he　could　have　had
no　enmities　except　for　evil　and　meanness。　　I　never　knew　a　man　of　higher
soul；　of　sweeter　nature；　and　his　whole　life　was　a　monument　of　character。
It　cannot　wound　him　now　to　speak　of　the　cruel　deformity　which　came　upon
him　in　his　boyhood；　and　haunted　all　his　after　days　with　suffering。　　His
gentle　face　showed　the　pain　which　is　always　the　part　of　the　hunchback；
but　nothing　else　in　him　confessed　a　sense　of　his　affliction；　and　the
resolute　activity　of　his　mind　denied　it　in　every　way。　　He　was；　as　is　well
known；　a　very　able　lawyer；　in　full　practice；　while　he　was　making　his
studies　of　military　history；　and　winning　recognition　for　almost　unique
insight　and　thoroughness　in　that　direction；　though　I　believe　that　when　he
came　to　embody　the　results　in　those　extraordinary　volumes　recording　the
battles　of　our　civil　war；　he　retired　from　the　law　in　some　measure。　　He
knew　these　battles　more　accurately　than　the　generals　who　fought　them；　and
he　was　of　a　like　proficiency　in　the　European　wars　from　the　time　of
Napoleon　down　to　our　own　time。　　I　have　heard　a　story；　which　I　cannot
vouch　for；　that　when　foreknowledge　of　his　afliiction；　at　the　outbreak　of
our　civil　war；　forbade　him　to　be　a　soldier；　he　became　a　student　of
soldiership；　and　wreaked　in　that　sort　the　passion　of　his　most　gallant
spirit。　　But　whether　this　was　true　or　not；　it　is　certain　that　he　pursued
the　study　with　a　devotion　which　never　blinded　him　to　the　atrocity　of　war。
Some　wars　he　could　excuse　and　even　justify；　but　for　any　war　that　seemed
wanton　or　aggressive；　he　had　only　abhorrence。

The　last　summer　of　a　score　that　I　had　known　him；　we　sat　on　the　veranda　of
his　cottage　at　York　Harbor；　and　looked　out　over　the　moonlit　sea；　and　he
talked　of　the　high　and　true　things；　with　the　inextinguishable　zest　for
the　inquiry　which　I　always　found　in　him；　though　he　was　then　feeling　the
approaches　of　the　malady　which　was　so　soon　to　end　all　groping　in　these
shadows　for　him。　　He　must　have　faced　the　fact　with　the　same　courage　and
the　same　trust　with　which　he　faced　all　facts。　　From　the　first　I　found　him
a　deeply　religious　man；　not　only　in　the　ecclesiastical　sense；　but　in　the
more　mystical　meanings　of　the　word；　and　he　kept　his　faith　as　he　kept　his
youth　to　the　last。　　Every　one　who　knew　him；　knows　how　young　he　was　in
heart；　and　how　he　liked　to　have　those　that　were　young　in　years　about　him。
He　wished　to　have　his　house　in　Boston；　as　well　as　his　cottage　at　York；
full　of　young　men　and　young　girls；　whose　joy　of　life　he　made　his　own；　and
whose　society　he　preferred　to　his　contemporaries'。　　One　could　not　blame
him　for　that；　or　for　seeking　the　sun；　wherever　he　could；　but　it　would　be
a　false　notion　of　him　to　suppose　that　his　sympathies　were　solely　or
chiefly　with　the　happy。　　In　every　sort；　as　I　knew　him；　he　was　fine　and
good。　　The　word　is　not　worthy　of　him；　after　some　of　its　uses　and
associations；　but　if　it　were　unsmutched　by　these；　and　whitened　to　its
primitive　significance；　I　should　say　he　was　one　of　the　most　perfect
gentlemen　I　ever　knew。









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