The Catholic bulletin., 1916-01-15

! To be in contact with him was to be
lifted up towards the good, the true
and the beautiful. Close as were my
relations with him, never for once
discovered in him the thought, the af-
fection that was not strictly that oof
the gentleman and the christian And
whatever was in him was easily SEEN
His soul was limpid as crystal. Sin
cerity was the predominant feature of
his intercourse with his fellows. He
was incapable of concealment. AS he
thought, as he felt, so he spoke and
acted, whether thereby he pleased or
displeased, whether thereby he served
or injured his own interest. Self he
could never consider: the question al
ways was, what it was that helped the
great causes to which he was dedicat-
ed, what it was that righteousness
and truth command. Brusque of man
ner, blunt of address he sometimes
seemed. 1t was the excess of his
straightforwardness of impulse: and,
whatever he seemed, a moments in
spection brought to light the good
ness, the comeliness of nature that
underlay all outward surfacing. He
sought little service from others:
when it was given in all truthfulness,
he repaid it with gratitude. But of
service to others he was always pro
fuse: he was happy when allowed to
afford it. He was markedly timorous
and retiring of disposition: one had
to be in close intimacy to see him as
he really was. This, perhaps, was his
misfortune, as it exposed him to be
misjudged. In fact, was not this tim
orousness the more luXuriant coloring
of the virtues that were the sub
stance of his being, inasmuch as it
preserved them in all their freshness,
and evidenced the complete absence
of artfulness and pretense. Friends
talked at times of his oddities: they
were the playfulness of deep-seated
qualities, the exuberance of his cam
dor and kindness of heart: his oddi-
ties, such as they may have been, were
but another charm added to most
charming, most loyable personality.
Take Richard Scannell, all in all: he
was a man among men, man whose
passage amid the ranks of men, COM
pels us to put an elevated estimate
upon our common humanity, and
.tlrgas each, one TO, higher aims and
nobler doings.
He was gifted in intellect: and he
labored to bring his talent into copious
fruitage. Here again his timorous-
ness wronged him. He dreaded pub
lie exhibition of himself, even when
that exhibition were legitimate, and,
perhaps, salutary in service. His tai
ent and ripe scholarship fitted him for
exalted leadership through spoken and
written word. But he loved obscur-
ity, though, perhaps in undue meas
ure. The crowd affrighted him; and
he fell back into his solitude, where
Others, with lesser accomplishments
would have sought and won applause.
His scholarship was deep and varied.
No question of value was raised of
which he was not the master. He
spoke with graceful f1uency five OF
our modern languages. OF course his
first subject of study was the sacred
science which it was his mission to
expound and defend: but, far beyond
that, he had reached out in search of
knowledge: few the themes, worthy
of the ambitious student, with which
he had not familiarized himself. His
was one of the safest judgments that
have known He had measured men
and things: he stunned hastiness in
conclusions: when he did speak his
sentence was the matured wisdom of
reflection and observation.
He was man of duty. Heavy
were his responsibilities as the priest
Continued on page A.