very much to himself and to that interior Master of whose stress and
constraint upon him he grew more intimately conscious as he grew in
years. The force of this inward pressure showed itself in many ways.
Outwardly it made his manner undemonstrative, and fixed an intangible
yet very real barrier between him and his kindred, even when the
affection that existed was extremely close and tender. From infancy
he exhibited that repugnance to touching or being touched by any one
which marked him to the end. Even his mother refrained from embracing
him, knowing this singular aversion. She would stroke his face,
instead, when she was pleased with him, and say, "That is my kiss for
you, my son."

The mutual respect for each other's personalities shown in this
closest of human relations was characteristic of the entire family,
as will be seen later, when the nature of the business connections
between Isaac and his brothers has to be considered. Far from
weakening the natural ties, or impairing their proper influence, it
seems to have strengthened and perfected them. Asked once towards the
close of his life how it was that he had never used tobacco in any
form, he answered: "Mother forbade it, and that was enough for George
and me. I was never ruled in any way but by her affection. That was
sufficient." The parallel fact that he never in his life drank a drop
of liquor at a bar or at any public place was probably due to a
similar injunction. The children were brought up, too, with
exceedingly strict ideas about lying and stealing, and all petty
vices. Throughout the family there prevailed an extreme severity on
such faults. "I have never forgotten," said Father Hecker, "the
furious anger of an aunt of mine and the violent beating she gave one
of my cousins for stealing a cent from her drawer. That training has
had a great and lasting effect upon my character."