At Madrid, one of his intimates from the Islands was Teodoro Sandiko, later to be a leader among his people and an honored member of the Philippine Senate. In a letter recalling their association, Senator Sandiko once wrote: [143] Rizal was fond of physical exercise and so was I. We practised fencing together and soon became good and close friends. He was simple in his manners, but profound in his studies and researches, analytical in his mental processes, reflective rather than sentimental. He was extremely methodical and industrious; I never saw him idle. He had great confidence in himself, was firm in his faith, resourceful in the solving of a difficult situation, swift and sure in his decisions. His habit was to answer without hesitation and succinctly any question that might be put to him; he had never to hunt for an idea or a word. He was the most loyal of friends; anything he possessed was at his friend’s disposal. He was courteous, affectionate, affable, sincere, but rather serious. His mental state may be judged from the mass of material he contributed to “La Solidaridad,” so varied, so forceful and so carefully prepared. Wherever he went, he seemed without effort to make friends of all men that came near him. Set down in a steamer full of strangers, he would be noted at once by every passenger and before dinner was served would be on good terms with most of the persons on board, crew included. Yet, strange to say, he seldom smiled, usually seemed distrait in the midst of others’ mirth, and was sometimes lost in gloomy musing, when he seemed all unaware of his surroundings. In the opinion of his friends, he had almost no self-consciousness; certainly, all his life he hated affectations and never lost a chance to scorch them with his terrible sarcasm; for this man of the world, ordinarily so suave and courteous that he won good will even among his enemies, had certain reserve funds of censuring speech he could make as bitter as gall. Whether he sat, walked, stood, talked, or listened he was always natural, always composed, and always the sure master of himself. When he went through the United States he noticed that the men there conversed without gesticulating, contrary to the practice of the Spaniards and most Europeans. On reflection he deemed the practice to lend strength to utterance and thereafter made it a rule to keep his hands still while he talked.