I know they suffer in this forming period of their lives for the want of a home, of the care of a father and a mother, and that no care and attention from friends, be they ever so kind, can supply the place of parents.

But all efforts, direct and indirect, to bring this about have been frustrated.
"My dear brother, may you never feel, as I have felt, _the loss of a wife_.

That wound bleeds afresh daily, as if it were inflicted but yesterday.

There is a meaning in all these acute mental trials, and they are at times so severe as almost to deprive me of reason, though few around me would suspect the state of my mind." These last few lines are eminently characteristic of the man.

While called upon to endure much, both mentally and physically, he possessed such remarkable self-control that few, if any, of those around him were aware of his suffering.