CLASS of 1880

The Secretary has received from Will Smith an appreciation of Charles H. Strout, from which the following is a liberal quotation:

"I am still too shocked, too stunned to realize he has left us forever. Our lives had been passed together since we entered college fifty-five years ago and had become so merged that his loss has left me like a rudderless ship. It will take more years than are left of life for me to accustom myself to his absence. Only a few days before his illness I received a letter from him telling me about his delightful summer in Seattle, his pleasure in meeting many of the 'old boys' residing there. They showered attentions on him to make his visit most enjoyable, and demonstrated their unchanging affection for him and the dear old St. Luke's.

"The end came with stunning suddenness; a wire saying he was dying one day, the next another brought the sad news of his passing.

"The friends who performed the last offices for him placed the wreath I sent at the head of the casket: the wreath which had no beginning and no end—the emblem of our friendship. He was borne to his grave in the beautiful church yard of old St. David's church by six 'old boys.' No paid officials were permitted to perform the sad service. Three clergymen officiated in the Episcopal service. There were no eulogies; the tears of friends and former pupils bore evidence enough to the love and respect felt for him. His favorite hymns were played. The St. Luke's School Hymn, always sung after a big athletic victory and at the funeral of a boy or master, was played with impressive effect and sung in their hearts as never before. The last four lines of the concluding stanza seemed written especially for him.

" 'To him that overcometh A crown of life shall be; He, with the King of Glory, Shall reign eternally.'

"Just as the September sun was casting its shadows over the historic hills, with sad but proud hearts his friends turned away and left him sleeping peacefully in his final, mortal resting place.

"He left a trail of light behind him to illumine the paths of those who follow after. His influence on the lives of his boys was extraordinary. Respect for his character, his fine scholarship, his fairness, his judgment, loyalty, and high sense of honor awoke a responsive chord in the hearts of all his pupils. A well known slogan on their lips when in need of comparison was 'As fair as Mr. Strout.' I have heard many a boy say 'Of course I owned up. I couldn't lie to Mr.Strout.'

"As a teacher I have never known his superior. I have heard many a West Pointer or Annapolis man who had fitted at St. Luke's say they had never had as fine a teacher of mathematics at either institution.

"He would have made a success in any profession, but he was first of all a teacher, a builder of men.

"To have been able to call Charles Strout my friend for over fifty years has been the crowning glory of my life. There was never a cloud on our friendship in all those years of intimate association."

Mr. Onderdonk of St. James' School, Maryland, wrote the following, received too late for the November MAGAZINE:

"After Mr. Strout sold his school at Wayne, I asked him to come and live with me at St. James, little thinking he would take such an active part in the school as he did. I wanted him because of my love for him and the fact that for many years he had been my advisor. While here, he taught some mathematics and gave his invaluable service to the life of the school. He always spent the winter months in Florida and his summers in New England and the Northwest, this last summer in Seattle. He left Seattle only in time to arrive at St. James in season to be taken to a hospital, where he died in three days, September 18.

"During Mr. Strout's four years at St. James, he had the love and admiration of everyone in this school. We are missing him all the time. I have received so many letters from the 'old boys' which affirm their affection for him and their sorrow that the school has been deprived of such a wonderful influence."

Will Smith will be at Hotel St. Catherine, Santa Catalina Island, Avalon, Calif., the coming winter.

Mrs. Ed Jones has just returned from a long automobile trip to Nova Scotia and the Provinces.

We have just heard from Pete Dame in his own handwriting. He is following the even tenor of his way at Agawam, Mass.

Secretary, 1052 Union St., Manchester, N. H.