local, could only be ignored. But to any straightforward and apparently worthy cause or person, he would listen patiently and sympathetically, generally asking a few penetrating questions, and usually, without giving aid at the time, would close the interview by saying: "I will look into the matter."
This was no idle answer, intended only to get rid of suppliants. It was a promise which he fulfilled. He "looked into the matter" with surprising thoroughness; and if the decision was favorable, the amount of his gift was usually surprising, also.
This desire to get the facts at first hand and to decide for himself is illustrated in a characteristic story told of him. On one occasion he had contributed to a certain cause in which a lady was deeply interested. She said to her father that while it was a generous gift, it was insufficient to accomplish her purpose, but she was afraid to ask again. Her father suggested that she should write a letter and he would deliver it. But Williamson was not satisfied with that; he asked that the daughter should come to him; he wanted the story of need from her own lips, and also
