“He turned to railroading in the fall of 1896, acting as Assistant Superintendent of the Springfield Division of the Boston and Albany Railroad.  Here, as at college, he made a profound personal impression on his associates.  The end came on the evening of December 24th, in 1897.

“In a memorial from his classmates and friends, the following significant paragraph appears:  ’Marshall Newell belonged to the whole University.  He cannot be claimed by any clique or class.  Let us, his classmates, simply express our gratitude that we have had the privilege of knowing him and of observing his simple, grand life.  We rejoice in memories of his comradeship; we deeply mourn our loss.  To those whose affliction has been even greater than our own, we extend our sympathy.’  This memorial was signed by Bertram Gordon Waters, Lincoln Davis, and George C. Lee, Jr., for the class, men who knew him well.

“Harvard men, I feel sure, will forgive me if I like to believe that Newell belonged not merely to the whole Harvard University, but to every group of men that came under his influence, whether the football squad at Cornell or the humble track walkers of the Boston and Albany.

“Remains, I think, little more for me to say, and this can best be said in Newell’s own words, selections from that diary of which I have already spoken, and which set the stamp on the character of the man for all time.  This, for instance: 

“’It is amusing to notice the expression in the faces of the horses on the street as you walk along; how much they resemble people, not in feature, but in spirit.  Some are cross and snap at the men who pass; others asleep; and some will almost thank you for speaking to them or patting their noses.’  And this, in more serious vein:  ’Happened to think how there was a resemblance in water and our spirits, or rather in their sources.  Some people are like springs, always bubbling over with freshness and life; others are wells and have to be pumped; while some are only reservoirs whose spirits are pumped in and there stagnate unless drawn off immediately.  Most people are like the wells, but the pump handle is not always visible or may be broken off.  Many of the springs are known only to their shady nooks and velvet marshes, but, once found, the path is soon worn to them, which constantly widens and deepens.  It may be used only by animals, but it is a blessing and comfort if only to the flowers and grasses that grow on its edge.’

“Serious as the man was, there are glints and gleams of quiet humor throughout this remarkable human document.  One night in May he wrote, ’Stars and moon are bright this evening; frogs are singing in the meadow, and the fire-flies are twinkling over the grass by the spring.  Tree toads have been singing to-day.  Set two hens to-night, nailed them in.  If you want to see determination, look in a setting hen’s eye.  Robins have been carrying food to their nests in the pine trees, and the barn swallows fighting for feathers in the air; the big barn is filled with their conversation.’