as to be akin to a man.  I have a grove of little long-leaf pines down in the old country and I know they’ll have some consciousness of me after all men have forgotten me:  I’ve saved ’em, and they’ll sing a century of gratitude if I can keep ’em saved.  Joe Holmes gave me a dissertation on them the other day.  He was down there “on a little Sunday jaunt” of forty miles—­the best legs and the best brain that ever worked together in one anatomy.

     A conquering New Year—­that’s what you’ll find, begun before this
     reaches you, carrying all good wishes from

     Yours affectionately,

     W.H.P.

     To Edwin A. Alderman

     Garden City, New York,

     January 26, 1913.

     MY DEAR ED ALDERMAN: 

This has been “Board” [10] week, as you know.  The men came from all quarters of the land, and we had a good time.  New work is opening; old work is going well; the fellowship ran in good tide—­except that everybody asked everybody else:  “What do you know about Alderman?” Everybody who had late news of you gave a good report.  The Southern Board formally passed a resolution to send affectionate greetings to you and high hope and expectation, and I was commissioned to frame the message.  This is it.  I shall write no formal resolution, for that wasn’t the spirit of it.  The fellows all asked me, singly and collectively, to send their love.  And we don’t put that sort of a message under whereases and wherefores.  There they were, every one of them, except Peabody and Bowie.  Mr. Ogden in particular was anxious for his emphatic remembrance and good wishes to go.  The dear old man is fast passing into the last stage of his illness and he knows it and he soon expects the end, in a mood as brave and as game as he ever was.  I am sorry to tell you he suffers a good deal of pain.

What a fine thing to look back over—­this Southern Board’s work!  Here was a fine, zealous merchant twenty years ago, then fifty-seven years old, who saw this big job as a modest layman.  If he had known more about “Education” or more about “the South, bygawd, sir!” he’d never have had the courage to tackle the job.  But with the bravery of ignorance, he turned out to be the wisest man on that task in our generation.  He has united every real, good force, and he showed what can be done in a democracy even by one zealous man.  I’ve sometimes thought that this is possibly the wisest single piece of work that I have ever seen done—­wisest, not smartest.  I don’t know what can be done when he’s gone.  His phase of it is really done.  But, if another real leader arise, there will doubtless be another phase.

The General Board doesn’t find much more college-endowing to do.  We made only one or two gifts.  But we are trying to get the country school task rightly focussed.  We haven’t done it yet; but we will.  Buttrick