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ordeal through which he passed for the remainder of his days must either complete his ruin by ruining his character or lighten his burden by exalting it. It must either make him crabbed, unsympathetic, selfish to the last degree; or warm-hearted and unselfish almost to a fault. In fact Charles Lamb passed through a fire that either refines or consumes, and to his honor be it said that the process was one of purification and not disintegration and final consumption.
The sudden attack of insanity which seized Mary Lamb a few years after Charles Lamb had left Christ's Hospital School, and which terminated in the no less sudden and tragic death of Mrs. Lamb at the hands of her crazed daughter, forever put an end to Lamb's cherished plan of marriage with the lady of his choice. The tradegy, so suddenly enacted within the bosom of his family, blighted his matrimonial hopes and, perhaps, checked his chances for a brilliant future. At any rate as the sole supporter of his unfortunate sister, it was necessary for him to take what was offered him in the shape of a career, rather than to attempt to carve one out for himself. His position at the East India Office, meagre though it was in pay, drudgery as it was in character, must be retained. Distasteful and unremunerative it might be; but retention was fairly certain, and pay sure. If it offered but a quiet uneventful life, it offered steady employment and security against starvation. If it meant melancholy and monotony for Lamb, it meant comparative ease and comfort for Mary in her lucid intervals, and proper care and treatment during her periodical spasms of lunacy.
Between these two courses of action, one offering the possibility of success in congenial labor but also an equal possibility of failure, the other giving surety of freedom from want even though gained at the expense of cherished ambitions, Lamb did not hesitate. Young man though he was, he gave up all hopes of marriage, all hopes of advancement. He settled down a clerk in the East India Office and his commercial life was from that moment an open book to him. Year in and year out he would
pore over his ledgers and register shipments of calico. Old age would find him there, at a new desk perhaps, certainly poring over a new ledger, and entering sales of new calicoes, but the newness of desk or book or cloth could not give freshness to the task. Only to young men of similar age, to whom a thought of a future of perfect monotony and stagnation means the deepest despondency, can the full significance of this cheerless prospect be apparent. That Lamb did not flinch is proof of strength of character; that he accepted his fate resignedly and without reproach is proof of nobility.
Henceforth Lamb lived for his sister. All the watchful care snd all the loving tenderness that man can exhibit towards woman were exhibited by Charles Lamb towards his sister Mary. Such a life of brotherly devotion is seldom seen. It exhibits unselfishness in a marked degree; and, while it may be objected that Lamb did no more than his duty, it may be fairly retorted that a perfect life would consist merely in always doing one's duty. There are, too, different ways of doing one's duty. It can be done perfunctorily, robbing the service of its beauty, or it may be done uncomplainingly; and here lies the difference between the performance of an unwelcome duty by the majority of men and by a truly unselfish and sympathetic character.
But Lamb's sympathy extended beyond his sister, and to every unfortunate creature. In Lamb, the disappointed literateur, the unfortunate trader, and the suspected criminal found consolation and support. He would listen by the hour to their pitiful tales and speak words soothing to their feverish souls, not because he relished such scenes but because the actors in them were unfortunate and needed comfort. This was done withal, with such an unaffected humility that whoever came into contact with him could not help loving him. Affectation was his abomination, and this humility though extreme was genuine. Such an attribute lent grace and sweetness to whatever service he might perform. In fact I know of no man concerning whose character all writers are so