"
"Give me an honest laugher," Scott would say; and he himself
laughed the heart's laugh. He had a kind word for everybody, and
his kindness acted all round him like a contagion, dispelling the
reserve and awe which his great name was calculated to inspire.
"He'll come here," said the keeper of the ruins of Melrose Abbey
to Washington Irving--"he'll come here some-times, wi' great
folks in his company, and the first I'll know of it is hearing his
voice calling out, 'Johnny! Johnny Bower!' And when I go out I'm
sure to be greeted wi' a joke or a pleasant word. He'll stand and
crack and laugh wi' me, just like an auld wife; and to think that
of a man that has SUCH AN AWFU' KNOWLEDGE O' HISTORY!"
Dr. Arnold was a man of the same hearty cordiality of manner--
full of human sympathy. There was not a particle of affectation
or pretence of condescension about him. "I never knew such a
humble man as the doctor," said the parish clerk at Laleham; "he
comes and shakes us by the hand as if he was one of us." "He used
to come into my house," said an old woman near Fox How, "and talk
to me as if I were a lady."
Sydney Smith was another illustration of the power of
cheerfulness. He was ever ready to look on the bright side of
things; the darkest cloud had to him its silver lining. Whether
working as country curate, or as parish rector, he was always
kind, laborious, patient, and exemplary; exhibiting in every
sphere of life the spirit of a Christian, the kindness of a
pastor, and the honour of a gentleman.
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