The
exaltation of his intellectual pursuits, and his sincere piety, have
enabled him to rise above all the petty disquietudes of everyday life,
and he seems utterly incapable of envy or detraction, or the indulgence
of any ignoble or unmanly passions. Indeed, one of his most intimate
friends remarked "that he was the _beau-ideal_ of dignified manliness
and truthfulness of character." His manners possess all that
unostentatious frankness, and self-possessed urbanity and quietude, that
is indicative of refined feelings. That such a shining mark has not
escaped envy, detraction, and persecution, will surprise no one who is
well acquainted with the materials of which human nature is composed.
"Envy is the toll that is always paid to greatness."
Mr. Schoolcraft has had enemies, bitter unrelenting enemies, from the
wiles of whom he has lost several fortunes, but they have not succeeded,
in spite of all their efforts, in depriving him of an honored name, that
will live as the friend of the red man and an aboriginal historian, for
countless ages.
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