It is unusual to meet so marvelously endowed a man possessing such simplicity of manner, such goodness of heart, such genuine human kindness in his nature. He had the innate bearing and dignity of a noble man. His life was to my mind the fullest imaginable, for he was ever alert, in his joy over the petal of a flower, over a feather of a small bird, in the mystery of the propelling  power of a little snake in the grass. He knew a great deal about natural history. He knew a  great deal because he usually remembered everything he had read. He was the most voracious and discriminating reader I have ever met. He belied the French saying "Pour devenir un grand artiste il faut etre, il faut rester fruste." Fruste de connaisances the meant, i.e. not to know too many things, not know too much[1]. He  was just a glorious exception as a genius always is, and just could not help being almost omniscient with so exceptional a memory as was his. To have known so great, so lovable, so delightful a man has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. To have appreciated the honor of enjoying also his friendship many explain to you the profound affection in which I hold today his memory. 

Yours sincerely, 
C.M. Loeffler

January 30, 1926
(Loeffler's letter to Charteris, P.147-149)
 
 
 

In November of 1927, Sargent's cousin Mary Newbold Patterson Hale, wrote her recollections of John for The World Today called "The Sargent I Knew"

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